Patent Abstract:
A set of eyewear is provided for use with prescription spectacles. The design comprises a plurality of selecting devices formed and configured to be attached to the spectacles to provide stereoscopic viewing of images when worn by a user wearing the spectacles. The eyewear comprises a substrate forming a first selector device and a second selector device, and optical materials provided on the substrate. The optical materials comprise first optical material associated with the first selector device and providing a first orientation along a first axis and second optical material associated with the second selector device and providing a second orientation along a second axis substantially orthogonal to the first axis. The substrate and optical materials are configured to be fixedly mountable to the spectacles.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to selection devices for viewing stereoscopic movies and images, and more specifically to three-dimensional (3-D) eyewear or glasses that promote comfort while allowing the user to see a quality stereoscopic image.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     3-D glasses or eyewear allow a user to view stereoscopic motion pictures and typically incorporate temple-pieces and frames. Every member of the viewing audience must wear 3-D eyewear in order to achieve image selection. Image selection affords the viewer&#39;s left eye to see the left image while the right eye image is blocked, and vice versa.  
         [0005]     Viewers who do not wear corrective spectacles while viewing motion pictures may easily wear existing cardboard or plastic framed 3-D eyewear. Viewers requiring corrective spectacles in order to view motion pictures must wear existing 3-D eyewear over, or on top of/in front of, their corrective spectacles. This combination of eyewear is an annoyance for users because users do not want to wear two pairs of glasses. Two pairs of glasses are cumbersome and uncomfortable.  
         [0006]     There are problems with today&#39;s eyewear as constructed with temple-pieces and frames that can result in a viewing experience that is not entirely pleasurable. Manufacturers construct 3-D eyewear products with a one-size-fits-all philosophy that reduces the image quality perceived by the user. Reduced image quality results from the 3-D eyewear being unable to provide uniform coverage over each eye due to the size of the corrective spectacles and alignment of both pairs of glasses. Manufacturers of 3-D eyewear have attempted to improve their cardboard and plastic framed eyewear in an attempt to increase the comfort of spectacle-users. However, the traditional construction methods using temple-pieces and frames have yet to produce a comfortable and satisfying experience for spectacle-users.  
         [0007]     Today&#39;s cardboard and plastic 3-D eyewear implementations include temple-pieces and frames that are relatively expensive, especially when considering that movie theaters typically supply 3-D eyewear at no charge to the user. The 3-D eyewear is frequently designed for one use only and is disposable. As more movies are presented in the stereoscopic image format, this cost to the movie theaters will continue to increase.  
         [0008]     Thus it would be advantageous to offer a 3-D eyewear design that provides stereoscopic image selection, high visual quality, user comfort and ease of use particularly when employed with corrective eyeglasses or spectacles. In addition, lower construction cost is of great commercial importance.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     According to one aspect of the present design, there is provided a set of eyewear for use with prescription spectacles comprising a plurality of selecting devices formed and configured to be attached to the spectacles to provide stereoscopic viewing of images when worn by a user wearing the spectacles.  
         [0010]     According to another aspect of the present design, there is provided a set of eyewear for use with spectacles worn by a user when viewing stereoscopic images. The set of eyewear comprises a substrate forming a first selection device and a second selector device, and optical materials provided on the substrate. The optical materials comprise first optical material associated with the first selection device and providing a first orientation along a first axis and second optical material associated with the second selection device and providing a second orientation along a second axis substantially orthogonal to the first axis. The substrate and optical materials are configured to be fixedly mountable to the spectacles.  
         [0011]     These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1A  illustrates a prior art cardboard pair of 3-D stereoscopic eyewear constructed with left and right temple-pieces;  
         [0014]      FIG. 1B  illustrates a prior art plastic pair of 3-D stereoscopic eyewear constructed with left and right temple-pieces;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2A  illustrates the front view of slip-in self-locating 3-D stereoscopic eyewear in accordance with an embodiment of the present design;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2B  is the side view of slip-in self-locating 3-D stereoscopic eyewear in accordance with an embodiment of the present design;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2C  shows the top view of slip-in self-locating 3-D stereoscopic eyewear in accordance with an embodiment of the present design;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3A  illustrates the front view of rimless spectacles with a curved ridge 3-D stereoscopic eyewear positioned between the viewers eyes or face and corrective spectacles in accordance with a second embodiment of the present design;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3B  illustrates the side view of rimless spectacles with a curved ridge 3-D stereoscopic eyewear in accordance with the second embodiment of the present design;  
         [0020]      FIG. 3C  is a top view of rimless spectacles with a curved ridge 3-D stereoscopic eyewear in accordance with the second embodiment of the present design;  
         [0021]      FIG. 4A  illustrates the front view of rimless spectacles with a curved ridge 3-D stereoscopic eyewear in accordance with the second embodiment of the present design;  
         [0022]      FIG. 4B  illustrates the side view of rimless spectacles with a curved ridge 3-D stereoscopic eyewear in accordance with the second embodiment of the present design;  
         [0023]      FIG. 4C  is a top view of rimless spectacles with a curved ridge 3-D stereoscopic eyewear in accordance with the second embodiment of the present design;  
         [0024]      FIG. 5A  illustrates construction of 3-D stereoscopic eyewear incorporating a linear polarizer substrate in accordance with the present design;  
         [0025]      FIG. 5B  shows construction of 3-D stereoscopic eyewear incorporating a quarter-wave retarder in accordance with the present design;  
         [0026]      FIG. 5C  illustrates construction of 3-D stereoscopic eyewear to show the completed eyewear assembly attaching a linear polarizer substrate to the quarter-wave retarder in accordance with the present design;  
         [0027]      FIG. 6A  is a front view of a low cost alternative embodiment of the present design; and  
         [0028]      FIG. 6B  is an alternate view of the low cost alternative including a curved rim or ledge for mounting the eyewear to a user&#39;s spectacles.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0029]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred designs of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and tables. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred designs, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to those designs. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.  
         [0030]      FIG. 1A  is a drawing of a pair of 3-D glasses  101  fabricated primarily from a relatively inexpensive material, such as cardboard or paper. Left temple piece  101  and right temple piece  102  are also shown. Front piece  104  includes a depression for the nose, and polarization filters  103 L and  103 R can be circular or linear, of various orientations and configurations, as is well understood in the art and described below.  
         [0031]     Although this disclosure concentrates on the use of circular polarization for image selection, it will be understood that other selection techniques may be employed using the same eyewear design and basic lens fabrication techniques, and these include, but are not limited to, linear polarization, the anaglyph, Pulfrich, and chromostereopsis.  
         [0032]      FIG. 1B  represents a similar product made out of a somewhat more rigid material, such as plastic. Eyewear  105  is shown with left temple piece  106 L and right eyewear piece  106 R, where front piece  104  includes a nose depression. Left and right polarization filters  108 L and  108 R are also provided.  
         [0033]     Cardboard eyewear  101  has frequently been used, since the late  1930 s, as a throwaway product for the projection of stereoscopic motion pictures in theme parks and in the theatrical cinema. Plastic eyewear  105 , on the other hand, has frequently been used in theme parks and cleaned and recycled.  
         [0034]     The methods for projecting stereoscopic films with selection devices are well known. They have been described many times, and by way of reference see Lipton&#39;s  Foundations of the Stereoscopic Cinema,  1982, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. Inc., N.Y.  
         [0035]     The present design is 3-D eyewear that does away with the clumsy, awkward, and uncomfortable experience that eyeglass wearers endure when watching stereoscopic movies when forced to also wear 3-D glasses of the types shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . The designs of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  have been the only products that have been available.  FIGS. 1A and 1B  are meant to be generic representations, as many variations of these designs have been developed. The point is that wearing one set of eyewear on top of another set of eyewear is not comfortable. Therefore, the present approach seeks to promote comfort while allowing the user to see a good-quality stereoscopic image.  
         [0036]      FIG. 2A  shows 3-D glasses  201  in a front view and  FIG. 2B  shows 3-D glasses  202  from a side view. The glasses may be only a few tens of thousandths of an inch thick. They can be made of any optically appropriate plastic or similar transparent material. The glasses only need to be thick enough so that they have enough body or rigidity so they are not floppy. The glasses are shaped so that they can be dropped into place behind the user&#39;s normal corrective eyewear or glasses—in other words, between the eyes and spectacle frames. 3-D glasses  201  and  202  do not have frames, rims of any kind, or nosepieces, and they do not have temple-pieces.  
         [0037]     Left and right tabs  203 L and  203 R are located on the left and right sides of the eyewear and are indicated by dotted lines. Left and right tabs  203 L and  203 R are optional, and can serve as a positioning device together with the shape of the eyewear  201  itself. The nose depression in particular can serve as a rest ledge or stop when inserted behind the corrective spectacles, as shown in  FIG. 2B , wherein the stops or tabs  203  ride on the corrective spectacle frames  204 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 2C  is a top view of a person  203  wearing corrective spectacles  204 , and glasses  205  represent a top view of the 3-D rimless, temple-piece-less 3-D glasses shown in  FIG. 2A . In  FIG. 2B , glasses  205  rest behind the eyewear/spectacles and between the person&#39;s face and spectacles  204 .  
         [0039]      FIGS. 3A through 3C  illustrate an alternate embodiment. In  FIG. 3A , rimless spectacles  301  are shown with a curved ridge  302 . In the side view shown in  FIG. 3B , the 3-D glasses  303  are shown with curved ridge  304 . The ridge curves away from the face of the user.  FIG. 3C  is a drawing of a person  305  wearing corrective lens spectacles  306 , and the 3-D glasses  307  are placed between the eyes of the person and his spectacles. The rim  308  (corresponding to  302 / 304 ) serves to support the 3-D glasses on the frame or top of the corrective spectacles. In a sense, these are similar to eyewear known as a “clip-on,” (one might say a “hang-on,”) hanging behind the spectacles and in front of the user&#39;s eyes.  
         [0040]     A further embodiment is illustrated in  FIGS. 4A through 4C . A similar approach is shown, except this time the 3-D eyewear hang on the outside of the glasses.  FIG. 4A  shows 3-D eyewear  401  with curved rim  402 . The side view in  FIG. 4B  shows the curved rim facing inward, or toward the person using the eyewear.  FIG. 4C  shows a person  405  wearing corrective spectacles  406  with the 3-D glasses  407  hung on the outside with the rim bent inward, shown by element  408 .  
         [0041]     With regard to  FIGS. 3B and 4B , if the radius of curvature of the curved rim is sufficiently small, or the gap between elements  304  and  303  or elements  404  and  403  is sufficiently small, a clamping action firmly holds the 3-D eyewear to the user&#39;s spectacles. The glasses are designed with sufficient spring or resistance in the plastic substrate with an appropriate curvature that can be determined empirically. In such a design, the 3-D eyewear is held firmly in place by a properly designed clamp. A clamping action proves superior to hanging the 3-D eyewear onto spectacles in many instances.  
         [0042]      FIGS. 5A through 5C  illustrate the construction method of the 3-D glasses. The design uses circular polarizing analyzers, but as noted earlier, other valid selection devices and techniques may be employed. The glasses  501  in  FIG. 5A  may be made of a linear polarizer substrate whose axis is indicated by double-headed arrow  502 . Overlaid on substrate  501 , in  FIG. 5B , a quarter-wave retarder  503  with axis  505  is applied, as is retarder  504  with axis  506 , on the left and right portions of substrate  501  respectively. The axes of  505  and  506  are orthogonal. When these materials are laminated (overlaid or attached) to the substrate of linear polarizer  501 , the completed eyewear assembly will be as shown in  FIG. 5C . The result is that circular polarizer analyzers of opposite handedness are produced and these will, when worn, cover the left and right eyes.  
         [0043]     The retarder faces away from the person and toward the projection screen. The entire eyewear ensemble  507  in  FIG. 5C  includes elements  505  and  506  overlaid on part  501  with arrowed axes shown as previously described. This neat and cost-effective package can be configured as a 3-D eyewear product, as shown in  FIGS. 2A through 2C ,  3 A through  3 C, and  4 A through  4 C. The design shown in  FIGS. 5A through 5C  can be imagined to have a curved rim, but for didactic simplification the rim is not shown.  
         [0044]     In addition it is possible to interchange the retarder and polarizer components of  FIGS. 5A and 5B . Element  501  can be retarder rather than polarizer, and elements  505  and  506  can be linear polarizers. Many possible angular orientations of retarder/polarizer axes may be employed so long as the retarder axes are orthogonal to the polarizer axes and the resultant circular polarizers are of opposite handedness.  
         [0045]     The parts shown in  FIGS. 5A through 5C  can be assembled in various ways in terms of axis orientation. For example, the linear polarizer axis  502  can be vertical rather than horizontal, in which case the retarder parts could remain in the orientation as shown. The retarder parts are preferably orthogonal to each other, but at 45 degrees to the polarizer axis to obtain a proper circular polarizer analyzer set.  
         [0046]     One alternative design is to make  501  a clear substrate, such as a clear plastic substrate, without a polarization property, i.e. non-polarizing and non-retarding. The materials shown in  FIG. 5B  then become polarizers, such as linear polarizers or circular polarizers, rather than retarders. Part  503  has a polarization axis of  505 , while part  504  has a polarization axis of  506 . Parts  503  and  504  may be assembled onto a clear, non-polarizing non-birefringent substrate to produce linear polarizing glasses whose axes are orthogonal. The axes can be horizontal or vertical, respectively, or at any angle to the horizon, so long as their axes are mutually orthogonal. In addition, color filters as are used for the anaglyph process can be substituted for parts  503  and  504  as can a neutral density filter for either part  503  or  504  to employ the Pulfrich (with one lens clear) selection technique. Diffraction type elements for the chromostereoscopic process can also be employed.  
         [0047]     An alternative to the frameless eyewear embodiments present here is presented because there is a substantial manufacturing capacity for so-called cardboard or paper eyewear. In cardboard or paper eyewear, the selection lenses are mounted onto or between sheets of stiff paper or cardboard stock.  FIGS. 6A and 6B  present alternate designs. Cardboard-framed eyewear  601  uses cardboard frame  602  in which selection lenses  603  and  604  are mounted. The lenses may be of any kind of appropriate stereoscopic selection filter (or lens). The frames themselves are intended to be thin and to approximate the frameless style of eyewear described heretofore. This design alternative may cost less when mounting selection lenses onto or within cardboard frames rather than using the frameless approach.  
         [0048]      FIG. 6A  can be employed in a manner similar to two embodiments as described above. The drop in place embodiment, between the eyes and the spectacles, as shown in  FIGS. 2A, 2B , and  2 C, may be provided. These drawings serve to illustrate the functionality of such a design fabricated from a relatively light material such as cardboard.  FIG. 6A  includes dashed line parts  203 R and  203 L that secure the 3D glasses and hold them in place.  
         [0049]     Secondly,  FIG. 6A  in combination with the perspective view in  FIG. 6B  show a variation that is functionally illustrated in  FIGS. 3A through 3C  and  FIGS. 4A through 4C  in which a curved hooked ledge  605  serves to secure the 3-D eyewear onto the spectacles. The ledge  605  may also be made of curved cardboard.  
         [0050]     The resultant design is an elegant, simple, attractive way to use temple-piece-free 3-D eyewear and a methodology for manufacturing such 3-D eyewear using circular polarization for image selection. This type of 3-D eyewear provides comfortable viewing of stereoscopic movies because so much of the population wears corrective glasses. The new eyewear does not have temple-pieces or nosepieces. The glasses drop into place between the user&#39;s eyes and her spectacles, or they hang on to the corrective spectacles by means of curved rims on either side of the spectacle frontpiece. Moreover, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the general approach to manufacturing, as well as the form factor of the glasses, can be applied to other selection techniques such as anaglyph, Pulfrich, and chromostereopsis.  
         [0051]     By the foregoing description, an improved 3-D stereoscopic eyewear system has been described. The foregoing description of specific embodiments reveals the general nature of the disclosure sufficiently that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt the system and method for various applications without departing from the general concept. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. The phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6