IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,859,378
Granted Patent B2
US 11,859,378 · App. 17/983,635 · Granted Jan 2, 2024

Portable motion picture theater

Inventor: Douglas Trumbull (Southfield, MA)
Assignee: MAGI INTERNATIONAL LLC
E04B1/34321A47C1/124A63J25/00G03B21/60G03B31/00G03B35/16E04B1/32E04B2001/327E04B2001/3294E04B2001/34389E04H3/30
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,859,378
App. No.
17/983,635
Granted
Jan 2, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

A portable theater includes a plurality of individual panels assembled together to form a theater enclosure, a plurality of audience seats installed within the assembled theater enclosure, and a projection screen mounted within the assembled theater enclosure. The projection screen has a partial toroidal shaped reflective surface configured to reflect, toward the plurality of audience seats, a moving image as projected by a projector.

Claims (19)

1. A portable theater comprising:

a projector;

a plurality of individual panels assembled together to define a theater enclosure;

a plurality of audience seats installed within the assembled theater enclosure in an installed configuration; and

a hemispherically curved, non-perforated projection screen mounted within the assembled theater enclosure, the projection screen having a partial toroidal shaped reflective surface configured to reflect, toward the plurality of audience seats, a moving image as projected by the projector,

wherein the projection screen has a vertical axis passing through a center point of the projection screen, and wherein each of the audience seats in a row of audience seats directly faces the vertical axis of the projection screen in the installed configuration.

2. The portable theater of claim 1 , wherein the projector is configured to project the moving image onto the projection screen by flashing individual frames of the moving image one time each in a sequence that alternates between left eye frames as recorded at left eye recordal times and right eye frames as recorded at right eye recordal times, each successive frame of the sequence having been recorded at a successive time and projected temporally with respect to one another in the sequence to show the moving image, resulting in a projected frame rate of about 120 frames per second, wherein the left eye frames are recorded at about 60 frames per second and at the left eye recordal times, and wherein the right eye frames are recorded at about 60 frames per second and at right eye recordal times offset from the left eye recordal times.

3. The portable theater of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of audience seats is arranged in a plurality of rows and on a raked platform such that seats in the row closest to the projection screen are lower than seats in the row furthest from the projection screen.

4. The portable theater of claim 1 , wherein the projection screen is configured to provide about a 50 degree horizontal field of view of the reflected moving image to at least one of the plurality of audience seats in the installed configuration.

5. The portable theater of claim 1 , wherein the projection screen is configured to provide about a 100 degree horizontal field of view of the reflected moving image to at least one of the plurality of audience seats in the installed configuration.

6. The portable theater of claim 1 , wherein the reflective surface of the projection screen comprises aluminum.

7. The portable theater of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the individual panels includes a sound absorbing material.

8. The portable theater of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of individual panels are prefabricated.

9. The portable theater of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the individual panels is configured to nest with at least one other individual panel such that the respective individual panels stack together.

10. The portable theater of claim 1 , further comprising means for mounting the projection screen within the assembled theater enclosure using vacuum pressure to hold the projection screen in position against a structural member.

11. The portable theater of claim 10 , wherein the means for mounting the projection screen within the assembled theater enclosure includes at least one fan configured to produce the vacuum pressure.

12. The portable theater of claim 1 , further comprising a sound system including a plurality of speakers mounted outside a perimeter of the projection screen and beneath the audience seats, at least one of the speakers beneath the audience seats configured to produce sound waves between 1-20 Hz, the sound system configured to produce an anechoic effect within the theater enclosure.

13. The portable theater of claim 12 , wherein the sound system further includes a plurality of subwoofers mounted behind or to one side of at least one of the audience seats.

14. The portable theater of claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of subwoofers is configured to produce sub-audible frequencies from between approximately zero and 20 Hz.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 7, 2023
From: MAGI INTERNATIONAL LLC
To: TRUMBULL, JULIA
Reel/Frame 065795/0800 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 9, 2022
From: TRUMBULL, DOUGLAS
To: MAGI INTERNATIONAL LLC
Reel/Frame 061707/0139 →
Continuity (5)
Continuation 17025186 · Sep 18, 2020
Continuation 16242485 · Jan 8, 2019
Continuation PCTUS2017041102 · Jul 7, 2017
Provisional Application 62359943 · Jul 8, 2016
Related Publication 20230279656A1 · Sep 7, 2023