Patent ID: 6721500
Filing Date: 2004-04-13
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
An apparatus for providing left and right eye images with a horizontal angle of view of at least approximately 45Â° along the axis of a single camera lens, the apparatus comprising:optical means arranged to provide said left and right eye images as a pair of head-to-head or toe-to-toe images such as with the two images separated by a center line and with either the tops of the two images or the bottoms of the two images respectively residing adjacent the center line, so that the left and right eye images are simultaneously recorded onto a single frame of a recording medium; said optical means includes two reflecting elements for each of the two images respectively with the reflecting elements being positioned in front of a camera lens; said reflecting elements include first and second reflecting elements arranged to receive the left and right eye images respectively and further including third and fourth reflecting elements arranged to receive said left and right eye images from said first and second reflecting elements to provide said left and right eye images along the axis of a camera lens; said first and second reflecting elements comprise plane mirrors and said third and fourth reflecting elements comprise two faces of a triangular prism; said plane mirrors each being arranged to reflect the light rays of the left and right eye images respectively onto opposing faces of said triangular prism with said triangular prism arranged to redirect said incident light rays towards said camera lens whose axis is at 90Â° to the direction of view of said first and second reflecting elements; and an optical element arranged to extend the horizontal angle of view of the apparatus, the optical element comprising a pair of optically identical first lenses or lens groups of negative optical power, each first lens and lens group being located along the respective axis of the left and right eye images and in front of said first and second reflecting elements.