Directional Backlight Diffractive Elements 3D Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current 3D display technologies face challenges in providing a shared user experience without obstructive structures, achieving high angular resolution, and efficiently managing power consumption, especially in mobile devices with limited battery life, while maintaining high display brightness and contrast in varying ambient light conditions.
Innovation Solution
The development of a directional backlight system using a sparse array of light-emitting elements, such as μLEDs, combined with passive diffractive gratings and a spatial light modulator (SLM), which collimates and diffracts light to create multiple directional beams that can be selectively passed or blocked based on content, allowing for a high-density multiview display with reduced power consumption and improved image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a dense array of light-emitting elements is used to achieve high angular resolution, then the angular resolution is improved, but the power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the light emission function by using a sparse array of light-emitting elements combined with passive diffractive gratings that split light into multiple directional beams. This segmentation allows each light-emitting element to serve multiple angular positions, achieving high angular resolution without proportionally increasing the number of active light sources, thereby reducing power consumption compared to a dense array approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces passive diffractive gratings as intermediary elements between the light-emitting elements and the viewer. These gratings diffract light from each light-emitting element into multiple directional beams, enabling a single light source to illuminate multiple angular positions. This intermediary mechanism achieves high angular resolution without requiring a dense array of light-emitting elements, thus reducing power consumption.
2Adaptability or versatility
If obstructive structures are added to create multiple views, then the multiview capability is improved, but the user experience deteriorates due to obstruction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical obstructive structures (such as parallax barriers or lenticular lenses that physically block parts of the display) with an optical field-based approach using diffractive gratings. The gratings manipulate light directions through diffraction, creating multiple views without any physical obstruction in the viewer's line of sight. This substitution maintains multiview capability while preserving an unobstructed user experience.
3Illumination intensity
If the display brightness is increased to maintain contrast in varying ambient light, then the display quality is improved, but the power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by using a sparse array of light-emitting elements strategically positioned and controlled to emit light only in specific directional beams needed for the current viewing conditions. Instead of uniformly illuminating the entire display area, the system activates only the necessary light-emitting elements and their corresponding diffracted beams, reducing overall power consumption while maintaining adequate brightness and contrast in varying ambient light conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables a high-quality, autostereoscopic multiview display with increased angular resolution and reduced power consumption, providing a seamless 3D experience for multiple users without the need for obstructive structures, while maintaining efficient power management and high display brightness across varying ambient light levels.
Implementation Method 1
an array of collimating optical elements
Implementation Method 2
one or more diffractive grating layers
Implementation Method 3
one or more diffractive grating layers
Implementation Method 4
an array of optical mask elements synchronized to illumination of the addressable array of light-emitting elements based on content displayed
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments of an apparatus may include: a plurality of light sources, wherein each of the plurality of light sources is configured to emit a respective light beam; one or more diffractive layers; and an optical mask configured to be synchronized to an illumination of the respective light beams. Some embodiments of a method may include: emitting a light beam from each of a plurality of light emitting sources to generate a plurality of light beams; diffracting each of the plurality of light beams to generate a plurality of diffracted light beams; and synchronizing an optical mask to the plurality of diffracted light beams.