IP Library Granted Patent US 12,422,335
Granted Patent B2
US 12,422,335 · App. 18/250,381 · Granted Sep 23, 2025

Calibration of a light-field generation device

Inventors: Christian Kludt (Karlsruhe, DE); Marcos López Martinez (Karlsruhe, DE)
Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
G01M11/065G01M11/0264
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,422,335
App. No.
18/250,381
Granted
Sep 23, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed is a method for calibrating a light field generating device, which has a display unit with pixels for generating light and a lens field unit with optical lenses for deflecting the light generated by the display unit, and a control unit for controlling the display unit, each lens of the lens field unit being assigned a plurality of pixels of the display unit. Also disclosed are a light field generating device based on the above method and an illumination device having the disclosed light field generation device.

Claims (19)

1. A method for calibrating a light field generating device, which has a display unit with pixels for generating light and a lens field unit with optical lenses for deflecting the light generated by the display unit, and a control unit for controlling the display unit, each lens of the lens field unit being assigned a plurality of pixels of the display unit, the method having the following steps:

a) generating light through one or more pixels of the display unit according to a predetermined calibration pattern;

b) detecting the light generated according to the calibration pattern by a measuring unit of a calibration device which is arranged in a predetermined spatial relation to the light field generating device;

c) respectively calculating a deflection angle of the lens field unit for the pixel or pixels which have generated light according to the calibration pattern, on the basis of the detected light by a calculation unit of the calibration device in dependence on the predetermined calibration pattern and the predetermined spatial relation; and

d) calibrating the light field generating device by utilizing at least one calculated deflection angle and a predetermined calculation model of the light field generating device with an assignment of respective deflection angles of the lens field unit to at least a majority of the pixels of the display unit in the control unit of the light field generating device,

wherein a number of optical lenses of the lens field unit and/or a description of a geometrical arrangement of the optical lenses of the lens field unit and/or one or more properties of respective optical lenses of the lens field unit is/are quantified by the predetermined calculation model.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the calibration according to method step d) comprises or is an optical calibration or opto-electronic calibration in the control unit.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the majority of the pixels of the display unit to which the deflection angles of the lens field unit is assigned also comprises pixels which have not generated light according to the calibration pattern.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more properties comprises or comprise a respective size and/or a respective focal length and/or a respective chromatic aberration and/or a respective spherical aberration and/or a respective distortion and/or a respective coma and/or a respective axial astigmatism.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the calculation model is specified by the calculation unit using calculated deflection angles.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the calibration pattern is a time-varying calibration pattern and/or the calibration pattern is a spectrally varying calibration pattern.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the detection of the light generated according to the calibration pattern by the measuring unit according to step b) takes place in exactly one predetermined spatial relation.

8. A light field generating device comprising a display unit having pixels for generating light and a lens field unit having optical lenses for deflecting the light generated by the display unit, and a control unit for controlling the display unit, wherein each lens of the lens field unit is associated with a plurality of pixels of the display unit, wherein the light field generating device is calibrated by the method according to claim 1 .

9. The light field generating device according to claim 8 , wherein each optical lens is assigned at least 9 pixels.

10. The light field generating device according to claim 8 , wherein optical lenses with different properties are part of the lens field unit.

11. The light field generating device according to claim 8 , wherein the optical lenses are optically shielded from pixels not assigned to them by a respective shielding unit.

12. The light field generating device according to claim 8 , wherein the pixels of the display unit are designed to generate a light with wavelengths in the ultraviolet spectral range and/or with wavelengths in the visible spectral range and/or with wavelengths in the infrared spectral range.

13. The light field generating device according to claim 8 , wherein the lens field unit is designed to deflect the light generated by the display unit in two different spatial planes.

14. A visual inspection device for optically inspecting a sample, or illumination device for illuminating an interior space and/or an exterior space, or notification device for displaying safety or warning or rescue notifications, or advertising device for displaying advertising notices, or window device for simulating a window in a building or a vehicle, or camouflage device for camouflaging an object or a person in one or more spectral ranges, having a light field generation device of claim 8 .

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 11, 2023
From: KLUDT, CHRISTIAN; LÓPEZ MARTINEZ, MARCOS
To: FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FÖRDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.
Reel/Frame 063613/0501 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 10 2020 128 141.2 · Oct 26, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230417629A1 · Dec 28, 2023
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