Patent ID: 8446514

Claim:
A method for capturing an image, comprising: providing a switchable imaging apparatus having an image display mode and an image capture mode, the switchable imaging apparatus including: a display screen having a first display state and a second transparent state wherein the display screen is at least partially transparent, the display screen having a front side oriented toward a scene and an opposing back side and including an array of display pixels energizable to provide a displayed image when the display screen is in the first display state; an optical beam deflector switchable between a first non-deflecting state and a second deflecting state, such that when the optical beam deflector is in the first non-deflecting state, light from the scene passes through the optical beam deflector in an undeflected direction, and when the optical beam deflector is in the second deflecting state, light from the scene is deflected from a first optical axis perpendicular to the front side of the display screen onto a second optical axis parallel to the front surface of the display screen; a camera positioned along the second optical axis in a location peripheral to the display screen; and a controller which synchronously switches the display screen between the first display state and the second transparent state, and the optical beam deflector between the first non-deflecting state and the second deflecting state and initiates capture of an image by the camera; setting the switchable imaging apparatus to the image capture mode by using the controller to set the display screen to the second transparent state and the optical beam deflector to the second deflecting state; using the camera to capture an image of the scene, the captured image being represented by an array of pixel values; setting the switchable imaging apparatus to the image display mode by using the controller to set the display screen to the first display state and the optical beam deflector to the first non-deflecting state; and displaying an image on the display screen by energizing the display pixels in accordance with pixel values representing the image.