JPH0583746A - Three-dimension display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To display a visual difference image in multi-direction with a few number of projectors by providing a means detecting a visual position on a display screen and a means selecting and displaying a video signal being plural both eye visual difference image from n-sets of video signals based on the result of detection to the display device. CONSTITUTION:A video Signal changeover circuit 6 selects two video signals being a couple of both-eye visual difference image from video cameras 1-4 based on an output signal of a visual position detection circuit 5. Projectors 7,8 project a video signal from the video signal changeover circuit 6 onto a lenticular plate 9. The visual difference image projected by the projectors 7,8 being a right eye and left eye picture of a main lobe is displayed on 1st and 2nd areas and a side lobe image is displayed to 3rd and 4th areas. When the visual position is moved to the side lobe of the lens, a video signal being a both-eye visual difference image corresponding to the visual point is selected among four video signals to allow a main lobe image to be observed correctly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-lens type three-dimensional display device using a lenticular plate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a three-dimensional display device of this type,
For example, "multi-view color stereoscopic television" (Technical Report of the Television Society of Japan, VVI69-3, Showa 60), "Experiment of multi-view three-dimensional image viewing range expanding optical system" (Technical Report of the Television Society, VVI88- 42, 1988) is known. Such a three-dimensional display device is a three-dimensional display device that utilizes depth perception based on left-right binocular parallax, and its principle is, for example, “Depth perception and multi-view display, Vol. 17, No. 7, 1988. ”.

4 and 5 are principle views of a multi-view three-dimensional display device showing the principle of this type of device. A three-dimensional image is obtained by projecting images of an object photographed from multiple directions as shown in FIG. 4 on a directional screen using the same number of projectors as cameras. That is, in FIGS. 4 and 5, eight cameras 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 are used.
Are arranged on concentric circles, images the object from eight directions, and the eight projectors 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 5
7, 58 to cameras 41, 42, 43, 44, respectively.
The images of 45, 46, 47 and 48 are projected on the directional screen. As the directional screen, a lenticular plate in which cylindrical lenses are arranged in the left-right direction is used. A diffusive reflective film is attached to the back focal plane of the lenticular plate. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the incident light beam from each projector is reflected in the direction of each projector,
A stereoscopic image is visible near the projector.

It is known from the above-mentioned documents that a more natural three-dimensional image can be obtained by arranging a large number of projectors at a pitch finer than the distance between both eyes to form a so-called multi-view system for projecting multi-directional images. Has been. In addition, it is known that a large number of projectors may be arranged to display a multi-directional parallax image in order to expand the viewing area that can be stereoscopically viewed in the lateral direction.

On the other hand, the side lobe is generally used because it is desired to widen the viewing area that can be stereoscopically viewed with a small number of binocular parallax images in the lateral direction (for example, the Television Society, V.
45, No. 4, 1991). 7 and 8 are diagrams for explaining the sidelobe image. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the lenticular plate, which is of a twin-lens type to simplify the description. right eye,
The image emitted from the corresponding lens and displayed by the light flux of the left-eye pixel is the main lobe image, and the image emitted from the adjacent lens and displayed is the first side lobe image. FIG. 8 shows a region where the main lobe image and the side lobe image can be viewed. The first area "1" surrounded by a thick line is an area where the main lobe image can be viewed. The second area “2” is an area where the first side lobe image can be viewed, and the third area “3” is an area where the second side lobe image can be viewed. In the second and third areas, the order of parallax images in the main lobe area is retained. First,
When the image is viewed at the boundary between the second and third regions, the left and right images are reversed, so stereoscopic viewing is not possible, but the lateral lobe can enlarge the lateral viewing area.

[0006]

However, in order to expand a more natural three-dimensional image or lateral viewing area,
It is necessary to capture multi-directional binocular parallax images at a pitch smaller than the binocular distance with a large number of cameras and project a multi-directional image using a large number of projectors. In this case, since the same number of projectors as the number of cameras are required, the device becomes extremely expensive.

Further, since the projector has a large size, it is difficult to arrange a large number of them at a narrow pitch. Even if the lateral lobe is expanded using the side lobe, the same image can be seen in the main lobe and the side lobe, so that there is a correspondence between the viewpoint position and the real object seen from that position and the stereoscopic image on the 3D display device. Because of the difference, the geometrical correspondence between the viewpoint position and the stereoscopic image cannot be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional display device capable of displaying multi-directional parallax images with a small number of projectors.

[0009]

The present invention employs the following means in order to achieve such an object. n
3 video cameras, a plurality of projectors, and a lenticular plate in which cylindrical lenses are arranged
The three-dimensional display device is provided with means for detecting the viewpoint position of the display screen, and means for selecting and displaying a plurality of video signals forming binocular parallax images from the n video signals based on the detection result. ..

[0010]

When the viewpoint position moves to the side lobe of the lens, the video signals of the n video signals are switched to the binocular parallax image corresponding to the viewpoint position so that the main lobe image can be seen correctly.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a three-dimensional display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In order to simplify the description, a description will be given using a twin-lens projection type three-dimensional display device having four video cameras and two projectors. In the figure, 1,
Reference numerals 2, 3 and 4 are video cameras arranged at a distance between both eyes as shown in FIG. The video cameras 1, 2, 3 and 4 are arranged on a circle center circle so that the point P of the object is focused and the convergence angles θ with respect to the optical axis between the video cameras are equal. To do. Naturally, it is assumed that the video cameras are aligned in the vertical direction.

Reference numeral 5 is a viewpoint position detection circuit for detecting the viewpoint position of the viewer. Usually, a transmitter for infrared rays or ultrasonic waves is fixed to the head of a viewer, and the viewpoint position detection circuit 5 monitors the viewpoint position using a signal received by a receiver 10 fixed to a screen or the like. 6 is a video signal switching circuit,
Two video signals, which are a pair of binocular parallax images, are selected from the video cameras 1, 2, 3, and 4 based on the output signal of the viewpoint position detection circuit 5. 7 and 8 are projectors,
The video signal from the video signal switching circuit 6 is projected on the lenticular plate 9. The lenticular plate 9 is a transparent type, and 2
It is a structure in which a plurality of lenticular sheets are combined so that diffusion sheets are sandwiched back to back.

In the parallax images projected by the projectors 7 and 8, the right eye and left eye images of the main lobe image are displayed in the first and second regions surrounded by thick lines, respectively. 3rd and 4th
The area of indicates the sidelobe image. In the figure, A, B, and C indicate viewpoint positions. The viewpoint A indicates that both eyes are in the main lobe region, the viewpoint B indicates that the left eye is in the side lobe region, and the viewpoint C indicates that both eyes are in the side lobe region.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing which video camera of the video signal the switching circuit 6 selects when the viewpoint of the viewer moves. Also, the lenticular plate is enlarged.

At the viewpoint A, the video signal switching circuit 6 selects the video signals of the video cameras 1 and 2 (solid line in FIG. 1) and projects them by the projectors 7 and 8, respectively. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the image of the video camera 2 is displayed on the L pixel and the image of the video camera 1 is displayed on the R pixel on the lenticular plate. The stereoscopic image seen from 2 is recognized.

At the viewpoint B, the video signal switching circuit 6 selects the video signal of the video camera 3 instead of the video camera 1 (dotted line), the signal of the video camera 3 is sent to the projector 7, and the video camera 2 is sent to the projector 8. Signal is projected. At this time, the image of the video camera 2 is displayed on the L pixel and the image of the video camera 3 is displayed on the R pixel on the lenticular plate. The image is recognized.

At the viewpoint C, the video signal switching circuit 6 selects the video signal of the video camera 4 instead of the video camera 2 (dashed line), and the signal of the video camera 3 is sent to the projector 7 and the video signal is sent to the projector 8. The signal from the camera 4 is projected. At this time, the image of the video camera 4 is displayed on the L pixel and the image of the video camera 3 is displayed on the R pixel on the lenticular plate, and they are displayed by the lens action on the right eye and the left eye, respectively. The image is recognized.

In this embodiment, four video cameras are arranged at a pitch of both eyes and two projectors are arranged at both eyes. However, the present invention is naturally limited to the number and installation of video cameras and projectors. It is not limited to intervals. Generally, when the number of video cameras is increased, the viewing area for stereoscopic viewing is expanded. If the installation interval is made narrower than the distance between both eyes together with the number of video cameras and projectors, a natural stereoscopic image with less jumping of images can be visually recognized.

[0019]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, means for detecting the viewpoint position of the display screen and a plurality of binocular parallax images are formed from a large number of video signals based on the detection result. By providing means for selecting and displaying video signals,
When the viewpoint position moves to the side lobe image, it is configured to switch from a large number of video signals to a video signal that becomes a binocular parallax image corresponding to the viewpoint position. Since the parallax image can be displayed, there is an advantage that a multi-view three-dimensional display device having a wide viewing area can be realized at low cost. Further, there is an advantage that the geometrical correspondence between the viewpoint position and the stereoscopic image is close to the correspondence with the real object, and a stereoscopic image without a sense of discomfort can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a three-dimensional display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a layout of cameras for obtaining a multi-directional parallax image.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a video signal switching method.

FIG. 4 is a principle diagram of a multi-view three-dimensional display device.

FIG. 5 is a principle diagram of a multi-view three-dimensional display device.

FIG. 6 is a principle diagram of a multi-view three-dimensional display device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a side lobe image.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a sidelobe image.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Video Camera 2 Video Camera 3 Video Camera 4 Video Camera 5 Viewpoint Position Detection Circuit 6 Video Signal Switching Circuit 7 Projector 8 Projector 9 Lenticular Plate

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A means for detecting a viewpoint position of a viewer in a three-dimensional display device using a multi-directional binocular parallax image captured by n video cameras and a lenticular plate in which cylindrical lenses are arranged. And means for selecting and displaying a plurality of binocular parallax images from n video signals based on the detection result, and when the viewpoint position moves to the side lobe of the lenticular plate, the n video signals are displayed. A three-dimensional display device characterized in that a binocular parallax image corresponding to a viewpoint position is switched from a signal to be displayed.