Patent ID: 6445406
Filing Date: 2002-09-03
Classification: G02B,H04N

Abstract:
A stereoscopic image display apparatus comprising:light source means for emitting light from plural apertures; an optical element array composed of an array of optical elements having different optical functions in the horizontal and vertical directions, for giving directivity to the light emerging from said apertures; and a transmissive display device for displaying a stripe image, obtained by dividing each of a parallax image for the right eye and a parallax image for the left eye into the horizontal stripes to obtain right stripe pixels and left stripe pixels and arranging said right and left stripe pixels alternately in a predetermined order; wherein said plural apertures are provided corresponding to each of the optical elements constituting said optical element array, for each stripe pixel, and are adapted to cause the light, passing through the right or left stripe pixel, to reach a predetermined area; wherein said optical element array is adapted to convert the light from the apertures of said light source means, in a horizontal cross section into a substantially parallel light beam and in a vertical cross section into a converging light beam substantially converging on said display device; wherein said optical element array includes a vertical cylindrical lens array composed of an array in the horizontal direction of a plurality of vertically elongated cylindrical lenses and/or a horizontal cylindrical lens array composed of an array in the vertical direction of a plurality of horizontally elongated cylindrical lenses; wherein the pitch VL of said horizontal cylindrical lens array in the vertical direction, the vertical pitch Vd of the stripe pixels displayed on said display device, the vertical width Vm of said apertures and opaque areas, the distance L1 between said display device and said horizontal cylindrical lens array, the distance L2 between said horizontal cylindrical lens array and said light source means, and the focal distance fv in the vertical cross section of the horizontal cylindrical lenses constituting said horizontal cylindrical lens array satisfy following relations: Vd:Vm=L1:L2VD:VL=(L1+L2)/2:L2and1/fv=1/L1+1/L2.