Three dimensional liquid crystal shutter glasses

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6278501
  • Patent Number
    6,278,501
  • Date Filed
    Monday, November 22, 1999
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, August 21, 2001
    25 years ago
Abstract
One amendatory structure of 3D LCS glasses, it is further a pair of 3D glasses being designed based on human ergonomic that provides a more light-weighted and comfortable wearing condition, that is, the present invention allows users to enjoy many different types of 3D applications by wearing the present invention for a longer period of time. By means of three individual parts, including a frame, a shelf and an nose-rack, the present invention can be assembled by connecting each part, or disassembled into three separate parts. The frame of the present invention is designed to be rotary and can be flipped up and down, while the nose-rack is designed to be adjusted vertically. The best wearing condition can be achieved by adjusting position of the frame and the nose-rack.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




This invention names one amendatory structure of 3D LCS (Liquid Crystal Shutter) glasses with improved design. The amendatory structure of 3D LCS glasses consists of several components that include specially designed links. The improved 3D LCS glasses provides the most comfortable wearing condition by allowing users to dynamically adjust the glasses using those specially designed links.




2. Background of the Invention




The drawback of the existing 3D LCS glasses is that they were not designed based on ergonomics. They were just designed as goggles to view 3D images. In consequence, those types of 3D LCS glasses do not adapt very well to different shapes of human faces, and thus cause uncomfortable wearing condition for most of the users. In addition, the bulky frame and extra weight of the existing 3D LCS glasses make marketing of such glasses more difficult.




Therefore, a need exists for a new 3D LCS glasses design that improves the wearing condition and outlook of the glasses in order to gain more public acceptance of such glasses in many different areas where stereoscopic applications are available. The present disclosure, one amendatory structure of 3D LCS glasses, provides an improved design that is more light-weighted, comfortable, adjustable and stylish to all 3D glasses users.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention that is called one amendatory structure of 3D LCS glasses is designed based on human ergonomics for providing end users with comfortable wearing condition and compacted physical size. This new structure consists of three parts: a glasses frame, a shelf and a nose-rack. A 3D LCS glasses can be easily assembled by connecting those 3 parts together through the specially design links. The curved and elastic shelf can easily fit into different types of human faces. In addition, the position of the nose-rack can be easily adjusted to obtain the most comfortable wearing condition by the end users. The frame that includes the LC shutter is also designed to be rotary and can be flipped up and down according to different wearing situations. The detail of this invention will be described hereafter.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a solid diagram of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a solid diagram of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 3

is a solid diagram of a frame according to the present invention.





FIG. 4

A is a top view showing the spatial layout of liquid crystal shutters and other components according to the present invention.





FIG. 4

B is a lateral view showing the spatial layout of liquid crystal shutters and other components according to the present invention.





FIG. 5

A and


5


B are solid diagrams of the nose-rack according to the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




The present invention that is called one amendatory structure of 3D LCS glasses has overcome the aforesaid disadvantages of the conventional 3D glasses. The improved 3D LCS glasses is designed according to human ergonomics and provides more convenient and comfortable wear conditions to end users. The present invention is a new structure of 3D LCS glasses that consists of three basic parts: a frame, a shelf and a noserack. This new structure has the following characteristics.




Easy Assembly and Disassembly




With the specially designed link for each part, the present invention allows a 3D glasses to be easily assembled by connecting each part, or disassembled into three separate parts.




Design for Comfort




The elastic arm on the shelf can be bent to fit and softly hold different shapes of human faces, and the nose-rack can be adjusted vertically when connecting to the shelf to create the most comfortable wearing condition for the end users.




Design for Convenience




The frame that contains the LC shutter is also designed to be rotary and can be flipped up and down according to the different viewing situations.




More detailed illustration about the first preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.


1


. It is a solid diagram showing the structure of the first embodiment according to the present invention.




The improved 3D glasses can be separated to three demountable parts including a shelf


10


, a frame


20


and a nose-rack


50


. A joint


11


furnished on the shelf


20


links the frame


20


and the nose-rack


50


, and allows the frame


20


to be rotary and the nose-rack


50


to be movable for different wearing conditions.




Referring to

FIG. 1

, the frame


20


consists of an outer frame


25


and an inner frame


24


. Two LC shutters, the right LC shutter


21


and a left LC shutter


22


, are embedded inside the frame


20


. The mechanism to build those two LC shutters inside the frame will be described hereafter. We first describe the linkage between the shelf


10


and the frame


20


.




The shelf


10


and the frame


20


are connected through a joint


11


and a connector


23


, which are attached to the shelf


10


and the frame


20


respectively. The connector


23


consists of a shaft


231


and two convex plates


232


and is set on the middle of the inner frame


24


. The shaft


231


is fixed and sup ported by the two convex plates


232


. By inserting the shaft


231


into the joint


11


, the frame


20


can be held by the shelf


10


and is capable of flipping up and down.




The shelf


10


consists of two ear-racks


15


, a connecting rack


16


and a joint


11


. The connecting rack


16


connects two ear-racks


15


and the joint


11


. There is a L-shaped hook


18


furnished on the proper position of each ear-rack


15


. The L-shaped hook


18


is used to affix a conductive cable


465


to the ear-rack


15


. The functions of the conductive cable


465


will be described hereafter in FIG.


3


.




The joint


11


is set on the middle of the connecting rack


16


. The joint


11


consists of a connecting plate


13


and a hooked cylinder


12


. With a proper breach opened on the rim, the hooked cylinder


12


can buckle the shaft


231


of the frame


20


tightly and allows the frame


20


to be rotary for being flipped up and down. A connecting hole


14


with a sliding ditch


17


is cut from the connecting plate


13


. The connecting hole


14


is used for sliding the nose-rack


50


vertically to connect the shelf


10


and the nose-rack


50


. The best adjoining condition between the nose-rack


50


and the human nose can be easily obtained by adjusting the nose-rack


50


up or down through the connecting hole


14


.




Referring to

FIG. 2

, there is the solid diagram of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. The frame


200


and the shelf


100


are connected through a joint housing


251


and a connector


110


, which are attached to the frame


200


and the shelf


100


respectively. The connector


110


consists of a shaft


120


and a connecting plate


130


and is set on the middle of the shelf


100


. By inserting the shaft


120


into the joint housing


251


, the frame


200


can be held by the shelf


100


and is capable of flipping up


4


and down.




The joint housing


251


is set on the middle of the inner frame


240


. The joint housing


251


consists of two side plate


252


, one front plate


254


and two back plate


253


. With a proper and cylindrical cavity formed by the plates


252


,


253


and


254


, the joint housing


251


can buckle the shaft


120


of the shelf


100


tightly and allows the frame


200


to be rotary for being flipped up and down.




The shelf


100


is similar to the one of the first embodiment. The shelf


100


consists of two ear-racks


150


, a connecting rack


160


and a connector


110


. The connecting rack


160


connects two ear-racks


150


and the connector


110


. There is a L-shaped hook


180


furnished on the proper position of each ear-rack


150


. The L-shaped hook


180


is used to affix a conductive cable


465


to the ear-rack


150


. Again, the functions of the conductive cable


465


will be described hereafter in

FIG. 3. A

connecting hole


140


with a sliding ditch


170


is cut from the connecting plate


130


. The connecting hole


140


is used to connect the shelf


100


and the nose-rack


50


. By sliding the nose-rack


50


along the connecting hole


140


, the best adjoining condition between the nose-rack


50


and the human nose can be easily obtained.




Referring to

FIG. 3

, there is a solid diagram of a frame according to the present invention. The frame


400


consists of an outer frame


490


and an inner frame


491


. The inner frame


491


is used to accommodate the following components: the left LC shutter


410


, the right LC shutter


420


, the PCB (Printed Circuit Board)


460


, conductive rubber pad


470


and conductive cable


465


. The outer frame


490


is a cover that is used to pack all of the mentioned components tightly with the inner frame


491


. The inner frame


491


itself includes two glass basins


414


,


424


, two rubber pad breaches


413


,


423


, one PCB basin


480


and one cable groove


450


. The two glass basins


414


and


424


are used to install the left LC shutter


410


and the right LC shutter


420


respectively. Several tiny bricks


411


,


412


,


421


,


422


furnished on the proper sides of the glasses basins


414


,


424


are used to align and fix the position of both LC shutters


410


,


420


. The two rubber pad breaches


413


and


423


opened on the near opposite rim of the two glass basins


414


and


424


are used to locate the conductive rubber pad


470


. The PCB basin


480


furnished between the two glass basins


414


,


424


is used to install the PCB


460


. The upper positioning plank


430


and the lower positioning plank


440


furnished on the proper positions of the PCB basin


480


is used to fix the position of the PCB


460


. The cable groove


450


set at the top position of the inner frame


491


is used to locate the conductive cable


465


.




The PCB


460


includes one right control line


461


, one ground line


462


and one left control line


463


. The conductive cable


465


connects all three lines


461


,


462


,


463


to the outside of the frame


400


. The electric conductivity between the LC shutter


410


,


420


and PCB


460


can be conducted through the conductive rubber pad


470


. The conductive rubber pad


470


is set on top of the PCB


460


, the electrodes


401


,


403


of the left LC shutter


410


and the electrodes


402


,


404


of the right LC shutter


420


.




Referring to

FIG. 4

,

FIG. 4A

is the top view showing the spatial layout of LC shutters and other components according to the present invention, and

FIG. 4B

is the lateral view of the spatial layout of the LC shutters. The components illustrated in

FIG. 4

are the left LC


410


, the right LC shutter


420


, the PCB


460


and the conductive rubber pad


470


. There are one left signal electrode


401


and the first ground electrode


403


set on the glass of the left crystal shutter


410


, and there are one right signal electrode


402


and the second ground electrode


404


set on the glass of the right crystal shutter


420


. The PCB


460


includes the right control line


461


, the ground line


462


and the left control line


463


. The positions of these three lines


461


,


462


,


463


are aligned with the four electrodes


401


,


402


,


403


,


404


in such a way that the right control line


461


is matched with the right signal electrode


402


at one end, the left control line


463


is matched with the left signal electrode


401


at the other end. In addition, the ground line


462


is matched with the first and second ground electrodes


403


,


404


. The U-shaped conductive rubber pad


470


bridges between the left and right crystal shutters


410


,


420


. Using the above connection, the right and left control lines


461


,


463


can conduct through the right signal electrode


402


and the left signal electrode


401


respectively. Besides, the ground line


462


also conducts through the first and second ground electrode


403


,


404


.




Referring to

FIG. 5

, there is the solid diagram of the nose-rack according to the present invention. The nose-rack


50


is shown as a front view in

FIG. 5A

, and a rear view in FIG.


5


B. There are two nose-frames


51


on the nose-rack


50


which extends up with a straight plate


52


to form one upside-down Y-shaped structure. A half round convexity


53


and a stopper


54


are furnished on the front of the straight plate


52


. By the mean of the installment, the nose-rack


50


can connect tightly with the shelf through the connecting hole. The end users can also adjust the altitude of the nose-rack


50


in the shelf to obtain the most comfortable wearing condition.




By the above description, the present invention provides comfortable, light-weighted, adjustable and low-cost 3D LCS glasses design for viewing many different types of 3D applications. While this invention has been described in what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. Three dimensional liquid crystal shutter (LCS) glasses comprising:a shelf having a joint to connect a frame and a nose-rack; a frame having a connector that is connected to the joint of the shelf; and a Y-shaped nose-rack having a straight plate that is connected to the joint of the shelf, wherein the frame includes: a left liquid crystal shutter having glasses and liquid crystal, the glasses further containing a left signal electrode and a first ground electrode thereon; a right liquid crystal shutter having glasses and liquid crystal, the glasses further containing a right signal electrode and a second ground electrode thereon; a printed circuit board between the left and right liquid crystal shutters, and having one left control line, one right control line and one ground line, where a first end of each of the left control line, the right control line and the ground line is connected to one three-wire conductive cable and second ends of the left control line, the right control line and the ground line are connected to the left signal electrode, the right signal electrode, and the first and second ground electrodes respectively; a conductive rubber pad, used as a conductor between the printed circuit board and the left and right liquid crystal shutters, further conducting electricity between the left control line of the printed circuit board and the left signal electrode of the left liquid crystal shutter, further conducting electricity between the right control line of the printed circuit board and the right signal electrode of the right liquid crystal shutter, and further conducting electricity between the ground line of the printed circuit board, the first ground electrode of the left liquid crystal shutter and the second ground electrode of the right liquid crystal shutter; a three-wire conductive cable, connected to the first ends of the left control line, the right control line and the ground line, and extending out of the frame; an inner frame, containing two glass basins, one printed circuit board basin and one cable groove, wherein the two glass basins locate the left and right liquid crystal shutters, the printed circuit board basin locates the printed circuit board, and the cable groove locates the three-wire conductive cable; and, an outer frame, for housing the left and right liquid crystal shutters, the printed circuit board, the conductive rubber pad and the three-wire conductive cable by combining with the inner frame.
  • 2. The three dimensional LCS glasses of claim 1, wherein each of said two glass basins have a plurality of positioning bricks on the inner frame for the alignment of said left and right liquid crystal shutters, each of said two glass basins further having two rubber pad breaches for locating said conductive rubber pad.
  • 3. The three dimensional LCS glasses of claim 1, wherein the printed circuit board basin has a plurality of positioning planks for alignment of said printed circuit board.
  • 4. The three dimensional LCS glasses of claim 1, wherein the cable groove comprises an elongated straight track extending across the inner frame adjacent to said two glass basins and said printed circuit board basin.
  • 5. Three dimensional liquid crystal shutter (LCS) glasses comprising:a shelf having a joint to connect a frame and a nose-rack; an inner frame having a connector that is connected to the joint of the shelf; and a Y-shaped nose-rack having a straight plate that is connected to the joint of the shelf, wherein the connector includes a shaft and two convex plates located in a middle of the inner frame, the shaft being fixed and supported by the two convex plates and embedded into an hooked cylinder of the joint that is furnished on the shelf.
  • 6. The three dimensional LCS glasses of claim 5, wherein the shelf comprises one connecting rack, two ear-racks and the joint, the connecting rack linking the two ear-racks and the joint, the joint located on a middle of the connecting rack and comprising one connecting plate and one hooked cylinder, the connecting plate connecting the connecting rack and the hooked cylinder, the hooked cylinder having a breach to firmly engage the shaft of the frame.
  • 7. The three dimensional LCS glasses of claim 6, wherein the connecting plate has a connecting hole with a sliding ditch at one side to connect the nose-rack.
  • 8. The three dimensional LCS glasses of claim 7, wherein the nose-rack comprises two connected nose-frames, and one straight plate protruding upwardly from the nose-frames, the straight plate having a sliding stopper furnished laterally at a middle of the straight plate and a sliding convexity extending longitudinally from a top to the sliding stopper, the nose-rack being connected with the joint of the shelf by inserting the straight plate into the connecting hole.
  • 9. Three dimensional liquid crystal shutter (LCS) glasses comprising:a shelf having a connector to connect a frame and a nose-rack; a frame having a joint housing connected to the connector of the shelf; and a Y-shaped nose-rack having a straight plate that is connected to the connector of the shelf, wherein the joint housing is located on a middle of an inner frame and includes two side plates, one front plate and two back plates which form a cylindrical cavity, the joint housing further firmly buckling the shaft of the connector furnished on the shelf.
  • 10. The three dimensional LCS glasses of claim 9, wherein the shelf comprises one connecting rack, two ear-racks and one connector, the connecting rack linking the two ear-racks and the connector, the connector located on a middle of the connecting rack and including one connecting plate and one shaft, the connecting plate linking the connecting rack and the shaft, whereby the shaft is firmly inserted into the cylindrical cavity of the joint housing of the frame.
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