Abstract: A 3D photographic printer and printing method wherein a stationary projection lens is used to project a series of 2D views each at a different projection angle onto a stationary lenticular print material. The aperture of the projection lens is sufficient large to cover the entire width of each of the lenticules on the print material. The lens aperture is mechanically or optically partitioned into a number of sections so that only one section is opened to allow a 2D view to be exposed at a different projection angle.

Abstract: A table-edge hanger having a hook for hanging a personal item such as a purse or a jacket. The hook may be movably attached so it can swing side to side. The hanger can also have a decorative attachment which can be a timepiece for keeping time. Preferably, the hanger has a microswitch for triggering an alarm if the personal item is removed from the hook or removed from the table together with the hanger. The alarm can be disabled with an on/off switch if desired.

Abstract: A 3D printer for producing 3D photographs on lenticular print material in which a video monitor is used to display stored digital 2D images of different views of a scene for exposure. Prior to printing, one of the stored 2D image is displayed on a viewing monitor and the key subject image of the displayed 2D image is selected. Based on the location of the selected key subject image, the computer searches for the key subject location of each of the other stored 2D images and electronically shifts the 2D images so that the key subject location of all different views is the same. During printing, the electronically shifted 2D images are sequentially displayed on the video monitor and projected through a projection lens onto the lenticular screen at different projection angles.

Abstract: A dual-mode photographic printer which can be used to make both two-dimensional and three-dimensional photographs having two print material cassettes which separately supply 2D and 3D print materials. An easel is transported to one of the cassettes to pick up a section of print material according to the printing mode. The same easel moves the print material to different locations for 3D printing. A chemical processor is included in the printer so that photo-processing is part of the on-line printing process.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a multi-lens camera that can be used for both 3-D photography and 2-D photography. When the camera is used in the 3-D mode, a series of slightly different two-dimensional images of the scene are exposed by all the taking lenses onto the film in the respective film planes in a half-frame format. When the camera is used in the 2-D mode, a wider frame image is exposed onto the film by one of the taking lenses. The negative is exposed in all film planes in the camera when used in the 2-D mode. When the camera is used in the 2-D mode, lens attachments change the angle of view of the taking lens and viewfinder.

Abstract: A method for high-speed and simultaneous printing of a number of 3-D photographs by utilizing a printer with a wide field of coverage so that all of the 2-D views required to produce a 3-D photograph are projected simultaneously onto the number of 3-D photographs corresponding to the number of 2-D negatives utilized. All of the 3-D print materials advance to the next position for printing until all of the image bands are filled with a portion of the appropriate 2-D view. A high speed printer with a wide field of coverage capable of simultaneously projecting all of the 2-D views required to produce a 3-D picture onto a number of 3-D prints which may have a computer or microprocessor controlling the exposure and moving the 3-D print material between exposures.

Abstract: The method of checking the off-alignment and identifying the relative position of lenses in a multi-lens, 3-D camera and calibrating the coordinates of the positions of the components (i.e., 2-D view, projecting lens or print material easel) of a printing system. The method for the automatic correlation of 2-D views for the composing of high quality 3-D photographs by taking the first set of 2-D photographs on the film of a target at a predetermined distance. The target images are projected onto a group of CCD sensor arrays placed at the image plane of the printer with each individual sensor of the CCD array precalibrated, and a computer on the printer is programmed to recognize the location of the target images on the CCD array and to control the motors on the printer to adjust the position of the enlarging lens, the easel or the 2-D view in order to correlate the 2-D views for the aligning of the photographed image on the print material at the time of composing of the 3-D photograph.

Abstract: An autostereoscopic picture is produced in which the width of the lineiform image bands of the stereo pairs within each lenticule are varied and adjusted to compensate for the visual parallax between the stereo pairs of the 3-D photograph according to the depth of field of each 3-D photograph in order to accommodate the interoccular distance and viewing angle of the eyes to improve the depth-of-field and 3-D effect of each 3-D photograph.

Abstract: In the three dimensional camera of this invention, reflective surfaces, such as a prism or mirrors, are placed between each lens and its negative holder with the reflective surfaces at an angle of approximately 45.degree. to the center of the lens. This results in the image center of each camera lens being offset from the center of the lens to gain more space for a larger image format to reduce the parallax effect of foreground and background object images between each adjacent image.

Abstract: In the illustrative embodiments of the invention disclosed, autostereoscopic pictures are produced by projecting a series of two-dimensional views of an object field onto a lenticular screen. Substantially uninterrupted and non-overlapping condensed, or lineiform, images of the two-dimensional views are formed beneath each lenticule of the lenticular screen by setting the number M of these images in the image band beneath each lenticule, and hence the total number of two-dimensional views projected, equal to w/m, where w is the lenticule width and m is the width of each condensed image. In order to project the required number M of two-dimensional views while avoiding gaps between adjacent condensed images, the projection lenses and the associated film frames are positioned along a plurality of adjacent, parallel, straight lines in a manner such that the apertures of the lenses are effectively in edge-to-edge contiguous relation.

Abstract: In a camera for taking stereoscopic photographs, wherein a lenticular screen and photosensitive film are exposed to an object field through a wide effective aperture, the effective aperture size is controlled so that the image of a point on each of the nearest foreground object and the farthest background object in the object field is confined within a region of the lenticular screen which is not greater than 20 lenticules, and preferably not greater than 10 lenticules, in width.