U.S. patent application number 09/757053 was filed with the patent office on 2002-11-07 for three dimensional cloaking process and apparatus.
Invention is credited to Alden, Ray M..
Application Number | 20020162942 09/757053 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25046159 |
Filed Date | 2002-11-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020162942 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Alden, Ray M. |
November 7, 2002 |
Three dimensional cloaking process and apparatus
Abstract
The invention described herein represents a significant
improvement for the concealment of objects and people. Thousands of
light receiving surfaces (such as CCD arrays) and sending surfaces
(such as LEDs) are affixed to the surface of the object to be
concealed. Each receiving surface receives colored light from the
background of the object. Each receiving surface is positioned such
that the trajectory of the light striking it is known. Information
describing the color and intensity of the light striking each
receiving surface is collected and sent to a corresponding sending
surface. Said sending surface's position corresponding to the known
trajectory of the said light striking the receiving surface. Light
of the same color and intensity which was received on one side of
the object is then sent on the same trajectory out a second side of
the object. This process is repeated many times such that an
observer looking at the object from any perspective actually sees
the background of the object corresponding to the observer's
perspective. The object having been rendered "invisible" to the
observer
Inventors: |
Alden, Ray M.; (Raleigh,
NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Ray M. Alden
808 Lake Brandon Trail
Raleigh
NC
27610
US
|
Family ID: |
25046159 |
Appl. No.: |
09/757053 |
Filed: |
January 8, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
250/208.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10S 428/919 20130101;
G02B 26/06 20130101; G02B 6/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
250/208.1 |
International
Class: |
G06K 009/00; H01L
027/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A means for receiving a light beam on a first side of an object
and for generating a corresponding light beam on a second side of
said object, wherein said corresponding light beam is intended to
resemble the received light beam in trajectory, color and
intensity.
2. An array of surfaces for receiving light from at least two
trajectories and a second array of surfaces for emulating the
received light's trajectory, color, and intensity.
Description
BACKGROUND FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The concept of rendering objects invisible has long been
contemplated in science fiction. Works such as Star Trek and The
Invisible Man include means to render objects or people invisible.
The actual achievement of making objects disappear however has
heretofore been limited to fooling the human eye with "magic"
tricks and camouflage. The latter often involves coloring the
surface of an object such as a military vehicle with colors and
patterns which make it blend in with its surrounding.
[0002] The process of collecting pictorial information in the form
of two dimensional pixels and replaying it on monitors has been
brought to a very fine art over the past one hundred years. More
recently, three dimensional pictorial "bubbles" have been created
using optics and computer software to enable users to "virtually
travel" from within a virtual bubble. The user interface for these
virtual bubble are nearly always presented on a two dims ional
screen, with the user navigating to different views on the screen.
When presented in a here dimensional user interface, the user is on
the inside of these bubbles.
[0003] The present invention creates a three dimensional virtual
image bubble on the surface of an actual three dimensional object.
By contrast, observers are on the outside of this three dimensional
bubble. This three dimensional bubble renders the object invisible
to observers who can only "see through the object" and observer the
object's background. The present invention can make military and
police vehicles and operatives invisible against their background
from any viewing perspective.
BACKGROUND-DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR INVENTION
[0004] The concept of rendering objects invisible has long been
contemplated in science fiction. Works such as Star Trek and The
Invisible Man include means to render objects or people invisible.
The actual achievement of making objects disappear however has
heretofore been limited to fooling the human eye with "magic"
tricks and camouflage. The latter often involves coloring the
surface of an object such as a military vehicle with colors and
patterns which make it blend in with its surrounding.
[0005] The process of collecting pictorial information in the form
of two dimensional pixels and replaying it on monitors has been
brought to a very fine art over the past one hundred years. More
recently, three dimensional pictorial "bubbles" have been created
using optics and computer software to enable users to "virtually
travel" from within a virtual bubble. The user interface for these
virtual bubble are nearly always presented on a two dimensional
screen, with the user navigating to different views on the screen.
When presented in a three dimensional user interface, the user is
on the inside of the bubble.
[0006] The present invention creates a three dimensional virtual
image bubble on the surface of an actual three dimensional object.
By contrast, observers are on the outside of this three dimensional
bubble. This three dimensional bubble renders the object within the
bubble invisible to observers who can only "see through the object"
and observe the object's background. The present invention can make
military and police vehicles and operatives invisible against their
background from any viewing perspective.
SUMMARY
[0007] The invention described herein represents a significant
improvement for the concealment of objects and people. Thousands of
light receiving surfaces (such as CCD arrays) and sending surfaces
(such as LEDs) are affixed to the surface of the object to be
concealed. Each receiving surface receives colored light from the
background of the object. Each receiving surface is positioned such
that the trajectory of the light striking it is known. Information
describing the color and intensity of the light striking each
receiving surface is collected and sent to a corresponding sending
surface. Said sending surface's position corresponding to the known
trajectory of the said light striking the receiving surface. Light
of the same color and intensity which was received on one side of
the object is then sent on the same trajectory out a second side of
the object. This process is repeated many times such that an
observer looking at the object from any perspective actually sees
the background of the object corresponding to the observer's
perspective. The object having been rendered "invisible" to the
observer.
[0008] Objects and Advantages
[0009] Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my invention
are apparent. It is an object of the present invention to create a
three dimensional virtual image bubble surrounding objects and
people. Observers looking at this three dimensional bubble from any
viewing perspective are only able to see the background of the
object within the bubble. This enables military vehicles and
operatives to be more difficult to detect and may save lives in
many instances. Likewise, police operatives operating within a
bubble can be made difficult to detect by criminal suspects. The
apparatus is designed to be rugged, reliable, and light weight.
DRAWING FIGURES
[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of three dimensional
objects.
[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of three dimensional
objects when the object in the foreground is transparent.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a second view of the objects of FIG. 1.
[0013] FIG. 4 are the same objects where that in the foreground is
transparent.
[0014] FIG. 5 illustrates an array of receiving and sending
surfaces on two sides of an object.
[0015] FIG. 6 illustrates a single collecting and receiving cell
with 7 surfaces.
[0016] FIG. 7 is a diode receiver and diode sender flow chart.
[0017] FIG. 8 is a CCD receiver and LED sender flowchart.
[0018] FIG. 9 illustrates how the seven surfaces of one cell
correspond to seven surfaces located in seven different cells.
[0019] FIG. 10 is a diode receiver and diode sender flow chart in a
first state.
[0020] FIG. 10a is a diode receiver and diode sender flow chart in
a second state.
[0021] FIG. 11 are the seven receiving surfaces corresponding to
the seven sending surfaces of one cell.
[0022] FIG. 12 demonstrates how grid coordinates can be used to
calculate how sending and receiving surfaces should map to on
another.
DESCRIPTION
[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of three dimensional
objects. From this perspective view, a block 15 in the foreground
can easily be detected against the cylinder 16 in the back
ground.
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of three dimensional
objects when the object in the foreground is transparent. The
transparent block 19 enables light from the background including
the cylinder 16 to be transmitted through it.
[0025] FIG. 3 is a second view of the objects of FIG. 1. The same
objects from FIG. 1 are here observed from a different perspective.
The cylinder 16 is unobstructed but now the pyramid 17 is
obstructed by the block 15.
[0026] FIG. 4 are the same objects where that in the foreground is
transparent. The transparent block 19 enables the observer to see
the back ground which in this case is the pyramid 17. The point of
these simple three dimensional views is to illustrate that the
problem of rendering a non-transparent object invisible is a very
difficult one. One image of the background will not be adequate
because the back ground is totally dependent upon the observers
position. The following diagrams and ensuing description illustrate
how the background of the object from many perspectives can be
simulated simultaneously.
[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates an array of receiving and sending
surfaces on two sides of an object. A first side of the object 24
has an array of hexagonal sending and receiving cells affixed to
it. A second side of the object 23 has an array of receiving and
sending cells affixed to it. Light from a background object 30 is
incident upon many cell surfaces on the first side of the object.
First incident ray 31 is some such light from 30. It is incident
upon the bottom surface of a cell. The cell surface (not shown)
consists of a photoelectric material (such as an LED array or a CCD
array). Information about this light is collected electronically
and sent to the corresponding sending surface on the opposite side
of the object which emits a first corresponding light ray 32
closely resembling the color and intensity of the first incident
ray 31 light. The sending surface (not shown) consists of a photo
emitting material (such as a multichromatic LED array). Similarly a
second incident ray 29 is light from back ground object 30. Its
trajectory is different from that of 31 and it is therefore
incident upon a totally different surface. The surface that 29 is
incident upon corresponds to a surface on the opposite side of the
object--such that when the second corresponding ray 28 is emitted,
its trajectory is the same as that of 29. The color and intensity
of 28 are likewise engineered to resemble that of 29. In actuality,
many additional surfaces would concurrently be receiving light from
30 and the process of collecting and reproducing that light is
likewise repeated many times by many incident surfaces and
corresponding surfaces. This is because an observer may be at any
observing angle. Background object 30 will need to be viewable at
all of these angles. Note that one observer at 32 can "see" 30 and
also an observer at 28 can "see" 30. Similarly, a second background
object 26 emits rays that are incident upon many receiving
surfaces, a third ray 27 being one such ray. The surface that
receives 27 collects color and intensity information and sends it
to its corresponding surfaces which emits a third corresponding ray
25 designed to emulate 27 in trajectory, color and intensity.
[0028] FIG. 6 illustrates a single collecting and receiving cell
with 7 surfaces. Each cell has multiple surfaces to collect
incident light from different trajectories. Each surface can
collect information about color and intensity. (Photodiode and CCD
are examples of materials which can from these surfaces.) Surfaces
include walls such as 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, and 33 and the bottom 38.
In practice the whole cavity of the cell is filled with a
transparent substrate. This improves stability of the cell and
protects the electronic components while also providing a
refractive index higher than air for improved efficiency. Said
transparent substrate may protrude out side of the cell to form a
convex lens for improved efficiency.
[0029] FIG. 7 is a diode receiver and diode sender flow chart. The
flowchart represents a single surface of a single cell on a first
side of an object, a power source and a single corresponding
surface on a second side of the object. A light beam 40 is incident
upon the surface. A green photodiode 43 receives photons within a
first wavelength range, a red photodiode 46 receives photons within
a second wavelength range, and a blue photodiode receives photons
in a third wavelength range. Intensity of the incident wavelengths
varies the electric output of the respective photodiode. The
intensity is used by the variable power sources to correspondingly
power the surface on the second side of the object. Variable power
sources 44, 47, and 50 receive intensity information from their
respective photodiodes and sends power to a respective
corresponding LEDs. The green LED 45 sends green light 54, the Red
LED 48 sends red light 53 and the blue LED 51 sends blue light 52.
In this way, the color and intensity of the light incident on the
first surface is reproduced on the second surface.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a CCD receiver and LED sender flowchart. The
flowchart represents a single surface of a single cell on a first
side of an object (the CCD), a power source and a single
corresponding surface on a second side of the object (the LED
array). Light 58 passes through a color band filter 59 and then is
incident upon the CCD array 60. At 61,64, 65, and 68, filters are
used to split the signal from the CCD into three bands
representative of color. Intensity of each band is used to control
the power sources output to the correspondingly colored LED. On the
second side of the object, the 63 Green LED produces green light
57, the red LED 67 produces red light 56 and the blue LED 70
produces blue light 55. These light outputs on the second side of
the object combine to closely resemble the color and intensity of
the light which was incident on the first side of the object.
[0031] FIG. 9 illustrates how the seven surfaces of one cell
correspond to seven surfaces located in seven different cells. A
first side of an object 105 has one cell mounted on it. A first
incident ray 79 strikes the bottom of the cell (not shown). This
causes the corresponding bottom surface (the reverse side of 81) to
produce a corresponding ray 83. Ray 83 resembles the trajectory,
color and intensity of ray 79. Likewise 73 is a ray incident upon
surface 71 which causes a cell surface 75 on the second side of the
object to produce a corresponding ray 77 on the same trajectory
with similar color and intensity. Each other surface of the cell on
105 has a corresponding surface on the second side of the object.
Surface 89 corresponds to surface 91. Surface 97 corresponds with
surface 95. Surface 97 corresponds with 99. 101 corresponds with
103. 85 corresponds with 87.
[0032] FIG. 10 is a diode receiver and diode sender flow chart in a
first state. A multistate vibrator switch causes diodes on the
first side of the object to at like photodiodes by reverse biasing.
Likewise the diodes on the second side of the object are forward
biased to act like LEDs. This causes light to be received on the
first side of the object and emitted on the second side of the
object.
[0033] FIG. 10a is a diode receiver and diode sender flow chart in
a second state. The multivibrator switch causes the diodes on the
first side of the object to be forward biased, making them act like
LEDs. Likewise the diodes on the second side of the object are
reversed biased to make them act like photodiodes. In this second
state, light is received by the diodes on the second side of the
object and emitted from the first side of the object. Rapidly
switching the bistable multivibrator switch enables the same LEDs
to operate as both light receivers and light senders
alternately.
[0034] FIG. 11 are the seven receiving surfaces corresponding to
the seven sending surfaces of one cell. The identical cells of FIG.
9 are in this figure operating in the reverse. Light received by
surfaces on the second side of the object is reproduced to be
emitted on the first side of the object
[0035] FIG. 12 demonstrates how grid coordinates can be used to
calculate how sending and receiving surfaces should map to on
another. Note that once the relationship of each of the sides are
know, each cell surface can be mapped to find its corresponding
cell surface. On a rigid body, the relationship between cells
remain intact. Once the surfaces of each cell are mapped to one
another, their relationship to one another doesn't change and can
be hardwired. The surface that the 119 beam is incident upon
describes the surface from which the corresponding light beam 121
must be sent to have the same trajectory.
[0036] Operation of the Invention
[0037] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of three dimensional
objects. From this perspective view, a block 15 in the foreground
can easily be detected against the cylinder 16 in the back
ground.
[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of three dimensional
objects when the object in the foreground is transparent. The
transparent block 19 enables light from the background including
the cylinder 16 to be transmitted through it.
[0039] FIG. 3 is a second view of the objects of FIG. 1. The same
objects from FIG. 1 are here observed from a different perspective.
The cylinder 16 is unobstructed but now the pyramid 17 is
obstructed by the block 15.
[0040] FIG. 4 are the same objects where that in the foreground is
transparent. The transparent block 19 enables the observer to see
the back ground which in this case is the pyramid 17. The point of
these simple three dimensional views is to illustrate that the
problem of rendering a non-transparent object invisible is a very
difficult one. One image of the background will not be adequate
because the back ground is totally dependent upon the observers
position. The following diagrams and ensuing description illustrate
how the background of the object from many perspectives can be
simulated simultaneously.
[0041] FIG. 5 illustrates an array of receiving and sending
surfaces on two sides of an object. A first side of the object 24
has an array of hexagonal sending and receiving cells affixed to
it. A second side of the object 23 has an array of receiving and
sending cells affixed to it. Light from a background object 30 is
incident upon many cell surfaces on the first side of the object.
First incident ray 31 is some such light from 30. It is incident
upon the bottom surface of a cell. The cell surface (not shown)
consists of a photoelectric material (such as an LED array or a CCD
array). Information about this light is collected electronically
and sent to the corresponding sending surface on the opposite side
of the object which emits a first corresponding light ray 32
closely resembling the color and intensity of the first incident
ray 31 light. The sending surface (not shown) consists of a photo
emitting material (such as a multichromatic LED array). Similarly a
second incident ray 29 is light from back ground object 30. Its
trajectory is different from that of 31 and it is therefore
incident upon a totally different surface. The surface that 29 is
incident upon corresponds to a surface on the opposite side of the
object--such that when the second corresponding ray 28 is emitted,
its trajectory is the same as that of 29. The color and intensity
of 28 are likewise engineered to resemble that of 29. In actuality,
many additional surfaces would concurrently be receiving light from
30 and the process of collecting and reproducing that light is
likewise repeated many times by many incident surfaces and
corresponding surfaces. This is because an observer may be at any
observing angle. Background object 30 will need to be viewable at
all of these angles. Note that one observer at 32 can "see" 30 and
also an observer at 28 can "see" 30. Similarly, a second background
object 26 emits rays that are incident upon many receiving
surfaces, a third ray 27 being one such ray. The surface that
receives 27 collects color and intensity information and sends it
to its corresponding surfaces which emits a third corresponding ray
25 designed to emulate 27 in trajectory, color and intensity.
[0042] FIG. 6 illustrates a single collecting and receiving cell
with 7 surfaces. Each cell has multiple surfaces to collect
incident light from different trajectories. Each surface can
collect information about color and intensity. (Photodiode and CCD
are examples of materials which can from these surfaces.) Surfaces
include walls such as 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, and 33 and the bottom 38.
In practice the whole cavity of the cell is filled with a
transparent substrate. This improves stability of the cell and
protects the electronic components while also providing a
refractive index higher that air for improved efficiency. Said
transparent substrate may protrude out side of the cell to form a
convex lens for improved efficiency.
[0043] FIG. 7 is a diode receiver and diode sender flow chart. The
flowchart represents a single surface of a single cell on a first
side of an object, a power source and a single corresponding
surface on a second side of the object. A light beam 40 is incident
upon the surface. A green photodiode 43 receives photons within a
first wavelength range, a red photodiode 46 receives photons within
a second wavelength range, and a blue photodiode receives photons
in a third wavelength range. Intensity of the incident wavelengths
varies the electric output of the respective photodiode. The
intensity is used by the variable power sources to correspondingly
power the surface on the second side of the object. Variable power
sources 44, 47, and 50 receive intensity information from their
respective photodiodes and sends power to a respective
corresponding LEDs. The green LED 45 sends green light 54, the Red
LED 48 sends red light 53 and the blue LED 51 sends blue light 52.
In this way, the color and intensity of the light incident on the
first surface is reproduced on the second surface.
[0044] FIG. 8 is a CCD receiver and LED sender flowchart. The
flowchart represents a single surface of a single cell on a first
side of an object (the CCD), a power source and a single
corresponding surface on a second side of the object (the LED
array). Light 58 passes through a color band filter 59 and then is
incident upon the CCD array 60. At 61,64, 65, and 68, filters are
used to split the signal from the CCD into three bands
representative of color. Intensity of each band is used to control
the power sources output to the correspondingly colored LED. On the
second side of the object, the 63 Green LED produces green light
57, the red LED 67 produces red light 56 and the blue LED 70
produces blue light 55. These light outputs on the second side of
the object combine to closely resemble the color and intensity of
the light which was incident on the first side of the object.
[0045] FIG. 9 illustrates how the seven surfaces of one cell
correspond to seven surfaces located in seven different cells. A
first side of an object 105 has one cell mounted on it. A first
incident ray 79 strikes the bottom of the cell (not shown). This
causes the corresponding bottom surface (the reverse side of 81) to
produce a corresponding ray 83. Ray 83 resembles the trajectory,
color and intensity of ray 79. Likewise 73 is a ray incident upon
surface 71 which causes a cell surface 75 on the second side of the
object to produce a corresponding ray 77 on the same trajectory
with similar color and intensity. Each other surface of the cell on
105 has a corresponding surface on the second side of the object.
Surface 89 corresponds to surface 91. Surface 97 corresponds with
surface 95. Surface 97 corresponds with 99. 101 corresponds with
103. 85 corresponds with 87.
[0046] FIG. 10 is a diode receiver and diode sender flow chart in a
first state. A multistate vibrator switch causes diodes on the
first side of the object to at like photodiodes by reverse biasing.
Likewise the diodes on the second side of the object are forward
biased to act like LEDs. This causes light to be received on the
first side of the object and emitted on the second side of the
object.
[0047] FIG. 10a is a diode receiver and diode sender flow chart in
a second state. The multivibrator switch causes the diodes on the
first side of the object to be forward biased, making them act like
LEDs. Likewise the diodes on the second side of the object are
reversed biased to make them act like photodiodes. In this second
state, light is received by the diodes on the second side of the
object and emitted from the first side of the object. Rapidly
switching the bistable multivibrator switch enables the same LEDs
to operate as both light receivers and light senders
alternately.
[0048] FIG. 11 are the seven receiving surfaces corresponding to
the seven sending surfaces of one cell. The identical cells of FIG.
9 are in this figure operating in the reverse. Light received by
surfaces on the second side of the object is reproduced to be
emitted on the first side of the object FIG. 12 demonstrates how
grid coordinates can be used to calculate how sending and receiving
surfaces should map to on another. Note that once the relationship
of each of the sides are know, each cell surface can be mapped to
find its corresponding cell surface. On a rigid body, the
relationship between cells remain intact. Once the surfaces of each
cell are mapped to one another, their relationship to one another
doesn't change and can be hardwired. The surface that the 119 beam
is incident upon describes the surface from which the corresponding
light beam 121 must be sent to have the same trajectory.
[0049] Conclusion, Ramifications, and Scope
[0050] Thus the reader will see that the Three Dimensional Cloaking
Process and Apparatus of this invention provides a highly
functional and reliable means for using well known technology to
electronically and optically conceal the presence of an object.
[0051] While my above description describes many specifications,
these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the
invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred
embodiment thereof Many other variations are possible.
* * * * *