Patent ID: 8514272

Claim:
Directional illumination unit for an autostereoscopic display, where the illumination unit comprises a surface-emitting illumination means and an imaging means, and which is controlled by a tracking and image controller and which alternately images modulated bundles of rays to at least one observer, whose eyes can be in various positions in relation to the image display means, in the form of visibility regions with an extent that is similar to the size of an eye pupil, where the image display means, which have a pixel structure, modulate the bundles of rays which are emitted by the illumination unit with sequences of stereoscopic images, comprising: deflection means being disposed in front of the image display means on the optical path with respect to the propagation of light of the illumination unit, which comprise at least one array of electrowetting cells, the size of the electrowetting cells being larger than the size of the pixels, which can be addressed discretely at least in groups by the tracking and image controller and where their optical refraction behaviour is controllable, and where they realise at least a controllable prism function in order to adapt the exit direction of the bundles of rays sequentially and in synchronism with the alternately modulated bundles of rays such that they are directed at the eye position which corresponds with the currently modulated stereoscopic image, and where they realise an additional controllable lens function in order to adapt the visibility regions depending on the distance of the observer eyes to the image display means.