Appeal No. 2002-1047
Application 09/083,174
the invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for
producing images in a virtual space suitable for use so that it
enables persons present in different localities to feel as if
they meet together in a room. See page 3 of Appellants’
specification.
Referring to figure 1, a video conference system 1 embodying
Appellants’ invention includes two cylindrical booths disposed in
different localities. The video conference system 1 is capable
of producing images in a virtual space as shown in fig. 2 to
enable the persons in the different localities to feel as if they
are meeting together in the same room. See page 7 of Appellants’
specification. The prior art practices of producing an image in
a virtual space, GBR and IBR, are not suitable for video
conference systems for the reasons given on pages 10 and 11 of
Appellants’ specification. Appellants’ invention utilizes a
method for producing a virtual image based on the assumption that
light beams always pass through a single medium having a constant
refractive index. See page 12 of Appellants’ specification. Let
it be assumed that light beams are emitted from, or reflected on
the surface of, an object M shown in fig. 4 and intersect at a
point such as P. Also let it be assumed that these light beams
cannot be directly recorded at point P, and that the object M is
3
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