JPH0622309A - Picture data input/output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain a natural sense of use of the device by fetching a picture of a front side of a picture output section from a rear side of the picture output section so as to match an optical axis of an output picture with that of an input picture. CONSTITUTION:A picture of an object 1 passes through a center of a dimmer panel 2 as a picture output section and a polarized late 3, refracted by a polygon mirror 4 and fetched by a linear solid-state image pickup element 6 on an image forming face via a slit 5. Then the picture are fed to a memory 7 as picture data, converted into an NTSC signal by a picture signal processing section 8 and returned to an opposite party as user side moving picture information. In this case, a picture of an object 1 is fed to the element 6 attended with the rotation of the mirror 4 in a form that linear picture data corresponding to scanning lines are sequentially adjacent to each other. The picture data are fetched for each 1/30sec synchronously with the rotation of the mirror 4 and processed as 2-dimension picture data of one frame. The 2-dimension picture data are fed to the processing section 8, in which the data are converted into a 2-dimension bit map data signal to be an NTSC signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image data input / output device for inputting / outputting a natural image to / from an information processing terminal device having portability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, by capturing a natural image of the user's own face or the like, the facial expression and complexion of the other party can be confirmed, and the points of interest in image information such as maps and blueprints can be shown while displaying multiple images. As a device for communication between users of
A TV phone system and a TV conference system have been commercialized. In these methods, the plane positions of the center of the image output unit and the center of the image input unit are deviated, and when the user looks at the image output unit, the line of sight of the other party does not look directly into his / her eyes. It was common to see. There is a means for solving such a problem by making the image output and the image input path identical by using a half mirror.

[0003]

However, in the prior art using the half mirror, the size of the device is inevitably increased, and in the TV telephone system and the TV conference system,
It is not possible to combine the improvement of the user's feeling that it is more natural for the other party's line of sight to catch the front of the user with the need to make the terminal device compact.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems in the above-mentioned conventional example, and it can be used in an information processing terminal device or the like, and has a volume and weight that do not impair the portability of the person to be imaged by the image output unit. An object of the present invention is to provide an image data input / output device capable of inputting an image as if the line of sight of the person being photographed is gazing at the center of the input image frame while looking.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an image data input / output device of the present invention includes an image output unit for displaying an image based on given image data, and an image output unit behind the image output unit. And an image input unit that is arranged integrally with the image output unit and that captures an image in front of the image output unit through the image output unit.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the image output section is a transmissive image display panel, and the image display panel is alternately driven in a predetermined cycle to switch between the image display mode and the transmissive mode. The input data of the front image is created based on the image sometimes captured by the image input unit. Further, the center of the image display panel and the center of the image input section are arranged on the same axis, and the image display panel is set to the transparent mode in synchronization with the sampling frequency of the image input section. Furthermore, the image input section located behind the image display panel is
A one-dimensional solid-state imaging device having an incident optical axis arranged parallel to the display surface of the image display panel, an optical system for forming an image of the front of the image display panel on the one-dimensional solid-state imaging device, and an optical system of the optical system. What is constituted by a polygon mirror that bends the optical axis and scans the image of the image display panel at a right angle to the pixel array on the one-dimensional solid-state imaging device, or arranges the incident surface parallel to the display surface of the image display panel. A two-dimensional solid-state imaging device and an optical system for forming an image of the front of the image output unit on the two-dimensional solid-state imaging device can be used. In the latter case, the reduction type lens array disclosed in USP 3,950,769 may be used as the imaging optical system.

[0007]

According to the present invention, since the image in front of the image output unit is taken in from the back of the image output unit through the image output unit, the optical axis of the output image and the optical axis of the input image are aligned. In addition to the natural feeling of use, it is possible to make the size much smaller than the conventional device that displays images of the same size by using the half mirror.

Explaining a concrete example, the present invention has been completed as a result of the development of a compact communication device which gives the user a natural feeling of use and is compact. A small input unit is provided behind the center of the output unit. By providing an input unit that has an input method that is synchronized with periodically providing the transparency of the output display unit within a range that does not affect the output display characteristics, it can be installed in a portable terminal significantly. By setting the plane position of the center of the image output section and the center of the image input section on the same axis without increasing the weight and volume, it is possible to keep the image input properly so that the line of sight of the input person faces the front of the screen. An output device could be provided.

[0009]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below based on examples. The following embodiment is an example in which the video information of the other party is sent as an NTSC signal, and the user side also returns the NTSC signal to the other party so that they can communicate with each other while looking at the other party's face. .

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an image data input / output device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an image of a subject 1 passes through the central portions of a light control panel (image display panel) 2 and a polarizing plate 3 which are image output sections, is refracted by a polygon mirror 4, and passes through a slit 5 to be on an image plane. The image is taken into the one-dimensional solid-state image pickup device 6 (CCD or the like), sent to the memory 7 as image data, and passed through the image signal processing unit 8 to the NTSC.
It is converted into a signal and sent back to the other side as user side moving image information. Reference numeral 9 is a case, 10 is a backlight, 11 is a large lens, and 12, 13, 14 are small lenses. Small lens 1
Reference numeral 4 controls and drives using a conventional autofocus control technique so that an image of the subject 1 in front of the display unit (of the light control panel 2) is formed on the one-dimensional solid-state image sensor 6.

The dimming panel 2 uses a device such as a liquid crystal panel capable of electrically modulating the light amount of the pixel, and the display screen is not displayed for 1/60 seconds or less every 1/30 seconds and all the pixels are displayed on the display screen. The light control panel 2 is driven so as to be in the transmissive state. The time required for the all-pixel transmissive state depends on the rotational speed of the polygon mirror 4 or the time followability of the one-dimensional solid-state image pickup device 6. Often, as shown in FIG. 4, it is easier to visually recognize the output contents without flickering if the time for displaying the output is set longer than the time for setting the all pixel transmission state. On the other hand, a signal of one frame (two fields) of the NTSC signal received as the other party moving picture information is accumulated in the memory 7,
It is output to the light control panel 2 as a display signal every 1/30 seconds only while the all pixels are not in the transmission state.

The polygon mirror 4 is controlled and driven so that scanning for one frame is completed within 1/60 seconds when all pixels are in a transmissive state. In the case of the present embodiment, for example, the polygon mirror 4 is a hexagonal mirror, and if the number of revolutions is 10 revolutions per second or more, it is possible to capture the actual image every 1/30 second for 1/60 second. is there. An image of the subject 1 is sent to the one-dimensional solid-state imaging device 6 as the polygon mirror 4 rotates, and one-dimensional image data corresponding to a scanning line are sequentially sent to the one-dimensional image data. This image data is taken in every 1/30 second in synchronism with the rotation of the polygon mirror 4 and treated as one frame of two-dimensional image data. The two-dimensional image data is sent to the image signal processing unit 8 and is sequentially converted into two-dimensional overlapping field signals as two-dimensional bit map data to become the reply NTSC signal. This NTSC
A signal can be transmitted by a general coaxial cable, and new processing is added to this signal, so that it is also possible to send data to a computer for processing.

Second Embodiment In the configuration of the first embodiment, in addition to capturing the actual image, the image signal processing unit 8 thins out and samples the image information and omits the capturing of the actual image by using a conventional image interpolation technique or the like. It is possible to Further, the motion signal is detected by the image signal processing unit 8 and the image information is compressed, whereby the transmission bit rate can be reduced and the load on the communication system can be reduced.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of an image data input / output device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the image of the subject 1 passes through the light control panel 2 which is the image output unit and the central portion of the polarizing plate 3, and the reduction type lens array 15 and the pinpoint plate 16 are provided.
2D solid-state image sensor 17 (CCD
Etc.). The light control panel 2 uses a device such as a liquid crystal panel that can electrically modulate the light amount of a pixel. 9
Is a case, and 10 is a backlight. The focus adjustment control drive unit 18 detects the blur from the image signal from the solid-state image sensor 4, performs distance measurement, etc., and controls the two-dimensional solid-state image sensor 17 perpendicularly to the display surface so as to appropriately maintain the focus by feedback control. Drive and control. The reduction type lens array 15 is a lens array (for example, U
(SP-3950769 / Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 52-97728, etc.) is used so that the depth dimension from the display surface is minimized and the focal length to the subject does not hinder general use ( For example, it is designed to be 40 to 50 cm.

As shown in FIG. 4, the light control panel 2 is time-divided at a cycle (for example, 60 kHz) that does not affect human visual characteristics, and the output screen is in a transmissive state for all pixels at a cycle opposite to the display drive cycle. Thus, the light control panel 2 is driven. That is, the dimming panel 2 alternately repeats the display operation and the all-pixel light transmission operation every 1/60 second, and the time in the all-pixel transmission state is set for the time corresponding to the input time followability of the two-dimensional solid-state imaging device 17. Will be. The two-dimensional solid-state image pickup device 17 in the input section inputs an image in synchronization with the transmission state of the light control panel 2. The polarizing plate 3 and the backlight 10 are not essential configurations, and the necessity of these configurations depends on the characteristics of the light control panel 2.

In the case of the present embodiment, compared to a display panel having no input system, only a few protrusions are formed on the back surface of the case 9,
It is possible to capture an image in which the line of sight of the other party looks directly into his / her eyes without any problem in portability.

Fourth Embodiment FIG. 3 shows the arrangement of an image data input / output device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the image of the subject 1 passes through the light control panel 2 which is an image output unit and the central portion of the polarizing plate 3, passes through the large lens 11, the small lens 14, and the large lens 19 and is on the image plane. -Dimensional solid-state image sensor 17 (CCD
Etc.). The light control panel 2 uses a device such as a liquid crystal panel that can electrically modulate the light amount of a pixel. 9
Is a case, and 10 is a backlight. The small lens 14 is controlled and driven using a conventional autofocus control technique so that an image of the subject 1 in front of the display unit is formed on the two-dimensional solid-state image pickup device 17.

The dimming panel 2 is time-divided at a cycle (for example, 60 kHz) that does not affect human visual characteristics, and the dimming panel is arranged so that the output screen is in a transmissive state for all pixels at a cycle opposite to the display driving cycle. Drive 2 That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the dimming panel 2 alternately repeats the display operation and the all-pixel light transmission operation every 1/60 seconds, and transmits all the pixels for a time corresponding to the input time followability of the two-dimensional solid-state imaging device 17. The state time will be set. The time required for the all-pixel transmission state depends on the time followability of the two-dimensional solid-state imaging device 17, and it is sufficient to set the all-pixel transmission state for a time that can at least follow it, and the output is displayed as shown in FIG. It is easier for the user to visually recognize the output content without flicker if the time is set longer than the time for setting the all-pixel transmission state. The two-dimensional solid-state image pickup device 17 in the input section inputs an image in synchronization with the transmission state of the light control panel 2. Polarizing plate 3 and backlight 1
0 is not an essential configuration, and the necessity of these configurations depends on the characteristics of the light control panel 2.

[0019]

According to the present invention, since the image in front of the image output section is taken in from the back of the image output section through the image output section, the optical axis of the output image and the optical axis of the input image are aligned. As a result, the feeling of use becomes natural, and the size can be reduced as compared with the case where an image is displayed using a half mirror.

According to the present invention, specifically, as shown in the above-described embodiment, the user can output the image by providing the function of displaying an image on the output display section and the function of the input image capturing shutter in a time division manner. Inputting the user's own image with the line of sight directed to the center of the input screen while monitoring the image is useful for providing a lightweight and compact communication terminal device.
As a result, communication between people physically separated is made more realistic so that the unnaturalness caused by using communication devices is eliminated and smooth communication is promoted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an image data input / output device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a configuration of an image data input / output device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a configuration of an image data input / output device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating a driving state of an output screen according to the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: subject, 2: light control panel, 3: polarizing plate, 4: polygon mirror, 5: slit, 6: one-dimensional solid-state image sensor,
7: memory, 8: image signal processing unit, 9: case, 1
0: Backlight, 11: Large lens, 12: Small lens,
13: small lens, 14: small lens, 15: reduction type lens array, 16: pinpoint plate, 17: two-dimensional solid-state imaging device, 18: focus adjustment control drive unit, 19: large lens.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image output unit for displaying an image based on given image data, and an image output unit disposed behind the image output unit and integrally with the image output unit, in front of the image output unit. An image data input / output device, comprising: an image input unit for capturing an image. 2. The center of the image output unit and the center of the image input unit are arranged on the same axis.
The image data input / output device described in. 3. The image output unit is a transmissive image display panel, and an image display mode in which the image display panel displays an image based on the given image data at a predetermined cycle, and at least an image input. Image data of the front of the image display panel is created based on the output of the image input section in the transmission mode, which is driven alternately in the transmission mode in which all the pixels located in the effective visual field of the section are set in the transmission state. The image data input / output device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a control unit for transmitting the image data as input image data. 4. The image data input according to claim 3, wherein a frequency at which the image display panel is in a transmissive mode is synchronized with a frequency at which the image input section captures an image in front of the image display panel. Output device. 5. The image data input / output device according to claim 4, wherein a time width in which the image display panel is in the transmission mode is narrower than a time width in which the image display mode is in the image display mode. 6. The image input unit includes a one-dimensional solid-state image sensor having an incident optical axis arranged parallel to a display surface of the image output unit, and an image in front of the image output unit, the one-dimensional solid-state image sensor. An optical system for forming an image on the upper side, and a polygon mirror for bending an optical axis of the optical system and scanning an image in front of the image output unit at a substantially right angle with respect to a pixel array on the one-dimensional solid-state imaging device. The image data input / output device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The image input unit includes a two-dimensional solid-state image sensor having an incident surface arranged parallel to a display surface of the image output unit, and an image in front of the image output unit on the two-dimensional solid-state image sensor. The image data input / output device according to claim 1, further comprising: 8. The image data input / output device according to claim 7, wherein the optical system comprises a reduction type lens array.