Apple patents an inexpensive 3-D projection system
December 3, 2010 by John Messina 
(PhysOrg.com) -- The U.S. patent office has granted Apple a patent for a 3-D projection system that doesn't require the use of bulky 3-D glasses. This gives the viewer more freedom of movement and viewing angles.
The name Apple has given to this simple 3-D system is called, "Three Dimensional Display System." This auto-stereoscopic system works by projecting each pixel onto a reflective, textured surface, which is then bounced into a viewer's left and right eye separately; this produces the 3D or stereoscopic effect. By sensing the locations of both eyes of each viewer, multiple viewers could observe the 3-D effect from a variety of angles.
Each pixel is aimed at a curved surface, where it reflects onto the correct eye.
Apple is not the only company that’s involved in auto-stereoscopic R&D; however Apple's patent has picked apart the limitations of three categories of auto-stereoscopic system:1. Ghost like or transparent images in volumetric displays.
2. The viewer required to remain stationary using the parallax barrier method.
3. The use of holographic images requires greater computer power and larger bandwidth, keeping the commercial cost higher that is required for other auto-stereoscopic systems.
Apple's auto-stereoscopic system tracks where the viewer is located and tailors its display to your position.
Apple’s main objective is to develop a 3-D glass-free auto-stereoscopic system that would give viewers the freedom to move around without being tied down to bulky 3-D glasses. Apple’s patent also promises to keep costs low and simplifying the system while maintaining performance.© 2010 PhysOrg.com
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Dec 03, 2010
Rank: 5 / 5 (14)
They have all the rights of a person and none of the responsibilities. Something is very wrong.
Dec 03, 2010
Rank: 3.5 / 5 (6)
Dec 03, 2010
Rank: 5 / 5 (12)
Dec 03, 2010
Rank: 5 / 5 (7)
You beat me to it haha
They manage to routinely mark up a piece of plastic that costs $1.20 to $49.99+tax and somehow sell out of it.
Dec 03, 2010
Rank: 5 / 5 (8)
They're selling fashion accessories, not technology.
Dec 03, 2010
Rank: 4.9 / 5 (7)
This gets me laughing so hard I thought I'd die. After Apple patents, inexpensive is an obscene oxymoron!
Dec 03, 2010
Rank: 2.8 / 5 (6)
Most engineering employment contracts explicitly state that the corporation owns the rights to the ideas that you develop on their dime using their equipment and resources. That is only fair. If you have an idea that you believe is worth something, then you are free to develop it on your own time and your own dime, just don't use any corporation resources to do it.
Also, many inventors are bad businessmen and do not want the day to day hassles of running a business. They make thier money by selling or licensing their patents to corporations. If corporations were not allowed to own patents, those inventors would denied that source of income and their ideas would never see the light of day.
Dec 03, 2010
Rank: 3.3 / 5 (4)
If CEO's are worth multi-millions for simply temporarily over-hyping the share price, usually with untruths, half-truths and accounting lies, then the creative staff should have some rights to comparable compensation.
Dec 03, 2010
Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
Dec 04, 2010
Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
I am the inventor, not the company. Check with the patent office; every invention lists the individual human(s) who invented the thing. I sell my property to the company; normally this is done through pre-purchase agreement in my employment contract. However, even though the company has purchased my technology, I am still the inventor of record. When I compose my C.V., this fact is not forgotten. The company owns the technology, but I own the reputation. The patent office confirms my inventiveness to my next employer, who is usually very interested.
Dec 04, 2010
Rank: not rated yet
So the individual inventors kinda have to sell their inventions to a company because they can't afford to patent them, regardless of where and on whose money it is made. Even if they do, they often can't use the invention themselves and have to sell it.
It's the same as with books and paintings and music. The author holds the copyright to his work, but it's meaningless because in order to make money out of the work, he must sell the copyright to someone else.
And that someone else subsequently abuses the copyright, using it as a kind of money printing device because the IP is fundamentally limitless, but the company controls who gets to have it and at what price.
Dec 04, 2010
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Dec 04, 2010
Rank: not rated yet
Dec 04, 2010
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> First, it has to be projected, it won't work as a handheld display.
> Second, it only works for one viewer!
When is the last time you saw a projected image where you were the only audience member?
Dec 04, 2010
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Dec 04, 2010
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err.. Actually, no: the purpose of any patent is to give the patent-holder the right to sue.
but i am in sympathy with your point ... It's outrageous, isnt it...
Dec 05, 2010
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No, I am regurgitating what is in my employment contract.
Not true. Computers executing genetic algorithms have designed real world components from antennas to jet engine parts. Human beings input the desired performance specifications and program the simulation models. The machines use the simulation models to verify a design's fitness to the specification. The machines generate thousands of initial designs at random, none of which are likely to meet the spec. The designs are evolved through procreation and mutation until one is produced that meets or exceeds the specification. Such systems have produced novel designs never envisioned by any human that are the intellectual property of the corporations that own the computers.
Dec 06, 2010
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Dec 06, 2010
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http://www.indust...tionID=2
Dec 07, 2010
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so does this mean the TV will need a projector for each person viewing the screen to get the angle correct ?