Patents by Inventor Quinn Y. Smithwick

Quinn Y. Smithwick has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 12259542
    Abstract: A head for a walk-around costume is provided that is adapted for enhanced visibility. The costume head includes an outer shell defining an interior space for receiving a head of a human performer. The outer shell includes an aperture allowing incoming light from an exterior space to enter the interior space, and an eye location for the human performer is spaced apart from the aperture when the head is received in the interior space. To provide an enlarged field of view, the costume head includes an optical viewfinder assembly disposed within the interior space of the outer shell between the aperture and the eye location. The optical viewfinder assembly is adapted for receiving the incoming light and transmitting the incoming light to the eye location to move a viewpoint of the human performer to the aperture to provide a larger field of view of the exterior space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
    Inventor: Quinn Y. Smithwick
  • Publication number: 20240411064
    Abstract: A wide-angle, retroreflective real image display system that produces real images that can be viewed and interacted with by a group of people who can move about a space to view the real image. In one embodiment, the display system includes two or more stations each having their own retroreflector, beamsplitter, and displayed image or illuminated object. The stations, and their beamsplitters and retroreflectors are positioned adjacent at angular offsets or rotation angles, e.g., each neighboring or adjacent beamsplitter and retroreflector is rotated about an axis extending through the joining seam. The displayed images or illuminated objects are rotated at similar angles from each other to provide a retroreflective pyramid with co-located real images. In other embodiments, the display system uses a single retroreflector, beamsplitter, and displayed image or illuminated object but adds a pair of curved reflectors with matching shapes and sizes to provide an undistorted retroreflective real image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2023
    Publication date: December 12, 2024
    Inventors: Quinn Y. Smithwick, Lanny S. Smoot, Michael Ilardi
  • Publication number: 20230280598
    Abstract: A display system for a providing a three-dimensional effect with controlled reflections is disclosed. In one embodiment, the display system includes a display; and a beam splitter positioned between the display and the viewing location. The beam splitter transmits or reflects light based on a characteristic of the light. A physical prop is positioned between the beam splitter and the viewing location. The display is oriented to emit light toward the beam splitter and displays an image at least partially viewable in the viewing location through the beam splitter, such that the image is substantially un-attenuated by the bean splitter. Light reflected from the physical prop and further reflected by the beam splitter toward the viewing location is at least partially viewable in the viewing location. The display system is suitable to enable a substantially full brightness of the image to be viewable in the viewing location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2022
    Publication date: September 7, 2023
    Inventors: Quinn Y. Smithwick, Franklin T. Batino, Michael Ilardi
  • Publication number: 20230176357
    Abstract: A head for a walk-around costume is provided that is adapted for enhanced visibility. The costume head includes an outer shell defining an interior space for receiving a head of a human performer. The outer shell includes an aperture allowing incoming light from an exterior space to enter the interior space, and an eye location for the human performer is spaced apart from the aperture when the head is received in the interior space. To provide an enlarged field of view, the costume head includes an optical viewfinder assembly disposed within the interior space of the outer shell between the aperture and the eye location. The optical viewfinder assembly is adapted for receiving the incoming light and transmitting the incoming light to the eye location to move a viewpoint of the human performer to the aperture to provide a larger field of view of the exterior space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2023
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Inventor: Quinn Y. Smithwick
  • Patent number: 11592659
    Abstract: A head for a walk-around costume is provided that is adapted for enhanced visibility. The costume head includes an outer shell defining an interior space for receiving a head of a human performer. The outer shell includes an aperture allowing incoming light from an exterior space to enter the interior space, and an eye location for the human performer is spaced apart from the aperture when the head is received in the interior space. To provide an enlarged field of view, the costume head includes an optical viewfinder assembly disposed within the interior space of the outer shell between the aperture and the eye location. The optical viewfinder assembly is adapted for receiving the incoming light and transmitting the incoming light to the eye location to move a viewpoint of the human performer to the aperture to provide a larger field of view of the exterior space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventor: Quinn Y. Smithwick
  • Patent number: 11099403
    Abstract: A compact mirror-based three-dimensional (3D) display system with a polarizer between the viewer in a viewing space and a beam splitter. The beam splitter may be a half-silvered mirror, and the polarizer may be a circular polarizer that acts to cancel the undesired reflections including that of a viewer. A half prop often will be positioned between the beam splitter and the polarizer. The mirror-based 3D display system may also utilize additional components for creating effects that move in depth and that are in 3D. This may include rotation of the display (or its monitor or display screen) from parallel to an offset angle to allow displayed images to move toward and away from the mirror and not be locked into a plane parallel to and often abutting the mirror. The display system may further include configurations that provide a backdrop image behind the displayed image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Quinn Y. Smithwick, Daniel M. Joseph
  • Patent number: 11072075
    Abstract: A system for sensing and controlling eye contact for a robot. The system includes a robotic figure with a movable eye. The system includes a light source positioned in the robotic figure to output light through a light outlet of the eye. A light sensor is included that senses light striking surfaces in a physical space in which the robotic figure is positioned including the output light from the light source. The system includes an image processor processing output of the light sensor to identify a location of a target formed by the output light striking surfaces in the physical space and to identify a location of a face of a human. Further, the system includes a robot controller generating eye movement control signals based on the location of the target and the location of the face to position the eye to provide eye contact with the human observer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: David Loyal Christensen, Alexis P. Wieland, Lanny S. Smoot, Alfredo M. Ayala, Quinn Y. Smithwick, Kyna P. McIntosh, James R. Kennedy, Matthew K. Pan, Günter D. Niemeyer, Daniel De Jesus Campos Zamora, Sungjoon Choi
  • Publication number: 20210122055
    Abstract: A system for sensing and controlling eye contact for a robot. The system includes a robotic figure with a movable eye. The system includes a light source positioned in the robotic figure to output light through a light outlet of the eye. A light sensor is included that senses light striking surfaces in a physical space in which the robotic figure is positioned including the output light from the light source. The system includes an image processor processing output of the light sensor to identify a location of a target formed by the output light striking surfaces in the physical space and to identify a location of a face of a human. Further, the system includes a robot controller generating eye movement control signals based on the location of the target and the location of the face to position the eye to provide eye contact with the human observer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Publication date: April 29, 2021
    Inventors: DAVID LOYAL CHRISTENSEN, ALEXIS P. WIELAND, LANNY S. SMOOT, ALFREDO M. AYALA, QUINN Y. SMITHWICK, KYNA P. MCINTOSH, JAMES R. KENNEDY, MATTHEW K. PAN, GÜNTER D. NIEMEYER, DANIEL DE JESUS CAMPOS ZAMORA, SUNGJOON CHOI
  • Publication number: 20210096350
    Abstract: A head for a walk-around costume is provided that is adapted for enhanced visibility. The costume head includes an outer shell defining an interior space for receiving a head of a human performer. The outer shell includes an aperture allowing incoming light from an exterior space to enter the interior space, and an eye location for the human performer is spaced apart from the aperture when the head is received in the interior space. To provide an enlarged field of view, the costume head includes an optical viewfinder assembly disposed within the interior space of the outer shell between the aperture and the eye location. The optical viewfinder assembly is adapted for receiving the incoming light and transmitting the incoming light to the eye location to move a viewpoint of the human performer to the aperture to provide a larger field of view of the exterior space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Publication date: April 1, 2021
    Inventor: QUINN Y. SMITHWICK
  • Patent number: 10942360
    Abstract: Display systems for achieving collimated projection effects. For example, in a theatrical or concert installation, display systems can be used to project images of scenery that appear to be vast and at a great distant behind the viewing window. The system may include a flat panel display, a corrective mirror, and a concave mirror positioned for viewing by an observer. The corrective mirror pre-warps an image generated by the flat panel display and reflects the undistorted image onto the concave mirror such that the observer perceives the image generated by the flat panel display as being at a large distance. The corrective mirror does not distort with changes in viewpoint. In another implementation, the system may include a short throw projector generating an image, a free-form projection screen, and a concave mirror positioned for viewing by many observers through a viewing window.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark A. Reichow, Thomas F. Laduke, Quinn Y. Smithwick
  • Patent number: 10739613
    Abstract: A display system is provided that combines the use of a display element with a beamsplitter and at least one retroreflector to provide an image (2D or 3D depending upon the output image from the display element) that appears to be floating in space some distance from the beamsplitter. For example, light that is bounced off/reflected and/or that is transmitted through the beamsplitter may be reflected from the reflective surface of the retroreflector toward the beamsplitter. The beamsplitter directs this light, through reflection or transmission, into a viewing space such that the 2D or 3D image can be viewed by a viewer as it appears to float a distance from the nearest surface of the beamsplitter and, typically, some distance above the ground/floor upon which viewers are walking. The floating image may be relatively bright so that it is viewable in low and brighter light conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel M. Joseph, Lanny S. Smoot, Quinn Y. Smithwick, Michael J. Ilardi
  • Publication number: 20200150448
    Abstract: A compact mirror-based three-dimensional (3D) display system with a polarizer between the viewer in a viewing space and a beam splitter. The beam splitter may be a half-silvered mirror, and the polarizer may be a circular polarizer that acts to cancel the undesired reflections including that of a viewer. A half prop often will be positioned between the beam splitter and the polarizer. The mirror-based 3D display system may also utilize additional components for creating effects that move in depth and that are in 3D. This may include rotation of the display (or its monitor or display screen) from parallel to an offset angle to allow displayed images to move toward and away from the mirror and not be locked into a plane parallel to and often abutting the mirror. The display system may further include configurations that provide a backdrop image behind the displayed image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2018
    Publication date: May 14, 2020
    Inventors: QUINN Y. SMITHWICK, DANIEL M. JOSEPH
  • Publication number: 20200089015
    Abstract: Display systems for achieving collimated projection effects. For example, in a theatrical or concert installation, display systems can be used to project images of scenery that appear to be vast and at a great distant behind the viewing window. The system may include a flat panel display, a corrective mirror, and a concave mirror positioned for viewing by an observer. The corrective mirror pre-warps an image generated by the flat panel display and reflects the undistorted image onto the concave mirror such that the observer perceives the image generated by the flat panel display as being at a large distance. The corrective mirror does not distort with changes in viewpoint. In another implementation, the system may include a short throw projector generating an image, a free-form projection screen, and a concave mirror positioned for viewing by many observers through a viewing window.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 11, 2019
    Publication date: March 19, 2020
    Inventors: MARK A. REICHOW, THOMAS F. LADUKE, QUINN Y. SMITHWICK
  • Patent number: 10503120
    Abstract: A system for displaying, to viewers who do not need to wear special eyewear, static three dimensional (3D) images that are dynamically augmented with two dimensional (2D) images. The system includes a holographic print with a front surface and a back opaque layer. The system includes a projector projecting light onto the front surface. The projected light includes first light reconstructing a hologram from the front surface of the holographic print and second light displaying 2D content on the front surface. The projector is positioned to cause the first light to strike the front surface within a range of hologram reconstruction angles. The projector is a video projector, and the first light is even illumination in the form of white light while the second light includes the displayed 2D content. The displayed 2D content includes animation or video content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
    Inventor: Quinn Y. Smithwick
  • Patent number: 10379494
    Abstract: A holographic display system for generating a super hologram with full parallax in different fields of view in the horizontal and vertical directions. The display system includes assemblies or subsystems each adapted to combine holographic displays and coarse integral displays to produce or display a coarse integral hologram. Briefly, the display system described herein teaches techniques for enhancing operations of coarse integral holographic (CIH) displays. The enhanced CIH displays may utilize ganged scanners, may operate scanners to provide boustrophedon scanning, may be configured to add color information such by view sequential color hologram display and scanning, may replace or supplement X-Y scanning abilities with a resonant scanner, and may replace physical lenslet arrays by generating and displaying a holographic lenslet for each elemental hologram used to create the super hologram.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignees: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC., CAMBRIDGE ENTERPRISE LIMITED
    Inventors: Quinn Y. Smithwick, Daping Chu, Jhen-Si Chen
  • Patent number: 10376803
    Abstract: A special effects device for providing an energy sword effect. The device includes two long plastic semi-cylinders, and these two blade body members are rolled perpendicular to their length, which creates compact cylinders of material of small volume that can be provided on a pair of spools in a hilt. To extend the blade, a motor provided in the hilt unrolls the blade body members from the spools. Each blade body member passes through a blade forming guideway that nests the semi-cylindrical blade body members together as they leave the hilt. To retract the blade, the process is reversed. The lighting of the blade is achieved with a flexible strip of light sources. The light source strip is attached to a blade end cap and positioned in the center of the two blade body members such that it is pulled up along with the blade body members during their extension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
    Inventors: Michael R. Honeck, Lanny S. Smoot, Quinn Y. Smithwick, Eli Joseph Romaire, David J. McCall, Terry O. Sandin, Adam B. Forster, Peter Anastasios Chevako
  • Patent number: 10154253
    Abstract: A multi-view display system or optical vortex 3D display in a multi-view or multilayer embodiment or configuration. The new 3D display system encodes and decodes images into independent modes of optical angular momentum (OAM). In some embodiments, the 3D display system uses pixel-based OAM. In such systems, transformation optics are used to sort the OAM modes. These transformation optics convert the OAMs' spiral wavefronts to linear gradient wavefronts, which are then deflected by a simple lens. The transformation optics, thus, are used in image-based (per pixel) decoding/sorting. In other embodiments, the 3D display system uses image-based OAM. In such systems, convolution of the OAM modes with the image is used rather than the direct modulation of the OAM mode and the image (as used in the prior system discussed above) for image-based encoding and decoding/sorting of images in different OAM modes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignees: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC., CAMBRIDGE ENTERPRISE LIMITED
    Inventors: Quinn Y. Smithwick, Xuefeng Li, Jiaqi Chu, Daping Chu
  • Publication number: 20180326317
    Abstract: A special effects device for providing an energy sword effect. The device includes two long plastic semi-cylinders, and these two blade body members are rolled perpendicular to their length, which creates compact cylinders of material of small volume that can be provided on a pair of spools in a hilt. To extend the blade, a motor provided in the hilt unrolls the blade body members from the spools. Each blade body member passes through a blade forming guideway that nests the semi-cylindrical blade body members together as they leave the hilt. To retract the blade, the process is reversed. The lighting of the blade is achieved with a flexible strip of light sources. The light source strip is attached to a blade end cap and positioned in the center of the two blade body members such that it is pulled up along with the blade body members during their extension.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2018
    Publication date: November 15, 2018
    Inventors: MICHAEL R. HONECK, LANNY S. SMOOT, QUINN Y. SMITHWICK, ELI JOSEPH ROMAIRE, DAVID J. MCCALL, TERRY O. SANDIN, ADAM B. FORSTER, PETER ANASTASIOS CHEVAKO
  • Publication number: 20180259784
    Abstract: A display system is provided that combines the use of a display element with a beamsplitter and at least one retroreflector to provide an image (2D or 3D depending upon the output image from the display element) that appears to be floating in space some distance from the beamsplitter. For example, light that is bounced off/reflected and/or that is transmitted through the beamsplitter may be reflected from the reflective surface of the retroreflector toward the beamsplitter. The beamsplitter directs this light, through reflection or transmission, into a viewing space such that the 2D or 3D image can be viewed by a viewer as it appears to float a distance from the nearest surface of the beamsplitter and, typically, some distance above the ground/floor upon which viewers are walking. The floating image may be relatively bright so that it is viewable in low and brighter light conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2018
    Publication date: September 13, 2018
    Inventors: DANIEL M. JOSEPH, LANNY S. SMOOT, QUINN Y. SMITHWICK, MICHAEL J. ILARDI
  • Patent number: 10065127
    Abstract: A special effects device for providing an energy sword effect. The device includes two long plastic semi-cylinders, and these two blade body members are rolled perpendicular to their length, which creates compact cylinders of material of small volume that can be provided on a pair of spools in a hilt. To extend the blade, a motor provided in the hilt unrolls the blade body members from the spools. Each blade body member passes through a blade forming guideway that nests the semi-cylindrical blade body members together as they leave the hilt. To retract the blade, the process is reversed. The lighting of the blade is achieved with a flexible strip of light sources. The light source strip is attached to a blade end cap and positioned in the center of the two blade body members such that it is pulled up along with the blade body members during their extension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
    Inventors: Michael R. Honeck, Lanny S. Smoot, Quinn Y. Smithwick, Eli Joseph Romaire, David J. McCall, Terry O. Sandin, Adam B. Forster, Peter Anastasios Chevako