JP2007166277A - Transmission method for three-dimensional image information, transmitting side device, and receiving side device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit three-dimensional image information comprising a two-dimensional image and depth information necessary for three-dimensional display by converting the three-dimensional image information into the same interface as that of the conventional two-dimensional image while minimizing influence on image quality and using the conventional transmission path. <P>SOLUTION: In this method for transmitting the three-dimensional image information comprising two-dimensional image information and depth information attached to each pixel of the two-dimensional image information, a transmitting side generates image information obtained by attaching the depth information to the two-dimensional image information and transmits the image information to a receiving side by using the transmission path for transmitting the conventional two-dimensional image, and the receiving side divides the two-dimensional image information and the depth information from the image information and outputs the divided information to a three-dimensional display device. The image information is obtained by attaching a bit obtained by dividing the bits of the depth information into three parts after the least significant bits of respective channels of R, G and B of the conventional two-dimensional image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a transmission method of three-dimensional image information, a transmission-side device, and a reception-side device, and is particularly effective when transmitting a two-dimensional image and depth information necessary for three-dimensional display using a conventional transmission path. Technology.

The present inventors have been able to suppress the contradiction between physiological factors of stereoscopic vision, and can easily perform three-dimensional display without using stereoscopic glasses. A display device is proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2 below).
The proposed three-dimensional display device described above displays a two-dimensional image on a plurality of display surfaces, and changes the brightness or transparency of the two-dimensional image displayed on the plurality of display surfaces for each display surface. A three-dimensional stereoscopic image is displayed.
In addition, a method for transmitting image information of the previously proposed three-dimensional display device has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3 below).
In this proposed transmission method, depth information is embedded in an extra portion of an image to be transmitted, or another image unnecessary for display is displayed. However, a part of the image is replaced with depth information and transmitted. .

As prior art documents related to the invention of the present application, there are the following.
Japanese Patent No. 3022558 Japanese Patent No. 3460671 JP 2004-274642 A

In the three-dimensional display method described above, the luminance or transmittance of a plurality of surfaces is changed by using depth information in addition to conventional two-dimensional image information.
However, in order to transmit 3D image information composed of 2D image information and depth information added to each pixel of the 2D image information using a conventional transmission path, it is necessary to analyze the depth information. As the amount of data increased, image transmission was impossible and a dedicated transmission line was required.
When a conventional transmission path for transmitting a two-dimensional image is used, as described in Patent Document 3 described above, depth information is embedded in an extra portion of the image, or another image unnecessary for display is displayed. However, it has been necessary to replace part of the image with depth information and transmit it.
The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to convert 3D image information including 2D images and depth information necessary for 3D display into image quality. An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of converting to an interface similar to that of a conventional two-dimensional image while minimizing the influence and transmitting the image using a conventional transmission path.
The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

Of the inventions disclosed in this application, the outline of typical ones will be briefly described as follows.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a transmission method of 3D image information composed of 2D image information and depth information added to each pixel of the 2D image information, On the transmission side, image information obtained by adding the depth information to the two-dimensional image information is generated, and the image information is transmitted to the reception side using a transmission path for transmitting a conventional two-dimensional image. The two-dimensional image information and the depth information are separated from the received image information and output to a three-dimensional display device.
In the present invention, the three-dimensional display device displays two-dimensional images based on the two-dimensional image information on a plurality of display surfaces at different depth positions as viewed from the observer, and based on the depth information, A three-dimensional stereoscopic image is displayed by changing the luminance or transmittance of the displayed two-dimensional image independently for each display surface.

In the present invention, the image information is obtained by adding a bit obtained by dividing the depth information bit into three below the least significant bit of each of the R, G, and B channels of the conventional two-dimensional image. is there.
In the present invention, the image information may be obtained by deleting at least one of the lower bits of each of the R, G, and B channels of the conventional two-dimensional image and dividing the bits of the depth information into three bits. It is added to the deleted lower bit part and has the same number of bits as the conventional two-dimensional image.
In the present invention, the depth information is obtained by deleting at least one of the lower bits.

  In addition, the present invention is a transmission-side device that transmits three-dimensional image information including two-dimensional image information and depth information added to each pixel of the two-dimensional image information to a reception-side device, Dividing means for dividing the input depth information into n (n ≧ 2), data inserting means for inserting depth information divided by the dividing means into the input n-channel two-dimensional image information, and the data Data transmitting means for transmitting the image information output from the inserting means to which the depth information is added to the two-dimensional image information to a receiving-side apparatus using a conventional transmission path for transmitting the two-dimensional image. It is characterized by.

  Further, the present invention is a receiving side device that receives from the transmitting side device 3D image information composed of 2D image information and depth information added to each pixel of the 2D image information, Receiving means for receiving image information in which the depth information is added to the two-dimensional image information transmitted from the transmission-side apparatus using a transmission path for transmitting a conventional two-dimensional image; and image information received by the receiving means From the two-dimensional image information of n (n ≧ 2) channels and n-divided depth information, the original depth information is obtained from the n-divided depth information separated by the separating means. And a combining unit for combining, and an output unit for outputting the n-channel two-dimensional image information separated by the separating unit and the depth information combined by the combining unit to a three-dimensional display device. To do.

The effects obtained by the representative ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.
According to the present invention, the three-dimensional image information composed of the two-dimensional image and the depth information necessary for the three-dimensional display is converted into the same interface as the conventional two-dimensional image while minimizing the influence on the image quality, It is possible to transmit using a conventional transmission path.
Moreover, even when not only a 3D display device but also a normal 2D display device is connected as it is, it is possible to display a 2D image without any sense of incongruity.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In all the drawings for explaining the embodiments, parts having the same functions are given the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation thereof is omitted.
[Example of DFD type 3D display device]
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a DFD type three-dimensional display device.
The three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 4 sets a plurality of surfaces, for example, display surfaces (11, 12) (the display surface 11 is closer to the observer 100 than the display surface 12) on the front surface of the observer 100. In order to display a plurality of two-dimensional images on the display surfaces (11, 12), an optical system 13 is constructed using a two-dimensional display device and various optical elements.
Examples of the two-dimensional display device include a CRT, a liquid crystal display panel, an LED display panel, a plasma display panel, an EL display panel, an FED display panel, a DMD, a projection display panel, and a line drawing display such as an oscilloscope. As the optical element, for example, a lens, a total reflection mirror, a partial reflection mirror, a curved mirror, a prism, a polarization element, a wave plate, or the like is used.
Note that FIG. 4 has the same configuration as that described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, and refer to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 for the method of setting the display surface.
In the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 5, the three-dimensional object 16 to be presented to the observer 100 is transferred from the line of sight of both eyes of the observer 100 to the display surface (11, 12). A projected image (hereinafter referred to as a “2D image”) (14, 15) is generated.
As a method for generating this 2D image, for example, a method using a two-dimensional image obtained by photographing a three-dimensional object 16 with a camera from the line-of-sight direction, a method of combining from a plurality of two-dimensional images taken from different directions, or There are various methods such as a computer graphic synthesis technique and a method using modeling.

As shown in FIG. 4, the 2D image (14, 15) overlaps both the display surface 11 and the display surface 12 when viewed from one point on the line connecting the right eye and the left eye of the viewer 100. To display. This can be achieved, for example, by controlling the arrangement of the center position and the gravity center position of each 2D image (14, 15) and the enlargement / reduction of each image.
On the apparatus having such a configuration, the luminance of each of the 2D images (14, 15) is changed in accordance with the depth position of the three-dimensional object 16 while keeping the overall luminance viewed from the observer 100 constant. Thus, a three-dimensional stereoscopic image of the three-dimensional object 16 is displayed.
An example of how to change the brightness of each 2D image (14, 15) will be described. Here, since it is a black and white drawing, for the sake of easy understanding, in the following drawings, the higher luminance is shown darker.
For example, when the three-dimensional object 16 is on the display surface 11, as shown in FIG. 6, the luminance of the 2D image 14 above is made equal to the luminance of the three-dimensional object 16 and 2D on the display surface 12 is displayed. The brightness of the converted image 15 is zero.
Next, for example, when the three-dimensional object 16 is slightly away from the viewer 100 and is slightly closer to the display surface 12 than the display surface 11, the brightness of the 2D image 14 is increased as shown in FIG. Slightly lower the brightness of the 2D image 15 slightly.

Next, for example, when the three-dimensional object 16 is further away from the observer 100 and is further away from the display surface 11 toward the display surface 12, the luminance of the 2D image 14 is increased as shown in FIG. Further down, the brightness of the 2D image 15 is further increased.
Further, for example, when the three-dimensional object 16 is on the display surface 12, as shown in FIG. 9, the luminance of the 2D image 15 above is made equal to the luminance of the three-dimensional object 16, and the The brightness of the 2D image 14 is zero.
By displaying in this way, even if the 2D image (14, 15) is displayed due to the physiological or psychological factors or illusions of the observer (person) 100, it is as if the observer 100 is present. It feels as if the three-dimensional object 16 is located in the middle of the display surfaces (11, 12).
For example, when a 2D image (14, 15) having substantially the same luminance is displayed on the display surface (11, 12), the three-dimensional object 16 appears near the middle of the depth position of the display surface (11, 12). I can feel it. In this case, the three-dimensional object 16 is perceived by the observer 100 with a stereoscopic effect.

In the above description, for example, the method of expressing the depth position of the entire three-dimensional object using, for example, a two-dimensional image displayed on the display surface (11, 12) has been mainly described. It is obvious that the 3D display device can be used as a method of expressing the depth of the 3D object itself, for example.
An important point in expressing the depth of the three-dimensional object itself is that the brightness of each part of the 2D image (14, 15) is viewed from the observer 100 on the apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. It is to change corresponding to the depth position of each part of the three-dimensional object 16 while keeping the overall luminance constant.
In the above description, the description has been given of the case where only two surfaces are mainly described among the surfaces on which the two-dimensional image is arranged, and the object to be presented to the observer is between the two surfaces. It is obvious that a three-dimensional stereoscopic image can be displayed by a similar method even when the number of surfaces on which images are arranged is larger than this or when the position of an object to be presented is different.
For example, there are three surfaces, a first three-dimensional object between the surface close to the observer 100 and the intermediate surface, and a second 3 between the intermediate surface and the surface far from the observer 100. When a three-dimensional object exists, a 2D image of the first three-dimensional object is displayed on a surface close to the observer 100 and an intermediate surface, and on the intermediate surface and a surface far from the observer 100. By displaying the 2D image of the second 3D object, it is possible to display 3D images of the first and second 3D objects.

Furthermore, regarding the case where the 2D image is moved three-dimensionally, the movement of the observer in the horizontal and vertical directions can be achieved by moving image reproduction on the display surface as in the case of a normal two-dimensional display device. Regarding the movement in the depth direction, the luminance of each of the 2D images (14, 15) is changed with time in the depth position of the three-dimensional stereoscopic image while keeping the overall luminance seen from the observer 100 constant. It is clear that a moving image of a three-dimensional image can be expressed by changing it correspondingly.
For example, a case where a three-dimensional stereoscopic image moves from the display surface 11 to the display surface 12 in time will be described.
When the three-dimensional stereoscopic image is on the display surface 11, the luminance of the 2D image 14 on the display surface 11 is made equal to the luminance of the three-dimensional stereoscopic image, as shown in FIG. The brightness of the converted image 15 is zero.
Next, for example, when the three-dimensional stereoscopic image gradually moves away from the viewer 100 in time and slightly approaches the display surface 12 side from the display surface 11, as shown in FIG. Corresponding to the movement of the depth position of the three-dimensional stereoscopic image, the luminance of the 2D image 14 is slightly lowered in time, and the luminance of the 2D image 15 is slightly increased in time.

Next, for example, when the three-dimensional stereoscopic image is further distant from the observer 100 in time and moved to a position closer to the display surface 12 than the display surface 11, as shown in FIG. Corresponding to the movement of the depth position of the three-dimensional stereoscopic image, the luminance of the 2D image 14 is further lowered in time, and the luminance of the 2D image 15 is further raised in time.
Further, for example, when the three-dimensional stereoscopic image has moved to the display surface 12 over time, as shown in FIG. The luminance of 15 is changed over time until it becomes equal to the luminance of the three-dimensional stereoscopic image, and is changed until the luminance of the 2D image 14 on the display surface 11 becomes zero.
By displaying in this way, even if a 2D image (14, 15) is displayed due to a human physiological or psychological factor or illusion, the viewer 100 is as if the display surface (11, 12), it is felt that the three-dimensional stereoscopic image moves from the display surface 11 to the display surface 12 in the depth direction.

In the above description, the case where the three-dimensional stereoscopic image moves from the display surface 11 to the display surface 12 has been described. However, this moves from the halfway position between the display surfaces (11, 12) to the display surface 12. Or when moving from the display surface 11 to a halfway depth position between the display surfaces (11, 12) or from a halfway depth position between the display surfaces (11, 12). It is clear that the same can be done even when moving to another depth position in the middle.
In the above description, a description is given of a case where only two surfaces are mainly described among surfaces on which a 2D image is arranged, and a three-dimensional stereoscopic image presented to the observer 100 moves between the two surfaces. However, even if the number of planes on which a two-dimensional image is arranged is larger than this, or even when a three-dimensional object to be presented moves across multiple planes, a three-dimensional stereoscopic image is displayed using the same method. Obviously, similar effects can be expected.
In the above description, the case where one three-dimensional stereoscopic image moves in two planes on which two-dimensional images are arranged has been described. However, when a plurality of three-dimensional objects move, that is, displayed. When the two-dimensional image includes a plurality of object images having different movement directions, the luminance of the object image displayed on each display surface changes for each object image according to the movement direction and movement speed of the object. Obviously, you can do that.

[Other examples of DFD type 3D display devices]
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining another example of the DFD type three-dimensional display device as a premise of the present invention.
The three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 10 has a plurality of transmissive display devices, for example, transmissive display devices (21, 22) (the transmissive display device 21 is more observable than the transmissive display device 22 in front of the observer 100. The optical system 13 is constructed using various optical elements and a light source 23. That is, in this embodiment, the transmissive display devices (21, 22) are used in place of the display surfaces (11, 12) in FIG.
Examples of the transmissive display devices (21, 22) include twisted nematic liquid crystal display panels, in-plane liquid crystal display panels, homogeneous liquid crystal display panels, ferroelectric liquid crystal display panels, guest-host liquid crystal display panels, A polymer dispersed liquid crystal display panel, a holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal display panel, or a combination thereof is used. In addition, as the optical element, for example, a lens, a total reflection mirror, a partial reflection mirror, a curved mirror, a prism, a polarization element, a wave plate, or the like is used.
10 shows a case where the backlight (light source) 23 is arranged at the rearmost position when viewed from the observer 100, and FIG. 10 shows the same configuration as that described in Patent Document 2 described above. belongs to.

Also in the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 10, as shown in FIG. 5 described above, the three-dimensional object 16 desired to be presented to the viewer 100 is viewed from the viewer 100, and the transmissive display device (21, 22). A projected 2D image (14, 15) is generated.
As shown in FIG. 10, the 2D image (14, 15) is obtained from one point on a line connecting the right eye and the left eye of the observer 100 to both the transmissive display device 21 and the transmissive display device 22, respectively. Displayed as a 2D image (14, 15) so as to overlap.
This can be achieved, for example, by controlling the arrangement of the center position and the center of gravity position of each 2D image (14, 15) and the enlargement / reduction ratio of each image.
On the apparatus having the above-described configuration, an image viewed by the observer 100 is generated by light emitted from the light source 23, transmitted through the 2D image 15, and further transmitted through the 2D image 14.
In the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 10, the distribution of the transmittance of each of the 2D images (14, 15) is kept constant on the device having the above-described configuration while keeping the overall luminance as viewed from the observer 100 constant. The three-dimensional stereoscopic image of the three-dimensional object existing between the transmissive display device 21 and the transmissive display device 22 is displayed in accordance with the depth position of the three-dimensional object 16.

An example of how to change the transmittance of each of the 2D images (14, 15) will be described.
For example, when the three-dimensional object 16 is on the transmissive display device 21, the transmittance on the transmissive display device 21 is set so that the luminance of the 2D image 14 is equal to the luminance of the three-dimensional object 16. The transmittance of the portion of the 2D image 15 on the transmissive display device 22 is, for example, the maximum value of the transmissive display device 22.
Next, for example, when the three-dimensional object 16 is slightly away from the observer 100 and is slightly closer to the transmissive display device 22 side than the transmissive display device 21, the 2D conversion on the transmissive display device 21 is performed. The transmittance of the portion of the image 14 is slightly increased, and the transmittance of the portion of the 2D image 15 on the transmissive display device 22 is slightly decreased.
Next, for example, when the three-dimensional object 16 is further away from the viewer 100 and is located closer to the transmissive display device 22 than the transmissive display device 21, the 2D display on the transmissive display device 21 is performed. The transmittance of the portion of the image 14 is further increased, and the transmittance of the portion of the 2D image 15 on the transmissive display device 22 is further decreased.
Further, for example, when the three-dimensional object 16 is on the transmissive display device 22, the transmittance on the transmissive display device 22 is set so that the luminance of the 2D image 15 is equal to the luminance of the three-dimensional object 16. For example, the transparency of the portion of the 2D image 14 on the transmissive display device 21 is set to the maximum value of the transmissive display device 21.

By displaying in this way, even if the 2D image (14, 15) is displayed due to the physiological or psychological factors or illusions of the observer (person) 100, it is as if the observer 100 is present. It feels as if the three-dimensional object 16 is located in the middle of the transmissive display device (21, 22).
That is, for example, when a 2D image (14, 15) having substantially the same luminance is displayed on the transmissive display device (21, 22), 3 is displayed near the middle of the depth position of the transmissive display device (21, 22). It feels like there is a dimensional object 16. In this case, the three-dimensional object 16 is perceived by the observer 100 with a stereoscopic effect.
In the above description, for example, the method of expressing the depth position of the entire three-dimensional object using, for example, a two-dimensional image displayed on the transmissive display device (21, 22) has been mainly described. It is obvious that the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 10 can also be used as a method of expressing the depth of the three-dimensional object itself, for example, by the same method as the method described in the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG.
Also, in the 3D display device shown in FIG. 10, when the 2D image is moved three-dimensionally by the same method as the method described in the 3D display device shown in FIG. The movement in the vertical direction is possible by moving image reproduction in the transmissive display device as in the case of a normal two-dimensional display device, and the movement in the depth direction is transmitted through a plurality of transmissive display devices. It is obvious that a moving image of a three-dimensional stereoscopic image can be expressed by temporally changing the degree.

[Modification of 3D Display Device Shown in FIG. 10]
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a modification of the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG.
In the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 11, the transmissive display device 21, the scattering plate 33, and the transmissive display device 22 are disposed between the polarizing plate 30 and the polarizing plate 36.
The transmissive display device 21 includes a liquid crystal display panel 32 that functions as a polarization variable device and a color filter 31. Similarly, the transmissive display device 22 includes a liquid crystal display panel 35 that functions as a polarization variable device, and a color filter. And a filter 34.
A light source (backlight) 23 is disposed behind the polarizing plate 36 (on the side opposite to the transmissive display device 22 of the polarizing plate 36).
Here, the liquid crystal display panels (32, 35) are polarizing plates from twisted nematic liquid crystal display panels, in-plane liquid crystal display panels, homogeneous liquid crystal display panels, ferroelectric liquid crystal display panels, antiferroelectric liquid crystal display panels, and the like. It consists of a device that has been removed.
Since the liquid crystal display panel (32, 35) can change the direction of polarization for each pixel, the intensity of the emitted light can be changed according to the polarization direction of the emitted light and the polarization direction of the polarizing plate on the exit side. As described above, the light transmittance can be changed.
Therefore, the transmittance can be changed independently for each of the liquid crystal display panel 32 and the liquid crystal display panel 35 by controlling the polarization direction of the light passing therethrough for each pixel unit of the liquid crystal display panel (32, 35). .

In the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 11 as well, the three-dimensional display device 21 or 22 is placed on the transmissive display device (21, 22) or an arbitrary position between the transmissive display device 21 and the transmissive display device 22 by the above-described method. A stereoscopic image can be displayed.
Moreover, in the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 11, the liquid crystal display panel (32, 35) is sandwiched between two polarizing plates (30, 36). Compared with the case where the provided liquid crystal display panel is used, the number of polarizing plates inserted in the optical path of the irradiation light from the light source 23 can be reduced, and the display can be prevented from becoming dark.
In the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 11, a color filter (31) composed of three colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) is provided for each pixel of each liquid crystal display panel (32, 35). , 34) are arranged, so that a three-dimensional stereoscopic image of a color image can be displayed.
However, in the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 11, the polarization direction of each liquid crystal display panel (32, 35) is taken into consideration that the polarization direction changes while passing through the liquid crystal display panel 32 and the liquid crystal display panel 35. It is necessary to control the direction.
In the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 11, each transmissive display device (21, 22) is composed of a liquid crystal display panel (32, 35) functioning as a polarization variable device and a color filter (31, 34). . Therefore, moire may occur due to differences in the arrangement direction, arrangement pitch, and the like of the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) filters in the color filter 31 and the color filter 34.
Therefore, in the three-dimensional display device shown in FIG. 11, the scattering plate 33 is disposed between the color filter 31 and the color filter 34 to prevent the above-described moire from occurring.

[Example 1]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a transmission-side apparatus and a reception-side apparatus that implement a transmission method for 3D image information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The original data of the 3D image includes 2D data (R, G, B image data) similar to the conventional 2D image and Z data (Z Image data).
In order to transmit this three-dimensional image using a conventional transmission path or interface, it is necessary to separately prepare a transmission path or interface for transmitting depth information in addition to the conventional transmission path or interface.
In the present embodiment, the Z data (depth information) of the input original data 101 is divided into a plurality of channels by the Z dividing device 102 in the transmitting side device 110 and the original inputted by the data inserting device 103 is divided. The image information is generated by inserting the data 101 into the 2D data and adding the Z data to the 2D data.

Then, the image information is transmitted to the data receiving device 106 of the receiving side device 120 via the conventional data transmitting device 104 and the transmission path 105.
In the receiving side device 120, the data separation device 107 separates the 2D data and the Z data composed of a plurality of channels from the received image information, and the Z composition device 108 converts the Z data composed of the plurality of channels into one Z data. Composite to data.
Then, the 2D data separated by the data separation device 107 and the Z data synthesized by the Z composition device 108 are converted into a three-dimensional display device (DFD method three-dimensional display device described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 11 described above). Output.
The three-dimensional display device has a plurality of display surfaces at different depth positions as viewed from the observer, displays a two-dimensional image based on 2D data on each display surface, and further displays the display based on Z data. The three-dimensional stereoscopic image is displayed by changing the luminance or transmittance of the two-dimensional image independently for each display surface.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a transmission method of three-dimensional image information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the original data 201 (in this example, data consisting of 6 bits each of R, G, B, and Z) is converted into the data width of the transmission path 203 (24 bits [R, G, B each 8 Bit]) and send.
Specifically, the data insertion device 103 of the transmission side device 110 converts the 6 bits of R, G, and B of the original data 201 into the upper 6 bits of 8 bits of R, G, and B of the transmission line 203. The Z data divided into three by the Z dividing device 102 is stored in the empty lower 2 bits.
The depth data is divided into two bits by three in the Z dividing device 102, and is stored in the lower 2 bits of each of R, G, and B and transmitted.
The data 204 received by the receiving side device 120 is separated by the data separation device 107, and conversely to the transmission, the upper 6 bits of each of R, G and B are sent to the 3D display device as 2D image information. The lower 2 bits of each of R, G, and B are combined into one Z data by the Z combining device 108, and then transferred to the three-dimensional display device as depth information.
When the input interface of the three-dimensional display device on the receiving side is 8 bits, “0” or an arbitrary bit can be put in the lower 2 bits to input to the 8-bit interface.

Here, even when a normal two-dimensional display device (for example, a normal liquid crystal display device (LCD), a CRT, etc.) is connected to the receiving side instead of a three-dimensional display device, each of R, G, and B Only the low-order bits are changed, and the depth image is not embedded in the form visible to the viewer as part of the image as in the past, so there is no major image degradation (maximum number of gradations). Can be viewed as a normal two-dimensional image.
In particular, it can be shared with a conventional two-dimensional image interface without requiring a switching operation or the like.
For this reason, the receiving side does not particularly require the operation of separating and erasing the lower bits, and it is only necessary to receive it as it is.
Further, there are many small liquid crystal display devices (LCDs) that originally have only 5 bits or 6 bits as an interface, and in this case, image degradation by this method does not occur at all.
As the format of the transmission path and interface, for example, DVI-I, LVDS, digital RGB, C-MOS parallel, and other transmission paths and interfaces passing digital signals can be used.

[Example 2]
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a 3D image information transmission method according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the original data 301 (in this example, data consisting of 8 bits each of R, G, B, and Z) is converted to the data width (24 bits [R · G and B each 8 bits]).
Specifically, the data insertion device 103 of the transmission-side device 110 deletes the lower 2 bits that do not greatly affect the image quality from the R, G, and B 8-bit data of the original data 301 to obtain 6 bits. In the transmission path 303, each of R, G, and B is stored in the upper 6 bits of 8 bits, and the Z data is stored in the empty lower 2 bits.
Similarly, the Z-divider 102 deletes the lower 2 bits to 6 bits, and divides the depth data into 2 bits each, and divides the data into 3 lower bits of R, G, and B for transmission.
The data 304 received by the receiving side device 120 is separated by the data separation device 107, and conversely to the transmission, the upper 6 bits of each of R, G and B are sent to the 3D display device as 2D image information. The lower 2 bits of each of R, G, and B are combined into one Z data by the Z combining device 108, and then transferred to the three-dimensional display device as depth information.
When the input interface of the three-dimensional display device on the receiving side is 8 bits, “0” or an arbitrary bit can be put in the lower 2 bits to input to the 8-bit interface.
In addition to the above-described embodiments, for example, various combinations such as a transmission path with 10 bits for each of R, G, and B and an original data with 10 bits are conceivable. The same effect can be expected by entering information.
As mentioned above, the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the above embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Of course.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the transmission side apparatus which implements the transmission method of the three-dimensional image information of the Example of this invention, and a reception side apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the transmission method of the three-dimensional image information of Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the transmission method of the three-dimensional image information of Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the three-dimensional display apparatus used as the basis of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the production | generation method of the 2D-ized image displayed on each display surface in the three-dimensional display apparatus used as the foundation of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the display principle of the three-dimensional display apparatus used as the basis of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the display principle of the three-dimensional display apparatus used as the basis of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the display principle of the three-dimensional display apparatus used as the basis of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the display principle of the three-dimensional display apparatus used as the basis of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the other example of the DFD type three-dimensional display apparatus used as the premise of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the modification of the three-dimensional display apparatus shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11,12 Display surface 13 Optical system 14,15 2D-ized image 16 Three-dimensional object 21,22 Transmission type display device 23 Backlight 32,35 Liquid crystal display panel 31,34 Color filter 30,36 Polarizing plate 33 Scattering plate 100 Observer 101, 201, 301 Original data 102 Z dividing device 103 Data inserting device 104 Data transmitting device 105, 203, 303 Transmission path 106 Data receiving device 107 Data separating device 108 Z synthesizing device 110 Transmitting side device 120 Receiving side device 202, 302 Transmission Data 204,304 Received data

Claims (7)

A method of transmitting 3D image information comprising 2D image information and depth information added to each pixel of the 2D image information,
On the transmission side, image information obtained by adding the depth information to the two-dimensional image information is generated,
The image information is transmitted to the receiving side using a transmission path for transmitting a conventional two-dimensional image,
On the receiving side, the two-dimensional image information and the depth information are separated from the received image information and output to a three-dimensional display device.   The three-dimensional display device displays two-dimensional images based on the two-dimensional image information on a plurality of display surfaces at different depth positions as viewed from an observer, and the displayed two-dimensional image is displayed based on the depth information. The method of transmitting three-dimensional image information according to claim 1, wherein a three-dimensional stereoscopic image is displayed by changing the luminance or transmittance of the image independently for each of the display surfaces.   The image information is obtained by adding a bit obtained by dividing the depth information bit into three below the least significant bit of each of the R, G, and B channels of the conventional two-dimensional image. The method for transmitting three-dimensional image information according to claim 1 or 2.   In the image information, at least one of the low-order bits of each of the R, G, and B channels of the conventional two-dimensional image is deleted, and the bits obtained by dividing the depth information bit into three are used as the deleted low-order bit portion. 3. The method of transmitting three-dimensional image information according to claim 1, wherein the number of bits is the same as that of the conventional two-dimensional image.   5. The method of transmitting 3D image information according to claim 4, wherein the depth information is obtained by deleting at least one of lower bits. A transmission-side device that transmits three-dimensional image information composed of two-dimensional image information and depth information added to each pixel of the two-dimensional image information to a reception-side device;
Dividing means for dividing input depth information into n (n ≧ 2);
Data insertion means for inserting depth information n-divided by the dividing means into the input n-channel two-dimensional image information;
Data transmitting means for transmitting image information obtained by adding the depth information to the two-dimensional image information output from the data insertion means to a receiving side device using a transmission path for transmitting a conventional two-dimensional image; A transmission-side device comprising: A receiving-side device that receives three-dimensional image information including two-dimensional image information and depth information added to each pixel of the two-dimensional image information from the transmitting-side device;
Receiving means for receiving image information in which the depth information is added to the two-dimensional image information transmitted from the transmission-side apparatus using a transmission path for transmitting a conventional two-dimensional image;
Separation means for separating n (n ≧ 2) channel two-dimensional image information and n-divided depth information from the image information received by the reception means;
Combining means for combining the original depth information from the n-divided depth information separated by the separating means;
A receiving-side apparatus comprising: output means for outputting n-channel two-dimensional image information separated by the separating means and depth information synthesized by the synthesizing means to a three-dimensional display device.

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