Cymatic projection systems, methods and devices
View Patent ↗Catadioptric projection systems, devices and methods, including a lens, an illumination source and a reflector, arranged to pass light through a medium and focus the light onto a surface, with a vibration source disposed proximate the medium to impart frequencies on the medium to effect movement of the medium, which may be oscillations, patterns or other movements. The vibration source may be a transducer, audio speaker. The illumination source includes one or more illuminators that may be configured as one or more LEDs, and passes through the lens and provides illumination from one side of the lens, to direct the illumination of projected light through the medium and onto the reflector surface, where the light is reflected off of the mirror surface and back through the medium, through the lens, and focused onto a surface. The device is configured with control circuitry for operating the transducer and LEDs.
1 . A catadioptric projection device comprising:
a) an illumination source;
b) a reflector;
c) a focusing element;
d) a vibration generator;
e) a fluid disposed between the reflector and the focusing element; and
f) control circuitry configured to control one or more, or both of the vibrations and the illumination source;
g) wherein the illumination source is configured to pass through the focusing element, and produce a light output that is directed at the fluid and the reflector; and
h) wherein the focusing element is disposed to receive reflected light reflected by the reflector and which passes through the fluid, and focus the light onto a surface.
2 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 1 , wherein the reflector comprises a curved mirror.
3 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 2 , wherein the curved mirror is a parabolic mirror.
4 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 3 , wherein the curved mirror has a center that is the vertex, and wherein the illumination source is disposed above the vertex.
5 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 1 , wherein the reflector comprises a curved mirror, wherein the focusing element comprises a lens, and wherein the lens has a first planar surface and a second surface that is a convex surface, and wherein the illumination source includes an illuminator, and wherein the illuminator is positioned to produce illumination at or after the plane of the first planar surface.
6 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 5 , wherein the illuminator comprises one or more LEDs.
7 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 1 , wherein the illuminator includes one or more components that produce light of a plurality of colors, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the illumination source to produce strobing of the light.
8 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 1 , wherein the vibration generator comprises a transducer and produces cymatic movement of the fluid, and wherein the illumination source light is reflected off of the reflector through the fluid to light representing the cymatic movement induced in the fluid by the transducer, and wherein the projector projects cymatic images corresponding to the fluid movement.
9 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 8 , wherein the cymatic movement comprises cymatic patterns, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to strobe the illumination source to produce colored light strobing in relation to the cymatic patterns.
10 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 9 , wherein the cymatic image projected has an illusion of movement.
11 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 1 , wherein the surface comprises a projection surface disposed spaced apart from the lens to receive focused light from the lens, and display on the surface cinematic imagery of cymatic reflections of the fluid as the fluid is moved with the vibrations from the transducer.
12 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 1 , including a frame, and wherein the components of the device are supported on the frame.
13 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 12 , wherein the surface comprises a projection surface that is supported on the frame.
14 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 5 , wherein the light output from the lens is directed vertically.
15 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 1 , wherein the focusing element comprises a lens, and wherein the light output from the lens is directed horizontally.
16 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 1 , wherein the reflector comprises a mirror that has a curved, parabolic, flat or convex shape.
17 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 1 , wherein the reflector comprises a mirror, wherein the focusing element comprises a lens.
18 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 17 , wherein the lens has a first planar surface and a second surface that faces the direction where the device output is projected, wherein the illumination source includes an illuminator, and wherein the illuminator is positioned to produce illumination at or after the plane of the first planar surface of the lens, and wherein the device projects focused light from the lens onto a surface, and wherein the focused light comprises cinematic images corresponding to the movement of the fluid caused by the vibrations.
19 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 8 , wherein the vibration generator is configured to receive an input of audio signals, and wherein the audio signals are communicated to control circuitry that controls the LEDs, and wherein the LEDs comprise red, green and blue LEDs, and wherein the control circuitry for the LEDs controls the LEDs to correspond with the frequencies of the audio signals, and wherein the focused light from the focusing element focuses the reflected light from the LEDs that passes through the fluid and is reflected from the reflector produces cinematic images corresponding to the movement of the fluid caused by the vibrations, and wherein the colors of the cinematic images corresponding to the frequencies of the audio signals.
20 . The catadioptric projection device of claim 1 , wherein the focusing element comprises a lens.