JP2016029419A - Stereoscopic image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem in which an image observed from any one parallax direction is viewed to have a horizontal-striped non-display area superimposed and therefore the quality of the image is deteriorated, when the deterioration of apparent resolution is dispersed into a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, in a stereoscopic image display device having a lenticular method independently presenting a plurality of parallax images in a plurality of directions.SOLUTION: A stereoscopic image display device controls the vertical directivity of light emitted from a pixel, and disposes a longitudinal diffusion plate for diffusing light in only a vertical direction on a plane surface substantially matched with a lenticular lens to expand the apparent height of the pixel, thereby eliminating a horizontal-striped non-display area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 21

Description

  The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display device capable of independently presenting a plurality of parallax images in a plurality of directions.

  Various types of stereoscopic image display devices that can present a plurality of parallax images independently in a plurality of directions have been proposed. In general, this is realized by combining a two-dimensional image display device in which display pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix with a horizontal light directivity generating means such as a parallax barrier or a lenticular lens.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the above method. Reference numeral 1 denotes a two-dimensional image display device in which display pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix. Reference numeral 2 denotes a horizontal light which is arranged in front of 1 and gives horizontal directivity to display light emitted from the display pixels on 1. It is a directivity generating means. Often used as the horizontal light directivity generating means 2 is a parallax barrier 3 composed of an array of slit openings as shown in FIG. 2, or a lenticular lens 4 composed of a cylindrical lens array as shown in FIG. Etc. Next, a “simple lenticular method” that presents different parallax image groups in different directions using a lenticular lens with directivity will be described with reference to FIGS.

  4 is a front view of the image display device 1, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the above configuration example. In the figure, symbols attached to the display pixels indicate the parallax direction number and the type of color pixel. Here, a general RGB stripe array image display apparatus is used, and R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are sequentially and repeatedly arranged in the horizontal direction. Hereinafter, in the present specification, a pixel representing display light traveling in the i-th direction among a plurality of parallax directions is referred to as a viewpoint i-corresponding pixel. 4 to 6, the parallax direction is assumed to be 25, and pixels to be observed from each direction are sequentially arranged in the horizontal direction. The pitch of each pixel is Δh in the horizontal direction and Δv in the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the lenticular lens 4 is combined with the image display device 1 in this state, the image display light is separated into 25 different directions according to the horizontal position of the pixel by the imaging action of the lens. Since this effect | action works with respect to all the cylindrical lenses and pixels, it becomes possible as the image display apparatus 1 whole to show the parallax image corresponding to 25 different directions independently. Thus, when the parallax images separately presented according to the direction are observed independently with the left and right eyes, the observer can recognize the stereoscopic image by the binocular parallax. That is, a stereoscopic image display apparatus can be realized with the configuration of FIG.

  FIG. 6 shows how an image is seen when the image display device is viewed from the thirteenth direction out of 25 different directions. The pixel corresponding to the viewpoint 13 is composed of only “13R”, that is, a red pixel in this cylindrical lens, and therefore only “13R” is observed here. (The other color pixels “13G” and “13B” are observed through another cylindrical lens.) At this time, from the observer in the thirteenth direction, a pixel that originally had a width of Δh and a height of about Δv, A rectangular pixel that is stretched to the width PL of the cylindrical lens with the height unchanged is observed. Since this phenomenon also occurs when observed from other directions, the observer eventually observes an image in which the resolution of the image display device 1 is deteriorated only in the horizontal direction. If the number of parallax images is N, PL is approximately N × Δh, so the resolution degradation in the horizontal direction of the image is 1 / N. Therefore, when the number N of parallax images becomes a large number, degradation in resolution only in the horizontal direction becomes large, so that the quality of the reproduced stereoscopic image is significantly lowered.

  In Patent Documents 1 and 2, in order to solve this problem, the relative positional relationship between the display pixel and the lenticular lens is devised. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the “oblique lenticular method” disclosed in Patent Document 1. A bus line direction of the lenticular lens 4 is inclined by α with respect to a vertical array line of display pixels arranged in a two-dimensional matrix on the image display device 1. Also, unlike the configuration of the “simple lenticular method” shown in FIG. 4, the same number of pixels as the number of parallax images N are not repeatedly arranged in the horizontal direction, but a natural number m that satisfies the relationship N = m × n. And n and c representing the number of types of color pixels are used to form a pixel matrix of c × m pixels in the horizontal direction and n pixels in the vertical direction, and N types of viewpoint-corresponding pixels are arranged without overlap in this matrix. The pixels are arranged as described above.

  The configuration example of FIG. 7 shows a stereoscopic image display device having six parallax images, which configures a pixel matrix of three horizontal directions and six vertical directions to store parallax image information in six directions. (Because the color pixels are RGB, the number of color pixels is c = 3, and the relationship of m = 1 and n = 6 is established.) And the corresponding pixels for the same viewpoint are arranged on the inclined bus of the cylindrical lens. Has been. For example, in FIG. 7, the pixels corresponding to the viewpoint 3 are arranged on the Lines (3) indicated by the dotted line in the drawing, and the pixels corresponding to the viewpoint 4 are arranged on the Lines (4) shown by the one-dot chain line in the drawing.

In such an arrangement, in the a to f stages, which are pixel stages having different vertical positions, the pixels corresponding to the viewpoints 1, 3, and 5 are arranged in the a, c, and e stages, and the b, d, and f stages are the viewpoint 2. , 4 and 6 are arranged. FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 show the state of the display light from the a, c and e stage pixels. FIG. 8 is a plan view, FIG. 9 is a view when the present apparatus is observed from the third parallax direction, and FIG. 10 is a side view. Compared to the “simple lenticular method” described above, the “oblique lenticular method” has the following differences.
(A) In the case of the simple lenticular method, the horizontal width PL of the cylindrical lens is approximately N × Δh (Δh is the pixel pitch) with respect to the number N of parallax images, whereas in the case of the oblique lenticular method, approximately c × m × Δh, and the horizontal width of the pixel seen by the observer is reduced.
(B) In the case of the simple lenticular method, all vertical pixel stages are shining from the viewpoint in any direction, whereas in the case of the oblique lenticular method, every vertical direction (n / c-1) steps. Therefore, the number of effective pixels for display is reduced to c / n.
(C) In the case of the simple lenticular method, when the number of parallax images is N, the parallax image observed from any one parallax direction has no vertical resolution degradation, and only the horizontal resolution degradation is 1 / N. On the other hand, in the case of the oblique lenticular method, using the natural numbers m and n where N = m × n, the resolution degradation direction is distributed so that the horizontal resolution is 1 / m and the vertical resolution is c / n. Thus, it can be configured so that the resolution degradation is not noticeable.

  The display light from the b, d, and f stage pixels is as shown in FIG. 11 (plan view), FIG. 12 (view when the apparatus is observed from the fourth parallax direction), and FIG. 13 (side view). And is complementary to the display light from the a, c, and e stage pixels, so that the observer can observe both of them at the same time without feeling an extreme discontinuity. Image observation can be performed.

  Next, another “prior to oblique pixel method” will be described. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the “oblique pixel method” disclosed in Patent Document 2. In the “oblique lenticular method”, the lenticular lens is tilted with respect to an image display device composed of a general pixel matrix. However, in the “oblique pixel method”, the bus line direction of the lenticular lens is the same as the “simple lenticular method”. The pixel matrix is arranged so as to be vertically inclined, and the pixel matrix is arranged so as to be inclined obliquely, thereby producing the same effect as the “oblique lenticular method”.

  In the “diagonal pixel method”, a natural number m satisfying the relationship of N = m × n and n and the number of types of color pixels c are used to repeatedly arrange a pixel matrix of c × m pixels in the horizontal direction and n pixels in the vertical direction. . At this time, the pixel stages adjacent in the vertical direction are all shifted by a certain amount δ = c / n × Δh in the horizontal direction. The configuration example of FIG. 14 shows a stereoscopic image display device with 30 parallax images, and stores a parallax image information in 30 directions by forming a pixel matrix of 3 × 5 = 15 in the horizontal direction and 6 in the vertical direction. Yes. Since there are three types of color pixels of RGB, the horizontal shift amount δ between adjacent pixel stages in the vertical direction is ½ × Δh, that is, half of each pixel horizontal pitch.

  Then, pixels representing 1 to N parallax image groups are continuously arranged along “pixel row lines of continuous parallax images” in the figure. For example, in FIG. 14, the pixels corresponding to the viewpoint 13 are arranged on the Line (13) indicated by the dotted line in the drawing, and the pixels corresponding to the viewpoint 14 are arranged on the Line (14) shown by the alternate long and short dash line in the drawing.

  In such an arrangement, in the a to f stages having different pixel positions in the vertical direction, the a, c, and e stages are arranged with odd-numbered viewpoint corresponding pixels, and the b, d, and f stages are even-numbered viewpoints. Corresponding pixels are arranged. FIGS. 15, 16, and 17 show the state of the display light from the a, c, and e stage pixels. 15 is a plan view, FIG. 16 is a view when the present apparatus is observed from the 13th parallax direction, and FIG. 17 is a side view.

  Compared with the above-mentioned “simple lenticular method”, it can be seen that also in this “oblique pixel method”, the same difference (the above-mentioned bullets (A) to (C)) occurs as in the “oblique lenticular method”. The appearance of display light from the b, d, and f stage pixels is shown in FIG. 18 (plan view), FIG. 19 (view when the present apparatus is observed from the 14th parallax direction), and FIG. 20 (side view). Since it has a complementary relationship with the state of the display light from the a, c, e pixels, the observer feels extreme discontinuity by observing both simultaneously. 3D image observation can be performed.

JP-A-9-236777 JP 2005-316372 A

  As described above, since the stereoscopic image display devices disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 appear to shine every vertical (n / c-1) stages, the number of pixels effective for display is reduced to c / n. To do. These problems are not a problem when the number N of parallax images is small, but when N is large, the image looks dark, or the image quality appears to be discontinuous with horizontal stripes superimposed on the image. As a device, it becomes a fatal problem. For example, when designing a large-screen three-dimensional display for advertising purposes, it is desirable to secure an observation area that is twice the screen width = about 10 m since the display has a screen width of about 5 m.

  In order to always allow binocular stereoscopic viewing at a horizontal width of 10 m, the viewpoint pitch must be smaller than the human interocular distance (about 65 mm). If the viewpoint pitch is set to 50 mm, the number of viewpoints N needs to be about 10 m ÷ 50 mm = 200. Therefore, when N = 196 is set and the horizontal and vertical numbers m and n of the above-described pixel matrix are set to 14, the number of effective pixels in the “oblique lenticular method” and “oblique pixel method” is obtained. It turns out that it will be 3/14 (21.4%). This means that about one of the five vertical pixel lines will be displayed, and the other four will be in a non-display state, and the observer will be in a state where thick and dark horizontal stripes are superimposed It will end up observing images that are very difficult to see.

The stereoscopic image display apparatus of the present invention is
An image display in which pixels that emit image display light having at least vertical light directivity are two-dimensionally arranged; and
A horizontal directionality generating means array arranged in front of the image display and connected in a horizontal direction with light horizontal directionality generating means; and
A vertical light diffusing element that is arranged in a plane substantially coincident with the horizontal directionality generating means array and diffuses light only in the vertical direction;
On the image display,
N types of viewpoint-corresponding pixels reflecting luminance information obtained by cutting out parallax image information from N horizontal viewpoints (N is a natural number) in the observer area according to the position on the image display are arranged in a matrix. The horizontal positions of pixels corresponding to the viewpoints N to N are repeatedly arranged at regular intervals according to this permutation,
Viewpoint-corresponding pixels corresponding to at least adjacent viewpoints are arranged as pixels at different height positions on the image display,
When the projection area of the luminous flux emitted from the pixel onto the vertical light diffusing element is a pseudo pixel area, the height of the pseudo pixel area is larger than the height of the original pixel,
In addition, the vertical direction of the image display light is such that the pseudo pixel regions formed by the light fluxes from the viewpoint-corresponding pixels corresponding to the same viewpoint are arranged side by side with no gap in the vertical direction on the vertical light diffusing element. The light directivity is adjusted.

  According to the present invention, in a stereoscopic image display device capable of independently presenting a plurality of parallax images in a plurality of directions by combining an image display device in which pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix and a light directivity control means such as a lenticular lens. Even when the number of observable parallax images is increased, the effective pixel area of the parallax image observed by the observer is not reduced, and an effect that does not make the deterioration of the image quality noticeable can be generated.

Basic structure of conventional technology Perspective view of parallax barrier used in the prior art Perspective view of lenticular lens used in the prior art Explanatory drawing of conventional technology “Simple Lenticular Method” Part 1 Explanatory drawing of prior art “simple lenticular method” Part 2 Explanatory drawing of conventional technology “Simple Lenticular Method” Part 3 Explanatory drawing of the conventional technology “oblique lenticular method” Part 1 Explanatory drawing of the prior art “oblique lenticular method” Part 2 Explanatory drawing of the conventional technology “oblique lenticular method” Part 3 Explanatory drawing of the conventional technology “oblique lenticular method” Part 4 Explanatory drawing of the conventional technology “oblique lenticular method” 5 Explanatory drawing of the conventional technology “oblique lenticular method” Part 6 Explanatory drawing of the conventional technology “oblique lenticular method” Part 7 Explanatory drawing of prior art “oblique pixel method” Part 1 Explanatory drawing of the prior art “oblique pixel method” Part 2 Explanatory drawing of prior art “diagonal pixel method” Part 3 Explanatory drawing of conventional technology “diagonal pixel method” Part 4 Explanatory drawing of prior art “oblique pixel method” 5 Explanatory drawing of conventional technology “diagonal pixel method” Part 6 Explanatory drawing of conventional technology “diagonal pixel method” Part 7 Side view of an embodiment of the present invention Explanatory diagram of directivity of radiation from pixels Part 1 Explanatory drawing of directivity of radiated light from pixels Part 2 Front view of an embodiment of the present invention Explanatory drawing when vertical direction interval of viewpoint corresponding pixel is not constant 1 Explanatory drawing when vertical direction interval of viewpoint corresponding pixel is not constant 2 Explanatory drawing when vertical direction interval of viewpoint corresponding pixel is not constant part 3 Explanatory drawing when vertical interval of viewpoint corresponding pixel is not constant 4 Illustration of horizontal directionality of radiation from pixels Perspective view of the light directivity adjusting lens 6 Explanatory drawing of the Example which can switch 2D display / 3D display Explanatory drawing of multifunctional part 9 Explanatory drawing of multifunctional part 9 Explanatory drawing of multifunctional part 9 3 Illustration of unitization suitable for configuring a large screen display part 1 Illustration of unitization suitable for configuring a large screen display part 2 Illustration of unitization suitable for configuring a large screen display part 3

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Example]
The present invention has the following advantages as described in “Background Art”, such as “oblique lenticular method” and “oblique pixel method”. 1. The parallax image information spatially separated and arranged is directed in a plurality of independent directions using the horizontal light directivity control means, and the image observer performs stereoscopic viewing. The present invention is applicable to a stereoscopic image display device that satisfies the two conditions that the resolution of an image observed from an arbitrary parallax direction is devised to be distributed in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

  Therefore, the arrangement method of the image display device and the light directivity control means is the same as that described in [Background Art]. Here, since an embodiment premised on application to the “oblique pixel method” shown in FIGS. 14 to 20 is shown, the reference numerals and the like in the drawings are the same as those used in these drawings. FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of the application of the present invention to the “oblique pixel type” stereoscopic image display device shown in FIG. FIG. 21 shows a side view of the apparatus. The pixel arrangement and the arrangement of the lenticular lens 4 in the image display device 1 are the same as those in FIG. However, the present embodiment has a configuration different from the conventional “oblique pixel method” in three additional configuration requirements described below.

  The first additional component is that light emitted from each pixel of the image display device 1 is given directivity and is emitted only in a predetermined direction. 22 and 23 are diagrams for explaining the directivity of the emitted light from each pixel. FIG. 22 is a side view, and FIG. 23 is a plan view. In this embodiment, the light emitting unit 5 and the light directivity adjusting lens 6 are used to give directivity to the light emitted from each pixel, and the pixel 7 is configured by a combination thereof. When the horizontal width of each pixel is Δh and the height is Δv, the horizontal width of the light directivity adjusting lens 6 is approximately Δh and the height is approximately Δv.

  Non-directional light is emitted from the light emitting unit 5, but the light emission area is smaller than that of the light directivity adjusting lens 6, so that the light after passing through the light directivity adjusting lens 6 is limited. Emits in the direction. Image display light having directivity is represented by the hatched portion in the figure. The solid angle of the emitted light at this time is determined depending on second and third additional constituent requirements described later. In this embodiment, the light directivity adjustment lens 6 is used to give directivity to the light emitted from each pixel. However, the light emitting unit 5 itself constituting the pixel emits a directional light beam like a semiconductor laser. Some will do. When employing them as pixels, the present invention can be implemented by providing directivity to the image display light without using a lens.

  The second additional constituent requirement is that the longitudinal diffusion plate 8 is disposed in front of the image display device 1 and the lenticular lens 4 as shown in FIG. The vertical diffusion plate 8 is an optical element that diffuses light only in the vertical direction and does not affect the light traveling direction in the horizontal direction. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21, a cylindrical lens array in which the generatrix lines are aligned in the horizontal direction, in particular, a cylindrical lens whose radius of curvature is smaller than the pixel height Δh is applied as the vertical diffusion plate 8. ing.

  Accordingly, the directivity in the horizontal direction generated by the lenticular lens 4 is maintained as it is even after passing through the vertical diffusion plate 8. However, since the vertical component is diffused at the position of the vertical diffusion plate 8, due to the screen effect. The viewing angle in the vertical direction can be enlarged.

  FIG. 21 and FIG. 24 both show the state of the image display light from the pixel corresponding to the viewpoint 14 in the stereoscopic image display device with the number of parallax images N = 30.

  As can be seen from FIG. 14 which is a front view in the “oblique pixel method” which is the conventional technique, the pixels corresponding to the viewpoint 14 exist only in the b, d, and f stages in the figure, and are in the a, c, and e stages. Does not exist. That is, when the present apparatus is observed from the direction of the viewpoint 14, only the a stage, the c stage, and the e stage appear dark as shown in FIG. 19, and black horizontal stripes are formed every other vertical line with respect to the fourth parallax image. There is a problem that the image appears as a “vertically discontinuous image”.

  However, in this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 21, the image display is performed so that the vertical range Wv of the image display light beam reaching the vertical diffusion plate 8 is about twice the original pixel height Δv. Since the vertical directionality of light is adjusted and light is diffused only in the vertical direction on the vertical diffusion plate 8, the observer in the 14th parallax direction has a pixel height as shown in FIG. Will appear as if the horizontal width has been expanded to the cylindrical lens width PL.

  Therefore, here, an area where the image display light crosses the vertical diffusion plate 8 is referred to as a “pseudo pixel area”.

  Comparing the state of the “pseudo pixel area” shown in FIG. 24 with FIG. 19, it can be seen that the image quality is greatly improved in terms of the effective pixel area and continuity of the observed image. It should be noted that the position at which the vertical diffusion plate 8 is disposed is preferably approximately the main plane position of the light directivity control means (here, the lenticular lens 4). In this embodiment, the position is substantially in contact with the lens apex of the lenticular lens 4. A vertical diffusion plate 8 is disposed in the vertical direction.

  The third additional constituent requirement is that in the pixel arrangement on the image matrix, “the vertical intervals between the viewpoint-corresponding pixels presented at the same viewpoint are all arranged at a constant interval”. The reason for adding this configuration requirement will be described below. FIG. 25 is a front view of the pixel matrix when the number of parallax images in the “oblique pixel method” is set to 25. In FIG. 14, a pixel matrix of 3 × 5 = 15 in the horizontal direction and 6 pixels in the vertical direction is configured to store the parallax image information in 30 directions, but in FIG. 25, 3 × 5 = 15 in the horizontal direction and 5 in the vertical direction. The pixel matrix is configured to store parallax image information in 25 directions.

  Other configurations are set as in FIG. In the case of the pixel matrix in FIG. 14, a specific viewpoint-corresponding pixel exists every other vertical direction, so that the image observed through the lenticular lens 4 is dark horizontal stripes every other vertical direction as shown in FIGS. 16 and 19. It was observed in a state where (non-display part) was superimposed. Therefore, by using the first and second additional constituent elements described above, the “pseudo pixel region” formed on the vertical diffusion plate 8 is uniformly enlarged twice in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. An image with improved image quality was obtained.

  However, in the case of the pixel matrix in FIG. 25, the vertical interval between the specific viewpoint-corresponding pixels is not a constant value. For example, the pixels corresponding to the viewpoint 12 exist on the dotted line in the figure, but the vertical positions are a-stage, b-stage, and d-stage, and the intervals are not constant. When the screen is observed from the direction of, it appears as if dark horizontal stripes of irregular intervals are superimposed as shown in FIG. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 27, even if the vertical directivity is controlled to set the height of the “pseudo pixel area” on the vertical diffusion plate 8 to be doubled, FIG. 27 (side view), As shown in FIG. 28 (front view), a portion where the image display light overlaps and a portion where the image display light does not overlap are generated.

  In particular, since the information is mixedly displayed in the portion where the image display lights overlap, the image quality of the observed image is significantly lowered.

  Accordingly, in the present invention, the vertical interval between the viewpoint corresponding pixels presented to the same viewpoint in the pixel arrangement on the image matrix is arranged so as to be all constant as shown in FIG. In the case of a monochrome image display device that does not have color information, it is not necessary to pay particular attention to the above arrangement conditions. However, in the case of performing full color display with a plurality of color pixel structures as in a general image display device, the pixel arrangement conditions are If not considered, incompatibility as shown in FIGS. 25 to 28 may occur. In the case of the aforementioned “oblique pixel method”, the natural number m satisfying the relationship of N = m × n with respect to the number N of parallax images, n, and c representing the number of types of color pixels are used, and c × m in the horizontal direction, vertical In the present embodiment, it is known that when the number n of pixels in the direction is configured, and the vertical step number n is a multiple of c, the vertical interval between the viewpoint-corresponding pixels is constant. The device is designed to satisfy this condition.

  As described above, the directivity of the image display light is adjusted by the light emitting unit 5 and the directivity adjusting lens 6, but the directivity of the light can be controlled not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction.

  FIG. 29 is a plan view showing the light directivity in the horizontal direction. The horizontal directivity of image display light affects “which range of cylindrical lenses is used to display a parallax image”. In this embodiment, the horizontal spreading width of the light at the position of the lenticular lens 4 is set to 3 × Wh. As a result, light emitted from one pixel always passes through three columns of cylindrical lenses. The light beam (ML in the figure) emitted from the front cylindrical lens among the three rows is called a “main lobe” and is used to display a stereoscopic image for the front observer.

  On the other hand, a light beam (SL in the figure) emitted from the adjacent cylindrical lenses is called a “side lobe” and is used to display a stereoscopic image for an observer in an oblique direction. In general, the stereoscopic image observed with the “side lobe” is more distorted than the stereoscopic image observed with the “main lobe” due to the aberration of the cylindrical lens, but it helps to enlarge the image observation area. In this embodiment, the directivity setting as described above is performed in order to make active use.

  Thus, since the directivity of the image display light is desirably controlled independently in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, the directivity adjusting lens 6 has a toroidal lens (curvature radius of the XY cross section and the YZ cross section as shown in FIG. 30). Different lenses).

  FIG. 31 shows a configuration example of switching between two-dimensional image display (hereinafter 2D display) and stereoscopic image display (hereinafter 3D display) in this apparatus. In this configuration example, both the lenticular lens 4 and the longitudinal diffusion plate 8 can be switched ON / OFF of the optical action by electrical control. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-258631 introduces a device capable of switching ON / OFF of a lenticular lens function by electrical control of a liquid crystal optical element. In this configuration example, these devices are used for the lenticular lens 4 and the longitudinal diffusion plate 8, and the device driving units D4 and D8 perform ON / OFF operation of the optical action.

  The optical action ON / OFF switching is controlled based on the input result of the user's intention (whether 2D display or 3D display is performed) through the user interface UI. When performing 2D display, a general 2D image signal is sent out by the image display device control device D1, and the optical operation of the lenticular lens 4 and the longitudinal diffusion plate 8 is turned off by the device driving units D4 and D8. This allows the observer to observe normal 2D display light that is not subjected to light directivity control or vertical expansion of the pixel region.

  On the other hand, in the case of performing 3D display, a 3D image signal for “oblique pixel method” is sent out by the image display device control device D1, and the optical action of the lenticular lens 4 and the vertical diffusion plate 8 is performed by the device driving units D4 and D8. ON operation is performed. Thus, the observer can observe a plurality of parallax images from a plurality of directions, and can observe a stereoscopic image.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to realize a display device capable of switching between 2D display and 3D display according to the user's intention.

  In order to implement the present invention, the vertical diffusion plate 8 is necessary. However, if this is added separately from the lenticular lens 4, the number of parts and the number of assembly steps increase, and the manufacturing cost also increases. Therefore, the idea of integrating the vertical diffusion plate 8 and the lenticular lens 4 is effective. FIG. 32 is a perspective view of the multi-function component 9 in which both components are integrated. The multi-function component 9 has a shape in which a small-diameter cylindrical lens array having a horizontal generatrix direction is formed on the cylindrical surface of the lenticular lens. As a result, the horizontal component of the image display light is emitted as highly directional light in many horizontal directions under the influence of a cylindrical lens having a vertical bus line and a large curvature radius as shown in FIG. As shown at 34, the horizontal direction is diffused under the influence of a cylindrical lens array having a horizontal generatrix and a small radius of curvature.

  If the vertical diffusion plate 8 and the lenticular lens 4 are integrated in this way, the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be reduced, and as a result, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Although this embodiment constitutes a stereoscopic image display device, a large display for advertising use called “digital signage” can be cited as an industrial field where there is a strong demand for stereoscopic images. When two-dimensional large screen display is performed on these displays, LED light source matrix units with relatively small screens are usually made (unitized), and these are connected vertically and horizontally (stacked) to increase the screen size.・ Achieving higher resolution. The points of unitization and stacking are 1. All individual unit configurations are the same2. 2. The number of components is small so that stacking is easy. The image quality is not deteriorated even when stacked.

  In particular, when the conditions 1 and 2 cannot be satisfied, the number of special products and special processes increases, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost. In order to apply the present invention to a large-screen stereoscopic image display device after suppressing the above points, the following measures are taken. First, the outer shape of the image display device 1 is made to match the unit matrix of the “oblique pixel method”. The unit matrix here refers to a matrix region in which all color pixels of N parallax images are aligned without any overlap, and the pixel group shown in FIG. 14 corresponds to this. In order to make these connectable vertically and horizontally, the image display device 1 having an outer shape as shown in FIG. 35 (front view) and FIG. 36 (perspective view) is configured as a unit matrix unit.

  The left and right convex portions generated by the pixel shift can be fitted with the concave portions of other unit matrix units having the same structure to constitute a continuous large screen matrix unit. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 37, the display device and the optical element are also integrated by matching the width and height of the “lenticular lens + longitudinal diffusion plate unit” composite unit as shown in FIG. 32 with the unit matrix unit. A “stereoscopic image display unit” can also be configured. A large-screen 3D display device to which the present invention is applied can be realized simply by connecting them up, down, left, and right, and therefore, effects such as simplification of the assembly process, reduction in the number of parts, and reduction in manufacturing cost can be expected.

  According to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, a stereoscopic image display apparatus that directs parallax image information spatially separated and arranged in a plurality of independent directions using a light directivity control unit to allow an image observer to perform stereoscopic viewing In this case, the resolution of the image observed from an arbitrary parallax direction is resolved in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. Fewer stereoscopic images can be displayed.

  Each embodiment described above is only a representative example, and various modifications and changes can be made to each embodiment in carrying out the present invention.

  The present invention can be used in all industrial fields that handle stereoscopic images, and is particularly promising for application to large-screen stereoscopic displays for advertising purposes.

1 2D image display device, 2 horizontal light directivity generating means, 3 parallax barrier,
4 lenticular lens, 5 light emitting part, 6 light directivity adjustment lens, 7 pixels,
8 Longitudinal diffusion plate, 9 Multi-functional part, D1 Image display device controller,
D4 lenticular lens device drive unit, D8 longitudinal diffuser device drive unit,
U1 user interface

Claims (5)

A pixel that emits image display light having at least vertical light directivity
A two-dimensionally arranged image display;
Disposed in front of the image display;
A horizontal directionality generating means array in which horizontal directionality generating means of light are connected in the horizontal direction continuously and a plane that matches the horizontal directionality generating means array are arranged to diffuse light only in the vertical direction. Having a vertical light diffusing element,
On the image display,
Reflects luminance information obtained by cutting out parallax image information from N horizontal viewpoints (N is a natural number) in the observer area according to the position on the image display
N types of viewpoint-corresponding pixels are arranged in a matrix, and the horizontal positions of 1 to N viewpoint-corresponding pixels are repeatedly arranged at regular intervals according to this permutation.
Viewpoint-corresponding pixels corresponding to at least adjacent viewpoints are arranged as pixels at different height positions on the image display,
When the projection area of the luminous flux emitted from the pixel onto the vertical light diffusing element is a pseudo pixel area, the height of the pseudo pixel area is larger than the height of the original pixel,
In addition, the vertical direction of the image display light is such that the pseudo pixel regions formed by the luminous fluxes from the viewpoint corresponding pixels corresponding to the same viewpoint are arranged side by side without any overlap in the vertical direction on the vertical direction light diffusion element. A stereoscopic image display device characterized in that light directivity is adjusted. The image display is composed of an aggregate of the N types of viewpoint corresponding pixels, and the vertical interval between the viewpoint corresponding pixels corresponding to the same viewpoint is a constant interval throughout the entire image display surface. The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to claim 1. The image display is composed of an aggregate of the N types of viewpoint-corresponding pixels, and uses a natural number m and n of k = m × n and a number of types of color pixels c, a horizontal c × m column, and a vertical n The matrix pixel group of the stage is a repetitive pixel array, and in each stage in the vertical direction, different color pixels are sequentially and repeatedly arranged in the horizontal direction, and n is a multiple of c. The stereoscopic image display device according to claim 1, wherein the height of the pixel region is n / c times the height of the original pixel. The image display is configured by a unit aggregate having the matrix pixel group as a unit unit, and the arrangement of the parallax corresponding pixels in each unit unit is the same in all the unit units. The three-dimensional image display apparatus described in 1. 5. The three-dimensional object according to claim 4, wherein the horizontal directionality generating means array and the vertical light diffusing element are divided into the same width and height as the unit unit and integrated with the unit unit. Image display device.