IMPROVED DEPLOYMENT DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention is related to improvements in deployments. Specifically, the present invention will be described for use in liquid crystal display screens. However, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other applications can be considered and the reference to liquid crystal display should in no way be taken as limiting. Liquid crystal displays are popular types of display screens. They are commonly used as display screens for laptops, where the size and weight of the associated computer screen are important. Liquid crystal displays of smaller size are also well known in several other applications than the deployment of computer screens. A liquid crystal display, in simple terms, is constructed of four layers of material and a large number of liquid crystals. Normally, a deployment is formed by first placing a polarizer on a surface of a layer in alignment. The liquid crystals are placed between the first alignment layer and the second alignment layer used to stop the liquid crystals in place. Finally, a second polarizer is placed on the remaining outer surface of the second alignment layer. When the screen is in use, an electric field is applied to the selected regions of liquid crystal contained within the layers in alignment. Under normal conditions, unpolarized light is projected onto the first polarizer. Polarized light is transmitted through the first polarizer within the first alignment layer. Next, this polarized light is transmitted through the liquid crystals in display. The liquid crystals used are optically active and will bend the polarized light through a set angle. The alignment layers used ensure that the liquid crystals are oriented in a parallel manner, usually in line with the orientation of the polarizer, by imposing the light transmitted through the crystals with the same bend or deflection. Layers' in alignment in conventional LC displays are microscopic parallel grooved lines that are achieved by rubbing the layer with a thin device in a single direction. • Finally, the bent polarized light is transmitted through the last polarization layer. The last polarizer is configured to not only allow polarized light at a particular angle to be transmitted through the front of the display. This specific polarization angle is the angle at which light is normally bent by liquid crystals. When an electric field is applied to a region containing liquid crystals, the field causes these crystals to bend in a new orientation. The polarized light that hits the newly oriented crystals will be bent through a different angle, and thus can not be transmitted through the last polarizer. In this way a selectively applied electric field causes light to be transmitted through certain regions of the deployment or is absorbed by certain regions of the estimated deployment creating a deployment surface that can be electronically controlled. Modern liquid crystal displays have improved upon this basic description by adding color filters so that colors other than white or black can be displayed. However, due to the LC or liquid crystal display design, the presented image contains a number of faults. The use of two polarized in the standard LC display significantly reduces their angles from which the display can be seen to observe a well-resolved image. If you can see a wide angle, the LC images tend to lose cohesion compared to the images seen directly from the front of the display. The use of the two polarizers in standard LC deployments also significantly reduces the amount of light transmitted through the deployment. In most cases, a strong backlight source can be used to ensure that sufficient light is transmitted through the display to illuminate images for an observer. The use of two polarized in the construction of the previous LC display also increases the manufacturing time and cost for such an arrangement. It takes additional money and time to apply the polarization layers on opposite sides of deployment. The process to create the layers in alignment in a standard parallel manner has been well developed. Variations in the LC display have incorporated polymers dispersed in the liquid crystal. These displays effectively diffuse the output light depending on the orientation of the foreign particles dispersed within the liquid crystal. 'This use of dispersed liquid crystals of polymer is limited by the associated costs in production with the clarity of the image produced. Generally, these types of deployment are used as v light switches in large sizes such as windows. Applicants have found that standard liquid crystal displays are deficient when applied in deep video imaging technology. Deep video imaging technology is the subject of New Zealand Co-pending Patent Applications Nos. NZ314566, NZ 328074 and NZ 329130 as well as PCT Application No. PCT / NZ98 / 00098. The formation of deep video images is related to a new method and apparatus for displaying images. A "deep" video image consists of two or more display screens combined so that an observer can see an image on the first screen closer to the person as well as an image on the second screen behind the first screen. The perspective seen by an Observer can be defined as a "composite image", which is formed from images displayed on each of the screens. Due to the physical displacement between the display screens used, the observed composite image will appear as three-dimensional. An image on a front screen can reside on a back screen and vice versa, creating the illusion of depth. Applicants have found that liquid crystal displays can be used in deep video imaging applications. A back screen can be formed through an LC display that includes a backlight source behind the display. A second LC display can be placed in front of the rear display and will not include conventional backlight components, and these will interfere with light transmitted from a rear screen. In fact, the front screen is substantially transparent, allowing light to be transmitted from the back screen to the eyes of an observer. Applicants have found that the use of combined liquid crystal displays creates a number of faults in the composite image that is being viewed. Images created on a front screen will be transparent when they are not black. An observer will be able to see through the front screen (and indeed the foreground images) on the back screen. By combining two LC displays in front of an observer, edge patterns are created on the face of the displays. The regular structure associated with the layers in alignment of each LC display establishes a pattern in the emitted light, with the combination of these two patterns creating oire interference effects. The formation of deep video images using standard LC displays also has outputs through a parallax of movement and occlusion. An observer at a wide angle from the center of the deployment will observe images on the front and rear screens in different positions to those of an observer who is viewing the front display. To provide an observer with a "3D" effect of the deployment, a considered image processing technique is to gradually reduce in size a front screen image and then transfer this image to the back screen, giving the impression that the image is moving backwards. However, this processing technique has problems when the display is viewed from different angles simultaneously. When the image of the front screen is transferred to the back screen, the point at which the image appears as traveling towards the back screen, as seen by an observer directly in front of the display is different from that seen by an observer outside of the screen. angle. When the front image is transferred to the back screen some people will see the image jumping or blinking to a new position, ruining the printing of the image that is receding the front screen. An improved deployment, which will solve any or all of the above problems, will be a great advantage over the prior art. It is an object of the present invention to address the above problems or at least to provide the public with a useful lesson. Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, which is provided by way of example only. According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a deployment including at least two retaining layers (alignment), and at least one active optical element, wherein the retaining layers are configured to retain active elements in a homogeneous configuration random in the first case, and in a regular configuration in the second case. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a retainer layer adapted for use in a deployment as described above, wherein the retainer layer is configured to retain optically active elements in irregular orientations. According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for operating displays substantially as described above wherein the method is characterized by the steps of: a) selectively applying a field to a first region containing at least two active elements, and b) aligning active elements within the region v.
one with another to substantially have the same orientation, and 'c) transmit light through the first region so that the light exhibits a first characteristic, and d) transmit light through regions other than the first region so that the transmitted light exhibits a second characteristic. In a preferred embodiment, the deployment can be configured using liquid crystal display technology. With reference to other specifications, they will now be made to display as being a device that uses liquid crystal technology. However, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other forms of deployment can be used in conjunction with the present invention and with reference to liquid crystal technology only should not be construed as limiting. In a preferred embodiment, a retainer layer can be any type of substantially transparent material, which, when configured in groups of two or more layers, can include or retain optically active elements in a particular region. In a further preferred embodiment, a retainer layer can be formed of transparent plastic materials with an irregular surface on one side of the layer. Such an irregular surface allows optically active elements to be retained within the regions in the retainer layers in a large number of orientations, providing retained active elements with an irregular configuration. In a further preferred embodiment, a retainer layer may be constructed of transparent plastic material with small irregular notches made from a surface of the layer. These irregular notches allow the active elements retained by the layer to be in a number of different orientations of an irregular configuration. Reference will now be made throughout this specification to the retainer layer, being constructed from a transparent plastic material with irregular surface notches and a surface in the layer. However, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of retainer layers such as glass can be used in conjunction with the present invention, and that reference to the foregoing should not be seen as limiting. In a preferred embodiment, the optically active elements can be liquid crystals normally used in standard liquid displays. The properties and characteristics of these crystals are well known and allow them to be easily adapted for use with the present invention. Alternative modes can use other methods instead of standard liquid crystals as optically active elements. Other embodiments may employ any type of optically active material, the optical properties of which can be easily controlled and manipulated. Reference will now be made in this specification to the optical elements as liquid crystals. However, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art what other forms of optically active elements can be used and the reference to the foregoing should in no way be seen as limiting. In a preferred embodiment, the liquid crystals can be grouped or arranged in two different configurations. In a first case, they can retain liquid crystals between two retaining layers with a random or irregular configuration. The surface of a retainer layer can be configured to allow retained crystals to be in a large number of orientations or angles with respect to one another. In a second case, the crystals can be retained between retainer layers in a regular configuration. In a preferred embodiment, the crystals can be retained substantially at the same angles of orientations with respect to one another. This regular configuration of the crystals ensures that each crystal acts optically in substantially the same way on the light that passes through the crystals. In a preferred embodiment, a field is applied to the crystals within a display to orient the crystals within the field in substantially the same orientation. In a further preferred embodiment, the field used is an electric field. Electric fields can * easily be generated using standard electrical components and can accurately and accurately control small areas or regions containing crystals. In a preferred embodiment, a first region containing at least two liquid crystals can be any number of areas or points on the viewing surface of the display. In addition, in the embodiments where the present invention is used, in a multi-screen display, such as with video imaging technology, a region may incorporate areas of display surfaces of any of the multiple screens used. In a further embodiment, a first region may be defined as any area in a display to which an electric field is applied. In such an embodiment, an electric field can selectively be applied to particular areas of a deployment to form a first region. The application of an electric field to particular areas will cause the crystals to face substantially the same position, and thus modify the incident light with substantially the same effect. However, in regions other than the first region where no electric field is applied, uniform or regular treatment of incident light will not be applied. In a preferred embodiment, the crystals within a first region, exhibit a first optical characteristic. On the contrary, crystals outside this first region exhibit a second optical characteristic. In a further preferred embodiment, the first optical feature exhibited by the crystals within the first region is transparency. Such crystals can be placed regularly with respect to each other substantially in the same orientations. This regular configuration allows the crystals to transmit incident light in substantially the same way, with these crystals being transparent to a particular polarization of light. In a further preferred embodiment, the second optical feature exhibited by the crystals outside the first region is to act as diffusion elements. The irregular and random orientation of the crystals outside a first region diffuses the light transmitted through the display. A diffusion element can be defined as any element that diffuses light. Such an element can cause light to spread or diffuse in a number of different directions. Such diffusion elements will make any image seen in the first region appear as diffuse to an observer at a close distance from the screen, and the same image appears opaque to an observer at a greater distance away from the screen. As the distance between the observer and the screen increases, an image in the first region will appear more or less opaque instead of diffuse. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the irregular configurations of the liquid crystals will act to diffuse light transmitted through the display when an electric field is not present. In contrast, when an electric field is applied to a region, the crystals present are forced to substantially the same orientation, allowing light to be transmitted through the region without being substantially diffuse. The present invention as described above can be used to construct a simple deployment.
The transparent electrodes can be placed on either side of the display to selectively apply an electric field to specific areas that form a first region. This electric field or the absence thereof, will allow light to be transmitted through a particular region or be diffused when it passes through another region. The images can be formed in a display by placing an electric field in regions that are going to be transparent while ensuring that no electric field is present in the regions that are to be imaged.
The color filters of standard LC displays can also be used in such displays to provide additional color to the broadcast region. The present invention also allows the white color to be presented in a display. LC deployments can not normally display a crisp white color. To display white in the typical LC display, the background with white backlight is used, since the crystals are oriented to be transparent in this case. This is in comparison with the present invention where the clear white color can be obtained by simply diffusing transmitted light through selected regions of the display. The following descriptions are related to the present invention and incorporated into multi-layer deployment devices. In deep video imaging applications a composite image can be formed by the use of two liquid crystal displays, with one display being placed in front of the other and the rear display including the required backlight components. Separate and distinct images can be observed on each screen, with the spatial displacement between the two screens providing the composite image with three-dimensional qualities. In one embodiment, the present invention can be employed within a deep video deployment. Reference will now be made through the specification to a display formed with respect to the present invention as being a selective diffusion layer when used in deep video imaging applications. As mentioned above, the present invention can be used to selectively broadcast regions in one display, while leaving other transparent regions. A display of deep video imaging that incorporates two liquid crystal displays can also use the three polarization layers only.
The first polarization layer can be on the back of the rear screen, the second between the two v screens and the last one on the front of the front screen. In normal LC deployments, two polarization layers per screen are required, since polarized light must be provided to the liquid crystals to ensure the deployment works effectively. However, the deep video application, with two LC displays, polarized light is already provided on the back of a front screen, eliminating the need for a fourth polarizer in the combined display. In a preferred embodiment, the selective diffusion layer can be placed between the front and rear screens of a deep video display. In a further preferred embodiment, a deep video display can be configured as described above with three polarization layers. A selective diffusion layer (SDL) can also be placed between the front screen and the medium polarization layer. The SDL can be used to diffuse polarized light supplied from the medium polarization layer, destroying the ability of the front screen to form an image in a particular region. This in effect allows the SDL to "blank" a front image. A deep video deployment configured with an SDL as mentioned above can create the illusion that an image of a front screen disappears or resides on a back screen at exactly the same point for all observers without taking into account the viewing angles. Previously, in the deep video imaging application, an image transferred on a front screen to a rear screen will appear to jump laterally for an observer out of angle, and display and receive uniformly for an observer in front of the display. This effect is eliminated with the use of an SDL configured as discussed above. The SDL ensures that a frontal image is transferred to the back screen at exactly the same point on the back screen for all observers, eliminating the previously observed lateral jump at an angle outside the center of the display. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a selective diffusion layer can be placed between two LC displays, this time with polarization layers behind and in front of each LC display. The selective diffusion layer can be placed in front of the front polarizer of the rear screen and behind the rear polarizer of the front screen. The selective diffusion layer can be used to diffuse polarized light from a back screen, making an image of a front screen appear solid. The selective diffusion layer will diffuse the back image while still providing enough light to illuminate a front image. Previously, in deep video imaging deployments without selective diffusion layers, the images on a front screen have appeared as transparent, where the images on a back screen can be seen through a front image. With the use of a selective diffusion layer, the images of a back screen can be "blank" by the selective diffusion layer (SDL), making the frontal images appear as solid. In yet another embodiment, the deployment can be configured with a first polarization layer, a rear LC screen, a second polarization layer, a first selective diffusion layer, a second LC display, a third polarization layer, a second diffusion layer selective, a fourth polarization layer, a third LC front display and finally a fifth polarization layer. Such a deep video deployment combines principles employed in the other deep video applications discussed above. The second SDL will broadcast the light transmitted from the rear and middle screens, making the images on the front screen appear solid. The first SDL will broadcast the transmitted light to the second LC display, v allowing an image of the second LC display to disappear at the same point in the rear LC display for all the observers as discussed above. A selective diffusion layer can also be used. in deep video applications to eliminate interference effects. Normally, when viewing a standard LC deployment through another LC deployment, interference patterns placed by the structure of the two deployments will be observed. Interference patterns can be eliminated as an SDL between two screens if the SDL provides a uniform low level of diffusion over the entire deployment surface. The diffusion will act to randomize or break any pattern in light of a back screen - removing the effects of interference. The present invention provides many advantages over the deep video imaging deployments and the prior art liquid crystal displays. The present invention can be used in deep video imaging applications to create a display with foreground images that can appear as solid and which can be made to appear to rewind at the same point on a back screen without taking into account the vision angle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Additional aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description which is provided by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows the effect of the displays in light within the specific regions in a modality; and Figures 2-4 illustrate the present invention as used in deep video imaging applications in other embodiments of the present invention. Figure 1 shows how the present invention modifies transmitted light through a deployment. In the
Figure an electric field is applied to a region of a deployment, while in Figure lb an electric field is not applied in the same region. In both cases, the unpolarized light 1 is directed towards a rear alignment layer 2 through the liquid crystals (not shown) within the region, and is carried out through the front alignment layer 3. In Figure la, an electric field is applied to the region. The liquid crystals within the region are aligned with substantially the same orientation, allowing the incident non-polarized light 1 to pass through the crystals v and outwardly from the front alignment layer 3. The output of this screen 5 is substantially the same as the incident light 1. This can be contrasted with light passing through the region when an electric field is not present, as in the case in Figure Ib. In this case, the liquid crystals nourish the two alignment layers 2, 3, create diffuse light 6 of the incidental unpolarized light 1. This diffuse light 6 then fades outwardly through the front alignment layer 3 as the deployment exit 7. As can be seen in the diagrams, the application of an electric field within the region will make the liquid crystals substantially transparent to incidental light. The absence of an electric field in a region causes the transmitted light to be diffuse. Figures 2 to 4 illustrate the present invention when used in a number of deep video imaging applications. Figure 2 shows a deep video imaging application incorporating a selective diffusion layer di. Deployment of deep video imaging includes a back screen and a front s2 screen with pl polarization layers, p2 on both sides of the back screen, and polarization layers p3, p4 on both sides of the front screen s2 . v The selective diffusion layer of the SDL, di is placed between the polarization layer p2 and p3. The SDL di diffuses polarized light from p2, destroying the images presented on the screen if back. This effect causes an image on the front s2 screen to appear as solid, since only diffuse backlight is now provided behind the s2 image. Figure 3 illustrates another application for the present invention of the deep video imaging application. In this mode, the deep video imaging screen includes a rear screen, a front screen s2, polarization layer pl and p2 on both sides of the rear screen, and a last layer p3 of polarization on the front of the front s2 screen. An SDL di is placed between the polarization layer p2 and the front s2 screen. The SDL di can diffuse the polarized light provided by the polarizer p2. Depolarizing the backlight for the front s2 screen will prevent s2 from forming a different image. The SDL di can be used to "blank out" an image on the front s2 screen. This phenomenon can be used as discussed above to make an image on the front screen disappear at the same point on a back screen for all observers, regardless of the mink angle. Figure 4 shows a display of deep video imaging using the two configurations previously discussed with respect to Figures 2 and 3. The selective diffusion layer d2 can be used to diffuse light and images from the back and the screen. d2 media screen, making the images on the front s3 screen look solid. The selective diffusion layer di may be used to diffuse polarized light from the polarization layer p2, by "blanking" images on the medium screen s2. This configuration in deployment using the present invention can be used to make images on a front s3 screen appear as solid, and images on the middle s2 screen to disappear on the screen if back at the same point for all observers without taking into account the viewing angles. The aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that the modifications and additions can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.