Eye animation device and method to show eye expression in 2d and 3d lighted displays

Abstract

An illuminated display device with a base member representing an eye and having a primary cavity therein, usually existing as a pair of devices to represent two eyes. Thin walls within the primary cavity divide it into multiple chambers, wherein each chamber has a unique shape and volume that represents a view of a unique emotive response in an eye. Illumination devices are placed in each unique thin-walled chamber shape to emit light in a pattern from the chamber volume through a top opening of the cavity. Lighting all illumination devices equally imitates an open eye, while illuminating the volume of one or more unique chamber shapes at OFF or lesser brightness than the volume in other chambers creates a negative space, giving the illusion that the eye has changed shape to equal the shape in the brightly lit chambers only. The device can thus imitate the changing shapes in an eye shown when expressing emotion and the device is capable of exhibiting eight or more distinct emotive responses. A speaker can emit sounds in synchronization with a pattern of illumination to enhance the emotive effect. The unique chamber shapes and volumes in the primary cavity can be covered by translucent material that may be printed with a graphic representation of an eye.