Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6903852?dq=7,328,163
Timestamp: 2017-05-24 05:38:31
Document Index: 611947119

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 130', 'arts 130', 'art 131', 'art 130', 'art 132', 'arts 130']

Patent US6903852 - Image-reproducing apparatus and image-reproducing method - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsAn optical member 7 is bonded, at its rear side 7 b, to a holographic stereogram 6. The front side 7 a of the optical member 7 consists of parallel triangular prisms. Illumination light 9 is applied to the front surface 7 a of the optical member 7 at a predetermined angle of, for example, 60°. The optical...http://www.google.com/patents/US6903852?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6903852 - Image-reproducing apparatus and image-reproducing methodAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS6903852 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/699,701Publication dateJun 7, 2005Filing dateNov 4, 2003Priority dateJul 19, 2000Fee statusPaidAlso published asCN1334494A, CN100435043C, DE60122632D1, DE60122632T2, EP1174751A2, EP1174751A3, EP1174751B1, US6738170, US6975440, US6977761, US6980338, US20020027680, US20040120021, US20050122553, US20050162720, US20050162721Publication number10699701, 699701, US 6903852 B2, US 6903852B2, US-B2-6903852, US6903852 B2, US6903852B2InventorsNobuhiro Kihara, Akira ShirakuraOriginal AssigneeSony CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (13), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (8), Classifications (16), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetImage-reproducing apparatus and image-reproducing method
US 6903852 B2Abstract
An optical member 7 is bonded, at its rear side 7 b, to a holographic stereogram 6. The front side 7 a of the optical member 7 consists of parallel triangular prisms. Illumination light 9 is applied to the front surface 7 a of the optical member 7 at a predetermined angle of, for example, 60°. The optical member 7 is made of for example, optical glass or transparent plastic. Each triangular prism has an incidence surface 8, to which the illumination light is applied at right angles. The illumination light is applied to the interface 22 between the optical member 7 and the holographic stereogram 6, at an incidence angle θ of, for example, 60°, thereby to suppress surface reflection of the illumination light 9 at the interface 22. Images(13) Claims(2)
an optical member having parallel prisms on a part of a front surface is bonded at the rear surface to the hologram or holographic stereogram, and illumination light is applied to the parallel prisms, in order to reproduce a 2- or 3-dimensional image from the hologram or holographic stereogram, the illumination light is applied to incident surfaces of the parallel prisms at a fixed incidence angle, the optical member has a light-guiding section for guiding the illumination light from the parallel prisms, while reflecting the illumination light, and the light-guiding section is tinted black at least at a part of an outer surface. 2. An image-reproducing method of for reproducing an image from a hologram or a holographic stereogram, in which are recorded either 2-dimensional image data or 3-dimensional image data, wherein:
an optical member having parallel prisms on a part of a front surface is bonded at the rear surface to the hologram or holographic stereogram, and illumination light is applied to the parallel prisms, thereby reproducing a 2- or 3-dimensional image from the hologram or holographic stereogram, the illumination light is applied to incident surfaces of the parallel prisms at a fixed incidence angle, the optical member has a light-guiding section for guiding the illumination light from the parallel prisms, while reflecting the illumination light, and the light-guiding section is tinted black at least at a part of an outer surface.
This is a divisional application of Ser. No. 09/906,672, field on Jul. 18, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,738,170.
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for reproducing a 2- or 3-dimensional image from a hologram or a holographic stereogram 1 on which two- or three-dimensional image data is recorded.
The holographic stereogram records image data representing rectangular element holograms that have been obtained by photographing all object, sequentially from different observation points that lie in the same horizontal plane. When an observer looks at the holographic stereogram, the two 2-dimensional images his left eye and right eye receive, respectively, are different a little. The observer therefore perceives parallax and sees a 3-dimensional image.
An ordinary hologram is spaced from an illumination light source for, reproducing a 3-dimensional image. A large space is required to reproduce the 3-dimensional image. To reproduce the 3-dimensional image in optimal conditions, the hologram and the light source need to have a particular positional relationship. This holds true of a holographic stereogram that consists of a plurality of element holograms.
If the hologram and the illumination light source are combined, no space is required for illumination. This helps to reduce the size of the apparatus for reproducing 3-dimensional images. In addition, a 3-dimensional image can always be reproduced in the best possible conditions because the hologram and the illumination light source have a fixed positional relation. A 3-dimensional image may be reproduced in such conditions from a so-called “edge-lit hologram.” A recording medium bonded to a transparent light-introducing block is used to reproduce a 3-dimensional image from an edge-lit hologram.
As shown in FIG. 3, the image-reproducing light 123 is incident on the one end 120 b of the block 120 at angle of 60°. Since the light 123 is thus applied to the hologram 121 though the light-introducing block 120, it is possible to prevent surface reflection at the interface between the hologram 121 and air. The larger the angle of incidence, the more readily the surface reflection can be prevented. In view of this it is considered that a compact apparatus can reproduce an image from the edge-lit hologram.
As pointed out above, the image-reproducing light 123 is incident on the one end 120 b of the block 120 at angle of 60°. The hologram 121 may have a length L of 30 mm and the one surface 120 a of the block 120 may have a length that is at least nearly equal to the length L. In this case, the light-introducing block 120 needs to be at least 17.3 mm thick.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing. An object of the invention is to provide an image-reproducing apparatus that is smaller and lighter than the conventional apparatus that uses a light-introducing block to reproduce an image from an edge-lit hologram. The apparatus can therefore be easy to transport and store. The invention can provide an image-reproducing method, too, which uses no light-introducing blocks to reproduce images.
In the image-reproducing apparatus, the illumination light is applied to an interface between the optical member and the hologram or holographic stereogram at a fixed incidence angle falling within a specific range, thereby to suppress surface reflection of the illumination light at the interface. More precisely, the fixed incidence angle ranges from 60° to 85°, with respect to a normal to the interface.
In the image-reproducing apparatus, the illumination light may be applied to an interface between the optical member and the hologram or holographic stereogram, at a fixed incidence angle falling within a specific range, thereby to suppress surface reflection of the illumination light at the interface. More precisely, the fixed incidence angle ranges from 60° to 85°, with respect to a normal to the interface.
Several embodiments of the present invention will be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, nonetheless. Various changes and modifications can be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention.
The first embodiment is an image-reproducing apparatus 5 shown in FIG. 4. The apparatus 5 is designed to reproduce a holographic stereogram recording 3-dimensional imaged data. As FIG. 4 shows, the apparatus comprises the holographic stereogram 6 and an optical member 7. The optical member 7 has a front side 7 a and a rear side 7 b opposing the front side 7 a. The front side 7 a consists of parallel triangular prisms, each having an incidence surface 8 and an inclined surface 23. The optical member 7 is bonded at its rear surface 7 b to the holographic stereogram 6. Illumination light 9 is applied to the front surface 7 a of the optical member 7 at a predetermined angle of, for example, 60°.
The optical member 7 is made of, for example, optical glass, plastic or the like. The optical member 7 has a plurality of incidence surfaces 8 on the front side 7 a. Each incidence surface 8 receives the illumination light 9 applied to it in the direction perpendicular to it. As FIG. 5 shows, the illumination light 9 is applied to the interface 22 between the holographic stereogram 6 and the optical member 7 at a predetermined incidence angle θ. The incidence angle θ is, for example, 60°, so that surface reflection can be prevented at the interface 22.
The incidence angle θ is one defined between the interface 22 and the normal H thereto. The angle between the surface 23 that each parallel triangular prism on the front side 7 a of the optical member 7 defines with respect to the interface 22 is 60°, like the above-mentioned incidence angle. If the illumination light 9 applied from the light source (not shown) consists of parallel beams, it is applied to the incidence surfaces 8 at 90°. This effectively suppresses surface reflection at the incidence surfaces 8. From the angle at which the illumination light is applied to the optical member 7 it is known that the incidence angle e should fall within the range of 60° to 85°.
The shorter the pitch p of the triangular prism of the optical in member 7, the better. Generally, it is sufficient to set the pitch p at 0.5 mm or less. In the present embodiment, the pitch p is 100 μm. Thus, the incidence surfaces 8 are arranged on the front side 7 a of the optical member 7, at intervals of 100 μm. The optical member 7 has a thickness d of 100 μm. It is thick enough to impart an adequate stiffness to the holographic stereogram 6. If supported firmly by the optical member, the holographic stereogram 6 can have desired optical properties.
The system is designed to prepare so-called “one-step holographic stereograms,” each being a hologram-recording medium on which the pattern formed by interference between the body light and the reference light is recorded. As shown in FIG. 6, the system comprises a data-processing section 1, a control computer 2 and a holographic stereogram printer 3. The section 1 processes the data to be recorded on the hologram-recording medium. The control computer 2 controls the other components of the system. The printer 3 has an optical system for preparing holographic stereograms.
The holographic stereogram printer 3 will be described ill detail, with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B. FIG. 7A is a plan view of the optical system incorporated in the holographic stereogram printer 3. FIG. 7B is a side view of the section of the optical system, which processes the body light.
The holographic stereogram printer 3 further comprises a cylindrical lens 34, a collimator lens 35, and a total reflection minor 36. The lenses 34 and 35 and the mirror 36 are arranged on the optical axis of the reference light L3, in the order they are mentioned. They constitute an optical system for processing the reference light L3. The collimator lens 35 converts the reference light L3 to parallel light. The mirror 36 reflects all parallel light applied from the collimator lens 35.
The light emerging from the display 41 is applied to the cylindrical lens 43. The lens 43 makes the light converge in a horizontal plane. A part of the light thus processed passes through the rectangular opening of the mask 42 and is applied, as body light, to the hologram-recording medium 30. Thus, the light projected from the display 41 is applied to the medium 30, in the form of a light beam that has a rectangular cross section. More correctly, the body light is incident at almost night angle to that surface of the medium 30, which faces away from the light-introducing block 37.
In the optical system described above, the optical path of the reference light been reflected by the half mirror 33 and applied to the medium 30 through the light-introducing block 37 has almost the same length as the optical path of the body light applied to the medium 30 through the display 41 after passing through the half minor 33. The reference light can interfere with the body light more than otherwise. This makes it possible to prepare a holographic stereogram from which a clear image may be reproduced.
The hologram-recording medium 30 records a holographic stereogram from which an image is reproduced not only by applying the light reflected by the half mirror 33, but also by applying the light that has passed through the half mirror 33. Namely, as shown in FIG. 8, the reference light La is totally reflected at the interface between the medium 30 and the air. The pattern formed by interference between the light Lc totally reflected and the body light Lb is recorded on the hologram-recording medium 30. Hence, a holographic stereogram from which a image can be reproduced by passing light through the medium 30 is recorded on the medium 30, too.
To be more specific, an optical member 7 is bonded at its rear side 7 b to a holographic stereogram 6 of the type shown in FIG. 4, thus forming a unit 90 shown in FIG. 9. The unit 90 is bent, forming a hollow cylindrical holographic stereogram 91 of an edge-lit type, the inner surface of which is defined by the optical member 7. As shown in FIG. 10, a light source 92 applies illumination light to a conical prism 93. The prism 93 converts the light to parallel light. The parallel light is applied to the inner surface of the holographic stereogram 91 at incidence angle of 60°, thereby reproducing a 3-dimensional image.
In this apparatus, the holographic stereogram 6 and the optical member 7, both being flat, are combined and bent into a hollow cylindrical holographic stereogram 91 of an edge-lit type. The light source 92 applies illumination light to the conical prism 93, which converts the light to parallel light. The parallel light is applied to the inner surface of the holographic stereogram 91 at an incidence angle of 60°. A 3-dimensional image is thereby formed, which looks as if a real body is existing in the hollow cylinder.
The third embodiment of the invention will be described, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. The third embodiment is an image-reproducing apparatus, too. In the first embodiment, the illumination light 9 emitted from the light source is applied to the holographic stereogram 6 as is illustrated in FIG. 11. That is, the light 9 is applied to the upper, middle and lower parts 130, 131 and 132 of the holographic stereogram 6, at the uniform incidence angle of 60° with respect to the normal H to the stereogram 6. Thus, the light 9 is applied to the optical member 7′ at incidence angle of 30° (=90°−60°). By contrast, in the third embodiment, the illumination light 134 is applied from the light source 133 to the upper, middle and lower parts 130, 131 and 132 of a holographic stereogram 6 at different incidence angles, as is illustrated in FIG. 12.
As shown in FIG. 12, the illumination light 134 may define an angle of 30° with respect to the middle part 131 of the stereogram 6. In this case, the angle A between the light 134 and the upper part 130 of the stereogram 6 is smaller than 30°, and the angle B between the light 134 and the lower part 132 is greater than 30°. The incidence surfaces of the triangular prisms on the front side of the optical member 7′ are inclined at different angles that accord with the different incidence angles at which the light 134 is applied to the upper, middle and lower parts 130, 131 and 132 of the stereogram 6. Hence, the third embodiment can reproduce 3-dimensional image of high quality in many cases.
With the fourth embodiment it is unnecessary to convert the illumination light emitted from the light source to parallel light that is to be applied to the holographic stereogram at an incidence angle of, for example, 60°. Therefore, there is no need to use such a conical prism as is used in the second embodiment. The fourth embodiment can yet form a 3-dimensional image that looks as if a real body were existing in the hollow cylinder.
In the apparatus 140, the illumination light 146 applied to the prisms 142 passes through the optical member 143, while being totally reflected therein, as is illustrated ill FIG. 14. Thereafter, the illumination light 146 interferes with the light 149 diffracted as it passes through the holographic stereogram 141. Therefore, an observer 150 can see a 3-dimensional image.
The sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The sixth embodiment is also an apparatus for reproducing a 3-dimensional image from a holographic stereogram. In the sixth embodiment a holographic stereogram and an optical member, both being identical to those used in the fifth embodiment, are bent into a hollow cylindrical holographic stereogram of edge-lit type. The stereogram thus made is used to reproduce a 3-dimensional image.
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