JPH0662435A - Stereoscopic vision image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a stereoscopic vision image display device capable of inexpensively and stereoscopically viewing the images picked up by the right and left video cameras. CONSTITUTION:Plural input images including the images picked up by the right and left eye video cameras 4 and 5 are synthesized into a large image that is divided vertically and horizontally into four parts by a divided image synthesizing device 6. These four divided images are converted into the video signals and displayed on a monitor display device 1. Then a stereoscopic mirror 3 is provided at the front of the device 1, and the stereoscopic vision image is obtained by viewing the right and left images corresponding to both cameras 4 and 5 on the device 1 through the mirror 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention According to the present invention, images captured by two video cameras on the left and right are separately displayed on the left and right on a general television monitor, and the left and right display images are viewed through a stereoscopic mirror. The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display device for obtaining a three-dimensional image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when remotely monitoring the construction status of a building at a construction site, the volume of work, or the working status of a working machine, the construction status of the building can be captured by a video, and there is a sense of depth. It is desirable to display it as a three-dimensional image.

Conventionally, as a stereoscopic system for obtaining such a stereoscopic image, images picked up by two video cameras are reproduced and displayed on two left and right monitor televisions, and they are arranged in front of the left and right monitor televisions. That can be viewed stereoscopically through a stereoscopic mirror for aerial photography, or left and right images captured by two video cameras.
It is known that images are alternately reproduced and displayed on one monitor television by switching at a speed of Hz or 120 Hz, and an image alternately displayed on the monitor television can be viewed stereoscopically by viewing through a stereoscopic mirror.

[0004]

However, in the former stereoscopic vision system described above, two separate monitor televisions for the left and right eyes are provided to reproduce and display the images captured by the two left and right video cameras. In addition to the need, two image transmission lines are also required to connect each video camera and the corresponding monitor TV. As a result, the size of the device becomes large, the cost becomes high, and the operability and maneuverability at the time of monitoring the construction site are lacking. Further, in the latter stereoscopic system described above, after converting the image signal captured by each video camera into a digital amount, it is stored in each frame memory, and the image data stored in each frame memory is stored at 60 Hz or 120 Hz. Since they are alternately read out and output to a monitor TV, a dedicated device is required, which is expensive, and there is a problem that the monitoring system cannot be inexpensively installed. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is a stereoscopic image display capable of easily stereoscopically viewing images captured by two video cameras at low cost. To provide a device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a video camera for the left eye that captures a predetermined area, a video camera for the right eye that captures the predetermined area, and A divided image synthesizing means for synthesizing a plurality of input images including respective images picked up by left-eye and right-eye video cameras into appropriately sized images obtained by dividing one screen size into left and right; Conversion means for converting the divided image into a video signal, monitor display means for reproducing and displaying the divided image by the converted video signal, and monitor display means arranged in front of the monitor display means and dividedly displayed on the monitor display means. And a stereoscopic mirror for stereoscopically viewing left and right divided images by the video camera. Further, the present invention is characterized in that a video recorder is connected to the converting means through a switching means, and a recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing the divided image combined by the divided image combining means is provided. Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of input images including respective images picked up by the left-eye and right-eye video cameras are divided by the divided image synthesizing unit into one screen size vertically and horizontally as appropriate. It is characterized by being combined into an image of a size. Further, the present invention is characterized in that information related to the stereoscopic divided image is displayed in a display area other than the display area of the stereoscopic divided image displayed on the monitor display means.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a block diagram of the entire apparatus, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a 4-division image synthesizing device, FIG. 3 is a front view of a monitor display device, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the relationship between the monitor display device and a stereoscopic mirror. is there.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a monitor display device corresponding to a commercially available television receiver and the like. The left and right regions 2a and 2b located on the upper part of the screen display left and right images for obtaining a stereoscopic image, and the left and right regions 2c and 2d located on the lower part are divided into 2d. For example, character information such as characters associated with the images displayed in the areas 2a and 2b is displayed. Further, the aspect ratio of each of the display areas 2a to 2d is 3: 4 as in the screen of the display device 2.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a stereoscopic mirror for aerial photography, which is arranged on the front surface of the monitor display device 1 so as to be separated by a predetermined distance. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the stereoscopic mirror 3 has a display device 1 for a monitor.
A reflective plate 3a for the left eye and a reflective plate 3b for the right eye, which are opposed to the stereoscopic display areas 2a, 2b at an angle of 45 degrees,
A reflector 3c having reflection surfaces 3c1 and 3c2 arranged inside the reflection plates 3a and 3b and parallel to the reflection plates 3a and 3b, and a left eyepiece window arranged on the reflection axis of each of the reflection surfaces 3c1 and 3c2. 3d and right eyepiece window 3
e and.

In FIG. 1, 4 is a video camera for the left eye, 5 is a video camera for the right eye, and these video cameras 4, 5 shoot left and right images for obtaining three-dimensional visual information. To do. The respective image signals photographed by the video cameras 4 and 5 are the first signals provided in the four-division image synthesizing device 6.
And to the second input terminals 6a and 6b. The four-division image synthesizing device 6 further includes third and fourth input terminals 6c, 6
Characters and other character information related to the image signals from the video cameras 4 and 5 are input to the input terminals 6c and 6d from an input device (not shown) such as a scanner. The 4-divided image signal synthesized by the 4-divided image synthesizing device 6 is converted into an analog amount (NTSC signal) and then output to the monitor display device 1 via the switching circuit 7. Also. The switching circuit 7 is connected to a video recorder 8 that records and reproduces the image signal combined by the four-division image combining device 6.

The four-division image synthesizing device 6 has each input terminal 6a.
The image signals input from 6d to 6d are decimated to 1/4 to synthesize an image corresponding to the screen size of the monitor display device 1. As shown in FIG.
A of the analog signals which are provided in correspondence with each of the input terminals 6a to 6d and which are in the odd-numbered rows or the even-numbered rows are sampled and converted into digital signals.
-D converters 9a to 9d, buffers 10a to 10d that are respectively connected to the AD converters 9a to 9d and temporarily store the output digital signals, and buffers 10a to 10d, and buffers 10a to 10d.
The memory area 12a is connected to the data processing circuits 11a to 11d for thinning out the image data read out from the d, and the thinned image data corresponds to the respective display areas 2a to 2d of the monitor display device 1. Frame memory 12 for storing one screen image to be stored in
And a DA converter 13 for converting the image data read by sequentially accessing the frame memory 12 from the first row to an analog amount (NTSC signal).

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be described. The image signals 4a and 5a picked up by the left-eye video camera 4 and the right-eye video camera 5 are output at the horizontal scanning timing, and the input terminal 6
The signals a, 6b are input to the A / D converters 9a, 9b of the four-division image synthesizing device 6. A-D converters 9a and 9b
Then, only the image numbers of the odd-numbered rows or even-numbered rows are fetched and sampled, converted into a digital signal of, for example, 8 bits per pixel, and each buffer 10a,
It is temporarily stored in 10b. The pixel data temporarily stored in the buffers 10a and 10b are converted into data processing circuits 11a and 1
By reading to 1b, thinning processing is performed line by line,
For example, only the odd-numbered or even-numbered pixel data in one line is extracted and the memory areas 12a, 1a of the frame memory 12
Store in line 2b in line order. As a result, the respective images picked up by the video cameras 4 and 5 are thinned out to 1/4 and the respective memory areas 1 of the frame memory 12 are reduced.
It will be stored in 2a and 12b.

On the other hand, character signals such as characters and graphics input from the input terminals 6c and 6d are converted into digital signals line by line by the A / D converters 9c and 9d in the same manner as described above and stored in the buffers 10c and 10d. It is temporarily stored. After that, the data processing circuits 11c and 11d perform thinning-out processing in the same manner as the stereoscopic image signal, and store the data in the memory areas 12c and 12d of the frame memory 12 in line order. The image data stored in the frame memory 12 is read by the DA converter 13 by sequentially accessing from the first line, converted into an analog signal (NTSC signal), and then output to the monitor display device 1 via the switching circuit 7. To do. As a result, the image captured by the video camera 4 for the left eye is displayed in the display area 2a of the monitor display device 1, and the image captured by the video camera 5 for the right eye is displayed in the display area 2b. . The image input from the input terminal 6c is displayed in the display area 2c of the monitor display device 1, and the image input from the input terminal 6d is displayed in the display area 2d.

Writing of the four-divided image data into the frame memory 12 and reading of the image data as described above are performed at intervals of 1/30 sec and displayed on the monitor display device 1. Therefore, when the images displayed in the left and right display areas 2a and 2b of the monitor display device 1 are viewed through the stereoscopic mirror 3, the images can be stereoscopically viewed. Also,
By directly looking at the images displayed in the display areas 2c and 2d, it is possible to know the information related to the stereoscopic image, for example, the construction process and date required at the construction site. Furthermore, if the switching circuit 7 is switched to the video recorder 8 side and the video recorder 8 is driven, an image for stereoscopic viewing and a related image thereof are processed without any processing, in the same sense as recording performed in a general home. Information can be recorded.

As described above, according to the stereoscopic image display apparatus of this embodiment, four input image signals including images input from the two left and right video cameras 4 and 5 are combined into four vertically and horizontally divided images. Then, the four-divided image is displayed on the screen of the single monitor display device 1 in four-divisional display, and the images displayed in the upper left and right display areas 2a and 2b can be viewed stereoscopically by viewing through the stereoscopic mirror. As a result, only one monitor display device for stereoscopic viewing is required, and accordingly, one transmission line between the image sending side and the image receiving side is also needed, and the device can be downsized and the cost can be reduced. It is possible to provide a stereoscopic device having excellent mobility and operability. Also, the four-divided image to be combined can be received by a general television receiver, etc. NT
Since it is converted into a video signal such as SC, an existing television receiver can be used, and it is also possible to directly record using a general video recorder and reproduce it if necessary.
Furthermore, the lower display area 2c of the monitor display device 1,
Information related to the stereoscopic image can be displayed on 2d, and accordingly, information other than the captured image can be easily obtained from the same monitor screen.

The stereoscopic mirror applied to the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the above embodiment. Further, the image division / combination method according to the present invention is not limited to the 4-division method shown in the above-described embodiment, but can be applied to 9-division and 16-division images having an aspect ratio of 3: 4, and image division. The synthesizing method is not limited to that shown in the above embodiment. For example,
At the stage of storing in the frame memory, the thinning-out process may be performed to 1 / division.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which the images divided into four parts are separately output to the monitor display device 1 or the video recorder 8 by the switching circuit 7, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a video distribution circuit may be provided instead of the switching circuit 7, and the composite image signal may be distributed to the monitor display device and the video recorder 8 by this video distribution circuit as needed.
Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the four-divided composite image is separately displayed in the display areas 2a to 2d of the monitor display device 1 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example,
The image to be displayed in the display areas 2c and 2d is displayed in the display area 2a or 2
You may make it possible to superimpose and display on b. In this case, other information can be visually recognized at the same time while stereoscopically viewing with the stereoscopic mirror. Further, the images of the left and right video cameras may be displayed in the display areas 2c and 2d of the monitor display device.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of input images including images captured by left-eye and right-eye video cameras are similar to the asbestos ratio of the screen size of the monitor display device. And is combined into a plurality of divided images of the size divided vertically and horizontally, and this divided image is displayed on one monitor display device, and it corresponds to the left and right video cameras displayed on this monitor display device. Since the left and right images can be viewed stereoscopically through a stereoscopic mirror, only one monitor display device is required for stereoscopic viewing.
The size and cost of the device can be reduced. Further, since the divided image is converted into the NTSC signal for a general television receiver, the existing image receiver can be used for the monitor display device, and the divided composite image can be recorded by using a general video recorder. Can be played according to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a stereoscopic image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing details of a divided image synthesizing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the monitor display device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a relationship between a monitor display device and a stereoscopic mirror according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 monitor display device 2a to 2d display area 3 stereoscopic mirror 4,5 video camera 6 divided image synthesizing device 7 switching circuit 8 video recorder 13 DA converter (video signal converting device)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A left-eye video camera that captures a predetermined area, a right-eye video camera that captures the predetermined area, and a left-eye and right-eye video camera, respectively. A plurality of input images including a plurality of input images are combined into an image of an appropriate size obtained by dividing one screen size into left and right, and a conversion unit that converts the combined divided image into a video signal, Monitor display means for reproducing and displaying divided images by the converted video signal, and a stereoscopic mirror arranged in front of the monitor display means for stereoscopically viewing left and right divided images by the video cameras divided and displayed on the monitor display means. And a stereoscopic image display device comprising: 2. The stereoscopic view according to claim 1, wherein a video recorder is connected to the conversion means through a switching means, and a recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing the divided images combined by the divided image combining means is provided. Image display device. 3. A plurality of input images including the respective images picked up by the left-eye and right-eye video cameras by the divided image synthesizing unit are appropriately divided into a single screen size vertically and horizontally. The stereoscopic image display device according to claim 1, wherein the stereoscopic image display device is combined with the image of Sasaki. 4. The information related to the stereoscopic divided image is displayed in a display area other than the display area of the stereoscopic divided image displayed on the monitor display means. Stereoscopic image display device.