Dimensional enhancement lens
View Patent ↗A lens for use with a display panel configured to emit light and display images is provided. The lens has a light-emitting surface and a plurality of enhancement portions. A first enhancement portion is configured to physically correspond to a first image displayed on the display screen. The first enhancement portion is further configured to collect at least a portion of the light emitted by the display screen and emit the light through the light-emitting surface of the lens. A second enhancement portion is configured to physically correspond to a second image displayed on the display screen.
1. A display assembly comprising:
a display panel having a display screen configured to emit light and display a plurality of images;
a lens overlying at least a portion of the display screen, at least a portion of the lens being transparent or translucent, the lens comprising:
a light-emitting surface; and
a plurality of enhancement elements, a first enhancement element of the plurality of enhancement elements being configured to physically correspond to a first image of the plurality of images displayed on the display screen, the first enhancement element being further configured to collect at least a portion of the light emitted by the display screen and emit the light through the light-emitting surface, and a second enhancement element of the plurality of enhancement elements being configured to physically correspond to a second image of the plurality of images displayed on the display screen, the first and second enhancement elements being distinct.
2. The display assembly of claim 1 , the lens further comprising at least one opaque portion.
3. The display assembly of claim 1 , the lens further comprising portions that include metallization.
4. The display assembly of claim 1 , further comprising an external light source, wherein the lens emits light collected from the external light source and the display screen.
5. The display assembly of claim 4 , wherein the external light source is a light-emitting diode.
6. The display assembly of claim 1 , the lens further comprising anti-reflective coating.
7. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one enhancement element of the plurality of enhancement elements separates at least a portion of the plurality of images displayed on the display screen.
8. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one enhancement element of the plurality of enhancement elements is a magnifying lens.
9. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one enhancement element of the plurality of enhancement elements is a portion of a Fresnel lens.
10. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the lens further comprises:
a light-collecting surface overlying the display screen, the light-collecting surface being configured to collect at least a portion of the light emitted by the display screen, the light-collecting surface being disposed opposite to the light-emitting surface; and
a height, the height being defined between the light-emitting and light-collecting surfaces, the height varying in dimension.
11. The display assembly of claim 10 , wherein the lens further comprises portions defining an opening within the lens, the opening extending through the height of the lens.
12. The display assembly of claim 11 , the display screen being a touch screen.
13. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the display screen is a reconfigurable display screen.
14. The display assembly of claim 13 , wherein the display screen is configured to display a first set of images that physically corresponds to the first and second enhancement elements of the lens, and the display screen is further configured to display a second set of images that physically corresponds to the first and second enhancement elements of the lens.
15. The display assembly of claim 14 , wherein an image of the first set of images is a gear indicator and an image of the second set of images is a warning indicator.
16. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the display assembly is attached to the interior of a motor vehicle.
17. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the display screen is one of a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, a thin film transistor (TFT) LCD screen, a screen utilizing a digital light processing (DLP) projector, a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) screen, a plasma display panel (PDP), and a cathode ray tube.
18. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second enhancement elements is a ring.
19. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first enhancement element corresponds to a gear indicator shown on the display screen.
20. The display assembly of claim 19 , wherein the second enhancement element corresponds to a speedometer shown on the display screen.