JP2001197524A - Stereoscopic image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stereoscopic image display device employing a volume scanning method that can properly display a planar image. SOLUTION: In the stereoscopic image display device 100 that displays a stereoscopic image thorough the use of after-image effect of vision by sequentially projecting a cross-sectional image of a display object onto a screen 38 while applying high speed rotation scanning to the screen 38 around an axis in the vertical direction, the rotation of the screen 38 is stopped (or rotated at a low speed), and a planar, image such as an operation menu or an appreciation image is projected on the screen 38 for the display of the planar image. Thus, using the screen 38 of the stereoscopic display device 100 can clearly display the planar image including the operation menu. Furthermore, in displaying the planar image, the lightness of a light source is decreased more than the case with displaying a stereoscopic image and the planar image proper lightness can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional image display device for displaying a three-dimensional image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One of the methods for displaying a stereoscopic image (that is, a three-dimensional image) conventionally invented and devised is a method called a volume scanning method utilizing an afterimage effect of the human eye.

In a display device based on the conventional volume scanning method, a screen, which is a projection surface, is linearly moved at a high speed in a direction perpendicular to a main surface, and a sectional image or a sectional contour of an object is instantaneously changed according to the scanning position of the screen. Was projected while changing. When the screen moving at high speed is viewed from the front side, an afterimage effect is brought about to the human eyes, and a three-dimensional image can be viewed as a whole by the arrangement of the plurality of cross-sectional images.

[0004] There is also a method in which a screen is rotated and scanned, and a cross-sectional image or a cross-sectional contour of an object is projected while being changed momentarily according to the scanning position of the screen. Also in this conventional technique, a stereoscopic image is displayed by the afterimage effect of the human eye. The difference from the linear movement type is that a stereoscopic image can be observed from any direction around the screen.

[0005]

A device for displaying a three-dimensional image by the above-described volume scanning method has been conventionally designed as a display device dedicated to a three-dimensional image, and is a flat image (that is, a two-dimensional image). Is not considered. However, it goes without saying that it is desirable for the user to be able to display both the stereoscopic image and the planar image on the same device.

[0006] Also, when displaying an operation screen for selecting a data file of a stereoscopic image, setting a display, and the like, the operation screen is not displayed on a dedicated display unit, but is displayed.
It is desirable to be able to display large on the screen.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to appropriately display a planar image in a three-dimensional image display device using a volume scanning method.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a three-dimensional image display device, comprising: a screen on which an image is projected; a projecting means for projecting the image on the screen; By controlling the volume scanning means for periodically performing volume scanning in a predetermined space, and controlling the volume scanning means and the projecting means, and sequentially projecting a cross-sectional image corresponding to a scanning position on the screen on which volume scanning is performed, a three-dimensional image is obtained. A three-dimensional display control unit that reproduces an image; and a two-dimensional display control unit that controls the volume scanning unit and the projection unit, stops volume scanning of the screen, and projects a planar image onto the screen.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the stereoscopic image display device according to the first aspect, further comprising means for receiving an input of a stop position of the screen by the two-dimensional display control means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a three-dimensional image display device, comprising: a screen on which an image is projected; projection means for projecting the image on the screen; Volume scanning means for volumetrically scanning, controlling the volume scanning means and the projection means,
3D that reproduces a three-dimensional image by sequentially projecting a cross-sectional image corresponding to a scanning position on the volume-scanned screen.
A two-dimensional display control unit that controls the volume scanning unit and the projection unit, performs volume scanning on the screen at a low speed, and projects a planar image onto the screen.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the stereoscopic image display apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the image projected on the screen by the two-dimensional display control means is controlled by the three-dimensional display control. Darker than the image projected by the means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the stereoscopic image display device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the volume scanning means is parallel to the main surface of the screen and in the vicinity of the main surface. The screen is rotated about an axis located at.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the stereoscopic image display device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the two-dimensional image is an image showing an operation screen.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the stereoscopic image display device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, further comprising a data accepting unit for accepting input of data relating to the stereoscopic image or data relating to the planar image. The three-dimensional display control means is activated when data relating to a three-dimensional image is input to the data receiving means, and the two-dimensional table control means is activated when data relating to a two-dimensional image is inputted. .

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS <1. Overall system configuration> FIG.
1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a stereoscopic image display system having a stereoscopic image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The three-dimensional image display system 1 is a three-dimensional image display device 100 that performs three-dimensional display of a display target by a volume scanning method.
And a host computer 3 that supplies two-dimensional image data relating to a cross-sectional image of the display target to the three-dimensional image display device 100.

The three-dimensional image display device 100 utilizes a residual image effect to project a three-dimensional image by sequentially projecting cross-sectional images of a display object onto a screen that rotates at a high speed about a predetermined rotation axis, as described later. indicate. Then, by updating the cross-sectional image to be projected in accordance with the scanning position of the screen to be rotationally scanned (that is, the rotation angle with respect to a predetermined reference direction), three-dimensional images of various display objects are displayed.

The host computer 3 is a general computer system having a CPU 3a, a display 3b, a keyboard 3c and a mouse 3d. The host computer 3 incorporates software for performing processing for generating two-dimensional image data of a cross-sectional image corresponding to each scanning position when the screen is rotated from three-dimensional image data of a display object input in advance. ing.
Then, the two-dimensional image data generated by the host computer 3 is supplied to the three-dimensional image display device 100.

Between the host computer 3 and the three-dimensional image display device 100, data can be transferred online, and data can be transferred offline via a portable recording medium 4. As the recording medium 4, a magneto-optical disk (M
O), a compact disk (CD-RW), a digital video disk (DVD-RAM), a memory card, and the like.

The three-dimensional image display device 100 can appropriately display not only a three-dimensional image but also a two-dimensional image. In this case, two-dimensional image data relating to a two-dimensional image is transferred from the host computer 3 to the three-dimensional image display device 100. In the following description, two-dimensional image data of a cross-sectional image for displaying a three-dimensional image is referred to as “cross-sectional image data”, and two-dimensional image data for displaying a two-dimensional image is referred to as “two-dimensional image data”. In the following description, first, a three-dimensional image display device 100 for displaying a three-dimensional image
The operation and the operation when displaying a two-dimensional image in the stereoscopic image display device 100 will be described.

<2. Configuration of Stereoscopic Image Display> Next, the outline of the stereoscopic image display 100 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overview of the stereoscopic image display device 100. The three-dimensional image display device 100 is provided on a housing 20 having a built-in optical system for projecting a cross-sectional image forming a three-dimensional image on a screen 38 and a control mechanism for performing various data processing, and provided on an upper part of the housing 20. And a cylindrical windshield 20a accommodating a screen 38 which rotates inside.

The windshield 20a is made of a transparent material such as glass or acrylic resin, so that a cross-sectional image projected on the screen 38 rotating inside can be visually recognized from the outside. Further, the windshield 20a seals the internal space, thereby stabilizing the rotation of the screen 38 and reducing the power consumption of the motor that rotates.

A liquid crystal display (LCD) 21, a detachable operation switch 22, and a detachable opening 23 for the recording medium 4 are arranged at a front portion of the housing 20, and a digital input / output terminal 24 is provided at a side portion. . The liquid crystal display 21 is used as a means for displaying an operation screen serving as a guide when performing an operation input or for displaying a plane image (so-called thumbnail image) for indexing a display object. The digital input / output terminal 24 is a SCSI terminal, an IEEE1394 terminal, or the like. Further, speakers 25 for outputting sound are arranged at four places on the outer peripheral surface of the housing 20.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the detachable operation switch 22. The operation switch 22 is an operation input unit for inputting various operation parameters.
1, various buttons such as a start button 222, a stop button 223, a cursor button 224, a select button 225, a cancel button 226, a menu button 227, a zoom button 228, and a volume control button 229 are arranged.

The display of a stereoscopic image on the screen 38 is as follows.
By operating each of the buttons 221 to 227 of the operation switch 22, the user selects a data file recorded on the recording medium 4 or a file desired to be displayed three-dimensionally from a data file stored in the host computer 3 and a start button. It is started by operating 222.

Next, an optical system for projecting a sectional image on the screen 38 in the three-dimensional image display device 100 will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration including an optical system in the stereoscopic image display device 100. As shown in FIG. 4, the optical system in the stereoscopic image display device 100 includes an illumination optical system 4.
0, a projection optical system 50, a DMD (digital micromirror device) 33, and a TIR prism 44.

The DMD 33 generates projection light to be projected on the screen 38, and lays out a rectangular metal piece (for example, an aluminum piece) having a side of about 16 μm on a plane in a scale of several hundred thousand pieces per chip. Structure. Each metal piece functions as a very small mirror and corresponds to one pixel of the cross-sectional image. In addition, just below each mirror, SRAM
Are formed, and the tilt angles of the respective mirrors are individually controlled at ± 10 degrees under the electrostatic electric field effect by the output of the SRAM. Here, the angle control of the mirror is binary control of ON / OFF corresponding to “1” and “0” of the SRAM output, and when light from the light source shines, the light is reflected by the mirror facing the ON direction. Only the light travels in the direction of the projection optical system 50, and the light reflected by the mirror facing the OFF direction deviates from the effective optical path and does not travel in the direction of the projection optical system 50. By such ON / OFF control of the mirror, projection light corresponding to the ON / OFF mirror distribution is generated, and a cross-sectional image is projected on the screen 38.

When switching ON / OFF of each mirror, the ratio of the ON time is adjusted to express the shading (that is, gradation) of each pixel.
56 gradations can be expressed.

In the three-dimensional image display device 100, R (red), which switches periodically, to form a color image,
The white light from the light source is passed through the color filters of G (green) and B (blue) and the operation of the DMD chip is synchronized with the switching timing of the color filters. A DMD chip may be prepared for each of R, G, and B colors, and three colors of light may be projected simultaneously.

Such a DMD 33 has two major features that it has a very high light use efficiency and a high-speed response. In general, the DMD 33 is used for a video projector or the like by utilizing its high light use efficiency. Have been. In the three-dimensional image display device 100, by using the high-speed response of the DMD 33, a moving image can be displayed in the volume scanning method using the afterimage effect.

The DMD 33 generates one image because the response time of the operation of each mirror is about 10 μsec and the writing of image data can be performed in substantially the same manner as a general SRAM. 1ms
ec or less, which is extremely fast. If the update time of the cross-sectional image is 1 msec, and the screen 38 performs a 180 ° volume scan (ie, 9 revolutions per second) in 1/18 sec in order to realize the afterimage effect, the screen 38 rotates half a turn. The number of cross-sectional images that can be generated is about 56 (about 111 during one rotation). Compared to a CRT or a liquid crystal display used as an image generating means in the conventional volume scanning method, the DMD 33 can project much more cross-sectional images on the screen 38 per unit time, and has a non-rotationally symmetric shape. It is possible to cope with not only a three-dimensional display but also a moving image display.

Further, one of the features of the DMD 33 is that the light utilization efficiency is high, and a brighter cross-sectional image is displayed on the screen 3.
8 contributes to enhancing the afterimage effect,
A high-quality stereoscopic image can be displayed as compared with a CRT system or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, a TIR guides the illumination light from the illumination optical system 40 to each micromirror and guides the projection light generated by the DMD 33 to the projection optical system 50 on the reflection surface side of the DMD 33. A prism 44 is provided.

The illumination optical system 40 has a white light source 41 and an illumination lens system 42, and illumination light from the white light source 41 is converted into parallel light by the illumination lens system 42. The illumination lens system 42 includes a condenser lens 421 and an integrator 42.
2, a color filter 43 and a relay lens 423. Illumination light from the white light source 41 is condensed by the condenser lens 421 and enters the integrator 422. Then, the illumination light whose light amount distribution is made uniform by the integrator 422 is separated into any one of R, G, and B color components by the rotary color filter 43. The split illumination light is converted into parallel light by a relay lens 423, then enters the TIR prism 44,
33.

The DMD 33 changes only the inclination angle of each micromirror based on the cross-sectional image data supplied from the host computer 3 so that only the components of the illumination light necessary for projecting the cross-sectional image are projected by the projection optical system. Reflect toward 50.

The projection optical system 50 has a projection lens system 51 and a screen 38. The projection lens system 51 includes two telecentric lenses 511, a projection lens 513, and a projection mirror 3.
6 and 37, and an image rotation compensating mechanism 34. Among them, the projection lens 513 and the projection mirrors 36 and 37 are arranged inside a rotating member 39 for rotating the screen 38 around the rotation axis Z. Note that the rotation axis Z is parallel to the main surface of the screen 38 and is located near the main surface of the screen 38, and is not limited to the projection surface of the screen 38 (not limited to the surface of the screen 38, (It may be an opaque or translucent surface existing inside the screen 38).

The light reflected by the DMD 33 is converted into parallel light by the two telecentric lenses 511, and passes through the image rotation compensating mechanism 34 in order to compensate the rotation of the sectional image. The luminous flux whose rotation has been compensated by the image rotation compensating mechanism 34 is finally projected onto the main surface (more precisely, the projection surface) of the screen 38 via the projection mirror 36, the projection lens 513, and the projection mirror 37. Is done. Therefore, the projection optical system 50 and the DMD 33 sequentially generate a plurality of cross-sectional images based on the cross-sectional image data, and the screen 3
The means for sequentially projecting a plurality of cross-sectional images on the screen in synchronization with the rotation scanning of No. 8 is provided.

The projection mirror 36, the projection lens 513, the projection mirror 37, and the screen 38 are fixed to a rotating member 39.
8 around the rotation axis Z at an angular velocity Ω. Thus, when the screen 38 is rotated to perform volume scanning, the projection mirror 36, the projection lens 513, and the projection mirror 37 disposed inside the rotating member 39 also rotate integrally with the screen 38, and the screen 38 is rotated at any angle. , The cross-sectional image is always projected from the front side. The scanning position of the screen 38 is always detected by the position detector 73.

The projection lens 513 converts the light beam to the screen 38.
The projection mirror 37 is provided so as to have an appropriate image size everywhere on the upper side. The projection mirror 37 is provided at an angle to the front of the screen 38 so as not to disturb the line of sight of the observer when observing the stereoscopic image projected on the screen 38. It is provided to project a cross-sectional image from below (in the case of FIG. 4, the inside of the rotating member 39). Note that the positional positional relationship of the projection lens 513 with respect to the projection mirrors 36 and 37 may be arbitrarily changed.

Here, the image rotation compensating mechanism 34 will be described. The image rotation compensation mechanism 34 shown in FIG. 4 has a configuration having a so-called image rotator. Rotating member 3
9 when the screen 9 is located at a certain rotation angle (that is, when the screen 38 is located at a certain scanning position).
If the cross-sectional image projected above is used as a reference image, if the image rotation compensating mechanism 34 is not used, the cross-sectional image projected on the screen 38 rotates in-plane as the rotating member 39 rotates. That is, the cross-sectional image projected when the rotation member 39 is rotated by 180 ° becomes an image that is upside down with respect to the reference image. To prevent this phenomenon, an image rotation compensation mechanism 34 is provided.

The image rotation compensating mechanism 34 shown in FIG. 4 uses an image rotator constructed by combining a plurality of mirrors. When the image rotator is rotated around the optical axis, an output image with respect to an incident image is output from the image rotator. It rotates at twice the angular velocity. Therefore, by rotating the image rotator at half the angular velocity of the rotating member 39, an upright sectional image is always projected regardless of the rotation of the screen.

The same effect can be obtained by using a dub (type) prism other than the image rotator as the image rotation compensating mechanism. Further, without using the image rotation compensating mechanism 34 described here, the image is projected by setting the pattern of the cross-sectional image generated on the reflection surface of the DMD 33 as an image that rotates around the optical axis in accordance with the rotation of the screen 38. The rotation of the image may be canceled. That is, DMD33
The cross-sectional image data generated such that the pattern of the cross-sectional image generated on the reflecting surface rotates at half the rotation speed of the screen 38 together with the rotation of the screen 38 may be generated by the host computer 3.

Here, the screen 38 and the rotating member 3
FIG. 5 shows an example of a perspective overview view of No. 9. As shown in FIG. 5, the rotating member 39 has a disk shape, and is rotatably driven when a rotating body of a motor 74 serving as a rotation driving means comes into contact with a side surface thereof. Of course, a motor may be directly connected to the central axis of the rotating member 39, or may be driven via a gear or a belt.

As shown in FIG. 5, the screen 38 has a certain scanning position (that is, a certain rotation angle with respect to a predetermined direction) θ.
At 1, the cross-sectional image P1 of the display object corresponding to the scanning position θ1 is projected onto the screen 38 from the DMD 33 shown in FIG. 4 via the projection mirror 36, the projection lens 513, and the projection mirror 37. After that, the screen 38 rotates after a short period of time, and when the scanning position θ2 is reached, a cross-sectional image P2 of the display object corresponding to the scanning position θ2 is projected on the screen 38.

Since the projection mirror 36, the projection lens 513, and the projection mirror 37 rotate while maintaining a fixed positional relationship with respect to the screen 38, a cross-sectional image is continuously projected on the screen 38 regardless of the rotation. Then, when the rotating member 39 is rotated by 180 ° (or 360 °), the same cross-sectional image as the beginning is obtained again (however, only in the case of a stereoscopic still image), and one volume scan is completed. In the above operation, the rotation speed of the rotating member 39 is sufficiently fast so that an afterimage effect can be obtained, and by sufficiently increasing the number of cross-sectional images to be projected, the observer can display the object to be displayed as an envelope of the cross-sectional image. Can be visually recognized.

Next, the size of a cross-sectional image (a region where light can be projected as a cross-sectional image, which corresponds to resolution) will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the size of the cross-sectional image projected on the screen 38. The size of the cross-sectional image is 256 pixels (horizontal direction) × 256 pixels (vertical direction), and is symmetric with respect to the rotation axis of the screen 38.
That is, left and right 1 around the rotation axis in the circumferential direction.
The size is 28 pixels. Since the projected cross-sectional image rotates together with the screen 38 while maintaining a certain relationship,
Irrespective of the rotation of the screen 38, the size of the projected cross-sectional image is constant.

The size of the cross-sectional image shown in FIG. 6 is merely an example, and an arbitrary size can be set according to the number of micromirrors provided on the DMD 33 to be used. Actually, as shown in FIG. 4, since the cross-sectional image is projected obliquely below the screen 38, a special lens or mirror is used for the projection optical system 50. That is, if the projection optical system 50 uniformly enlarges and projects the pattern of the cross-sectional image on the DMD 33 in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, the screen 3 that is not perpendicular to the optical axis
8, the cross-sectional image is projected with distortion (that is, the upper part of the cross-sectional image is enlarged more than the lower part). Therefore, a special lens or mirror is used for the projection optical system 50 so that the cross-sectional image is not distorted.

Of course, the projection optical system 50 may be configured using ordinary lenses or mirrors, and a cross-sectional image pattern for compensating for distortion may be generated on the DMD 33 in advance. In this case, the resolution of the cross-sectional image differs between the upper part and the lower part of the cross-sectional image.

<3. Control Mechanism in Stereoscopic Image Display System> Next, a control mechanism for displaying a stereoscopic image in the stereoscopic image display system 1 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram mainly showing a functional configuration of the three-dimensional image display device 100. In FIG. 7, solid arrows indicate the flow of electric signals, and broken arrows indicate the flow of light. The illumination optical system 40 and the projection optical system 50 shown in FIG. 7 are the same as those shown in FIG.

The cross-sectional image data relating to the cross-sectional image of the display object is input to the interface 66 from the host computer 3 via the digital input / output terminal 24 or to the interface 66 from the recording medium 4. That is, the reading mechanism in the digital input / output terminal 24 or the attachment / detachment port 23 functions as a means for receiving the cross-sectional image data. Note that, as described later, the stereoscopic image display device 100 also receives planar image data relating to a planar image with a similar configuration.

In general, since image data has a larger data amount than other types of data, the section image data input to the interface 66 is often subjected to data compression by the MPEG2 system or the like. In this case, it is necessary to expand (restore) the compressed cross-sectional image data. Therefore, in the configuration of FIG. 7, a data decompressor 65 for decompressing the compressed cross-sectional image data is provided. Note that when the cross-sectional image data input to the interface 66 is not subjected to data compression, there is no need to provide the data decompressor 65.

The expanded cross-sectional image data is stored in the DMD 33
Is provided to the DMD driving unit 60 which controls the generation of the pattern of the cross-sectional image in. DMD driver 60 is DMD3
3. DMD controller 62 and memories 63a, 63
b. The two memories 63a and 63b are independently writable and readable, and each function as storage means for storing cross-sectional image data corresponding to a plurality of cross-sectional images.

The DMD controller 62 supplies a gradation signal to the DMD 33 and drives a color filter 43 arranged in the illumination lens system 42 in accordance with the scanning position of the screen 38 detected by the position detector 73. It controls the driver 71 and controls the write operation and the read operation in the memories 63a and 63b.

The system controller 64 controls the entire operation of the three-dimensional image display device 100. The system controller 64 controls the rotation of the image rotation compensating mechanism 34 in the projection lens system 51 and the motor 74 for rotating the screen 38 and the rotating member 39. A drive command is given to the screen controller 72 for controlling the operation. Also, the system controller 6
The control unit 4 controls the driver 70 for driving the white light source 41 and manages and controls the interface 66 and the data decompressor 65 to transmit the state of supply of the cross-sectional image data to the DMD driving unit 60 to the DMD controller 62.

The system controller 64 gives an instruction to the character generator (CG) 69 to display appropriate characters and symbols on the screen of the liquid crystal display 21. As a result, an operation screen such as a display for selecting an image file and a display for performing various settings is displayed on the liquid crystal display 21.

The character generator 69 has a switch (SW) 69 controlled by the system controller 64.
a, and the image data of the operation screen can be sent to the DMD 33 by the switch 69a. That is, in the three-dimensional image display device 100, the operation screen can be displayed not only on the liquid crystal display 21 but also on the screen 38. The operation for displaying the operation screen on the screen 38 will be described later.

On the other hand, in order to process a user's input to the display of the operation screen, input information from the detachable operation switch 22 is input to the system controller 64. The operation switch 22 and the three-dimensional image display device 100 are configured to perform infrared communication. The main body of the three-dimensional image display device 100 is provided with a transmission / reception unit 75a for infrared communication and a driver 75b. On the side, a transmission / reception unit 76a and a driver 76b are provided.

The audio data included in the cross-sectional image data is restored by an audio decoder (not shown) provided inside the data decompressor 65, and the obtained audio data is converted into a D / A converter 68a and an amplifier ( AMP)
68b and output from the speaker (SP) 25. The power supply 67 is connected to the stereoscopic image display device 10 shown in FIG.
Power is supplied to each of the 0 units.

Next, the configuration of the memory serving as the storage means will be described. As shown in FIG.
0 is provided with two memories 63a and 63b, and these memories 63a and 63b are used such that data is read from one memory while data is written to the other memory. .

Each memory stores a three-dimensional image (a three-dimensional still image or a three-dimensional image of one scene in a three-dimensional moving image to be described later; hereinafter, referred to as “(one) three-dimensional image”) indicating one state. When a three-dimensional moving image is displayed, having a storage capacity necessary for display, data is alternately written to the two memories 63a and 63b, and data is written from the memory to which no writing is performed. Read data sequentially.
Thereby, the three-dimensional images can be sequentially updated at a high speed, and the display of the three-dimensional moving image is realized.

Here, the minimum amount of rotation of the screen 38 required to display one stereoscopic image is
Is opaque and translucent (for example, screen 3
8 is frosted glass, a transparent resin plate whose surface is processed into a frosted glass to make it white and cloudy, or a thin paper). In order to observe a stereoscopic image from the entire circumference of the stereoscopic image display device 100 when the screen 38 is opaque, the screen 38 needs to be rotated at least 360 °,
When the screen 38 is translucent, since the cross-sectional images can be observed from both the front side (projection surface side) and the back side of the screen 38, the stereoscopic image display device 10 can be rotated by 180 °.
A stereoscopic image can be observed from the entire circumference of 0.

Therefore, depending on whether the screen 38 is opaque or translucent, the number of cross-sectional images required to display one stereoscopic image differs. For example, if 120 cross-sectional images are projected sequentially while the screen 38 rotates 360 ° when the screen 38 is opaque, a similar stereoscopic image can be displayed when the screen 38 is translucent. While the screen 38 rotates by 180 °, 60 cross-sectional images are sequentially projected.

In the following description, the opaque screen 38
During one revolution or the translucent screen 38
A display corresponding to one stereoscopic image while is rotated by １ ／ is called one scene. That is, when the screen 38 is opaque, a plurality of cross-sectional images for one scene (hereinafter, referred to as “scenes”)
It is appropriately referred to as “a cross-sectional image of one scene”. ) Corresponds to a cross-sectional image projected during one rotation of the screen 38. When the screen 38 is translucent, the screen 38
/ 2 rotations.

As described above, each of the memories 63a and 63b has a storage capacity capable of storing data of a plurality of cross-sectional images constituting one stereoscopic image.
The storage capacity of each memory is appropriately designed depending on whether the screen 38 is opaque or translucent as well as the rotation speed of 8 and the projection speed of the sectional image.

When a three-dimensional still image is displayed, a cross-sectional image of one scene is repeatedly displayed in accordance with the rotational scanning of the screen 38 using one of the memories, and when a three-dimensional moving image is displayed. The writing and reading to and from the two memories are alternately performed, and the cross-sectional images of a plurality of scenes are sequentially displayed.

When a color stereoscopic image is displayed by using a mechanism for changing a color filter, the data of the cross-sectional images of each color of RGB constituting the color cross-sectional image is sequentially converted to D.
It is necessary to give to MD33. Thus, for example, 1
When the number of the cross-sectional images constituting the scene is 60, the number of the cross-sectional images corresponding to each of the RGB colors is 2
It becomes 0.

FIG. 8 is a diagram in which the essential parts when displaying a three-dimensional moving image are extracted from the configuration shown in FIG. As described above, in this embodiment, two memories 63a and 63b are provided in order to display a three-dimensional moving image relating to the display object by changing the three-dimensional image of the display object from time to time. The writing operation and the reading operation from the other memory are performed in parallel in time. Specifically, the memory controller 6 in the DMD controller 62 under the control of the system controller 64
2a alternately switches between the memory to be read and the memory to be written according to the scanning position of the screen 38 obtained by the position detector 73.

The sectional image data supplied from the data decompressor 65 is supplied to both the memories 63a and 63b.
Of the two memories, only the memory to which the write command is given by the memory control unit 62a sequentially writes (or updates) the cross-sectional image data from the designated address. On the other hand, the memory to which the read command is given from the memory control unit 62a sequentially outputs the already stored cross-sectional image data based on the command from the memory control unit 62a, and gives the DMD 33 to the DMD 33.

The memory control section 62a designates a read address for one of the memories 63a (or 63b) in order to cause the DMD 33 to generate a cross-sectional image based on the scanning position obtained from the position detector 73, thereby obtaining a cross-sectional image. The display of the cross-sectional image is controlled by controlling the reading operation of the image data. When the projection of the cross-sectional image of one scene is completed, the other memory 63b
It is checked whether or not the writing of the cross-sectional image data of the next one scene to (or 63a) has been completed. If it has been completed, the memory between the read target and the write target is switched. In order to project the same scene again, control is performed so that the cross-sectional image data of one scene is sequentially read again from one memory 63a (or 63b) to be read.

<4. Generation of Cross Section Image> Next, generation of cross section image data regarding a cross section image performed by the host computer 3 shown in FIG. 7 will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the host computer 3. The CPU 3a of the host computer 3 functions as a three-dimensional data storage unit 91, a three-dimensional display condition input unit 92, and a cross-sectional image calculation unit 93. Then, cross-sectional image data is derived for each cross-sectional image corresponding to the scanning position of the screen 38 from the three-dimensional image data of the display target, and the data is supplied to the three-dimensional image display device 100 side.

The three-dimensional data storage section 91 stores three-dimensional image data of a display object. The three-dimensional image data stored here is data on a moving image or a still image. As the data of the moving image, for example, by storing a sequence of three-dimensional image data corresponding to each form from the initial state to the final state of the display object in the three-dimensional data storage unit 91, the entire moving image is stored. About 3
The dimensional image data is stored. In the case of a still image, three-dimensional image data corresponding to one scene is stored.

Further, there is provided a three-dimensional display condition input unit 92 for setting display conditions and the like as to what size and posture of the stored display object is to be displayed. Based on the two-dimensional image data and the display conditions provided from the three-dimensional display condition input unit 92, the cross-sectional image calculation unit 93 derives cross-sectional image data of a cross-sectional image obtained by cutting the display target at predetermined angle intervals.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a process of converting three-dimensional image data into cross-sectional image data performed in the cross-sectional image calculation unit 93. In the following description, first, a method of generating cross-sectional image data when the screen 38 is opaque will be described, and subsequently, a case where the screen 38 is translucent will be additionally described.

The cross-sectional image calculation unit 93 determines the center of the display object (including the color) represented by the three-dimensional image data illustrated in FIG. Set the rotation axis. This state is shown in FIG. Then, the number of divisions of the display object in one rotation is set, and as shown in FIG. 10C, the display object is cut into radial planes at substantially equal angles according to the number of divisions. By expressing the cross-sectional image of the display object guided by the cutting as cross-sectional image data, cross-sectional image data relating to the cross-sectional image of the display object cut at predetermined angles as shown in FIG. 10D is generated. You.

When the screen 38 is opaque, FIG.
As shown in (d), all the cross-sectional image data of the cross-sectional image necessary to display the stereoscopic image of the display object when the screen 38 makes one rotation becomes the cross-sectional image data of one scene. By sequentially projecting based on the cross-sectional image data of one scene, a stereoscopic image when the display object is in one state is displayed. Then, in the case of a moving image, in the cross-sectional image calculation unit 93, for each form from the initial state to the final state of the display target,
The cross-sectional image data for one scene as one unit is sequentially derived, and the data is sequentially supplied to the three-dimensional image display device 100 side.

The derived cross-sectional image data is subjected to data compression according to a method such as MPEG2 as needed.

In FIG. 10, the screen 38 is 360
Although a cross-sectional image corresponding to each scanning position at the time of rotation is generated, a cross-sectional image projected at a certain scanning position and a cross-sectional image projected at a rotation of 180 ° from this scanning position are Since the images are inverted left and right, a plurality of cross-sectional images corresponding to the first 180 ° are generated, and then the left and right of these cross-sectional images are inverted to generate a plurality of remaining 180 ° cross-sectional images. You may do so.

Also, the cross-sectional image data generated by the host computer 3 is only the cross-sectional image data corresponding to the plurality of first 180 ° cross-sectional images, and the remaining plurality of 180-degree cross-sectional images are the stereoscopic image display device 100. May be generated. For example, the first 180 ° cross-sectional image data is transferred from the host computer 3 to the memory, and the cross-sectional image data is sequentially read from the memory while the screen 38 rotates by the first 180 °, and the remaining 1
The right and left of the cross-sectional image displayed on the screen 38 may be reversed by appropriately changing the order of the read addresses of the cross-sectional image data from the memory during the rotation of 80 °.

When the screen 38 is translucent, cross-sectional images projected from both the front and back surfaces of the screen 38 can be observed, so that a single stereoscopic image can be displayed only by rotating the screen 38 by 180 °. it can. That is, the minimum number of cross-sectional images required to display one scene is
This is half of the case where the screen 38 is opaque.

Therefore, when the screen 38 is translucent, it is possible to display two scenes while the screen 38 makes one rotation. In this case, each time the screen 38 rotates by １ ／, the cross-sectional image data of one scene is transferred from the host computer 3 to the three-dimensional image display device 100, and the cross-sectional images are sequentially projected.

Of course, even when the screen 38 is translucent, the same processing as when the screen 38 is opaque is performed in the host computer 3 or the stereoscopic image display device 100 during one rotation of the screen 38, One rotation may correspond to one scene.

<5. Planar image display by stereoscopic image display device> The configuration and operation of the stereoscopic image display device 100 have been described above.
It is also possible to appropriately display a planar image on the screen 38 while utilizing such a configuration. The display of the planar image is performed by the system controller 64 in FIG.
This is realized by performing control for displaying a two-dimensional image on 2. That is, the system controller 64 determines that the internal RO
By operating in accordance with a program stored in advance in M, the function is switched between a means for controlling stereoscopic image display and a means for controlling planar image display.

When a plane image is displayed, first, the screen controller 72 is controlled by the system controller 64 so that the screen controller 72 sets a predetermined scanning position (a fixed scanning position, or a scanning position set by a user in advance). The screen 38 may be positioned at the same position.

On the other hand, the plane image data input from the host computer 3 is expanded by the data expander 65 and stored in the memory 63a. Note that, as described above, the memory 63a
Has a capacity to store the data of the cross-sectional image of one scene, and the storage area occupied by the plane image data is only a part of the storage capacity of the memory 63a.

Then, under the control of the DMD controller 62 by the system controller 64, the plane image data stored in the memory 63a is output to the DMD 33, and the plane image is projected on the screen 38 which is stopped. As will be described later, the screen 38 on which the planar image is projected may be rotated at a low speed.

As described above, the three-dimensional image display device 100 can display not only a three-dimensional image but also a two-dimensional image. At this time, since the screen 38 stops (or rotates at a low speed), it is possible to clearly view the planar image.

By the way, in the three-dimensional image display device 100,
The displayed planar image is not only an ornamental planar image but also an operation screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 21 can be displayed on the screen 38.

As shown in FIG. 7, the three-dimensional image display device 1
At 00, the character generator 69 generates plane image data as a character screen to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 21 in accordance with an instruction from the system controller 64. The plane image data generated by the character generator 69 can be transferred to the DMD 33 via the switch 69a. That is, under the control of the system controller 64, the screen controller 72 stops the screen 38 at a predetermined scanning position (or rotates at a low speed), and the switch 69a switches the character generator 6
By connecting the DMD 9 to the DMD 33, an operation screen such as file selection is displayed on the screen 38. In addition,
A specific example of the operation screen will be described later.

As described above, since the operation screen is displayed on the screen 38, the operation screen can be made large, and the operability of the user can be improved.

<6. Example of operation and operation of stereoscopic image display device> Next, an example of an operation when a stereoscopic image or a planar image is actually displayed on the stereoscopic image display device 100 and an example of an operation of the stereoscopic image display device 100 will be described. FIG.
1 is a flowchart showing the overall operation and operation flow of the stereoscopic image display device 100. In FIG. 11, the stop button 223, the menu button 227, and the zoom button 22 of the operation switch 22 shown in FIG.
8, the operation when the volume control button 229 is operated is omitted. Actually, when these buttons are operated during the display of the image, the image display is stopped, the operation screen is displayed, the displayed image is enlarged / reduced, and the volume is adjusted.

FIG. 11 shows a three-dimensional image display device 100.
Is also omitted. Actually, the power button 22
1 is turned off to turn off the power, and the operation of the stereoscopic image display device 100 ends.

As shown in FIG. 11, the three-dimensional image display device 1
When the power button 221 is operated, the power is turned on, and the initial setting is performed (step S1). The contents of the initialization include stabilization of the power supply and initialization of parameters relating to various processing conditions. Subsequently, the menu of the operation content of the stereoscopic image display device 100 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 2.
Whether to display only on the screen 1 or on the screen 38 is selected (step S2). FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process in step S2.

In selecting an operation screen, first, screen 3
8 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 21 asking whether or not to display the operation screen.
The user makes a selection by operating the or select button 225 (step S21). Stereoscopic image display device 100 that has received the selection
Then, when the operation screen is displayed on the screen 38, the screen 38 is moved to a predetermined scanning position (hereinafter, referred to as "reference position") (step S22), and the character generator 69 and the DM are operated by the switch 69a.
D33 is connected (see FIG. 7), and the output of the operation screen is D
The data is transferred to the MD 33 (step S23). These operations are performed by the system controller 64.

More precisely, the switch 69a operates the character generator 69 and the DM while the three-dimensional image or the two-dimensional image (excluding the operation screen) is not displayed on the screen 38.
D33 is connected to display an operation screen on the screen 38.

When a selection not to display the operation screen on the screen 38 is made, the switch 69a does not connect the character generator 69 and the DMD 33 (ie,
The operation screen is displayed only on the liquid crystal display 21 (step S24).

When it is determined whether or not the operation screen is to be displayed on the screen 38 (step S2), a menu which is one of the operation screens is displayed on the liquid crystal display 21 (or the liquid crystal display 21 and the screen 38). It is in a state where various operations of the user can be received (steps S3 and S4). That is, as shown in FIG. 11, a state of waiting for reception of various operations from the user and reception of a display start operation (that is, reception of operation of the start button 222) is established.

In the following description, it is assumed that the operation screen is selected to be displayed on the screen 38 in step S2, and the description of the same display on the liquid crystal display 21 is omitted.

FIG. 13 is a diagram exemplifying a state where the menu is displayed on the screen 38. At this time, the same content is also displayed on the liquid crystal display 21. In FIG. 13, the character “3D MODE” indicates that the stereoscopic image display device 100 is in a mode in which a stereoscopic image is currently displayed, and the character “JUMPING BALL” is the name of the currently selected file (ie, Name of the image to be displayed)
Is shown. The file name is not displayed immediately after the power is turned on.

"3D / 2D DISPLAY" is an item for switching between stereoscopic image display and planar image display.
"IEW" is an item for displaying and selecting a file list. “SETTING” is a stereoscopic image display device 1
00 is an item for performing various settings related to the operation of 00,
“INFO.” Is an item for displaying information on the selected file and various settings. These items are selected using the cursor button 224 of the operation switch 22 that is detachable from the housing 20, and are determined using the select button 225.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are flowcharts showing the flow of the operation (step S3) for accepting selection of various items in the menu. In FIG. 13, "3D / 2D DISPLA
When "Y" is selected (step S31), switching between the stereoscopic image display mode and the planar image display mode is performed (steps S311 to S313). That is,
If the mode was the stereoscopic image display mode before the operation, the mode is switched to the planar image display mode, and if the mode was the planar image display mode, the mode is switched to the stereoscopic image display mode.

If "FILE VIEW" is selected (step S32), a file list corresponding to the display mode is displayed on the screen 38 (step S321). When the image data is transferred from the host computer 3 via the cable, the files in the host computer 3 are to be displayed, and when the image data is transferred from the host computer 3 via the recording medium 4, The file recorded on the recording medium 4 in the outlet 23 is to be displayed. Here, in the three-dimensional image display mode, only the file list of the three-dimensional image is displayed, and in the two-dimensional image display mode, only the file list of the two-dimensional image is displayed.

When the file list is displayed, the user selects a file using the operation switch 22, and the three-dimensional image display device 100 receives this operation (step S).
322). Thereafter, the stereoscopic image display device 100 reads the header of the selected file (Step S323).
The header includes the name of the selected file, the file size, the distinction between a moving image and a still image, and the like.

In the case of a plane image, the header includes the size of the plane image (that is, information on how many pixels are included in the horizontal and vertical directions of the image). Further includes the number of frames. In the case of a three-dimensional image, the size of the cross-sectional image includes the number of cross-sectional images constituting one scene, and in the case of a three-dimensional moving image, the number of scenes is further included.

By the above operation, the display mode and the file name in the menu are displayed (“3D MOD” in FIG. 13).
E ”and“ JUMPING BALL ”) are determined.

When "SETTING" is selected (step S33), the screen is switched to an operation screen for performing various operation settings, and various settings are performed according to the operation of the user (step S331). For example, the display time of a still image,
The brightness, hue, etc. of the image are set.

The operation switch 2 also sets the stop position of the screen 38 when displaying a planar image including the operation screen.
2 is performed. Accordingly, when the user observes the stereoscopic image display device 100 from only a predetermined direction, it is possible to turn the projection surface of the screen 38 toward the user when the planar image is displayed. Also, by setting the stop position so that the display of the operation screen on the screen 38 and the display of the liquid crystal display 21 are in opposite directions, the operator can display the operation screen from the front and the back of the stereoscopic image display device 100. It becomes possible to recognize.

Furthermore, it is possible to set the screen 38 to rotate at a low speed when displaying a planar image. When such a setting is performed, when the operation screen or another planar image is displayed on the screen 38, the screen 38 rotates slowly, and is sequentially displayed to a plurality of viewers around the stereoscopic image display device 100. A planar image can be shown. That is, a planar image can be observed from an arbitrary position around the three-dimensional image display device 100. If the rotation speed of the screen 38 at the time of displaying the plane image is one rotation per second or less, the observer can observe the plane image,
Preferably, the rotation speed is 1/3 to 1/30 revolutions per second. More preferably, the rotation speed is set to about 1/10 rotation per second, and the display is performed to all the observers around the three-dimensional image display device 100 in about 10 seconds.

Note that various setting items may be appropriately switched according to the display mode.

When "INFO." Is selected in the menu (step S34), the set operation settings and various information of the selected file are displayed on the screen 38 (step S341).

As shown in FIG. 11, while accepting various operations, the stereoscopic image display device 100 is in a state where it can accept the start of display by operating the start button 222. It should be noted that the start button 222 is not accepted unless a file is correctly selected.

When the start button 222 is pressed (step S4), in the case of the stereoscopic image display mode, the system controller 64 controls to display the stereoscopic image (steps S5 and S6). Is displayed (steps S5 and S7). That is, the system controller 64 functions as a unit that controls stereoscopic image display or a unit that controls planar image display. These controls may be performed by individual controllers. When the image display according to the image data included in the file ends, the display returns to the menu display again.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation flow in the stereoscopic image display mode. When displaying a stereoscopic image, first, high-speed rotation of the screen 38 is started (step S61), and the system controller 64 operates the driver 7
By controlling 0, the brightness of the light source 41 is adjusted to the brightness for displaying a stereoscopic image (step S62). When displaying a stereoscopic image, the brightness of the light source 41 is adjusted so that the image has a sufficient afterimage effect while the screen 38 is rotating.

Since the brightness when displaying a stereoscopic image is too bright to display a planar image in which the screen 38 stops (or rotates at a low speed), the planar image including the operation screen is not suitable. When displaying, the light source 41 is turned on in a state darker than the brightness of the light source in displaying the stereoscopic image.

High-speed rotation of screen 38 and light source 41
Are adjusted, the display of the stereoscopic still image or the stereoscopic moving image is performed (Steps S63 to S65). afterwards,
When the display of the stereoscopic image is completed, the brightness of the light source 41 is returned to the original brightness (that is, the brightness suitable for displaying the planar image) (step S66), and the screen 38 is stopped at the reference position (step S67). ). Thus, when the process returns to step S3 in FIG. 11 after the display of the stereoscopic image, the menu is displayed again on the screen 38 at the reference position.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the flow of operation inside the stereoscopic image display device 100 when displaying a stereoscopic still image. First, under the control of the system controller 64,
The input of the slice image data from the host computer 3 (or the recording medium 4) is started, and the slice image data is sequentially supplied to the data decompressor 65 via the interface 66 for each slice image. Then, the cross-sectional image data expanded by the data expander 65 is written to the memory 63a (step S631).

Since the cross-sectional image relating to the stereoscopic still image is only a cross-sectional image of one scene, it is written into only the memory 63a having the storage capacity of the cross-sectional image data of one scene, as described above.

When the writing of the cross-sectional image data is completed,
The section image data is read out from the memory 63a in synchronization with the rotation of the screen 38, and is transferred to the DMD 33 (step S632). One-time reading of the cross-sectional image data from the memory 63a is performed for each rotation of the screen 38, whereby the cross-sectional images of the same scene are sequentially projected on the screen 38 for each rotation to reproduce a stereoscopic still image. You.

The display of such a stereoscopic image of the same scene is repeated until the preset time elapses (step S633), and the display of the stereoscopic still image is maintained until the preset time elapses. In the above description, writing and reading out of the cross-sectional image data are performed only in the memory 63a. However, only the other memory 63b may be used.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of the operation inside the three-dimensional image display device 100 when displaying a three-dimensional moving image. First, under the control of the system controller 64,
The input of the slice image data from the host computer 3 (or the recording medium 4) is started, and the slice image data is sequentially supplied to the data decompressor 65 via the interface 66 for each slice image. Then, the cross-sectional image data expanded by the data expander 65 is written to the memory 63a (step S641).

Here, the cross-sectional image data of the three-dimensional moving image corresponds to the cross-sectional image data of the three-dimensional images of a plurality of scenes, but the cross-sectional image data written to the memory 63a has the same cross-sectional image data of one scene as the storage capacity. Only.

When the writing of the slice image data into the memory 63a is completed, the slice image data is read from the memory 63a, and the slice image data of the next one scene is written into the other memory 63b (step S642). ). Thereby, the display of the stereoscopic image of one scene and the writing of the cross-sectional image data of the next one scene are performed in parallel.

When the reading of the cross-sectional image data of one scene from the memory 63a and the writing of the cross-sectional image data of the next one scene to the memory 63b are completed, the system controller 64 gives a control signal to the DMD controller 62, The memory to be written and the memory to be read are changed. Thereby, the memory 63b
While the cross-sectional image data of one scene is read out from, the cross-sectional image data of the next one scene is further written into the memory 63a (step S644). Thereby, 1 is obtained according to the cross-sectional image data stored in the memory 63b.
The cross-sectional image data of the next one scene is written in the memory 63a while the stereoscopic image of the scene is displayed.

As described above, the writing of the cross-sectional image data of one scene to one memory and the writing of one section from the other memory are performed.
By reading the cross-sectional image data of the scene while switching the memory to be written / read,
Section images of each scene are sequentially projected on the screen 38 (steps S642, S644). Such an operation is repeatedly performed until the sectional image data of the last one scene is written in any of the memories (step S643, step S643).
(S645) After reading out the cross-sectional image data of the last one scene (step S646), the three-dimensional moving image display ends.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the flow of the operation of the three-dimensional image display device 100 when displaying a two-dimensional image. Although FIG. 19 shows the flow of operation when a planar image for viewing is displayed, the operation screen, which is one of the planar images, is displayed by the same operation. That is, also in step S3 in FIG. 11, an operation in which the display operation of the planar image in FIG. 19 (steps S75 and S76) is replaced with the display operation of the operation screen is performed.

When displaying a plane image (step S7), first, the user (or the system controller 64)
It is confirmed whether the display is performed with the screen 38 stopped or the display is performed while rotating slowly (step S71). Here, when performing display while stopping the screen 38, the screen 38 is stopped at a preset reference position (step S72) (normally, the screen 38 is already stopped at the reference position). When rotating, the screen 38 starts rotating at a low speed at a preset speed (step S7).
3).

Next, it is checked whether the plane image data of the selected file is still image data or moving image data (step S74), and the display of the plane still image or the display of the plane moving image is performed. (Step S75,
S76).

When the display of the image is completed, the screen 38
When is rotated, the screen 38 is stopped at the reference position (steps S77, S78). Thus, the menu is displayed on the screen 38 at the reference position (or rotating at a low speed) in the menu display (step S3) of the next process.

When displaying a three-dimensional image, the light source 41
Is adjusted (that is, brightened), but since the operation screen is also one of the two-dimensional images,
When shifting from the operation screen to the display of the viewing flat image, the brightness of the light source is not changed. Of course, if it is preferable to make the brightness of the operation screen different from that of the planar image for viewing, such setting items may be provided.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of the operation inside the three-dimensional image display device 100 when displaying a planar still image (step S75). In displaying the planar image, first, the host computer 3 (or the recording medium 4)
, And after being expanded by the data expander 65, is written into the memory 63a (step S751).

Here, as described above, the plane image data corresponding to one plane image has a smaller data amount than the cross-section image data corresponding to the cross-section image of one scene. Occupy only part.

Thereafter, the planar image data is repeatedly supplied to the DMD 33 from the memory 63a for a preset time, and the planar image is projected on the screen 38 (steps S752, S753). The memory used may be the memory 63b.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the flow of the operation inside the three-dimensional image display device 100 when displaying a plane moving image (step S76). Also in the case of displaying a plane moving image, plane image data corresponding to one (one frame) plane image is written in the memory 63a (step S76).
1) After that, the plane image data is read out and DMD3
3 and a flat image is displayed (step S
762).

In the case of a plane moving image, it is necessary to sequentially update the displayed plane image.
After the plane image data corresponding to the next one plane image is written in 3a, reading and projection are performed (steps S761, S762). After such display of the plane image corresponding to each frame is repeatedly performed until the plane image data of the entire moving image ends (step S76).
3), the display of the plane moving image ends.

It should be noted that reading of image data at the time of displaying a plane moving image does not need to be performed at a speed as high as displaying a three-dimensional moving image. Of course, the writing / reading memory may be switched for each display of the two-dimensional image.

<7. Effect of Planar Image Display> In the three-dimensional image display device 100, when displaying an operation screen or a planar image for viewing, the screen 38 stops rotating or rotates at a low speed. When the method of displaying such a plane image is compared with the method of displaying a plane image while rotating the screen 38 at high speed (that is, by the same method as the method of displaying a stereoscopic image), there are the following differences.

The case where the plane image is displayed while the screen 38 is rotated at a high speed means that the plane image is projected only when the screen 38 reaches a certain scanning position while the screen 38 is rotated at a high speed. To do.

When displaying a plane image while rotating the screen 38 at a high speed, the displayed image is a translucent image as in the case of displaying a stereoscopic image. Furthermore, in this case, unlike the display of the stereoscopic image, the time during which the planar image is observed is a moment during one rotation of the screen 38. As a result, flickering is likely to occur in the planar image, resulting in an unclear image.

Here, when the screen 38 is translucent, it is possible to take a measure of projecting the plane image once every half rotation. However, in this case, it is necessary to prepare two plane images that are inverted left and right from each other, and the processing becomes complicated.

On the other hand, the screen 38 is stopped or
When displaying a planar image while rotating at a low speed, the planar image becomes clear as in a normal display.
Further, the horizontal reversal processing of the plane image is not required.

<8. Modifications> While the stereoscopic image display device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above description, the case where the number of the memories as the storage means is two is exemplified, but the number is not limited to two and may be two or more. In this case, when switching between one memory to be read and one memory to be written, a configuration may be adopted in which switching is performed cyclically among a plurality of memories. Of course, as long as data can be written to the memory at high speed, only one memory may be used.

Although the DMD 33 has been exemplified as an example of the image generating means for generating an image to be projected on the screen 38 based on the image data given from the memory to be read, a device other than the DMD 33 may be used.

In the above description, the predetermined rotation axis Z
The configuration example of displaying a three-dimensional image of a display object by projecting a cross-sectional image on a screen that rotates around the center has been described. There may be. That is, the present invention can be used as long as the screen periodically scans a three-dimensional predetermined space.

In the above description, the operation screen is generated by the system controller 64 and the character generator 69. However, the operation screen may be generated by the host computer 3 and transferred to the three-dimensional image display device 100.

In the above description, when displaying a planar image including an operation screen, the brightness of the light source 41 is suppressed as compared with the case of displaying a stereoscopic image. However, the brightness of the planar image is reduced. Other methods may be used as long as they can be performed. For example, the brightness of the plane image may be adjusted by controlling the operation of the DMD 33 (that is, by changing the ratio of turning on and off the pixels), and the plane image data itself becomes data of a dark plane image. May be.

In the three-dimensional image display device 100, file selection on the operation screen may be performed by selecting a thumbnail image corresponding to each image data. Screen 3
8 has a larger display area than the liquid crystal display 21, so that the operability of the file selection can be improved by selecting the file based on the thumbnail image.

In the three-dimensional image display device 100, the operation screen is always displayed on the liquid crystal display 21. However, the operation screen may be displayed only on the screen 38, or the operation screen on the screen 38 may be displayed. And the display of the operation screen on the liquid crystal display 21 may be exclusively switched.

In the above description, the memory 63a (or the memory 63b) is used for both displaying a stereoscopic image and displaying a planar image. However, a dedicated memory for displaying a planar image is used. May be received separately.

Also, it has been described that the stereoscopic image display device 100 can display a planar image for viewing. However, the stereoscopic image display device 100 is configured as a device dedicated to stereoscopic image display, and is used only when the operation screen is displayed. Stop screen 38,
Alternatively, it may be configured to rotate at a low speed. That is, only the operation screen may be assumed as the plane image.

In the above description, switching between the three-dimensional image display mode and the two-dimensional image display mode is performed. However, the control of the system controller 64 may be automatically switched after identifying the format of the input data by referring to the header or the like.

[0151]

According to the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, a two-dimensional image can be appropriately displayed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the screen can be stopped at a desired scanning position.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a planar image can be observed from an arbitrary position around the three-dimensional image display device.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the brightness of the plane image can be made appropriate.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a two-dimensional image can be properly displayed even on a screen that is rotated and scanned in displaying a three-dimensional image.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the operation screen can be appropriately displayed.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a three-dimensional image or a two-dimensional image can be appropriately displayed according to input data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a stereoscopic image display system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overview of a stereoscopic image display device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a detachable operation switch.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration including an optical system in the stereoscopic image display device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a screen and a rotating member.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the size (resolution) of a cross-sectional image projected on a screen.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the stereoscopic image display system.

FIG. 8 is a diagram in which main parts relating to stereoscopic video display are extracted from the configuration shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a host computer.

FIGS. 10A to 10D are diagrams showing a process of converting three-dimensional image data into cross-sectional image data.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an overall flow of the operation of the stereoscopic image display device.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation of the stereoscopic image display device when selecting whether or not to display an operation screen on a screen.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state where a menu is displayed on a screen.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation when the stereoscopic image display device receives each operation.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation when the stereoscopic image display device receives each operation.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation of the stereoscopic image display device in the stereoscopic image display mode.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation inside the stereoscopic image display device when displaying a stereoscopic still image.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation inside the three-dimensional image display device when displaying a three-dimensional moving image.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation of the stereoscopic image display device in the planar image display mode.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of operation inside the stereoscopic image display device when displaying a planar still image.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the flow of operation inside the stereoscopic image display device when displaying a plane moving image.

[Explanation of symbols]

 22 operation switch 24 digital input / output terminal 33 DMD 38 screen 41 light source 50 projection optical system 64 system controller 66 interface 70 driver 71 driver 72 screen controller 74 motor 100 stereoscopic image display device Z rotation axis

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G09G 3/20 660 G09G 3/20 660X 680 680C 5/36 510 5/36 510V (72) Manami Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi (72) Inventor Ken Yoshii 2-3-113 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 2H059 AA38 AC08 5C061 AA01 AA29 AB12 AB16 AB17 5C080 AA18 BB05 CC04 DD21 EE26 FF09 JJ02 JJ06 JJ07 5C082 AA01 BA12 BA47 BB42 CA76 CB05 DA42 MM05 5G435 AA00 BB12 GG12 GG12 DD12 GG12 GG13 GG28 GG46

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A three-dimensional image display device, comprising: a screen on which an image is projected; a projection unit for projecting the image on the screen; and a volume scan of the screen periodically in a three-dimensional predetermined space. Volume scanning means, three-dimensional display control means for controlling the volume scanning means and the projection means, and sequentially projecting a cross-sectional image corresponding to a scanning position on the screen to be volume-scanned, thereby reproducing a stereoscopic image, A stereoscopic image display device comprising: a two-dimensional display control unit that controls the volume scanning unit and the projection unit, stops volume scanning of the screen, and projects a planar image on the screen. 2. The three-dimensional image display device according to claim 1, further comprising: a unit that receives an input of a stop position of the screen by the two-dimensional display control unit. 3. A three-dimensional image display device, comprising: a screen on which an image is projected; a projection unit for projecting the image on the screen; and a volume scan of the screen periodically in a three-dimensional predetermined space. Volume scanning means, three-dimensional display control means for controlling the volume scanning means and the projection means, and sequentially projecting a cross-sectional image corresponding to a scanning position on the screen to be volume-scanned, thereby reproducing a stereoscopic image, A stereoscopic image display device comprising: a two-dimensional display control unit that controls the volume scanning unit and the projection unit to scan the volume of the screen at a low speed and projects a planar image onto the screen. 4. The three-dimensional image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image projected on the screen by the two-dimensional display control means is projected by the three-dimensional display control means. A stereoscopic image display device characterized by being darker than an image. 5. The three-dimensional image display device according to claim 1, wherein the volume scanning unit is configured to set an axis parallel to a main surface of the screen and located near the main surface. A stereoscopic image display device, wherein the screen is rotated to the center. 6. The three-dimensional image display device according to claim 1, wherein the two-dimensional image is an image showing an operation screen. 7. The three-dimensional image display device according to claim 1, further comprising: a data receiving unit that receives an input of data relating to a three-dimensional image or data relating to a planar image. Wherein the three-dimensional display control means is activated when data relating to a three-dimensional image is input, and the two-dimensional table control means is activated when data relating to a two-dimensional image is input. Stereoscopic image display device.