Time-Multiplexed Projection System for Resolution Enhancement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current image display technologies face challenges in achieving high resolution without increasing pixel count, often resulting in excess frame rates that lead to unwanted blurring and fail to provide fieldwise resolution enhancement.
Innovation Solution
A high-resolution imaging system that projects an image sequence with multiple source images, each filtered to produce sub-pixels, allowing for enhanced resolution by utilizing existing components and minimizing additions to existing projection display designs, leveraging time-multiplexing techniques and optical filters to align and superimpose filtered images within the human eye's integration time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the pixel count of the display is increased to improve image resolution, then the image quality is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image display process into multiple temporal stages by dividing a single frame into multiple sub-frames displayed at different positions. Instead of using a single high-resolution panel, the system uses a lower-resolution panel that displays multiple lower-resolution sub-frames sequentially, which the human visual system integrates into a single high-resolution perception. This segmentation approach achieves high effective resolution without requiring a physically complex high-pixel-count display device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces the time dimension to resolve the resolution complexity contradiction. By displaying multiple sub-frames at different temporal moments and positions, the system effectively transforms a spatial resolution problem into a temporal-multiplexed solution. The human visual system's integration time acts as the temporal dimension, allowing multiple position-resolved sub-frames to be combined into a single high-resolution image without requiring a high-pixel-count spatial arrangement.
2Measurement precision
If the frame rate is increased to reduce motion blur, then the image clarity is improved, but the device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic action by displaying multiple sub-frames in a systematic temporal sequence within each frame period. Each sub-frame is displayed at a specific time interval and position, creating a periodic pattern that the human visual system integrates. This periodic temporal structure allows the system to achieve high effective resolution and reduced blur without requiring excessively high continuous frame rates, as the information is distributed across multiple periodic sub-frame presentations rather than requiring a single high-rate update.
3Measurement precision
If multiple light modulators are used to provide high pixel count, then the image resolution is improved, but the manufacturing yield decreases due to dead pixels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the high-resolution image into multiple lower-resolution sub-frames displayed at different positions and times. Each sub-frame uses a portion of the light modulator's pixels, distributing the resolution requirement across multiple temporal and spatial segments rather than requiring all pixels to function simultaneously at full resolution. This segmentation reduces the impact of dead pixels, as the system can compensate for defective pixels by using alternative sub-frames or positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implicitly applies discarding and recovering by allowing the system to discard sub-frames or pixel data that may be affected by dead pixels and recover the complete image information through the integration of multiple sub-frames. The temporal and positional diversity of sub-frame display provides redundancy, enabling the system to recover from pixel failures without requiring perfect manufacturing yield from individual light modulators.
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 approach effectively increases image resolution by a multiplicative factor, enhancing pixel count and maintaining image clarity, as demonstrated by achieving a 25-fold increase in resolution from 1024 pixels×768 pixels to 5120 pixels×3840 pixels, while reducing unwanted blurring and maintaining efficient use of existing hardware.
Implementation Method 1
a filter adapted for providing pixels of each source image as sub-pixels of pixels in the enhanced image
Data Source
AI summary
Enhanced image sequences are provided by a high resolution imaging system (HRIS) for generating an enhanced image, where the system includes a device for outputting an image sequence including a plurality of K source images, each source image including a plurality of pixels; and a projector for projecting, within a period of integration, each of the source images to an optical filter, the filter adapted for providing pixels of each source image as sub-pixels of pixels in the enhanced image. The enhanced images may be two-dimensional or three-dimensional. A method and computer program product are provided for generating enhanced images, as well as techniques for fabrication of the HRIS.