Sony patents VR box that mimics a transparent fish tank
Sony has been granted a patent for a box-shaped virtual reality display that adjusts the brightness and contrast of its screens based on where the user is looking. The system also projects images of the real world behind the device onto the screens to create the illusion of a transparent glass tank.
In the filing’s own words
Techniques are described for varying brightness and/or contrast in multiple displays of a box-shaped flat panel display assembly according to the viewing angle of the user. Also, techniques are described for providing, on the displays, images of real world background surrounding the display, the better to mimic a transparent tank, resembling a fish tank.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor assembly configured to: determine a first viewing angle between a direction of a user's gaze and a first normal of a first display of a multi-display assembly; determine a second viewing angle between the direction of the user's gaze and a second normal of a second display of the multi-display assembly, wherein the first and second normals have different orientations; use the first viewing angle to establish a first brightness and/or a first contrast on the first display; use the second viewing angle to establish a second brightness and/or a second contrast on the second display; receive at least one image of at least one real world (RW) view behind the first display from a perspective of the user; and present the at least one image on at least the first display of the multi-display assembly in a display location of the first display that corresponds to where the RW view would be seen through the first display if the first display were a transparent plate.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.)
- Official title
- Realistic lighting for fish tank-style VR display
- Patent number
- US12761855B2
- Application number
- 18484704
- Filed
- Oct 11, 2023
- Granted
- Oct 13, 2026
- Inventors
- 4
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G06F 3/1446 Physics & computingG09G 3/2092 Physics & computingG09G 2320/028 Physics & computingG09G 2320/0626 Physics & computingG09G 2320/066 Physics & computingG09G 2320/0686 Physics & computingMore from Sony in AR, VR & displays
- Sony patents device that warms or cools you when you touch virtual objects Sep 15, 2026
- Sony patents cloud gaming that puts characters in your room Oct 15, 2026
- Sony patents LED screens that show unique views to each person in a room Oct 15, 2026
- Sony patents cloud gaming that adjusts to your brain state Sep 8, 2026
- Sony patents 3D projection that lets you drag items to new spots Sep 17, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.