Patent Document ID: 5475511
Application ID: 08076441
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of calculating views from each portion of a flat recording plane which can be used to form a three-dimensional image which straddles the recording plane, comprising the steps of: defining a vertical center line which lies on said recording plane, dividing said recording plane into a plurality of contiguous, narrow, but tall elements, collecting a plurality of views of an object scene from observation points which lie on an arc of a circle centered on the said center line, representing each of said views as an array of viewplane pixels, dividing each viewplane into columns of viewplane pixels, for each of said elements, defining a window at a distance from the recording plane, each window being divided into an array of window pixels, assigning the pixels in each column of viewplane pixels to a window of one of the elements, wherein the location of the element is determined by the equation EQU a=dx'.sub.p /(dcos.alpha.-x'.sub.p sin.alpha.) where a is the horizontal distance in the recording plane between said center line and the element, x'.sub.p is the horizontal distance in the viewplane between the viewplane column and a central column in the viewplane, .varies. is the angle between a line which is perpendicular to the recording plane, and a horizontal line joining the viewpoint and the center line, and d is a selected constant, relocating each pixel in said column of viewplane pixels to a pixel location in a column of window pixels of the window defined for said element, wherein this location is determined by the equations ##EQU15## and the intensity value of a window pixel is derived from the intensity value of a corresponding viewplane pixel, where x.sub.p and y.sub.p are the horizontal and vertical distances of the window pixel from a central point in the window, y is the vertical distance of the viewplane pixel from a central point in the viewplane, and z.sub.p is a selected constant, and determining intensity values for the window pixels in each said window, which can be used to construct a three dimensional image.