JP2003255265A - Stereoscopic image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device which can display stereoscopic images even if parallax barriers and lenticular lenses are not used and further even if spectacles are not used. <P>SOLUTION: The display device is provided with a plurality of reflectors 21 and 22 for reflecting incident light to either a left eye or right eye direction and the directivity of exit light is restricted by the reflectors 21 and 22, by which an image for the left eye is supplied to the left eye 1 and an image for the right eye is supplied to the right eye 2. Accordingly, the images for the left eye and the right eye are made separately visible even if the optical elements, such as the parallax barriers and lenticular lenses, are not arranged in front of a screen and even if the spectacles are not used. The stereoscopic display device which makes unsightly vertical stripes invisible on the screen, is inexpensive and durable, and is highly reliable can be provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display device for displaying a 3D image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A two-lens type stereoscopic image display method is known in which two images, that is, a left-eye image and a right-eye image, which are different images in which the same object is recorded by different viewpoints, are shown to the left and right eyes. Is. Several devices or methods have been developed to realize this stereoscopic image display method. It is a popular method to display a left-eye image and a right-eye image with different polarizations or colors, and to view a stereoscopic image by wearing polarized glasses or color filter glasses. In addition, there is a maintenance separation system using a liquid crystal shutter in a similar system.

As a method without using glasses, as shown in FIG. 1, the images to be viewed by the left eye 1 and the right eye 2 (the left eye image 11 and the right eye 2) at an appropriate distance on the back side of the aperture 91 having an extremely thin vertical stripe shape. There is an image in which eye images 12) are alternately displayed in vertical stripes. A filter having this aperture 91 is called a parallax barrier 92, and a stereoscopic display television using a parallax barrier is being commercialized.

As shown in FIG. 2, the back surface (focal surface) of the lenticular plate 93 whose focal plane matches the back surface.
In addition, when images (left eye image 11 and right eye image 12) viewed from different directions are continuously displayed in vertical stripes, the right eye 12
The left eye 11 and the left eye 11 see different images, and a stereoscopic method is also known, and is used for a stereoscopic postcard or the like.

[0005]

In these three-dimensional image display systems, there is a problem that the system using glasses cannot be seen without glasses. Furthermore, if the left and right images are displayed separately with lights of different polarizations, the display system becomes complicated and expensive. Also, when trying to display the left and right images in color, the displayable colors are limited, and multi-color images cannot be displayed.

In the method using the parallax barrier, glasses are unnecessary, but it is difficult to make the screen look bright because the amount of light is reduced by the slit. In addition, vertical stripes on the parallax barrier obscure the image quality.
If the pitch of the slits is made small in order to eliminate the vertical stripes from the eyes, there is a problem that the directivity spreads due to the diffraction phenomenon and it becomes difficult to separate the left and right images.

The fineness of the pitch required for the parallax barrier is derived from the resolution of a healthy eye as follows. (Pitch) <= (distance between parallax barrier and eye) / 3
500 For example, when the distance is 35 cm, the maximum pitch is about 100 μm, and if the slit width is 1/10 of the pitch, it is 10 μm.
Becomes Therefore, since it is only about 20 times as much as visible light, the influence of diffraction cannot be ignored.

A system using a lenticular lens also has vertical stripes as in the case of the parallax barrier, and thus vertical stripes are likely to be an eyesore. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide an optical structure such as a lens on the display surface side, that is, the side (front surface) where light is input and output. It is desirable to have a lens structure on the upper surface of the sheet in consideration of ease of manufacturing, but when the lens structure is exposed, there are problems in durability and reliability. It is not impossible to form the protective film on the fine lens structure without impairing the optical characteristics of the lens, but it is technically difficult and costly. There is also a method of creating a structure in which lenticulars are transferred upside down on the back of the sheet and filling the space between the sheet and the image with a transparent resin to create the lenticular structure, but since it is necessary to place the image on the focus of the lenticular lens, It is technically difficult to control the film thickness of the resin.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stereoscopic image display device in which a stereoscopic image can be easily viewed without using eyeglasses and the like, and in which no disturbing vertical stripes are generated.

[0010]

Therefore, in the present invention, in the reflection type image display device, the reflecting surface for each pixel forming an image is formed with different angles for the left eye or the right eye. A light flux having different directivity is emitted for each of the left and right eyes for each pixel to display a stereoscopic image. That is, the stereoscopic image display device of the present invention, a plurality of reflectors that reflect the incident light in either the left eye or the right eye direction, and the light flux output from these reflectors is for the left eye or the right eye. And a means for modulating the image to be captured by one of the two. By changing the reflection direction for the left eye and the right eye for each pixel, the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye can be output, so that the display device can stereoscopically see the image. Furthermore, since there is no need for a parallax barrier or lenticular lens, there is no risk of vertical stripes, and the pixels for the right eye and the pixels for the left eye can be placed on the screen without partitioning. You can see seamless stereoscopic images.

In order to reflect the light for the left eye and the light for the right eye at different angles, the first reflector is set to an angle that reflects the incident light in the direction of the left eye, and the incident light is directed in the direction of the right eye. A second reflector set to the angle of reflection can be provided. In this stereoscopic image display device, the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye are simultaneously output. On the other hand, as the reflector, it is possible to employ a movable mirror capable of switching the incident light in the left eye direction and the right eye direction and reflecting the light. This movable mirror can be provided by adjusting the movable angular range of the digital micromirror device. In this stereoscopic image display device, an image for the left eye and an image for the right eye are displayed alternately.

In the three-dimensional image display device having the first and second reflectors, it is desirable that the first and second reflectors are mixed and dispersed on the screen.
Furthermore, when the first and second reflectors are randomly arranged, there is no discontinuity in the image that can be perceived by the left eye or the right eye, so that a stereoscopic image display device that is easy to see can be provided.

In the stereoscopic image display device in which the first and second reflectors are dispersedly arranged, the image for the left eye and the first
The logical product of the position of the reflector on the screen is calculated, the logical product of the image for the right eye and the position of the second reflector on the screen is calculated, and the logical product is combined to modulate. A three-dimensional image can be displayed by driving. Therefore, the stereoscopic image display device can be driven by the control device having such a function or the control method having such a process.

Further, the first and second reflectors can be arranged line by line in the scanning line direction or the like. In the stereoscopic image display device of the present invention, it is not necessary to dispose an obstacle such as a parallax barrier or a lenticular plate between the means for modulating pixels and both eyes. Even if the pixels are arranged, there is almost no deterioration in image quality. In this stereoscopic image display device, a stereoscopic image can be displayed by driving the means for allocating the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye to different scanning lines and modulating them. Therefore, the stereoscopic image display device can be driven by the control device having such a function or the control method having such steps.

Further, in the stereoscopic image display device in which the reflector is provided with a movable mirror capable of switching the incident light in the direction of the left eye and the direction of the right eye, the image for the left eye is displayed by the modulating means. The stereoscopic image can be displayed by synchronously switching the direction of the movable mirror between the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye between when performing the display and when displaying the image for the right eye. Therefore, the stereoscopic image display device can be driven by the control device having such a function or the control method having such a process.

By disposing a transparent cover panel such as glass having a constant refractive index on the light input / output side with respect to the reflector, the light totally reflected by the cover panel is neither incident nor emitted. Therefore, the angle of the light flux that is reflected by the reflector and can be emitted for the left eye or the right eye is limited, so that the angle of the reflector can be easily set.

One of the modulating means is a light valve such as a liquid crystal panel arranged on the light input / output side with respect to the reflector. Further, one of the means for modulating is a means for changing the color of the reflector or the reflecting surface. For example, a color can be printed on the reflector to provide a printout capable of displaying a stereoscopic image.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 shows a stereoscopic image display device according to the present invention. The stereoscopic image display device 10 includes a reflection plate 20 having a different reflection angle for each pixel, a liquid crystal panel 30, a control device 35 that drives the liquid crystal panel, and a cover glass 11 that covers the front surface of the liquid crystal panel. The reflector 20 has a first reflector 21 that reflects the incident light in the direction of the left eye 1 from a direction perpendicular to the cover glass 11 and a second reflector 22 that reflects the light in the direction of the right eye 2. I have it. Therefore, the liquid crystal cell 31 located in front of the first reflector 21 displays the image for the left eye, and the liquid crystal cell 32 located in front of the second reflector 22 displays the image for the right eye.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the stereoscopic image display device 10 of this example. For the sake of simplicity, assuming that the cover glass 11 and the liquid crystal panel 30 have the same refractive index n (n> 1), the incident light 18 that propagates through the cover glass 11 and the liquid crystal panel 30 and reaches the reflection plate 20 is The angle α with the normal 11a of the cover glass 11 is limited by the following equation.

Α <arcsin (1 / n) (1) Therefore, when the reflector (reflection surface) 22 for the right eye has an angle of α / 2 in the counterclockwise direction with respect to the cover glass 11, Light 18 incident at an angle α from the leftmost side in the drawing (the right side when facing the stereoscopic image display device 10) is output in the normal direction 11a of the cover glass 11 and the normal direction 11a having a smaller angle than that. The light on the left side (the right side when facing each other) is reflected to the left side of the normal direction 11a. On the other hand, the light incident from the right side (left side when facing) of the normal direction 11a has a reflection angle larger than the angle α,
It is totally reflected by the cover glass 11 and is not output. In this way, light is emitted from the right-eye reflector 22 only to the left side (right side when facing) of the normal direction 11a of the cover glass 11.

Similarly, the left-eye reflector 21 has an angle of α / 2 in the clockwise direction with respect to the cover glass 11 so that it is on the right side of the normal direction 11 of the cover glass 11 (the left side when facing each other). ) Can output light only. Therefore, the stereoscopic image display device 10 of this example
In, the light modulated by the liquid crystal cell 21 forming the image of the left eye is emitted to the left side when facing, and reaches only the left eye 1. On the other hand, the liquid crystal cell 2 that constitutes the image of the right eye
The light modulated by 2 is emitted to the right when facing each other,
Reach the right eye 2 only. Therefore, the left eye 1 and the right eye 2 will capture the respective images, and by combining them, a stereoscopic image is perceived.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the processing in the control device 35 for driving the liquid crystal panel 30. The control device 35 includes frame memories 36a and 36b for storing one screen of left-eye image data φ1 and right-eye image data φ2 supplied from a host computer, a DVD reproducing device, or the like. In addition, the control device 3
Reference numeral 5 denotes an address map 37a storing an address indicating the position on the screen of the liquid crystal cell 21 for the left eye, which is output by the reflector 21 for the left eye, and the right eye, which is output by the reflector 22 for the right eye. And an address map 37b that stores the address of the liquid crystal cell 22 for use in. Then, the AND circuit 38a causes the image 36a for the left eye and the address map 37 for the left eye.
LCD3 of the stereoscopic image display device 10 by taking the logical product with a
Image data for the left eye to be displayed at 0 is generated. Further, the AND circuit 38b calculates the logical product of the right-eye image 36b and the right-eye address map 37b to generate the right-eye image data to be displayed on the LCD 30 of the stereoscopic image display device 10. The OR circuit 39 takes the logical sum of these image data, and the logical sum is once stored in the frame memory 40 and then output to the LCD 30.

Image data φ0 displayed on the LCD 30 of the stereoscopic image display device 10 can be generated from the image data φ1 for the left eye and the image data φ2 for the right eye with the same configuration for the still image and the moving image. According to this method, the image data φ0 can be easily formed by rewriting the address maps 37a and 37b by disposing the reflector 21 for the left eye and the reflector 22 for the right eye.

Various arrangements of the reflectors 21 and 22 are possible. For example, the pixels on the screen are divided or divided into pixel clusters of 8 columns × 8 rows, and the left-eye reflectors 21 and the right-eye reflectors 22 are randomly arranged in each pixel cluster. Can be placed at.
And if each pixel cluster is arranged differently,
A reflector 21 for the left eye and a reflector 2 for the right eye are provided on the entire screen.
The cells 2 for the left eye and the cells 32 for the right eye can be distributed almost uniformly at random. Thus cells 31 and 32
By disposing, the pixels for the left eye and the pixels for the right eye are dispersedly arranged without being locally concentrated, so that an image without vertical stripes or unevenness can be displayed. The number of pixel clusters is not limited to 8 × 8, and each cluster may be smaller than or equal to a size recognizable to human eyes.

Further, by alternately arranging the cells 31 and 32 in each pixel cluster in a mosaic pattern, the pixels for the left eye and the pixels for the right eye are not concentrated locally on the screen. It can be distributed and arranged.

Left eye cell 31 and right eye cell 3 for each scanning line
The cells 31 for the left eye can also be arranged by alternately arranging two cells.
It is possible to disperse and the cells 32 for the right eye evenly on the screen. FIG. 6 shows a control device 35 of the stereoscopic image display device 10 in which the reflectors 21 and 22 are arranged in such a manner.
Is shown. The left eye image data φ1 and the right eye image data φ2 recorded in the frame memories 36a and 36b are selected by the selector 41 for each scanning line and supplied as data φ0 to drive the LCD 30 and display a stereoscopic image. can do.

FIG. 7 shows a different example of the stereoscopic image display device according to the present invention. This stereoscopic image display device 15 is
As the reflector 20, a movable mirror 25 that can change the reflection angle for each pixel is provided. The movable mirror 25 has a position inclined by α / 2 in the counterclockwise direction with respect to the cover glass 11 (position of the second reflector 22 shown by a solid line) and a position inclined by α / 2 in the clockwise direction (the second position shown by a broken line). It is a digital micromirror device capable of driving two positions (the position of one reflector 21) as stable positions. The movable mirror 25 can be moved independently for each pixel,
Image data for the left eye and image data for the right eye can be displayed in frame units by moving the movable mirror 25 on the entire screen in synchronization.

FIG. 8 shows a control device 35 driven in such a manner.
Is shown. The left-eye image data φ1 and the right-eye image data φ2 are selected by the selector 42 on a frame-by-frame basis and are output in synchronization with the movement of the movable mirror 25, whereby the left-eye image and the right-eye image are displayed on a frame-by-frame basis. LC
It can be displayed at D30. The user visually perceives the left-eye image and the right-eye image displayed in frame units, so that a stereoscopic image can be perceived.

The movable mirror 25 set to the angle as the reflector 21 for the left eye and the movable mirror 25 set to the angle as the reflector 22 for the right eye are dispersed and arranged.
It is also possible to display by switching the angle in frame units. In this case, in the control device shown in FIG. 5, it is necessary to switch the address map 37a for the left eye and the address map 37b for the right eye on a frame-by-frame basis, but these address maps 37a and 37b have a conjugate relationship. Therefore, it is possible to switch by simply inserting a knot circuit and inverting.

FIG. 9 shows a further different example of the stereoscopic image display device of the present invention. This stereoscopic image display device 16
Of the transparent sheet 50 such as an OHP sheet, the reflectors 21 and 22 having the angles described with reference to FIG. 4 are formed on the back surface 51 of the transparent sheet 50.
Ink 59 is applied from 1 to color the reflectors 21 and 22. That is, the ink 59 applied to the reflectors 21 and 22 serves as the modulation unit 33 of the stereoscopic image display device 16 of this example. Therefore, an image for the left eye is formed by the ink 59 attached to the reflector 21 that emits the light flux that forms the image for the left eye, and is attached to the reflector 22 that emits the light flux that forms the image for the right eye. An image for the right eye is formed by the formed ink 59, and a stereoscopic image can be perceived when viewed from the surface 52 of the transparent sheet 50.

If the patterns of the reflectors 21 and 22 formed on the transparent sheet 50 are known in advance, image processing as shown in FIG. 10 is performed, and printing is performed by a printer having an ink jet head 58 or the like, so that the present example is performed. The three-dimensional image display device can be manufactured. First, step 6
In step 1, a left-eye bitmap is created from the left-eye image data and the left-eye pixel address map, and in step 62, the right-eye image data and the right-eye pixel address map are converted to the right-eye bitmap. To create. Then, in step 63, the left-eye bitmap and the right-eye bitmap are laterally reversed and combined, and in step 64, the bitmap is printed by the printer as print data. When printing with a printer, it is necessary to accurately match the printing position and the positions of the reflectors 21 and 22. Therefore, it is possible to employ a method in which an alignment mark is provided on the sheet 50 and the sheet is detected. desirable.

As a method of displaying a stereoscopic image of a still image, there is a method of printing on the back surface of the lenticular sheet. However, in the case of a lenticular sheet, it is necessary to set the focal position of the lens as the printing surface, so there are many restrictions on the strength and pixel size in the sheet design, and those that display high resolution and high quality stereoscopic images Cannot be manufactured. On the other hand, in the case of the stereoscopic image display device 16 of this example, it is not necessary to arrange optical elements such as a lens and a parallax barrier on the front surface, so that the left and right pixels are arranged in a line or the visual field for each pixel is on the front surface. There are no factors that affect the quality of the image, such as being limited by the optical elements placed. Further, since there is no optical element on the front surface, there is no limitation such as printing at the focal length of the lenticular lens. Therefore, it is possible to freely arrange the pixels for displaying the left and right images, and to arrange them evenly over the entire screen, for each scanning line, for each frame, and for the image or medium to be displayed. In addition, it becomes possible to display a stereoscopic image by an optimum display method.

The above-mentioned inclination angle α / 2 of the reflector is an example, and when the inclination angle is made steeper, the light flux for the left eye is further inclined and emitted to the left, and the light flux for the right eye is further emitted to the right. Since the light is emitted while being inclined, the images for viewing with each eye are easily separated. On the other hand, since the angular range of the emitted light beam is narrowed, the amount of light tends to decrease. On the contrary, when the tilt angle is smaller than α / 2, the emission angle is widened and the light amount is increased, but the images viewed by the left and right eyes may be mixed. Also, instead of limiting the angular range of incident and outgoing light by using total reflection on the cover glass, the direction of the emitted light is limited by limiting the position of the light source for illumination and the incident direction of the light by the frame. Can be restricted.

Further, the inclinations of the left-eye and right-eye reflectors do not all have to be the same, and when displaying a large image with respect to the distance between the eyes, the inclination of the reflectors should be taken into consideration in consideration of the viewing angle. It is desirable to change. Further, in the above, an example of displaying a plane image is shown, but in a device or the like that displays a large image with respect to the distance between the eyes, the reflector and the display panel are curved in consideration of the viewing angle and the movement of the line of sight. That is also effective.

[0035]

As described above, in the present invention, a plurality of reflectors for reflecting the incident light in either the left eye or the right eye direction are provided, and the directivity of the emitted light is adjusted by these reflectors. Supply the image for the left eye to the left eye by limiting with,
The image for the right eye is supplied to the right eye. Therefore, it is possible to separate and display the images for the left and right eyes without disposing optical elements such as a parallax barrier and a lenticular lens on the front surface of the screen and without using glasses. Therefore, according to the present invention,
No visible vertical stripes on the screen, inexpensive and durable,
A highly reliable stereoscopic image display device can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a stereoscopic image display device using a parallax barrier.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of a stereoscopic image display device using a lenticular lens.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of a stereoscopic image display device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a part of the stereoscopic image display device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control device of the stereoscopic image display device.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a different control device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a different example of the stereoscopic image display device of the present invention.

8 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control device of the stereoscopic image display device shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing still another example of the stereoscopic image display device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a process of printing the stereoscopic image display device shown in FIG. 9.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Left Eye 2 Right Eye 10, 15, 16 Stereoscopic Image Display Device 11 Cover Glass 20 Reflector, 21 Left Eye Reflector, 22 Right Eye Reflector 30 Liquid Crystal Panel (LCD) 31 Left Eye Liquid Crystal Cell , 32 Liquid crystal cell for right eye 35 Control device

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of reflectors that reflect incident light in either the left-eye or right-eye direction, and the light flux output from these reflectors is captured by either the left-eye or the right-eye. A stereoscopic image display device having means for modulating an image. 2. The first reflector according to claim 1, wherein the reflector is set to an angle that reflects the incident light in a left eye direction, and an angle that reflects the incident light in a right eye direction. A stereoscopic image display device including a second reflector set to. 3. The first and second devices according to claim 2.
Stereoscopic image display device in which the above reflectors are mixed and distributed on the screen. 4. The first and the second according to claim 3,
Stereoscopic image display device in which the reflectors are randomly arranged. 5. The first and second devices according to claim 2.
Stereoscopic image display device in which the reflectors are arranged line by line. 6. The first and second devices according to claim 2.
Stereoscopic image display device in which the reflectors are arranged in units of scanning lines. 7. The stereoscopic image display device according to claim 1, wherein the reflector includes a movable mirror capable of switching the incident light in a direction of a left eye and a direction of a right eye. 8. The stereoscopic image display device according to claim 1, further comprising a transparent cover panel having a constant refractive index, which is disposed on a light input / output side of the reflector. 9. The stereoscopic image display device according to claim 1, wherein the modulating means is arranged on a light input / output side with respect to the reflector. 10. The stereoscopic image display device according to claim 9, wherein the modulating means is a liquid crystal panel. 11. The stereoscopic image display device according to claim 1, wherein the modulating unit is a unit that changes a color of the reflector. 12. The logical product of the image for the left eye and the position of the first reflector on the screen according to claim 3, to obtain the image for the right eye and the screen of the second reflector on the screen. A stereoscopic image display device having a control means for calculating a logical product with a position, synthesizing the logical product and driving the modulating means. 13. The stereoscopic image display device according to claim 6, further comprising control means for allocating a left-eye image and a right-eye image to different scanning lines and driving the modulating means. 14. The control according to claim 7, wherein a time for displaying an image for the left eye, a time for displaying the image for the right eye, and a time for switching the direction of the movable mirror by the modulating means are controlled. Image display device having means. 15. A plurality of reflectors that reflect incident light to either the left eye or the right eye, and a light beam output from these reflectors is captured by either the left eye or the right eye. A means for modulating an image, wherein the reflector has a first angle set to reflect the incident light toward a left eye.
And a second reflector that is set at an angle that reflects the incident light in the direction of the right eye, and the first and second reflectors are mixed and distributed and arranged on the screen. A method for controlling a stereoscopic image display device, comprising: ANDing an image for the left eye and a position on the screen of the first reflector to obtain an image for the right eye and a screen of the second reflector. A method for controlling a stereoscopic image display device, which comprises a step of taking a logical product of the above positions and synthesizing the logical products and driving the modulating means. 16. A plurality of reflectors that reflect incident light to either the left-eye or right-eye direction, and a light flux output from these reflectors is captured by either the left-eye or the right-eye. A means for modulating an image, wherein the reflector has a first angle set to reflect the incident light toward a left eye.
Stereoscopic image in which the first reflector and the second reflector are arranged in scanning line units, and a second reflector set to an angle that reflects the incident light in the direction of the right eye. A method of controlling a stereoscopic image display device, comprising the step of allocating an image for the left eye and an image for the right eye to different scanning lines and driving the modulating means. 17. A plurality of reflectors that reflect incident light to either the left-eye or right-eye direction, and a light flux output from these reflectors is captured by either the left-eye or the right-eye. And a means for modulating the image, the reflector is a control method of a stereoscopic image display device comprising a movable mirror capable of switching the incident light by switching to the left eye direction and the right eye direction, A method for controlling a stereoscopic image display device, comprising a step of synchronously controlling the time of displaying an image for the left eye, the time of displaying the image for the right eye, and the time of switching the direction of the movable mirror by the modulating means. .