Optical communication system providing selective image presentations

Claim 2

A mosaic system for displaying different information in discrete respective viewing areas to an observer moving through the viewing areas, which system is formed of a plurality of optical assemblies, each assembly having total and partial viewing field properties determined by their design and relative positions such that the assemblies comprising the mosaic system cooperatively create a visually observable field that selectively presents directly viewed observable information to predetermined locations through which an observer passes; each of said optical assemblies including: at least one information source and an optical element for creating an image of said information source viewable within a predetermined cone of vision defining at least one of said viewing areas which is contained within the total cone of vision created by said system; the image of at least a portion of the information source of at least two of said optical assemblies being simultaneously viewable by both eyes of an observer as the observer passes through the predetermined cone of vision within the total cone of vision of said system; each of said information sources being comprised of at least first and second source portions displaced from one another and cooperating with their associated optical elements to create images of said source portions which lie in separate viewing areas within the total cone of vision of the display system; at least one of the information source portions of each of two of said assemblies being imaged in the same portion of a common viewing cone to be simultaneously visible by both eyes of an observer passing through said common viewing cone.

Claim 3

A display system for displaying information to a moving observer, which display information changes as the observer moves relative to the system, wherein the system comprises: a plurality of discrete lens elements arranged in a spatial fashion, all of said elements lying substantially in a plane; a first array of information sources wherein each information source in said first array is associated with a selected one of said lens elements; a second array of information sources wherein selected ones of the information sources in said second array are associated with selected ones of said lens elements; said lens elements each being adapted to create images of their associated sources comprising said first array of sources within a first viewing cone to form a first composite image array and being further adapted to create images of their associated sources comprising said second array of sources within a second viewing cone to form a second composite image array; said first and second viewing cones being displaced from one another to enable an observer to view all of the cooperating images of only one of said composite arrays simultaneously with both eyes as the observer moves through the viewing cone containing that composite array; each of said information sources being comprised of a transparency and a light source for passing light rays through said transparency and the lens element associated with the light source and transparency.

Claim 4

A display system for displaying information to a moving observer, which display information changes as the observer moves relative to the system, wherein the system comprises: a plurality of discrete lens elements arranged in a spatial fashion, all of said elements lying substantially in a plane; a first array of information sources wherein each information source in said first array is associated with a selected one of said lens elements; a second array of information sources wherein selected ones of the information sources in said second array are associated with selected ones of said lens elements; said lens elements each being adapted to create images of their associated sources comprising said first array of sources within a first viewing cone to form a first composite image array and being further adapted to create images of their associated sources comprising said second array of sources within a second viewing cone to form a second composite image array; said first and second viewing cones being displaced from one another to enable an observer to view all of the cooperating images of only one of said composite arrays simultaneously with both eyes as the observer moves through the viewing cone containing that composite array; each of said information sources being comprised of a transparency and a light source for passing light rays through said transparency and the lens element associated with the light source and transparency.

Claim 7

The display system of claim 3 wherein the aperture of said common field lens is greater than the aperture of each of said objective lens means and the image viewed at any of said viewing positions by an observer fills substantially the entire aperture of said common field lens.

Claim 8

The system of claim 4 wherein said field lens and each of said objective lens means is a Fresnel lens.

Claim 9

The system of claim 4 wherein each information source is a transparency illuminated by a light source positioned to pass rays through its associated transparency, objective lens means and the common field lens.

Claim 10

The system of claim 6 wherein each of the transparencies is smaller than the aperture of said common field lens.

Claim 11

A mosaic system for displaying information to a moving observer, which information changes as the observer changes his position relative to said system comprising: a first plurality of separate illuminated information sources arranged at spaced intervals in predetermined sequence; a first plurality of objective lens means each being associated with one of said associated information sources for creating an image of its associated object wherein all of said images are created in a common image plane; a first common field lens for re-imaging the images created by each of said objective lens means to create first viewing images of said first plurality of information sources, each individual viewing image being viewable simultaneously by both eyes of an observer in discrete viewing positions spaced from one another; a second plurality of separate illuminated information sources spaced from said first plurality of information sources and arranged at spaced intervals in a second predetermined sequence; a second plurality of objective lens means each being associated with one of the information sources in said second plurality of information sources for creating an image of its associated information source wherein all of said images are created in a second common image plane; a second common field lens for re-imaging the images created by each objective lens means in the second plurality of objective means to create a second group of viewing images, each individual viewing image within the second group of viewing images being viewable simultaneously by both eyes of an observer in the respective discrete viewing positions in which the first group of viewing images are arranged whereby an observer moving through said viewing positions will observe associated viewing images from said first and second group of viewing images at each of the discrete viewing positions to create a composite viewing image at each of said discrete positions, each of the composite viewing images being formed of images of one of the information sources in the first plurality of information sources and one of the information sources in the second plurality of information sources.

Claim 12

A mosaic system for displaying information to a moving observer, which information changes as the observer changes his position relative to said system comprising: a first plurality of separate illuminated information sources arranged at spaced intervals in predetermined sequence; a first plurality of objective lens means each being associated with one of said associated information sources for creating an image of its associated object wherein all of said images are created in a common image plane; a first common field lens for re-imaging the images created by each of said objective lens means to create first viewing images of said first plurality of information sources, each individual viewing image being viewable simultaneously by both eyes of an observer in discrete viewing positions spaced from one another; a second plurality of separate illuminated information sources spaced from said first plurality of information sources and arranged at spaced intervals in a second predetermined sequence; a second plurality of objective lens means each being associated with one of the information sources in said second plurality of information sources for creating an image of its associated information source wherein all of said images are created in a second common image plane; a second common field lens for re-imaging the images created by each objective lens means in the second plurality of objective means to create a second group of viewing images, each individual viewing image within the second group of viewing images being viewable simultaneously by both eyes of an observer in the respective discrete viewing positions in which the first group of viewing images are arranged whereby an observer moving through said viewing positions will observe associated viewing images from said first and second group of viewing images at each of the discrete viewing positions to create a composite viewing image at each of said discrete positions, each of the composite viewing images being formed of images of one of the information sources in the first plurality of information sources and one of the information sources in the second plurality of information sources.