Patent Application
20120105747
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical system for displaying three-dimensional (3D) images, and more particularly, to an optical system which allows observers to enjoy 3D images from different positions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
3D displays have become very popular because they form 3D images in front of a viewer giving the feeling of a real environment. At present, a number of technologies have been invented to display 3D images; these technologies can be categorized broadly into two types: stereoscopic display and auto-stereoscopic display.
In stereoscopic display, a viewer needs to wear special glasses (such as shutter glasses) in order to visualize the 3D images, which becomes impractical for many applications such as outdoor display. An auto-stereoscopic display system allows the viewer to watch 3D images without wearing any special glasses. There are few technologies which are able to form auto-stereoscopic images, however, as most of the display systems are designed in such a way that a viewer must be at some specific point with respect to the screen, which is a limited design.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide an optical system for position-independent auto-stereoscopic display, to solve the above-mentioned problems.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, an optical system for displaying 3D images comprises a pixel array having a plurality of pixel elements, a lens module and a control unit. The lens module has a plurality of tunable lens elements and is disposed on the pixel array, where each of the tunable lens elements has a light incident surface facing towards a pixel element of the pixel array, and receives light emitted from the pixel element. The control unit is coupled to the lens module, and is utilized for controlling focal lengths of the tunable lens elements.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for displaying 3D images comprises: providing a pixel array having a plurality of pixel elements; providing a lens module having a plurality of tunable lens elements and disposed on the pixel array, where each tunable lens element has a light incident surface that faces a pixel element of the pixel array, and receives light emitted from the pixel element; and controlling focal lengths of the tunable lens elements.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and the claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, manufacturers may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “include”, “including”, “comprise”, and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . ” The terms “couple” and “coupled” are intended to mean either an indirect or a direct electrical connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.
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In addition, in this embodiment, each LC lens is disposed on a pixel element of the pixel array 110, and is controlled by one of the control signals Vc.
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In the optical system 100, the observer can watch 3D images without wearing any optical device such as shutter glasses. Furthermore, the observer does not need to be at some specific point, and instead can stand anywhere in front of the LC lens module 120 while still able to view the 3D image.
It is noted that, because the control signals Vc are determined according to depth information of image data to be displayed on the optical system 100 at a current time point, voltage levels of the control signals Vc (or a portion of the control signals Vc) will change when the frame changes.
In addition, although the LC lens module 120 serves as the lens module in this embodiment, it is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. In other embodiments, other type of lens module having tunable lens elements can be used to replace the LC lens module 120. This alternative design also falls within the scope of the present invention.
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Step 300: provide a pixel array having a plurality of pixel elements.
Step 302: provide a lens module having a plurality of tunable lens elements and disposed on the pixel array, where each of the tunable lens elements has a light incident surface that faces a pixel element of the pixel array, and receives light emitted from the pixel element.
Step 304: control focal lengths of the tunable lens elements.
Briefly summarized, in the optical system for displaying 3D images and the associated method of the present invention, a lens module having a plurality of tunable lens elements is disposed on a pixel array, where the focal lengths of the tunable lens elements can be controlled by control signals determined according to depth information of image data to be displayed on the optical system. Therefore, the observer can have the freedom to position themselves anywhere in front of the lens module to watch the 3D image.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.
