Transparent multi-view mask for 3D display systems

A 3D display system, comprising:

• a background space including a physical 3D object;
• a mask display panel with a back side facing the background space and a display side facing away from the background space;
• a controller operating the mask display panel to concurrently display a first mask dependent upon a first POV or light source direction of the background space and the physical 3D object and a second mask dependent upon a second POV or light source direction of the background space and the physical 3D object, wherein the first and second masks include transparent portions;
• and
• a non-inverting relay lens mated with the mask display panel steering light associated with the first mask and the physical 3D object at a first angle based on the first POV and steering light associated with the second mask and the physical 3D object at an a second angle based on the second POV,
• wherein the non-inverting relay lens comprises a stack of four lenslet arrays arranged to provide a pair of relay lenses and
• wherein the mask display panel is sandwiched between two of the lenslet arrays in one of the pairs of the relay lenses.

A display system for displaying a 3D display including a background object positioned in a background space to a viewer in a foreground space, comprising:

• a stack of four lenslet arrays arranged as a first relay lens and a second relay lens, wherein, when the background space is viewed from the foreground space via the stack, the stack is transparent and is non-inverting of an image of the background object;
• a display panel positioned in the first relay lens between a pair of the lenslet arrays, the display panel being operable to selectively pass or block light with a plurality of programmable pixels;
• and
• a controller in communication with the display panel and operating to provide display input causing the display panel to concurrently display first POV-dependent content, second POV-dependent content, and third POV-dependent content by selectively passing and blocking light, wherein the stack steers the first POV-dependent content toward a left viewing space in the foreground space, the second POV-dependent content toward a middle viewing space, and the third POV-dependent content toward a right viewing space.