JPH07159724A - Stereoscopic picture display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need of spectacles having action for distributing pictures to right and left eyes, to prevent flickering because time-division display is not performed, to enable an observer to move, and to lighten a burden imposed on the observer. CONSTITUTION:The picture for a right eye and the picture for a left eye are displayed on a spatial modulation element 10. By extracting the contour of the face and obtaining the center of gravity based on the image of the observer photographed by a photographing device 14, the graphics of the right half and the left half of an area surrounded by the contour are formed and respectively displayed on an observer picture display device 12. A lens 11 having directivity is used so that the picture for a right eye and the picture for a left eye can be observed only with the observer's right eye and left eye, respectively by illuminating the graphic of the right half and the graphic of the left half.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a three-dimensional image display device used for industrial, household or medical purposes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional stereoscopic image display device, an observer wears spectacles having a function of distributing left and right to display stereo images for the right eye and the left eye which are time-divisionally displayed on an image display surface. Those that can be observed only by the right and left eyes of the observer, respectively, or a lenticular plate is attached to the image display surface, the image distribution function of the lenticular plate, a stereo image for the right eye and the left eye It is general that the above can be observed only by the right and left eyes of the observer.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the configuration of the conventional stereoscopic image display device. Reference numeral 60 is spectacles having a left / right distribution function, 61a and 61b are liquid crystal shutters, 62 is a synchronizing circuit, and 63 is an image display. The device is a color CRT.

The operation of the stereoscopic image display device in the first example of the prior art constructed as described above will be described. Color CR
At T63, stereo images for the right eye and the left eye are alternately displayed in a time division manner. Liquid crystal shutter 61a of glasses 60
Is a synchronizing circuit so that the stereoscopic image for the right eye is opened and is in a transmissive state only when the stereoscopic image for the right eye is displayed, and the liquid crystal shutter 61b is opened and is in a transmissive state only when the stereoscopic image for the left eye is displayed. By controlling the open / closed state by 62, the observer wearing the spectacles 60 observes only the stereo image for the right eye with the right eye and stereoscopic image for the left eye with the left eye. I do.

FIG. 8 shows the structure of a stereoscopic image display device in the second conventional example. Reference numeral 71 is a lenticular plate in which a large number of cylindrical lenses are formed in stripes, and 72 is a color CRT as an image display device. is there.

The operation of the stereoscopic image display device of the second conventional example having the above-mentioned configuration will be described. Color CR
At T72, stereo images for the right eye and the left eye are displayed alternately in a slit shape having a width that is approximately half the stripe width of the lenticular plate 71, alternately. The right eye of the observer observes only the stereo image for the right eye displayed in the slit shape through the respective cylindrical lenses of the lenticular plate 71, and similarly, the left eye displays the stereo image for the right eye in the slit shape. Stereoscopic viewing is performed by observing only the stereo image for eyes.

[0007]

However, according to the studies by the present inventors, in the stereoscopic image display device in the first conventional example as described above, the stereo image is independent of the right and left eyes of the observer. In order to observe the eyeglasses, eyeglasses having a left / right distribution function are indispensable, and the eyeglasses are troublesome to the observer.

Further, the stereo image to be displayed needs to be switched between the right-eye image and the left-eye image in a time-division manner, which causes a problem that the image flickers, which is an obstacle to observing a stereoscopic image. Was.

Further, in the stereoscopic image display device in the second conventional example, since the stereoscopic image is observed through the stripe-shaped lens, the spatial tolerance of the stereoscopically visible observer is narrow and the observer moves. In this case, the image is deteriorated, and it is difficult for a large number of people to observe the image at the same time. Further, the image processing is required to display the image in a stripe shape, which makes the apparatus expensive. Had a problem.

Further, in the field of medicine, when an endoscopic operation is performed, the operation is usually performed by an operator observing a plane image of the abdominal cavity of a patient projected by the endoscope on a monitor. However, the monitor image in the abdominal cavity has few features because the entire abdominal cavity has a single color, and it becomes difficult to confirm the perspective of the affected area, which tends to lengthen the operation time and burden the patient and the operator. Was also great.

On the other hand, when the above-mentioned conventional first and second stereoscopic image display devices are used, left and right spectacles, flickering of images, and annoyance due to the limitation of movement of the observer impede practical application. Is the current situation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a stereoscopic image display device that does not require glasses having a function of distributing left and right and allows a large number of people to stereoscopically view at the same time without depending on the positions of observers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stereoscopic image display device having a flicker-free screen in addition to the above objects.

[0014]

An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide a spatial light modulator having a light transmissive property for displaying a stereo image, and an observer image display for illuminating the spatial light modulator from the back surface. A device, a lens located between the spatial modulation element and the observer image display device, for enlarging the display portion of the observer image display device, a photographing device for photographing the observer, An image processing device for performing signal processing of an image is provided, the image processing device detects a contour and / or a center of gravity of a face portion in an observer image photographed by the photographing device, and a right face with the contour and / or the center of gravity as a reference. A stereoscopic image display device characterized in that a graphic approximating a half face and a left face half face is created and displayed on the observer image display device to use the graphic as illumination from the back surface of the spatial modulation element. It is achieved by.

The stereoscopic image display device has a light-transmitting spatial modulation element for time-divisionally displaying a stereo image, an observer image display device for illuminating the spatial modulation element from the back surface, and the spatial modulation. A lens located between the element and the observer image display device, for enlarging the display portion of the observer image display device, a photographing device for photographing the observer, and performing signal processing of the photographed image. An image processing device is provided, and the image processing device detects the contour and / or the center of gravity of the face portion in the observer image photographed by the photographing device, and the half face of the right face and the half face of the left face on the basis of the contour and / or the center of gravity. By creating an approximate figure and displaying it on the observer image display device in synchronism with the time-divisional display of the spatial modulation element, the figure can be used as illumination from the back surface of the spatial modulation element. It is preferably characterized in.

The stereoscopic image display device further includes a pair of light-transmitting spatial modulators for displaying a stereo image, and a pair of observer image display devices for illuminating the spatial modulators from their respective back surfaces. And a pair of lenses located between the spatial modulation element and the observer image display device for enlarging a display portion of the observer image display device, and an image displayed on the pair of spatial modulation elements. A half mirror for synthesizing two images, a photographing device for photographing the observer, and an image processing device for performing signal processing of the photographed image. The contour and / or the center of gravity of the face portion is detected, a figure approximating the right face half face and the left face half face based on the contour and / or the center of gravity is created, and the right side is displayed on one of the pair of observer image display devices. Figure approximating the other hand, by displaying the graphics to be approximated to the left face half on the other, it is preferable that is characterized by using the graphic as illumination from the back surface of said pair of spatial modulation devices.

In the stereoscopic image display device, it is preferable that the image output surface of the observer image display device is installed outside the focal length of the lens.

In the stereoscopic image display device, it is preferable to use a transmissive liquid crystal display or a light transmissive film as the spatial modulation element.

The lens is preferably one having directivity, and specifically, a convex lens or a Fresnel lens is preferable.

In the stereoscopic image display device, a pair of lens barrels for taking a stereoscopically viewed subject image from two directions and a pair of obtained subject images are converted into electric signals. An endoscope including an image pickup device may be provided, and an image obtained by the image pickup device may be displayed on the stereoscopic image display device.

[0021]

According to the present invention, with the above-mentioned structure, the contour and / or the center of gravity of the face part of the observer is detected from the image of the observer photographed by the photographing device, and the half face of the left and right faces of the observer is used as a reference. A figure similar to is created and displayed on the observer image display device. When the observer image display device displays a figure approximating the half face of the right face of the observer, the observer sees the figure as a virtual image with only the right eye through the lens, and the observer image display device displays his or her own image. When a figure approximating the left half face is displayed, the figure is viewed as a virtual image only by the left eye through the lens.

That is, when a figure approximating the right face half surface is displayed on the observer image display device, a figure approximating the displayed right face half surface is displayed on the right eye of the observer by the magnifying action of the lens. Looks magnified to fill the lens,
In the left eye, due to the magnifying action of the lens, a portion corresponding to the left face side of the figure approximate to the right face half surface of the observer in the observer image display device appears to be enlarged to the full lens. At this time, the part corresponding to the left face portion of the observer image in the observer image display device has no display, that is, does not emit light, and therefore the display of the observer image display device cannot be seen by the left eye. Here, since the description is made on the case of displaying a figure that approximates the right half face of the observer in the observer image display device, there is no display on the left face side, but conversely on the left half face of the observer. When the approximate figure is displayed, there is no display on the right face side.

The right facial image of the observer, which is magnified to fill the lens, serves as illumination for the image for the right eye displayed on the spatial modulator as it is. That is, at this time, the observer's right eye sees the right-eye image, and the left-eye cannot see the right-eye image.

When the image displayed on the spatial modulation element is the image for the left eye, the observer image display device displays a figure approximating the half face of the left face of the observer.

Various methods are conceivable as a method for synthesizing the right-eye image and the left-eye image obtained in this way, and while synchronizing the display of the observer image display device and the display of the spatial modulation element, A method of alternately displaying left and right images in a time-sharing manner, or providing two observer image display devices, two lenses and two spatial modulation elements, each for the right eye and the left eye, and using a half mirror The method of synthesizing is preferred. The latter is more preferable in that there is no image flicker.

According to the present invention, due to the above operation, when the observer moves, the half-face image of the face of the observer himself displayed on the observer image display device is also followed, so that the above-mentioned stereoscopic condition is maintained. Becomes For the same reason, even when there are a large number of observers, each observer can perform stereoscopic viewing.

[0027]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a stereoscopic image display apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 10 is a transmissive liquid crystal display as a spatial modulation element, and 11 is a Fresnel lens having a focal length of 150 mm as a lens located on the back surface of the spatial modulation element 10. 12
Is a black and white CRT as an observer image display device having a light emitting function.
The lens 1 is located on the opposite side of the spatial modulation element 10 with the lens 11 in between and is farther than the focal length of the lens 11.
Installed at a position 160 mm away from 1. Reference numeral 13 is an image processing device, 14 is a CCD camera as a photographing device, and 15 is a stereo image for the right eye and the left eye from the stereo image output device and a figure similar to the right face and the left face from the image processing device 13 is synchronized. Synchronous circuits 16 and 17 respectively represent observers who observe stereoscopic images.

2, 3A and 3B are CCDs.
The images of the observers 16 and 17 photographed by the camera 14 are shown to be processed by the image processing device 13. Reference numerals 20 and 21 in FIG.
Reference numerals 2 and 23 indicate the barycentric position in the face area surrounded by the contours 20 and 21. Further, reference numerals 30 and 31 in FIG. 3 (A) are figures corresponding to the right half face of the face area surrounded by the contours 20 and 21 created based on the barycentric positions 22 and 23, respectively, and in FIG. Similarly, 32 and 33 are figures corresponding to the half face of the left face created with the barycentric positions 22 and 23 as references.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the observer observes the figure extracted from his / her face image as a virtual image in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. For the sake of clarity, the observer image display device ( Only black and white CRT) and lens are shown,
A liquid crystal display, a photographing device, an image processing device and the like are omitted. 11 is a lens, 12 is a monochrome CRT, 16 and 17
Are two observers observing stereoscopic images, 40, 4
Reference numerals 1, 42, and 43 denote areas actually observed by the observer in the observer image displayed on the screen of the monochrome CRT 12.

The operation of the stereoscopic image display device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. In the stereo images observed by the observers 16 and 17 in FIG. 1, the right-eye image and the left-eye image are signals from a stereo image output device such as a video tape recorder, a laser disc player, or a pair of television cameras. By
It is caused by being alternately displayed on the liquid crystal display 10 in a time division manner. Here, the time division display is 10 per second.
It is preferable to alternately display images of 25 frames. If the number of divisions is less than 10 frames, the image flickers too much and is not suitable for observation. If the number of divisions is more than 25 frames, the response of the liquid crystal display 10 is too late and the right (left) image can be recognized by the left (right) eye. Crosstalk between the left and right images may occur.

The CCD camera 14 photographs the observer from the front, the obtained image signal is input to the image processing device 13, and the contours 20 and 21 of the face of the observer are extracted as shown in FIG. The centers of gravity 22 and 23 in the area surrounded by the contours 20 and 21 are detected. Further, the image processing device 1
3 is the face contours 20 and 2 centered on the centers of gravity 22 and 23.
1 is divided into left and right, and 30, 31, and 3 shown in FIG.
2, 33 face half-face figures are created, and the right and left face figures 30, 31 and the left face figures 32, 33 are inverted upside down to perform a monochrome CRT 12
Are alternately displayed with high brightness in time division.

Thus, the liquid crystal display 10 and the black and white C
Each of the RTs 12 alternately displays a right-eye image and a left-eye image in a time division manner, and these are synchronized by a synchronizing circuit 15.

Next, the operation of the Fresnel lens 11 will be described with reference to FIG. Fresnel lens 11 is black and white C
The observer image displayed upside down on the RT 12 is installed so that the observers 16 and 17 can observe it as a virtual image. However, by setting the distance from the monochrome CRT 12 outside the focal length of the Fresnel lens 11, The right eye and the left eye of the person can independently observe only the regions 40 to 43 corresponding to the right face and the left face on the screen of the black and white CRT 12 respectively and magnified with the effective diameter of the Fresnel lens 11 as a limit. For this reason, when the figures 40 and 42 that are close to the right half images of the faces of the observers 16 and 17 are displayed, the figures 40 and 42 that are close to the right half images of the faces of the observers 16 and 17 are displayed. However, it can be made to act as illumination having selectivity to the right eye having a size corresponding to the effective diameter of the Fresnel lens 11. At this time, since the area corresponding to the left face side of the observers 16 and 17 does not emit light, the black and white CRT1 is applied to the left eye.
Light from 2 does not enter. Similarly, when the figures 41 and 43 that are similar to the left facial image are displayed, the figures 41 and 43 are displayed.
Serves as an illumination having selectivity to the left eye having a size corresponding to the effective diameter of the Fresnel lens 11. At this time, since the area in which the figure similar to the right facial image is displayed does not emit light, light from the black and white CRT 12 does not enter the right eye.

By the operation of the present apparatus described above, the stereo image for the right eye displayed on the liquid crystal display 10 in FIG. 1 can be observed by being illuminated from the back surface only for the right eyes of the observers 16 and 17, and the liquid crystal can be observed. Display 1
The left-eye stereo image displayed at 0 is illuminated only from the left side of the observers 16 and 17 and can be observed, so that the observers 16 and 17 can observe the pair of stereo images, and Stereoscopic viewing becomes possible. Further, even if the observers 16 and 17 move, stereoscopic viewing is possible as long as the observers are within the range that can be photographed by the CCD camera 14.

Although a transmissive liquid crystal display is used as the spatial modulation element in the above-mentioned embodiment, the spatial modulation element may be any one that has optical transparency and can display a stereo image. It may be a recorded film.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 shows the structure of a stereoscopic image display apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
a and 10b are transmissive liquid crystal displays as spatial modulation elements, and 11a and 11b are focal lengths of 150 m as lenses located on the back surface of the spatial modulation elements 10a and 10b, respectively.
m Fresnel lens. Reference numerals 12a and 12b are black and white CRTs as observer image display devices having a light emitting function, and the spatial modulation element 10 is sandwiched between the lenses 11a and 11b.
It is located on the opposite side to a and 10b and is installed at a distance of 160 mm from the lenses 11a and 11b. 13 is an image processing apparatus, 1
Reference numeral 4 is a CCD camera as a photographing device, 18 is a half mirror for combining the images displayed on the spatial modulation elements 10a and 10b into one, and 16 and 17 are observers for observing stereoscopic images.

Since the operation of the stereoscopic image display device configured as described above is basically the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals. The description will be omitted, and only different points will be described. The stereoscopic images observed by the observers 16 and 17 in FIG. 5 are displayed continuously on the liquid crystal display 10a for the right eye and on the liquid crystal display 10b by reversing the left and right images, respectively. Stereo image is half mirror 18
Are combined into one screen by. CCD camera 14
The image signal obtained by photographing the observer from the front is input to the image processing device 13, and the contours 20 and 21 and the centers of gravity 22 and 23 of the observer's face are detected as described in the first embodiment. Further, the image processing apparatus 13 divides the face contours 20 and 21 into right and left with the centers of gravity 22 and 23 as the object centers, and creates the face half-face figures 30, 31, 32, and 33 shown in FIG. Black and white television 12a by flipping 31 upside down
, And the figures 32 and 33 are inverted vertically and horizontally to be displayed on the black and white television 12b with high brightness. Here, the reason why the figures 32 and 33 need to be displayed as mirror images in which not only the top and bottom but also the left and right are reversed is that the observer observes the image reflected by the half mirror 18, and naturally the liquid crystal is displayed. The image for the left eye displayed on the display 10b must also be a mirror image.

By the operation of the present apparatus described above, the stereo image for the right eye displayed on the liquid crystal display 10a in FIG. 5 can be observed by being illuminated from the back surface only for the right eyes of the observers 16 and 17, and the liquid crystal can be observed. The stereo image for the left eye displayed on the display 10b is the observer 1
The left and right eyes of 6 and 17 can be illuminated from the back side to be observed. These left and right stereo images are combined by the half mirror 18 and can be continuously observed. Therefore, the observers 16 and 17 can observe a pair of stereo images at the same time. Both of them can be stereoscopically viewed, and flicker due to time division display does not occur. Further, even if the observers 16 and 17 move, stereoscopic viewing is possible as long as the observers are within the range that can be photographed by the CCD camera 14.

Although the case where the right-eye image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 10a has been described above, it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained by exchanging all the left and right conditions.

In the above embodiment, a transmissive liquid crystal display was used as the spatial modulation element, but the spatial modulation element may be any one that has optical transparency and can display a stereo image. It may be a recorded film.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 6 shows an application configuration of a stereoscopic image display apparatus to an endoscope in Embodiment 3 of the present invention, in which 50a and 50b are objective lenses for photographing an object. , 51a, 51b are lens barrels in which an optical system for guiding the photographed image is built in, and are installed at an angle corresponding to the vergence angle of the observer's eyes. 52
Reference numerals a and 52b are CCD cameras, and 53 is a stereoscopic image display apparatus described in the embodiment of claim 1 of the present invention and described with reference to FIG.

The operation of the endoscope device configured as described above will be described. The images of the two subjects captured by the objective lenses 50a and 50b are formed on the CCD cameras 52a and 52b as images for the right eye and the left eye by the lens barrels 51a and 51b having a convergence angle for stereoscopic vision, respectively. And functions as a stereoscopic endoscope. The formed two images are respectively displayed on the liquid crystal display 10 of the stereoscopic image display device 53.
a, 10b, which are displayed as a pair of stereo images, and by the function of the stereoscopic image display device 53 described in the second embodiment of the present invention, stereoscopic viewing of images captured by the endoscope by a large number of observers. Is possible.

The image pickup devices 52a, 5 in the present invention are
2b is disposed adjacent to the objective lenses 50a and 50b,
The shape of the lens barrel can be arbitrarily selected by converting the captured image of the observation portion into an electric signal by this image sensor and then guiding the inside of the lens barrel 51a, 51b, which is more effective for the purpose of the present invention. It can be configured in various ways.

[0044]

As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, in a stereoscopic image display device using a pair of stereo images, it is not necessary to use glasses having a left / right distribution function.
A large number of observers can perform stereoscopic vision under the same conditions at the same time even when the observers move, and furthermore, not the actual face images of the observers, but a figure that approximates the left and right face half surfaces can be displayed by the image processing device. By outputting, it is possible to prevent crosstalk due to the face image on the left and right sides being displayed slightly thin on the observer image display device, and it is also possible to ensure the necessary brightness of illumination. Will be things.

Further, by displaying the left and right images in a time-division manner, it is possible to obtain a device having a small number of parts.

Further, since the left and right images are independently displayed and are combined by using the half mirror, a device capable of obtaining continuous and flicker-free images can be realized. This greatly contributes to the practical use of the endoscope device and the expansion of its use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a stereoscopic image display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram of the stereoscopic image display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram of the stereoscopic image display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of the stereoscopic image display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a stereoscopic image display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a stereoscopic image display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a conventional stereoscopic image display device in a first example.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a stereoscopic image display device in a second conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 10a, 10b Transmissive liquid crystal display 11, 11a, 11b Lens 12, 12a, 12b Monochrome CRT 13 Image processing device 14 CCD camera 15 Synchronous circuit 16, 17 Observer 18 Half mirror 50a, 50b Objective lens 51a, 51b Lens barrel 52a, 52b CCD camera 53 stereoscopic image display device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A spatial light modulator having a light transmissive property for displaying a stereo image, an observer image display device for illuminating the spatial modulator from the back surface, the spatial light modulator and the observer image display. A lens for enlarging a display portion of the observer image display device, a photographing device for photographing the observer, and an image processing device for performing signal processing of the photographed image, The image processing device detects the contour and / or the center of gravity of the face portion in the observer image photographed by the photographing device, and creates a figure approximate to the right face half face and the left face half face with the contour and / or the center of gravity as a reference, A stereoscopic image display device, wherein the figure is used as illumination from the back surface of the spatial modulation element by displaying the figure on the observer image display device.