阅读说明：本技术 电子相机滤光器 (Electronic camera filter ) 是由 胡陆基·萨达夕洛 盖伊·麦克维克 于 2019-04-12 设计创作，主要内容包括：用于相机镜头的滤光器包括电子显示器,该电子显示器配置为联接至相机镜头的物侧,并且配置为对用于相机镜头的电子显示器的物侧上的图像进行滤光。控制器配置为电子控制电子显示器的滤光。输入装置用于接收用于控制控制器的控制。(The optical filter for a camera lens includes an electronic display configured to be coupled to an object side of the camera lens and configured to filter an image on the object side of the electronic display for the camera lens. The controller is configured to electronically control the filtering of the electronic display. The input device is for receiving control for controlling the controller.)

1. An optical filter for a camera lens, the optical filter comprising:

an electronic display configured to be coupled to an object side of the camera lens and configured to filter an image on the object side of the electronic display for the camera lens;

a controller configured to electronically control filtering of the electronic display; and

an input device for receiving control for controlling the controller.

2. The filter of claim 1 in which the electronic display includes liquid crystals for filtering the image.

3. The filter of claim 1, wherein the electronic display internally comprises one or more organic light emitting diodes for filtering the image.

4. The filter of claim 1, further comprising a housing coupled to the electronic display, wherein the controller and the input device are located within the housing.

5. The filter of claim 4, wherein the housing comprises at least a portion of a frame for the electronic display.

6. The filter of claim 1, wherein the electronic display is configured to be removably coupled to a mask box for coupling to the camera lens.

7. The filter of claim 1, wherein the electronic display comprises a front surface, a back surface, and one or more side surfaces, and wherein the housing is located at the one or more side surfaces.

8. The filter of claim 1, wherein the electronic display comprises one or more pixels.

9. The filter of claim 1 in which the electronic display comprises an array of pixels.

10. The filter of claim 1, wherein the electronic display is configured to filter the image on the object side of the electronic display by reducing an amount of light transmitted through the electronic display.

11. The filter of claim 1, wherein the electronic display is configured to filter the image on the object side of the electronic display by scattering light transmitted through the electronic display.

12. The filter of claim 1, wherein the electronic display is configured to filter the image on the object side of the electronic display by glaring light transmitted through the electronic display.

13. The filter of claim 1, wherein the electronic display is configured to filter the image on the object side of the electronic display by emitting light that is superimposed on the image.

14. The filter of claim 1, wherein the electronic display is configured to filter the image on the object side of the electronic display substantially equally for all colors of the image.

15. The filter of claim 1, wherein the electronic display comprises a first portion and a second portion, each of the first portion and the second portion configured to allow light to pass through, and the controller is configured to electronically control the filtering of the electronic display such that the image is not filtered by the second portion while the first portion filters the image.

16. The filter of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to electronically control the filtering of the electronic display such that the first portion does not filter the image while the second portion filters the image.

17. The filter of claim 1 in which the input device comprises a wireless signal receiver.

18. An optical filter for a camera system, the optical filter comprising:

an electronic display configured to be coupled to a portion of the camera system in an optical path of the camera system and configured to filter an image of an object side of the electronic display for the camera system, the electronic display comprising one or more organic light emitting diodes;

a controller configured to electronically control filtering of the electronic display; and

an input device for receiving control for controlling the controller.

19. The optical filter of claim 18, wherein the optical filter is configured to be coupled to the camera system between a camera lens of the camera system and an image receptor of the camera system.

20. The filter of claim 18, wherein the filter is configured to be coupled to the camera system at an object side of a camera lens of the camera system.

21. The filter of claim 18, wherein the electronic display is configured to filter the image on the object side of the electronic display by emitting light that is superimposed on the image.

22. A camera system, comprising:

a camera including a camera lens;

an electronic display configured to be coupled to an object side of the camera lens and configured to filter an image on the object side of the electronic display for the camera lens;

a controller configured to electronically control filtering of the electronic display; and

an input device for receiving control for controlling the controller.

23. The camera system according to claim 22, wherein the camera comprises a film camera or a digital camera.

24. The camera system of claim 22, further comprising a mask box, wherein the electronic display, the controller, and the input device are coupled together to form a unit configured to be removably coupled to the mask box.

25. The camera system according to claim 22, wherein the electronic display comprises one or more pixels.

26. The camera system according to claim 22, wherein the electronic display internally comprises liquid crystals for filtering the image, or one or more organic light emitting diodes for filtering the image, or a combination of the liquid crystals and the one or more organic light emitting diodes.

27. The camera system as claimed in claim 22, further comprising a control terminal for wirelessly connecting to the input device to provide control to the input device.

28. A camera system, comprising:

a camera including a camera lens;

an electronic display configured to be coupled to a portion of the camera system in an optical path of the camera system and configured to filter an image of an object side of the electronic display for the camera system, the electronic display comprising one or more organic light emitting diodes;

a controller configured to electronically control filtering of the electronic display; and

an input device for receiving control for controlling the controller.

29. The camera system of claim 28, wherein the optical filter is configured to couple to the camera system between a camera lens and an image receiver of the camera system.

30. The camera system of claim 28, wherein the optical filter is configured to couple to the camera system at an object side of the camera lens.

31. The filter of claim 28, wherein the electronic display is configured to filter the image on the object side of the electronic display by emitting light that is superimposed on the image.

32. A method of filtering an image for a camera lens, comprising:

filtering an image on an object side of a camera lens for the camera lens with an electronic display located on the object side of the camera lens.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising altering the filtering of the electronic display.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising dynamically changing the filtering of the electronic display.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the electronic display comprises one or more pixels for filtering the image.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein the liquid crystal for filtering the image, or one or more organic light emitting diodes for filtering the image, or a combination of the liquid crystal and the one or more organic light emitting diodes is included in the electronic display.

37. The method of claim 32, further comprising wirelessly transmitting control to the electronic display to change the optical filtering of the electronic display.

38. A method of filtering an image for a camera system, comprising:

filtering an image on an object side of an electronic display for the camera system with the electronic display positioned in a light path of the camera system, the electronic display comprising one or more organic light emitting diodes.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising altering the filtering of the electronic display.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising dynamically changing the filtering of the electronic display.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein the electronic display comprises one or more pixels for filtering the image.

42. The method of claim 38, wherein the electronic display is configured to filter the image on the object side of the electronic display by emitting light that is superimposed on the image.

Background

Camera filters are used to reduce the amount of light entering the camera or to create other optical effects (e.g., changing the color of the image). These filters need to be manually replaced to change the optical effect produced by the filter. In movie works, manual replacement of the filters cannot be performed during shooting. In addition, the time and effort taken to replace the filters between each shot may increase the cost of the movie production. For example, if the camera is located in an overhead crane, the crane needs to be lowered to manually replace the filter.

Therefore, there is a need for a more efficient way to change the filtering of a camera without having to manually change the filters.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure meets the above-described needs by providing an optical filter with an electronic display. Depending on the particular type of electronic technology used, the filtering of the electronic display may be varied dynamically and on a pixel-by-pixel basis.

In one embodiment, a filter for a camera lens is disclosed, the filter comprising an electronic display configured to be coupled to an object side of the camera lens and configured to filter an image on the object side of the electronic display for the camera lens. The controller is configured to electronically control the filtering of the electronic display. The input device is for receiving control for controlling the controller.

In one embodiment, a filter for a camera system is disclosed, the filter comprising an electronic display configured to be coupled to a portion of the camera system in an optical path of the camera system and configured to filter an image of an object side of the electronic display for the camera system. The electronic display comprises one or more organic light emitting diodes. The controller is configured to electronically control the filtering of the electronic display. The input device is for receiving control for controlling the controller.

In one embodiment, a camera system is disclosed that includes a camera including a camera lens. The electronic display is configured to be coupled to an object side of the camera lens and to filter an image on the object side of the electronic display for the camera lens. The controller is configured to electronically control the filtering of the electronic display. The input device is for receiving control for controlling the controller.

In one embodiment, an optical filter for a camera system is disclosed, the optical filter comprising a camera including a camera lens. An electronic display is configured to be coupled to a portion of the camera system in an optical path of the camera system and to filter an image of an object side of the electronic display for the camera system, the electronic display including one or more organic light emitting diodes. The controller is configured to electronically control the filtering of the electronic display. The input device is for receiving control for controlling the controller.

In one embodiment, a method of filtering an image for a camera lens is disclosed that includes filtering an image on an object side of a camera lens for the camera lens with an electronic display located on the object side of the camera lens.

In one embodiment, a method of filtering an image for a camera system is disclosed that includes filtering an image on an object side of an electronic display for the camera system with the electronic display positioned in an optical path of the camera system, the electronic display including one or more organic light emitting diodes.

Drawings

The features and advantages of the systems, apparatus, and methods disclosed herein will be better understood with regard to the description, claims, and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an optical filter according to one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 shows a front view of the filter shown in fig. 1, but with a different filtering than that shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a front view of the filter shown in fig. 1, but with a different filtering than that shown in fig. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a front view of a control interface of a control terminal according to one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C each show a close-up view of an input device according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 6A shows a front perspective exploded view of a portion of an electronic display in which liquid crystals are used according to one embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 6B shows a front perspective exploded view of a portion of an electronic display in which organic light emitting diodes are used according to one embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 6C shows a front view of an electronic display in which liquid crystal is used, wherein the liquid crystal is in an operational state, according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 6D shows a front view of the electronic display of FIG. 6C in which liquid crystal is used, wherein the liquid crystal is in a second operational state, according to one embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 7A shows a front perspective view of an electronic display performing filtering according to one embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 7B shows a front perspective view of an electronic display performing filtering according to one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7C illustrates a front perspective view of a liquid crystal panel used in conjunction with a panel of one or more organic light emitting diodes according to one embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 8 shows a side view of a camera system according to one embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 9 illustrates a front perspective view of a camera system according to one embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 10 shows a side view of a camera system according to one embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 11 illustrates a close-up view of an electronic display for use in conjunction with a camera of a mobile device according to one embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows an optical filter 10 according to one embodiment of the present application. Preferably, the optical filter 10 is used with a camera lens as part of a camera system. The optical filter 10 may include an electronic display 12 and may include a housing 14. The filter 10 may include a controller 16, a power source 18, and an input device 20.

The electronic display 12 may be transparent (light transmissive) and may allow visible light to pass therethrough. The electronic display 12 may be configured such that the filtering of the electronic display 12 is electronically controlled. The electronic display 12 may be configured to filter an image on an object side of the electronic display 12 for a camera lens. Filtering may be performed by a variety of methods, and may include: reducing the amount of light transmitted through the electronic display 12, or changing the color of the light passing through the electronic display 12, or changing the characteristics of the light passing through the electronic display 12. For example, filtering may be performed by: the image on the object side of the electronic display 12 is filtered by, among other effects, scattering light transmitted through the electronic display 12, or by causing glare (glare) in multiple directions to light transmitted through the electronic display 12. The filtering may be performed by: light is emitted from the electronic display 12, which is superimposed on the image on the object side of the electronic display 12. The emitted light may change the color or amount (intensity) of light received by the camera lens.

The electronic display 12 may include one or more pixels (denoted as reference numeral 22 in fig. 6A and reference numeral 24 in fig. 6B). If multiple pixels are used, an array of pixels may be provided. In other embodiments, a single pixel (or a 1x1 pixel arrangement) may be utilized. The electronic display 12 may perform filtering of the image using liquid crystals contained in the electronic display 12. The electronic display 12 may also filter the image using organic light emitting diodes included in the electronic display 12. In other embodiments, other forms of electronic filtering may be used. For example, the electronic displays disclosed herein may utilize quantum dots and the like. It is understood that all forms of electronic technology, as long as they can be adjusted for filtering an image for use with a camera, are within the scope of the electronic display disclosed herein.

The electronic display 12 may have a front surface 26, a back surface (opposite the front surface), and may include one or more side surfaces 28. Four side surfaces are shown in fig. 1. The housing 14 may be located at a side surface of the electronic display 12 and may form a boundary of the optical filter 10. In one embodiment, the border may extend around the entirety of the electronic display 12 and may form a frame for the electronic display 12. The housing 14 may comprise a portion of a frame, and the frame may extend around all or a portion of the electronic display 12.

The filter 10 may be sized so that the filter can fit in the standard filter slot of the mask box. The filter 10 may be sized for use with a camera or for use with a video camera. The filter 10 may have a rectangular shape. In one embodiment, the filter 10 may be sized to be about 4 inches in the vertical dimension and about 5.65 inches in the horizontal dimension. In one embodiment, the filter 10 may be sized to be about 6 inches in the vertical dimension and about 6 inches in the horizontal dimension. The size of the filter 10 may be set to be about 4 mm thick. In other embodiments, the size of the filter 10 may vary. In one embodiment, the size of the filter 10 may be configured to be no more than 7 inches in the horizontal or vertical dimension. In one embodiment, the filter 10 may be configured to be no more than 6.5 inches in either the horizontal or vertical dimension. In one embodiment, the thickness dimension of the filter 10 may be set to not more than 10 millimeters. In one embodiment, the size of the electronic display 12 may be no more than 7 inches in the horizontal or vertical dimension, or may be no more than 6.5 inches in the horizontal or vertical dimension. In one embodiment, the size of the electronic display 12 may not exceed 140 millimeters in the horizontal or vertical dimension. Preferably, the dimensions of the optical filter 10 and the electronic display 12 are set in consideration of the dimensions of the camera lens, as the optical filter 10 is preferably used with a camera lens, these dimensions being understood to vary depending on the particular type of camera and camera use application.

In one embodiment, the shape of the optical filter 10 and the electronic display 12 may be different than the shape shown in FIG. 1. For example, a ring or circle, square or other shape may be used.

The electronic display 12 includes a portion of the filter 10 through which light passes. Preferably, the housing 14 and other electrical components of the filter 10 are located outside of the viewing aperture of the filter 10 so that the housing 14 and other electrical components do not obstruct the view of the image being imaged by the camera lens. However, in other embodiments, the housing 14 and electrical components may be located within the viewing aperture. For example, the housing 14 and/or electrical components may be transparent so that the view of the image is not obscured by their presence.

Controller 16 may be used to electronically control the filtering of electronic display 12. The controller 16 may be electrically coupled to the electronic display 12. Controller 16 may include a microprocessor for controlling the filtering of electronic display 12. The controller 16 may electronically control the filtering by changing the characteristics of the electronic display 12. For example, the controller 16 may cause the amount of light transmitted through the electronic display 12 to change, or may cause the color of the light to change, or may cause light to be emitted from the electronic display 12 to change the image. It will be appreciated that the controller will be configured differently depending on the use for the purpose of varying one or more characteristics of the electronic display depending on the particular type of electronic technology used. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the controller 16 may be located within the housing 14. However, in other embodiments, the controller 16 may be located separate from the electronic display 12. For example, the controller may be part of a lens system and may be inserted into the electronic display 12 when the electronic display 12 is coupled to the lens system. The controller 16 may also be located remotely from the lens system and may additionally be in communication with the electronic display 12 and control the electronic display 12. The controller 16 may be electrically connected to the electronic display 12 via an electrical conduit (not shown). The electrical conduit may be transparent to avoid obscuring the image through the electronic display 12.

The power supply 18 may be used to power the electrical components of the filter 10. The power source may be located within the housing 14, as shown in fig. 1, or in other embodiments, the power source may be located remotely from the filter 10. For example, the power source 18 may be part of a lens system, and the power source 18 may be inserted into the optical filter 10 when the optical filter 10 is coupled to the lens system. In other embodiments, the power supply 18 may be located remotely from the lens system. The power supply 18 may include a battery, capacitor, solar cell, AC or DC power source, plug for receiving external energy, and other forms of power sources. In one embodiment, the power supply 18 may include an inductive receiver (e.g., an inductive coil or other form of receiver) for receiving inductive energy from an inductive transmitter (e.g., an inductive coil or other form of transmitter). In one embodiment, the power supply 18 may include an inductive receiver (e.g., an inductive coil or other form of receiver) for receiving inductive energy from an inductive transmitter (e.g., an inductive coil or other form of transmitter). In one embodiment, for example, in embodiments where the power supply 18 is transparent, the power supply 18 may be located within a viewing aperture of the electronic display 12.

The input device 20 may be used to receive control for controlling the controller 16. As shown in FIG. 1, the input device 20 may be located within the housing 14 or may be remote from the housing 14 in a manner similar to the controller 16 or the power source 18. For example, the input device 20 may be part of a lens system, and the input device 20 may be inserted into the optical filter 10 when the optical filter 10 is coupled to the lens system. In other embodiments, the input device 20 is located remotely from the lens system. The input device 20 may include a wireless signal receiver. The input device 20 may be operative to receive wireless signals via a wireless local area network (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (Bluetooth), peer-to-peer connection, cellular connection, radio connection, or other form of wireless signal communication. In one embodiment, the input device 20 may include a wired connection physically connected to receive control. For example, the wired connection may allow an operator of the camera system to control the electronic display 12. The wired connection may include a plug or other wired connection to receive control. In one embodiment, input device 20 may include a manual input device (e.g., a knob, button, slider, or other form of input device) that allows a user to provide controls. Other forms of input device 20 may also be utilized. The control received by the input device 20 may take a variety of forms and may include control signals, manual inputs, or other forms of control. The control may be provided wirelessly (or through a wired connection). The control may include commands for controlling the controller 16.

The input device 20 may be connected with a control terminal 30. The control terminal 30 may include a remote terminal that can wirelessly communicate with the input device 20. The control terminal 30 may be configured to transmit control to the input device 20 and may also receive information from the input device 20 regarding the status of the optical filter 10. In this manner, the input device 20 may include a transmitter as well as a receiver. In one embodiment, the control terminal 30 may communicate with the input device 20 via a wired connection. The control terminal 30 may comprise a computer, tablet, smart phone, or may comprise other forms of terminal equipment. The control terminal 30 may include a dedicated controller for the optical filter 10. For example, control terminal 30 may be part of a lens system or camera system used with filter 10.

The control terminal 30 may be used to set or control the filtering of the electronic display 12. The control terminal 30 may have a control interface that a user may utilize to set or control the filtering of the electronic display 12. For example, the control interface may be part of a software application (or "app") for setting or controlling the filtering of the electronic display 12. The control interface may also display information received regarding the status of the filter 10. For example, fig. 4 shows a control terminal 30 in the form of a tablet computer. The display 31 may display images received by the camera. The control terminal 30 may utilize a control interface in the form of a touch screen. The control interface may include interface controls 33, such as interface sliders, which interface controls 33 may change the color, brightness, or other form of filtering of the filters of color filter 10. In one embodiment, a user may touch portions of the control interface to indicate the location of the image that should be filtered. For example, the user may surround or otherwise touch the cloud 34 to select filtering only for the cloud that should be changed. The user may select the entire image or a portion of the image to filter or to filter different types of light. Other forms of control interfaces and interface controls 33 may be utilized.

In other embodiments, other forms of software may be used to set or control the filtering of the electronic display 12. Other control interfaces may be utilized. For example, a standard keyboard or a series of buttons or knobs may be used as a control interface. Along with other forms of controls, the user may set desired characteristics of the electronic display's filtering, or may select a series of varying filtering for the electronic display 12 to follow.

Fig. 5A-5C illustrate other forms of input devices that may be used with the filters disclosed herein. In fig. 5A, an input device 35 in the form of a button may be provided on the body of the filter. The user may press a button to allow the input device 35 to receive controls for controlling the controller. As shown in fig. 5B, an input device 37 in the form of a slider may be provided on the body of the filter. The user may slide the slider to allow the input device 37 to receive controls for controlling the controller. In fig. 5C, an input device in the form of a cable 39 coupled to a control terminal 41 may be coupled to the filter. A user may input controls via the control terminal 41 to control the operation of the controller and the filters.

In one embodiment, the optical filter may be operated by coupling the optical filter to a lens controller of the camera system. For example, the input device may be configured such that the filtering of the optical filter varies according to changes in the iris or focus of the camera, or other optical characteristics of the camera. This may be achieved by a wired connection or other form of connection (e.g., wireless) with the lens controller of the camera system.

In one embodiment, the filter may operate autonomously based on the image received or provided to the camera. A sensor may be utilized to detect an image provided to the camera and control may be provided to the filter input device to automatically change the filtering based on the received image. For example, if the scene is bright, the filter may be configured to automatically reduce the brightness of the image. The sensor may be located with the camera or in other locations. In one embodiment, the camera may be configured to provide control to an input device of the optical filter based on an image received by the camera. For example, if a camera (e.g., a digital image sensor of the camera) detects that a bright scene is being framed, control may be provided to the input device of the optical filter to reduce the brightness. Thus, the filter may operate in an image-based feedback loop.

The electronic display 12, controller 16, power source 18, and/or input device 20 may include a unit that is removably coupled to the lens system. The unit may include an electronic display 12 and a housing 14 connected together as shown in fig. 1. The unit may be sized such that it is similar in size and shape to current non-electronic filters, so it can replace these, and it can be used with similar mask boxes or other methods of coupling the filters to the lens. In one embodiment, the optical filter 10 and its components may be integrated with the lens system and may not be removable. In other embodiments, some components may be separate from the lens system and some components may be integrated with the lens system. In other embodiments, certain components disclosed herein may be excluded altogether.

The electronic display 12 may filter the image to a desired amount or filter the image in some manner. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the electronic display 12 is filtering the entire image being viewed through the electronic display 12. The image includes a person 32, a cloud 34, and a tree 36. The whole of the tree 36, the whole of the cloud 34 and a part of the person 32 are filtered (the filtering is indicated by diagonal lines in fig. 1). The filtering may be performed by reducing the amount of light from the image transmitted through the electronic display 12, or by changing the color of light from the image passing through the electronic display 12, or by changing the characteristics of the light passing through the electronic display 12 (e.g., by being image scattering, or by providing glare). Filtering also includes emitting light from the electronic display 12 that is superimposed on the image on the object side of the electronic display 12. The emitted light may change the color or amount (intensity) of light received by the camera lens.

In embodiments where the light from the image transmitted through the electronic display 12 is reduced, the reduction of light may have various forms. For example, the reduction of light may be similar to a neutral density filter (ND filter) that may filter all colors of an image substantially equally. However, the amount of filtering can be varied electronically, allowing the electronic display to function as an electronically variable neutral density filter. In one example, the reduction in light may be due to the liquid crystal in the electronic display 12 not passing a desired amount of light through the electronic display 12. The transmittance of the liquid crystal may be changed electronically. The light transmission can range from about 50% (similar to a 0.3ND filter), to about 25% (similar to a 0.6ND filter), to about 12.5% (similar to a 0.9ND filter), to about 6.25% (similar to a 1.2ND filter), to about 3.125% (similar to a 1.5ND filter), to about 1.5625% (similar to a 1.8ND filter), to about 0.78125% (similar to a 2.1ND filter), and all light transmissions above, below, and between these ranges. Additionally, in embodiments in which color filters are used with the electronic display 12, the color of light passing through the various pixels of the electronic display 12 may vary. The light transmittance (or density of filtering) can be electronically varied by any amount (e.g., 99%, 65%, etc.) as desired. The color of the light passing through the electronic display 12 may be changed to any desired color in the spectrum.

In embodiments utilizing Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), the OLEDs may be configured to emit light at various brightness levels, and in embodiments utilizing color filtering, the OLEDs may be configured to emit light at various color levels. The electronic display 12 may filter the image by adding light from the OLED to the light from the image at a certain brightness and color (in embodiments utilizing color filtering). Light from the image may pass through the electronic display 12 and be modified by light added from the OLEDs. This modification may be done over the entire image (as shown in fig. 1), or may be done on a pixel-by-pixel basis. In one embodiment, the OLED may be configured to emit light of a certain brightness, which may be reduced to effectively reduce the brightness of the image.

Due to the electronic nature of the electronic display 12, one or more portions of the electronic display 12 may have varying filtering characteristics. The change may be on a pixel-by-pixel basis. For example, FIG. 2 shows an electronic display 12, the electronic display 12 having a portion 38 of the electronic display 12 with a filtered image, and another portion 40 of the display without a filtered image. Thus, the electronic display 12 acts as a gradient filter. The transition between the filtered and unfiltered portions may be abrupt or smooth as desired.

Fig. 3 shows an electronic display 12 having selected filtering portions. In the example of fig. 3, the top of the tree 36 and the cloud 34 are filtered, while other portions are unfiltered. May result in some form of "burn and fade" effect.

The type and location of filtering of the electronic display 12 may be determined on a pixel-by-pixel basis. As shown in fig. 1-3, various types and locations of filtering may be provided as desired. The variation of the filtering may be based on control of an input device provided to the filter. As disclosed herein, control may take a variety of forms.

The change in the filtering of the electronic display 12 may be performed dynamically. The type and location of filtering may be dynamically varied. For example, the user may electronically control the electronic display 12 to rapidly shift the filtering of individual pixels to produce various filtering patterns (e.g., dynamically shift from the filtering pattern shown in FIG. 1 to the pattern shown in FIG. 2, to the pattern shown in FIG. 3. the user may set any characteristic of the filtering by a control, which may be received from a control terminal 30 or the like.

The filtering may vary smoothly over a range of densities. Filtering may be used to form custom filter patterns. Filtering may be used in conjunction with camera controls. For example, the iris and filters of the camera may change such that background objects are in focus or out of focus, while foreground objects remain in focus (in the form of iris filtering).

An advantage of the electronic display 12 is that, typically, the non-electronic filters used in the camera system need to be manually replaced from the camera system. In addition, the filter may not be replaced during the shooting process. Furthermore, if the camera is located on a raised crane, the crane needs to be lowered in order to manually replace the filters by hand. The electronic display 12 may allow for a variable filter that can be remotely modified. The filters may be dynamically changed during the shooting process. The user need not physically touch the camera.

FIG. 6A shows an embodiment of a portion of an electronic display 12 in which liquid crystals are utilized. The portion of the display 12 may include a front panel 42 and a rear panel 44, and the front panel 42 and the rear panel 44 may correspond to the front surface and the rear surface of the display 12, respectively. The panels 42, 44 may be made of optical glass. The display 12 may include polarizing filter panels 46, 48, with the polarizing filter panels 46, 48 oriented orthogonal to one another. A control layer 50 may be utilized that may include transistors and electrodes. Liquid crystal 52 is utilized and may be divided into an array of pixels 22. In embodiments where color filtering is desired, a color filter 54 may be used. Color filter 54 may include red, green, and blue subpixels that combine to form a color pixel. The light passing through the color sub-pixels determines the color of the light passing through the electronic display 12. The voltage applied to the liquid crystal 52 may be varied to change the orientation of the crystals, in accordance with the principles of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) technology. Varying amounts of light may be transmitted by liquid crystal 52 based on the voltage applied to the crystal. However, in the electronic display 12, unlike standard LCD technology, there is no backlight. The image itself produces light that passes through the electronic display 12. In other embodiments, the electronic display 12 using liquid crystals may have a different use and configuration than that shown. For example, in one embodiment, a single pixel (1 × 1 arrangement) may be utilized, and the brightness of the image may be changed to a desired amount using the single pixel. In one embodiment, the order of the interior layers 50, 52, 54 may be changed or the presence or absence of layers 50, 52, 54 may be determined according to the desired configuration of the electronic display 12. In one embodiment, the presence or structure of the polarized filter panels 46, 48 may be varied as desired.

FIG. 6B shows an embodiment of a portion of an electronic display 12 in which OLEDs are utilized. The portion of the display 12 may include a front panel 56 and a rear panel 58, and the front panel 56 and the rear panel 58 may correspond to the front surface and the rear surface of the display 12, respectively. The panels 56, 58 may be made of optical glass. Display 12 may include a cathode 60 and an anode 62. The electronic controller 64 may be provided in the form of a matrix of transistors. The organic layer 66 may be arranged to be divided into an array of pixels 24. In embodiments providing color filtering, the pixels 24 may be arranged as sub-pixels emitting color. As shown in fig. 6B, three pixels 24 are shown, the three pixels 24 being red, green, and blue pixels. The pixels 24 may be arranged as sub-pixels emitting a color, such as a violet or orange emission color. In other embodiments, the OLED may not provide color. The OLED panel may be transparent and may allow light from an image to pass therethrough such that the light from the image is altered by the light from the OLED. The configuration of the OLED may be different from that shown in fig. 6B. In one embodiment, the configuration may be an Active Matrix (AMOLED), or in other embodiments, may be Passive (PMOLED). In one embodiment, a single OLED pixel (1 × 1 arrangement) may be provided.

The panels shown in fig. 6A-6D may have a hard anti-reflective coating. Ravg can be less than 0.2% @ 400-. Preferably, the transmitted wavefront error may be less than 1/2 λ.

While the embodiment shown in fig. 6A using liquid crystal shows a certain type of liquid crystal display architecture, it is understood that an electronic device utilizing liquid crystal for electronic display purposes as disclosed herein may have other types of architectures, with all such different architectures being within the scope of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 6C-6E, an embodiment of an electronic display 100 in which liquid crystals are used is shown having a different architecture than that shown in fig. 6A. In this example, the liquid crystal is provided in a guest-host liquid crystal architecture comprising liquid crystal cells filled with two materials; i.e., a dye material or "guest", and a liquid crystal material or "host". In one example, both the guest material and the host material are shaped like rods inside the battery cell. The transmission state of such an electronic display can be controlled by different orientations of the liquid crystal layer.

The transmission of light through the electronic display is controlled by the liquid crystal guest-host dye layer. By applying different voltages across the layer, the orientation of the director of the liquid crystal can be changed to different states. Since the chemical structure of the dye molecules is similar to that of the liquid crystal molecules, the dye molecules align themselves with the liquid crystal director. Fig. 6C-6D show the electronic display 100 and provide schematic diagrams of the director structure for two representative states. When unpolarized light is incident on the dyed material, polarization-dependent absorption occurs. Introducing a twist in the liquid crystal guest-host dye layer, the orientation of the dye will be different throughout the liquid crystal layer, so the absorption becomes polarization independent.

Fig. 6C shows the electronic display 100 in a first state in which the liquid crystal directors are aligned 102 to reduce the transmission of light through the electronic display 100. Fig. 6C shows the electronic display 100 in a second state in which the liquid crystal directors are aligned 104 to increase the transmission of light through the electronic display 100. The variation in the alignment of the liquid crystal directors varies based on the electric field applied to the electronic display.

In other embodiments, other forms of electronic displays may be used.

Fig. 7A shows an embodiment of the electronic panel 61 in which a liquid crystal 63 is used to filter the image by scattering light. The liquid crystal may be configured to randomly orient itself when a voltage or other form of energy is applied to or removed from the liquid crystal. When the orientation of the liquid crystal is changed, dispersion of light, which generates scattering of light, may be caused. The degree of scattering can be varied by varying the amount of voltage or other forms of energy applied to or removed from the liquid crystal. The rightmost image of fig. 7A shows the random orientation of the liquid crystals.

Fig. 7B shows an embodiment of an electronic panel 65 in which liquid crystals 67 or particles (e.g., glass fiber fragments) are used to filter the image by glare. The liquid crystal or other particles may be configured to orient themselves in a certain direction upon application or removal of a voltage or other form of energy. For example, the liquid crystals or other particles may be configured to orient themselves in a horizontal direction. When the orientation of the liquid crystals or particles is horizontally aligned, horizontal glare of light passing through the panel 65 may occur, similar to the operation of a "stripe" filter. In other embodiments, other directions of alignment and glare may be provided. For example, vertical glare or diagonal glare may be provided, which also operates similarly to a "stripe" filter. In one embodiment, the liquid crystals or other particles may be configured to orient themselves radially, thereby creating radial glare. The degree of glare can be varied by varying the amount of voltage or other forms of energy applied to or removed from the liquid crystal, which will correspondingly change the orientation of the liquid crystal or particles. The right-most image of fig. 7B shows a horizontal orientation of the liquid crystals or particles, which results in horizontal glare of light (although other orientations may be provided).

In one embodiment, a combination of liquid crystal and OLED may be utilized. Fig. 7C shows a configuration of an electronic panel 69 in which an electronic panel 71 including one or more OLEDs is used in combination with an electronic panel 73 including liquid crystals. The panels 71, 73 may operate according to the methods disclosed herein for OLED panels and liquid crystal panels, respectively. The panels 71, 73 may be configured in a stacked orientation, with light passing through both panels 71, 73. Thus, the electronic panel 73 may darken or lighten the image (or create other optical effects disclosed herein), and the electronic panel 71 may add overlaying light to the resulting image to create filtering.

The electronic panels disclosed herein may be controlled by the devices, systems, and methods disclosed herein. A combination of panels and panel effects may be provided as desired.

Fig. 8 shows a side view representation of the camera system 70. The camera system 70 may include a camera 72 and may include a lens system 74. The lens system 74 may include a camera lens 76 and may include a mask box 78. The mask box 78 may include a filter slot 80 for receiving the filter 10. Filter 10 may be located on an object side 82 of camera lens 76 (opposite the image side on which the camera receives images). The camera lens 76 may include one or more individual lens elements.

Filter 10 may be removably coupled to mask box 78. The mask box 78 may be a conventional mask box for a motion picture camera.

In other embodiments, other forms of connection of the optical filter 10 to the lens system 74 or camera system 70 may be used. For example, a threaded, snap-fit, or other form of mechanical connection for coupling may be provided.

Fig. 9 shows a front perspective view of the camera system 70. The filter 10 is mounted in a mask box 78.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 10, the filter 10 is located between the camera lens 76 of the camera 72 and the image receiver 69. The image receiver 69 may include a digital sensor or film for receiving camera images, or other forms of image receivers. The optical filter 10 may be configured to provide the filtering disclosed herein, but still be located at the image side of the camera lens 76 and the object side of the image receiver 69. A plurality of lens elements 73, 75 and 77 are shown included in lens 76. The filter 10 is located in the optical path of the camera system 71. In certain embodiments, the optical filter 10 may preferably comprise an OLED for providing OLED filtering as disclosed herein. The filter 10 may be removably or permanently coupled to the camera system 71.

In embodiments herein, the camera 72 may be a camera for dynamic images (film camera or digital camera), or may be a still image camera, for example, a camera for still photography. Cameras may be used for cinematic purposes (film production) as well as for non-cinematographic or commercial purposes. In one embodiment, the camera may be a mobile device (smartphone or other form of mobile device).

For example, fig. 11 shows an optical filter 79 comprising an electronic display 81 according to embodiments disclosed herein. The filter 79 will be coupled to the object side of the camera lens 83 of the camera of the mobile device 85. The filtering disclosed herein may be provided. The filter 79 may be removably coupled to the mobile device 85. The releasable coupling may be by adhesive, screws or snap-fit or other form of coupling. In one embodiment, the filter 79 may be located image-wise of the camera lens 83 and, thus, may be permanently coupled to the mobile device 85.

In one embodiment, the filters, electronic displays, and other devices, systems, and methods are not limited to use with cameras. The filters, electronic displays, and other devices, systems, and methods may be used in other optical embodiments, such as augmented reality viewers (including headphones, handheld earpieces, etc.) and virtual reality viewers (including headphones, handheld earpieces, etc.).

The present application is not limited to the devices and systems disclosed herein, but also extends to all methods of using, providing, or performing any of the devices and systems disclosed herein and their respective features.

Finally, it is to be understood that even though aspects of the present description have been highlighted by reference to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that these disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the subject matter disclosed herein. Thus, it is to be understood that the disclosed subject matter is in no way limited to the particular methodology, protocols, and/or reagents, etc., described herein. As such, various modifications or changes to or alternative arrangements of the disclosed subject matter may be made in accordance with the teachings herein without departing from the spirit of the present specification. Finally, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the systems, apparatuses and methods disclosed herein, which scope is defined only by the claims. Accordingly, the systems, apparatus and methods are not limited to the precise arrangements shown and described.

Certain embodiments of the systems, apparatuses and methods are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the systems, apparatuses and methods. Of course, variations of those described embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the systems, apparatuses, and methods to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, the systems, apparatus and methods include all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described embodiments in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the systems, apparatus and methods unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

The grouping of alternative embodiments, elements, or steps of the systems, apparatus, and methods should not be construed as limiting. Each of the members of the group may be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group as disclosed herein. It is contemplated that one or more members of a group may be included in or deleted from a group for convenience and/or patentability reasons. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is considered to contain the modified groupings so as to satisfy the written description of all markush combinations used in the appended claims.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing features, items, quantities, parameters, properties, terms, and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term "about. As used herein, the term "about" means that the so-defined feature, item, quantity, parameter, characteristic, or term encompasses an approximation that may vary but still be capable of performing the desired operation or process discussed herein.

The use of the terms "a" and "an" and "the" and similar referents in the context of describing systems, apparatus, and methods (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the systems, apparatuses, and methods and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the systems, apparatuses, and methods otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the systems, devices, and methods.

All patents, patent publications, and other publications cited and identified in this specification are herein incorporated by reference, individually and specifically, in their entirety for the purpose of describing and disclosing, for example, the components and methodologies that are described in the publications, which might be used in connection with the systems, devices, and methods. These publications are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. In this regard, nothing should be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention or for any other reason. All statements as to the date or content of these documents is based on the information available to the applicants and does not constitute an admission as to the correctness of the dates or content of these documents.