Apparatus and method for positionally enhancing an image
OwnerJ. Carl Cooperinventor
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Abstract
The present disclosure teaches a method and apparatus for use in stabilizing images. The invention operates to sense the position of the image to be stabilized, compare the position of the image to a reference to determine a displacement value responsive thereto and change a correction element located in the conveyance path of the image in response to the displacement value to cause a compensating displacement of the image.
Claims24
The method of correcting gate weave in a projector wherein each image of a series of frame or field images is initially situated near a known location with each said image of said series being exposed onto a surface via image light which travels from said image to said surface via a light path, with said gate weave occurring due to said frame or field images being so situated relatively imprecisely at said known location, said method including:
- a) during a time interval after said initial situating of said image, sensing at least a portion of said image with an electro optical sensor to provide a sensed portion signal,
- b) digitizing said sensed portion signal to provide a current portion signal in response thereto,
- c) inspecting said current portion signal to determine the displacement of said image from a desired position,
- d) altering said light path in response to said displacement to cause a compensating displacement of said image light.
The method of maintaining proper rotation of a projected image formed by projection of light from an image medium via a light path onto a surface including the steps of:
- a) sensing at least a portion of said image medium with a sensor to provide a sensed portion signal,
- b) digitizing said sensed portion signal to provide a current portion signal in response thereto,
- c) detecting the rotation of said image as said rotation thereof is conveyed by said current portion signal with respect to a rotation reference signal representing the desired position of said image to determine the rotary displacement of said image relative to said desired position, and the further step of,
- d) optically altering said light path in response to said rotary displacement to cause a compensating rotary displacement of said projected light.
In a film projection method having a number of steps including at least:
- individual film frames being positioned one at a time with respect to an aperture, shining or projecting light from a light source through the film frame so positioned with at least a portion of said light falling onto at least a first surface, with optical element steps being included at various positions in the path of said light to thereby project the image carried by said film frame onto said first surface;
- the method of improving the positional stability of said image which is projected onto said first surface, said method including the further steps of:
- a) determining the position of said film frame relative to a desired position in relation to said aperture;
- b) in response to step a), deflecting the path of said light which has passed through said film frame in order to cause a compensating movement of said image which is projected onto said first surface.
In a film projection method having a number of steps including at least:
- individual film frames being positioned one at a time with respect to an aperture, shining or projecting light from a light source through the film frame so positioned with at least a portion of said light falling onto at least a first surface, with optical element steps being included at various positions in the light path to thereby project the image carried by said film frame onto said first surface;
- the method of improving the positional stability of said image which is projected onto said first surface, said method including the further steps of:
- a) determining the amount of deflection of the path of said light which has passed through said film frame which is necessary to position said projected image at a desired position on said first surface;
- b) deflecting the path of said light which has passed through said film frame in order to cause said a compensating movement of image which is projected onto said first surface.
In an image system where a series of images are projected by light from an image source location in a fashion which intermittently exposes each image of the series at a first surface, the method of deflecting the light conveying each said image projected from said image source location onto said first surface to reducing unwanted movement of said series of images at said first surface, said method including the steps of:
- positioning a substantially flat optical element in the path of said light between said image source location and said first surface such that the path said light takes will be moved by moving said optical element,
- moving said optical element in response to the position of said image at said image source location, said moving taking place while exposure of said image at said first surface is inhibited and
- holding the position of said optical element stable during exposure of said image at said first surface.
The method of aligning a projected image carried via a film frame located in a film gate which image is projected from said film frame onto at least a first surface, said method including the steps of:
- a) detect horizontal or vertical movement of said film frame from the ideal position relative to the film gate to provide horizontal positioning data and vertical positioning data responsive to horizontal and vertical movement errors relative to said ideal position;
- b) process said horizontal positioning data and vertical positioning data to compensate for errors therein other than true horizontal or vertical movement errors of said film frame;
- c) modulate the light path of said projected image in response to said processed horizontal positioning data and vertical positioning data of step b) to compensate for said horizontal and vertical positioning errors.
The method of positioning an image on a first surface which image is projected via a light path from a film onto said first surface, said method including the steps of:
- a) moving a frame of said film into a location relative to an aperture;
- b) holding said film steady in said location for a time period;
- c) sensing the location of said film at or after the time of the start of step b);
- d) in response to step c), altering the position of said image on said first surface by moving at least one optical element located in said light path and;
- e) after step d), holding the position of said element during the remainder of said time period of step b).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.