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Dual polarizing light filter for 2-d and 3-d displayDual polarizing light filter for 2-d and 3-d display description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070188863, Dual polarizing light filter for 2-d and 3-d display. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/092,889, filed on Mar. 29, 2005, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety; application Ser. No. 11/092,889 in turn claims priority from Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 60/558,898 filed on Apr. 3, 2004, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety; This application also claims priority from Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/839,255, filed on Aug. 22, 2006, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The presented invention relates to a three-dimensional (3-D) image display method and apparatus and 3-D image record method and apparatus, both using polarized light, and more particularly, relates to a combined two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional display and recording method and apparatus. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Humans perceive the real world through two views obtained by both eyes, using so-called stereoscopic vision. The human brain interprets the two views, generates space distance from the views and thus forms a 3-D vision. A 3-D displaying method is the method for simulating the stereoscopic observing process. [0004] There are basically two types of three-dimensional (3-D) display methods: auto-stereoscopic display and stereoscopic display. Auto-stereoscopic display is a type of method in which the observers do not need wear special glasses to view a 3-D image. This type of method usually has limitations such as a narrow functional view angle and small functional view region. [0005] Stereoscopic display is a type of method where the observers need wear special glasses to obtain a 3-D view. Early techniques utilized colored filters and color-tinted images to separate left and right images to produce a 3-D effect. More modern approaches use polarized light to deliver the stereoscopic images and using correspondingly polarizing glasses to separate the stereoscopic images to different eyes, by which the image is viewed. This type of method usually requests the two images to be overlapped so that the brain may interpret them as they are from the same scene. [0006] A number of 3-D imaging systems using polarization are known in the art. Faris, U.S. Pat. No. 6,359,664, issued Mar. 19, 2002, and incorporated herein by reference, discloses an electro-optical display system for 3-D stereoscopic imaging. Faris imparts polarization to light emanating from optically transparent patterns using a micro-polarizer, to form polarized spatially multiplexed image. Faris, U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,553, issued May 13, 2003, also incorporated herein by reference, discloses an electro-optical image display system for a laptop computer. This device includes an array of electrically active and passive cholesteric liquid crystal elements, which are arranged in logic tree form to steer the electromagnetic beam. However, it appears that Faris uses a electrically "passive" circular polarization filter to achieve his micro-polarization regions. [0007] Vrex (Reveo) appears to now own the Faris Patents. A complete timeline of their 3-D imaging development may be found at: http://www.vrex.com/about/timeline.shtml. The only product for creating a 3-D display from an LCD screen appears to be a clip-on "micropol" screen (See, http://www.vrex.com/products/_download/vrex_mp_kit.pdf, incorporated herein by reference) attached externally to a laptop computer or the like. It would be more effective from a packaging and cost perspective to offer a 3-D technology integrated into the LCD panel itself. [0008] Kwon, Published U.S. Patent Application 2002/0145682, published Mar. 19, 2002, discloses a stereoscopic liquid crystal display device, which has a liquid crystal polymer film with first and second micro-polarizing regions, and a first polarizing plate. Kwon also discloses the use of a common electrode for his device. Kwon discloses a LCD stereoscopic display using "micro-polarizing" regions, which appear to polarize different portions of the display. Unlike Faris, it appears that Kwon uses a Liquid Crystal device for polarization (See paragraph [0030]). In addition, Kwon describes the use of two polarization plates and a common electrode plate [0009] Referring to FIG. 4 of Kwon, Kwon uses a typical LCD structure, if you remove layer 104. However, like Faris, uses a passive polarizing film to create the left and right images for display. Layer 104 is a liquid crystal polymer film, which is a newer material. The status of the liquid crystal molecules in the polymer base may be altered and locked using UV light or other method to create a polarizable film. Kwon uses this material to make his dual polarization layer which despite its name is a passive polarization layer as in Faris. [0010] Tomono, Published U.S. Patent Application 2003/0067563, published Apr. 10, 2003, discloses a 2-D and 3-D changeable display, which has liquid crystal layer with plate having a matrix of fine holes. This matrix appears to be removable to convert between 2-D and 3-D display. Tomono is similar to Reveo in that it provides a removable screen to convert to 3-D display. [0011] Yamazaki, U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,957, issued Feb. 19, 2002, discloses a direct viewing type LCD device--in which layout processing is performed to two groups of LC layer, where corresponding first and second images are formed. [0012] While the Prior Art devices may have some success in generating 3-D displays, it remains a requirement in the art to provide a display which may generate both 2-D and 3-D images without having to install or remove screens or polarizing films or the like. Moreover, it remains a requirement in the art to provide a display, which may generate both 2-D and 3-D images as opposed to a dedicated 3-D display. In addition, it remains a requirement in the art to provide a 2-D/3-D display, which may be integrated into an LCD flat panel display to realize a compact size and inexpensive construction. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] In the presented invention, two images are captured for a 3-D scene to simulate human observation using two eyes. The two images are referenced as the left image and the right image, respectively. The pixels from both images are mixed in certain way and rendered on the display screen such that the left and the right images are either overlapped together on the screen at different display cells at the same time (spatial multiplexing) or are overlapped on the screen at same display cell at different times (time multiplexing). [0014] Each micro-region, referenced as a unit hereafter, on the dual polarizing light filter, referenced as DP filter hereafter, is aligned to a pixel cell on the display screen in a one-to-one relationship. Light illuminated from each screen pixel cell travels through the aligned unit on the DP filter and becomes polarized light. Since the polarizing direction may be controlled in each unit of the DP filter at any time, the screen pixel cells that display the left image pixels always illuminate polarizing light in one direction and have the screen pixel cells that display the right image pixels illuminate polarizing light in another direction after the light pass through the DP filter. [0015] The two directions of the polarized light illuminated through the DP filter are generally perpendicular. An observer may see a 3-D scene through polarizing glasses from this mixed pixel light if the polarizing directions of the light from the left image and from the right image are parallel with the polarizing axis of the left lens and the right lens of the polarizing glasses, respectively. [0016] Within the spirit and scope of the present invention, there are a number of ways to mix the left and the right images and render them to the display screen. One example is to interlace the left image and the right image line by line and to render to the odd pixel cell rows and the even pixel cell rows respectively. In one embodiment, the odd pixel rows of the left image are rendered to the odd pixel cell rows of the screen and the even pixel rows of the right image are rendered to the even pixel cell rows of the screen. A different control voltage is correspondingly applied to either the odd unit rows or the even unit rows of the DP filter so the left image pixels and the right image pixels may be distinguished by their perpendicular polarizing direction. [0017] When applying the presented invention to recording devices, two sets of lens groups, spaced apart a proper distance to simulate the distance between human eyes, are used to collect the left image light and the right image light. Light traveling through the different lenses, e.g., left lens and right lens, are polarized with the polarizing direction of the respective right and left images perpendicular to one another. Light through the left lens and the right lens are then merged together and redirected towards the image-recording device, which may comprise any one of a number of electronic or analog image recording devices known in the art. [0018] The DP filter is located in front of a recording medium, such as film or an electrical light sensor. The DP filter unit is controlled in a way that it either blocks the left lens light or blocks the right lens light at different units, and half of the units block the left lens light and another half of the units block the right lens light. Thus the left image and the right image are recorded at different pixel cells on the film or on the light sensors (e.g., CCD or the like). [0019] There are many different arrangements to control the DP filter units within the spirit and scope of the present invention. In one embodiment, the odd unit rows are configured on the DP filter to pass the left lens light and block the right lens light, and the even unit rows are configured on the DP filter to pass the right lens light and block the left lens light. When the mixed light from left and right lens both travel through the DP filter and reaches the film or the light sensors, the odd pixel rows of the film or the light sensors records the odd rows of the left image pixels and the even pixel rows of the film or the light sensor records the even rows of the right image pixels. [0020] In the present invention, the DP filter use the specific property of a liquid crystal (LC) to perform the polarizing and other filtering and separation functions. The LC molecules in their natural status are arranged in a loosely ordered fashion with their long axis parallel to one another. When they come into contact with a finely grooved surface, the molecules line up parallel along grooves. When LC is sandwiched between two plates with the opposite surfaces finely grooved and the groove directions of two plates in perpendicular, the long axis direction of the LC molecules are gradually twisted 90 degrees between the two plates. Continue reading about Dual polarizing light filter for 2-d and 3-d display... Full patent description for Dual polarizing light filter for 2-d and 3-d display Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Dual polarizing light filter for 2-d and 3-d display patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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