Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080204854 | Electrostatically-Controlled Diffraction Gratings Using Ionic Electrophoresis - A diffraction grating for which the intensity and/or direction of the diffracted light is electronically modulated using the electrophoresis of an index-modifying species. Index-modifying dye ions are dissolved in an electrophoretic medium maintained adjacent the diffraction grating. Application of a voltage across the medium moves many of the ions into the region adjacent the grating such that the ions absorb the incident light or otherwise modify the local index of refraction so as to change the optical characteristics of the diffracted light. Application of an opposite voltage across the medium moves many of the ions away from the grating, allowing light rays to diffract in a different manner when encountering the grating. | 08-28-2008 |
20080284677 | Modular Electronic Displays - Modular displays are made up of arrays of modules that include light sources and light modulators. The modules may include control circuits that perform some image processing functions. The modules may illuminate a screen directly or may include optical systems that project light onto a screen. | 11-20-2008 |
20080291362 | Diffuser for Light From Light Source Array and Displays Incorporating Same - An optical structure placeable between a backlight array of point light sources and a planar display. The structure distributes light emitted by the point light sources to uniformly illuminate the plane of the display, without introducing significant viewing parallax. The emitted light is partially collimated within a preferred angular viewing range, maximizing the display's luminance when viewed from the normal direction. The structure is highly reflective, such that a substantial portion of any non-emitted light rays are internally reflected by the structure, increasing the likelihood that those rays will be subsequently emitted by the structure. | 11-27-2008 |
20090034867 | ENHANCING DYNAMIC RANGES OF IMAGES - Methods and apparatus according to various aspects take as input image data in a lower-dynamic-range (LDR) format and produce as output enhanced image data having a dynamic range greater than that of the input image data (i.e. higher-dynamic range (HDR) image data). In some embodiments, the methods are applied to video data and are performed in real-time (i.e. processing of video frames to enhance the dynamic range of the video frames is completed at least on average at the frame rate of the video signal). | 02-05-2009 |
20090034868 | ENHANCING DYNAMIC RANGES OF IMAGES - Methods and apparatus according to various aspects take as input image data in a lower-dynamic-range (LDR) format and produce as output enhanced image data having a dynamic range greater than that of the input image data (i.e. higher-dynamic range (HDR) image data). In some embodiments, the methods are applied to video data and are performed in real-time (i.e. processing of video frames to enhance the dynamic range of the video frames is completed at least on average at the frame rate of the video signal). | 02-05-2009 |
20090046037 | HIGH RESOLUTION DISPLAY OF 3D IMAGES - A 3D display has a backlight, image panel, lens array, and aperture mask. The lens array has a plurality of converging lenses having optical axes perpendicular to the image panel. The aperture mask has a plurality of electro-optic elements. Each element is aligned closely proximate to a corresponding one of the lenses and is selectably switchable between “on” to permit passage of light rays through the element, or “off” to prevent passage of light rays through the element. The elements are arranged in subsets of adjacent elements. A controller electronically coupled to the image panel and to the aperture mask repetitively selects an electro-optic element in each subset, switches the selected elements “on”, switches all other elements in each subset “off”, and applies to the image panel a selected plurality of representations of an image, each representation corresponding to a plurality of different viewing directions of the image. | 02-19-2009 |
20090146582 | Colour rendering in compact fluorescent lamps - Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are characterized by impaired colour rendering, due to their low illumination capability near the blood-red edge of the visible spectrum. Red light output by a light emitting diode (LED) has a relatively narrow spectral distribution, and LEDs are able to produce red light with reasonable efficiency. Blending the light output of a CFL with a small amount of blood-red light emitted by one or more inexpensive LEDs improves colour rendering, while reducing the overall energy cost of operating the CFL-LED hybrid lamp. | 06-11-2009 |
20090190237 | RETROREFLECTIVE OPTICAL COLLIMATION LAYER AND DISPLAY DEVICES INCORPORATING SAME - A display comprises a backlight comprising a plurality of individually-controllable light emitters, a light modulator comprising a plurality of individually-controllable elements, and, a retro-reflective optical layer positioned between the backlight and the light modulator. The retro-reflective optical layer is configured to pass light incident thereon at an angle with respect to a normal to the retro-reflective optical layer of less than a threshold angle φ, and reflect light incident thereon at an angle with respect to a normal to the retro-reflective optical layer of greater than φ in a direction opposite and generally parallel to an incoming direction of incident light. | 07-30-2009 |
20090262414 | IONIC ELECTROPHORESIS IN TIR-MODULATED REFLECTIVE IMAGE DISPLAYS - A reflective display having a plurality of transparent hemi-beads ( | 10-22-2009 |
20100085627 | MICROLENS-ASSISTED BRIGHTNESS ENHANCEMENT IN REFLECTIVE IMAGE DISPLAYS - A reflective display having a light reflector ( | 04-08-2010 |
20100128340 | BRIGHTNESS ENHANCEMENT BY FLUID INTERFACE DEFORMATION IN TIR-MODULATED DISPLAYS - A reflective display having a plurality of transparent hemi-beads ( | 05-27-2010 |
20100198562 | STRIPWISE CONSTRUCTION OF 3D CURVED SURFACES - A 3D structure approximating a 3D curved surface having non-zero Gaussian curvature over a portion of the surface. The structure is formed of a plurality of thin strips ( | 08-05-2010 |
20100205125 | IDENTIFYING INVENTION FEATURE PERMUTATIONS FOR A REASONABLE NUMBER OF PATENT APPLICATION CLAIMS - Permutations of features of an invention are ranked in accordance with factors such as importance and specificity to identify a reasonable number of (i.e. 20 or fewer) permutations as candidates for structuring a corresponding number of claims for a patent application. The identified permutations desirably include permutations corresponding to claims of broad scope, claims of narrow scope, and claims of intermediate scope; and exclude illogical or impractical permutations of features. | 08-12-2010 |
20100214282 | APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING LIGHT SOURCE MODULATION IN DUAL MODULATOR DISPLAYS - Dual modulator displays are disclosed incorporating a phosphorescent plate interposed in the optical path between a light source modulation layer and a display modulation layer. Spatially modulated light output from the light source modulation layer impinges on the phosphorescent plate and excites corresponding regions of the phosphorescent plate which in turn emit light having different spectral characteristics than the light output from the light source modulation layer. Light emitted from the phosphorescent plate is received and further modulated by the display modulation layer to provide the ultimate display output. | 08-26-2010 |
20100254010 | ADAPTIVE SUNLIGHT REDIRECTOR - Longitudinally adjacent plane mirrors ( | 10-07-2010 |
20110227898 | DIFFUSER FOR LIGHT FROM LIGHT SOURCE ARRAY AND DISPLAYS INCORPORATING SAME - An optical structure placeable between a backlight array of point light sources and a planar display. The structure distributes light emitted by the point light sources to uniformly illuminate the plane of the display, without introducing significant viewing parallax. The emitted light is partially collimated within a preferred angular viewing range, maximizing the display's luminance when viewed from the normal direction. The structure is highly reflective, such that a substantial portion of any non-emitted light rays are internally reflected by the structure, increasing the likelihood that those rays will be subsequently emitted by the structure. | 09-22-2011 |
20110304220 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DIPOLE ENHANCED INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSFER - An inductive power transfer apparatus is disclosed. A transmitter generates a first time varying magnetic field. A receiver is separated from the transmitter by a gap, but is located with the first time varying magnetic field. The receiver comprises: a conductor; and a receiver magnet located in the first time varying magnetic field and supported for movement in response to the first time varying magnetic field. The conductor and receiver are positioned relative to one another such that movement of the receiver magnet creates a second time-varying magnetic field in a vicinity of the conductor to thereby induce current in the conductor. | 12-15-2011 |
20120120131 | EDGE LIT LED BASED LOCALLY DIMMED DISPLAY - A display has a screen which incorporates a light modulator. The screen may be a front projection screen or a rear-projection screen. The screen is illuminated with light from a light source comprising an array of controllable light-emitters. The controllable-emitters and elements of the light modulator may be controlled to adjust the intensity of light emanating from corresponding areas on the screen. The display may provide a high dynamic range. | 05-17-2012 |
20120140446 | Optical Mixing and Shaping System for Display Backlights and Displays Incorporating the Same - A backlight ( | 06-07-2012 |
20120169791 | Displays with a Backlight Incorporating Reflecting Layer - Displays comprise light control layers ( | 07-05-2012 |
20120176399 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CONVERTING IMAGES FROM LOW DYNAMIC RANGE TO HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE - Aspects of the invention provide systems and methods for converting a digital image represented in a lower bit depth representation to a higher bit depth representation. A saturation region is identified, where a color model value of the pixels in the saturation region is above an upper saturation threshold or below a lower saturation threshold. The color model value for each pixel in the saturation region is then adjusted by a corresponding adjustment. The magnitude of the adjustment for each pixel is based on characteristics of the image data. | 07-12-2012 |
20120218324 | RAPID IMAGE RENDERING ON DUAL-MODULATOR DISPLAYS - Apparatus and methods are provided that employ one or more of a variety of techniques for reducing the time required to display high resolution images on a high dynamic range display having a light source layer and a display layer. In one technique, the image resolution is reduced, an effective luminance pattern is determined for the reduced resolution image, and the resolution of the effective luminance pattern is then increased to the resolution of the display layer. In another technique, the light source layer's point spread function is decomposed into a plurality of components, and an effective luminance pattern is determined for each component. The effective luminance patterns are then combined to produce a total effective luminance pattern. Additional image display time reduction techniques are provided. | 08-30-2012 |
20120237136 | ENHANCING DYNAMIC RANGES OF IMAGES - Methods and apparatus according to various aspects take as input image data in a lower-dynamic-range (LDR) format and produce as output enhanced image data having a dynamic range greater than that of the input image data (i.e. higher-dynamic range (HDR) image data). In some embodiments, the methods are applied to video data and are performed in real-time (i.e. processing of video frames to enhance the dynamic range of the video frames is completed at least on average at the frame rate of the video signal). | 09-20-2012 |
20120257143 | DIFFUSER FOR LIGHT FROM LIGHT SOURCE ARRAY AND DISPLAYS INCORPORATING SAME - An optical structure placeable between a backlight array of point light sources and a planar display. The structure distributes light emitted by the point light sources to uniformly illuminate the plane of the display, without introducing significant viewing parallax. The emitted light is partially collimated within a preferred angular viewing range, maximizing the display's luminance when viewed from the normal direction. The structure is highly reflective, such that a substantial portion of any non-emitted light rays are internally reflected by the structure, increasing the likelihood that those rays will be subsequently emitted by the structure. | 10-11-2012 |
20130021394 | LOCALLY DIMMED DISPLAY - A locally dimmed display has a spatial light modulator illuminated by a light source. The spatial light modulator is illuminated with a low resolution version of a desired image. The illumination may comprise a series of lighting elements that vary smoothly from one element to another at the spatial light modulator. | 01-24-2013 |
20130148037 | PROJECTION DISPLAYS - A locally dimmed display has a spatial light modulator illuminated by a light source. The spatial light modulator is illuminated with a low resolution version of a desired image. The illumination may comprise a series of lighting elements that vary smoothly from one element to another at the spatial light modulator. | 06-13-2013 |
20130169701 | DISPLAY WITH RED, GREEN, AND BLUE LIGHT SOURCES - A display has a screen which incorporates a light modulator. The screen may be a front projection screen or a rear-projection screen. The screen is illuminated with light from a light source comprising an array of controllable light-emitters. The controllable-emitters and elements of the light modulator may be controlled to adjust the intensity of light emanating from corresponding areas on the screen. The display may provide a high dynamic range. | 07-04-2013 |
20130222708 | Optical Mixing and Shaping System for Display Backlights and Displays Incorporating the Same - A backlight for a display comprises a plurality of independently controllable light sources and inclined surfaces inclining in a radially outward direction from each light source for shaping the distribution of emitted light. The light sources may each comprise a group of differently-colored light emitters. The backlight may include light integrators configured to mix light of the differently-colored light emitters. Inclined surfaces for shaping the distribution of emitted light may be arranged around exits of the light integrators. | 08-29-2013 |
20140029244 | Parallax Reduction - Parallax in an optical device is reduced by apply one or a combination of several disclosed techniques, including reduced solid angle or increased collimation of light sources, increased diffusion/scattering at an output of the device, and/or reflective structures for collimation and containment of reflected light. The techniques are advantageously applied to a backlight LCD display, and particularly to high dynamic range dual modulation displays. | 01-30-2014 |
20140064634 | ENHANCING DYNAMIC RANGES OF IMAGES - Methods and apparatus according to various aspects take as input image data in a lower-dynamic-range (LDR) format and produce as output enhanced image data having a dynamic range greater than that of the input image data (i.e. higher-dynamic range (HDR) image data). In some embodiments, the methods are applied to video data and are performed in real-time (i.e. processing of video frames to enhance the dynamic range of the video frames is completed at least on average at the frame rate of the video signal). | 03-06-2014 |
20140118425 | RAPID IMAGE RENDERING ON DUAL-MODULATOR DISPLAYS - A method for estimating an effective luminance pattern representing a distribution of projected light in a display apparatus involves determining driving values for one or more light sources arranged to project light. The light sources are solid-state light sources such as light-emitting diodes in some embodiments. The method determines an effective luminance pattern for the projected light by determining contributions to the effective luminance pattern for different components of a point spread function and then combining the contributions of the components the effective luminance pattern to yield an estimated effective luminance pattern. | 05-01-2014 |
20140152713 | PROJECTION DISPLAYS - A locally dimmed display has a spatial light modulator illuminated by a light source. The spatial light modulator is illuminated with a low resolution version of a desired image. The illumination may comprise a series of lighting elements that vary smoothly from one element to another at the spatial light modulator. | 06-05-2014 |
20140168249 | ENHANCING DYNAMIC RANGES OF IMAGES - Methods and apparatus according to various aspects take as input image data in a lower-dynamic-range (LDR) format and produce as output enhanced image data having a dynamic range greater than that of the input image data (i.e. higher-dynamic range (HDR) image data). In some embodiments, the methods are applied to video data and are performed in real-time (i.e. processing of video frames to enhance the dynamic range of the video frames is completed at least on average at the frame rate of the video signal). | 06-19-2014 |
20140168802 | Light Concentrating Apparatus - A light concentrating apparatus is presented. Disclosed apparatuses include a collection of shaped reflectors capable of redirecting incident light, sunlight for example. The reflectors are configured to modify the spatial distribution of the redirected light in a manner where the distribution of light associated with a first dimension is modified differently than the distribution of light associated with a second, different dimension, via a relay of reflections. Contemplated apparatuses generate a substantially collimated output beam subsequent to the relay of reflections. | 06-19-2014 |
20140198142 | Apparatus for Providing Light Source Modulation in Dual Modulator Displays - Dual modulator displays are disclosed incorporating a phosphorescent plate interposed in the optical path between a light source modulation layer and a display modulation layer. Spatially modulated light output from the light source modulation layer impinges on the phosphorescent plate and excites corresponding regions of the phosphorescent plate which in turn emit light having different spectral characteristics than the light output from the light source modulation layer. Light emitted from the phosphorescent plate is received and further modulated by the display modulation layer to provide the ultimate display output. | 07-17-2014 |
20140247494 | SUNLIGHT REDIRECTING MIRROR ARRAYS - Sunlight redirector ( | 09-04-2014 |
20140333989 | REGISTERED REFLECTIVE ELEMENT FOR A BRIGHTNESS ENHANCED TIR DISPLAY - The brightness of a TIR-based display is enhanced with a registered reflective element by recycling and reflecting light that passes through the dark pupil region of each hemi-spherical protrusion in the hemi-spherical surface back to the viewer. A method to fabricate a brightness enhanced TIR display comprising an apertured membrane with a thin conductive reflective metal layer facing and registered with the pupils of the hemi-spherical surface. | 11-13-2014 |
20150043050 | IMAGE DISPLAY - A display has a screen which incorporates a light modulator. The screen may be a front projection screen or a rear-projection screen. The screen is illuminated with light from a light source comprising an array of controllable light-emitters. The controllable-emitters and elements of the light modulator may be controlled to adjust the intensity of light emanating from corresponding areas on the screen. The display may provide a high dynamic range. | 02-12-2015 |
20150070752 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PERFORATED REFLECTIVE FILM DISPLAY DEVICE - New reflective display architecture embodiments are disclosed to create specular or paper-like reflectance comprising a transparent outer sheet with an optional light diffusing layer, a rear backplane electrode, a perforated continuous reflective or non-reflective film with a thin conductive reflective or transparent layer acting as a front electrode facing the transparent outward sheet placed between the transparent outward sheet and rear backplane electrode. Other variations include semi-retroreflective or sintered TiO | 03-12-2015 |