JPH09271043A - Stereoscopic image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stereoscopic image display device capable of improving adaptive speed and reducing cost by the shortage of calculation time and capable of displaying an optimum stereoscopic image corresponding to various conditions. SOLUTION: Parallax related to images displayed on a right eye LCD 11R and a left eye LCD 11L is read out by a parallax reader 40 including a parallax detector 18 corresponding to a left eye 10L, the horizontal shift quantity data of right and left eye images corresponding to the read parallax are immediately read out from a table in a memory 48 and both the images are quickly adjusted by horizontal shift so that the parallax coincides with an objective parallax value corresponding to a visual distance or the like inherent in the device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display device capable of presenting a stereoscopic image to an observer with a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax, and particularly, an observation when observing a stereoscopic image. The present invention relates to an improvement of a stereoscopic image display device that reduces discomfort and fatigue of a person.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a visual display device or system, a stereoscopic display device for displaying an image for stereoscopic viewing is
Various things have been proposed. FIG. 25 is an external view showing a head device type display device (HMD: Head Mounted Display) 700 which is an example of such a stereoscopic image display device. The HMD 700 shown in the figure is a type of twin-lens type stereoscopic display, in which the left and right display elements and the left and right magnifying optical systems 701 are provided in front of the left and right eyes of an observer, respectively.
2 is supported and arranged. Video for the left eye,
The image for the right eye can be viewed stereoscopically by presenting it to the right eye. or,
A head motion sensor 704, which detects the movement of the head via a support arm 703, is attached to the top of the head so that an image corresponding to the movement of the head can be displayed. The information processing device 720 is connected via a cable 722 to a connecting portion 706 supported by a supporting portion 705, and a speaker 709 for outputting sound is provided near the ear. The operation button 720a is provided on the information processing device 720.
Is provided so that the user can perform various operations. The stereoscopic image display device using the HMD as an example has a problem that the visual distance and the convergence distance do not match each other, resulting in an unnatural appearance.

FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining how a stereoscopic image is viewed by a left-eye image and a right-eye image on a stereoscopic image display device. In the figure, as an example of a stereoscopic image presented to the left and right eyes, consider an image in which two objects, a sphere and a triangular pyramid, are approaching. The image for the left eye and the image for the right eye at this time transit from (a) to (b) in FIG. 26, and further transit as shown in (c). That is, as shown in the figure, the sphere gradually approaches the center while becoming larger. That is, the binocular parallax is gradually increasing.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing how the image of FIG. 26 looks when viewed with both eyes. Observing for fusion (or “fusion”; because the binocular parallax becomes large, the observer reaches or is about to perceive one image based on multiple images) Person's eyeball rotates inward. This rotation is called vergence, and the rotation angle is called vergence angle in the illustrated definition. In addition, the distance between the intersection of the optical axes of the eyeballs and the eyeball due to convergence is referred to as the convergence distance in this specification. However, in the case of HMD, this convergence distance is equal to the distance between the point where the chief rays of the left and right images intersect and the main plane of the eyepiece optical system. When the eyeball thus converges, a focus adjusting action is also induced. When the vergence angle increases, the focus adjustment tends to change toward the near side, and conversely, when the vergence angle decreases, the focus adjustment tends to change toward the far side. However, in the case of a stereoscopic image display device, the surface where the image can be seen with the highest contrast (the distance from this surface to the eyeball is referred to as the visual distance) is fixed. In the case of HMD, the distance from the virtual image plane of the display surface by the lens to the eyeball is the viewing distance. Therefore, a contradiction occurs here. This phenomenon is HM
It occurs not only in D but also in various stereoscopic TVs such as a shutter switching system and a lenticular system. The viewing distance of these types of stereoscopic TVs is the distance from the display surface of a display device such as a CRT to the eyes of the observer.

As described above, when a stereoscopic image is observed, an image looks unnatural when an image with a large change in the convergence distance is viewed in a state where the viewing distance and the convergence distance do not match. In order to avoid this problem, there is a method of creating an image with a small change in the pop-out amount, but then the impact as a stereoscopic image becomes weaker. Therefore, Japanese Patent Fair 6-85
In order to solve this problem, the one described in Japanese Patent No. 590 changes the viewing distance according to the movement of the image by mechanically driving the eyepiece during the observation with the HMD. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-292093 discloses a method of detecting a gazing point of an observer and moving a lens based on depth information at the gazing point to change the diopter. In these methods, diopter and vergence can be matched. Also, JP-A-7-
In 167633 publication, the optimal gazing point that allows the observer to perceive the depth world of the subject in the widest range from the binocular parallax of the image is calculated, and this is calculated on the surface of the stereoscopic image display unit or at the specified distance from the surface. The method of controlling to reproduce is shown. As a concrete means, a parallax map is calculated from the left and right images by using the correlation matching method, and then an average value of parallax of the entire image or a weighted average value with weighting the image center is calculated. Then, the parallax control unit controls the horizontal read timing of the left and right images using the average value of the parallax, and moves the images in parallel in the horizontal direction. Since this method does not require a mechanical drive system, it can be prevented from increasing in size.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a display state of left-eye and right-eye images in the stereoscopic image display device already proposed by the present inventor (Japanese Patent Application No. 8-28856). As in the case of FIG. 26, two objects (objects), a sphere and a triangular pyramid.
There is an image of a sphere approaching. The left-eye image and the right-eye image at this time transit from (a) to (b) in FIG. 28, and further transit as shown in (c). That is, as shown in the figure, the device according to the above proposal displays left and right images with a substantially constant parallax regardless of the movement of the object sphere in the perspective direction.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing how the image of FIG. 28 looks with both eyes when observed with an HMD. As shown,
When the sphere approaches, the image of the sphere becomes large, but the vergence distance L to the sphere does not change. On the other hand, the triangular pyramid does not change in size, but moves to a long distance. That is, the distance difference between the triangular pyramid and the sphere becomes large as in the conventional case. However, the vergence distance L with respect to the sphere is almost constant. This takes advantage of the fact that the human eye is sensitive to changes in relative distance but less sensitive to detection of absolute distance. According to an experiment conducted by the inventor, it has been found that the distance does not appear to change even when viewing a stereoscopic image of only one object (black background) in which the binocular parallax changes. . However, if you show different movements at the same time, you get a three-dimensional effect. In other words, although the distance change between one object and another object is recognized, the distance change of a single object is difficult to understand. In the above proposal, the distance difference between the sphere and the triangular pyramid changes as before, the size of the sphere changes, and the triangular pyramid does not change.As a result, the sphere approaches the observer and the position of the triangular pyramid changes. Does not seem to. Therefore, it is possible to present a stereoscopic image while keeping the convergence distance to the sphere almost constant. At this time, it is better to match the vergence distance L of the sphere in FIG. 29 with the visual distance. Further, it is more preferable to determine whether the observer is gazing at the sphere or gazing at the triangular pyramid with the line-of-sight detector to make the convergence distance of the gazing image substantially constant.

FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the state of fusion of stereoscopic images actually displayed on the left and right display surfaces. The relationship between the binocular parallax and the convergence distance L when observing a stereoscopic image is obtained.
In the figure, when fusion is possible, the convergence distance L, the horizontal position X1 of the sphere on the left display surface and the horizontal position X2 of the sphere on the right display surface when it appears that the sphere exists on the horizontal position -H , (Equation 1) and (Equation 2), respectively.

[0009]

[Equation 1]

[Equation 2]

In the above equation, d is the distance from the middle point between the left and right lenses to the left and right lenses (the right eye has a positive value and the left eye has a negative value). θ is the half angle of view of the lens. Here, the horizontal position X1 and the horizontal position X2 are standardized as follows.

FIG. 31 is a view for explaining how to normalize the horizontal position X1 and the horizontal position X2 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 31, the horizontal center value of the display area is set to 0,
The horizontal length of the display area is standardized as 2. (Equation 1) can be derived from the fact that the triangle formed by the points A, B, and C in FIG. 30 is similar to the triangle formed by the origin 0, the point X1, and the point C on the left display surface. .. Similarly, (Formula 2) can be derived from the fact that the triangle formed by the points D, B, and E is similar to the triangle formed by the origin 0, the origin X2, and the point E on the right display surface. Rewriting the above equations (Equation 1) and (Equation 2) gives the following equation (Equation 3).

[0012]

(Equation 3) In (Equation 3), | x1-x2 | on the left side is the parallax. (Equation 3) indicates that the convergence distance L at the time of fusion is also determined when the parallax is determined, regardless of the horizontal position H.

Next, the permissible value of the change amount of the convergence distance L, that is, the permissible value of the change of the parallax amount will be shown. FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between convergence and accommodation (whether or not the eye is in focus adjustment state). The figure shows the permissible range for vergence-accommodation and change in parallax (reference name “Oplus E” (0 Plus E
) December 1985 PP.103 Physiological optics 15). In this figure, the horizontal axis represents convergence (convergence angle: MW), and the vertical axis represents accommodation (diopter) (D: diopter). As can be understood from this figure, if the amount of change in the congestion is within 4 diopters, the congestion can be presented in a short time.

[0014]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
As in the method described in Japanese Patent No. 33, the optimum gazing point that allows the observer to perceive the depth world of the subject in the widest range from the binocular parallax of the image is calculated, and this is specified from the surface of the stereoscopic image display unit or from the surface. The parallax map is calculated from the left and right images using the correlation matching method, and the required shift amount in the horizontal direction of the left and right image signals is calculated by calculating the binocular distance based on this calculated value. In the method of adjusting the parallax, since the calculation is complicated, the calculation time until the required horizontal shift amount is calculated becomes long. Further, in each of the above conventional techniques and the method already proposed by the present inventor, regarding differences in various conditions such as an individual difference regarding an observer's sense of stereoscopic recognition, an observation situation, an observation environment, and a type of image, Since no special consideration is given, there is a possibility that optimum stereoscopic image display cannot be performed according to the conditions at that time.

In consideration of the conventional problems as described above, the present invention further improves the adaptation speed and cost by shortening the calculation time, and enables optimal stereoscopic image display according to various conditions. It is an object of the present invention to provide a stereoscopic image display device of this type.

[0016]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one invention of the present application is: It is possible to display a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas. And a parallax reading means for reading the parallax of the image displayed on the display means based on the left-eye image signal representing the left-eye image and the right-eye image signal representing the right-eye image. And holding respective data representing a required horizontal shift amount for a left-eye image and a right-eye image for binocular parallax adjustment having respective predetermined relationships with various read parallax values read by the parallax reading means. Required shift amount holding means and each data representing the horizontal shift amount held in the required shift amount holding means according to the current value of parallax read by the parallax reading means. A stereoscopic image display device comprising: binocular parallax control means for searching corresponding data and performing a control operation for effectively changing the binocular parallax based on the searched data. Is. …… (1)

According to another aspect of the present invention: the required shift amount holding means represents a required horizontal shift amount for the left-eye image and the right-eye image in a relationship uniquely corresponding to the current value of parallax. The stereoscopic image display device according to (1) above is a storage device that holds data. …… (2)

Still another invention of the present application is: the required shift amount holding means has a relationship between the left eye image and the right eye in a relationship uniquely corresponding to a deviation between a current value of parallax and a predetermined target parallax value. The stereoscopic image display device according to (1) above, which is a storage device that holds data representing a required horizontal shift amount relating to the image for use. ......
(3)

Still another aspect of the present invention is: the required shift amount holding means has a correspondence relationship between a current value of parallax and data representing the required horizontal shift amount for each corresponding value of a predetermined parameter. The stereoscopic image display device according to (1) above, which is a storage device that holds a series of data of a plurality of systems divided into. …
… (4)

Still another aspect of the present invention is characterized by further comprising: selecting means for selecting one of the series of data of the plurality of series by selecting the parameter. The stereoscopic image display device according to (4) above. …… (5)

[0021] Still another invention of the present application is: (2), (3) or (4) above, wherein the storage device is a memory structure that is detachable from the main body of the apparatus. 3D image display device. ......
(6)

Still another invention of the present application is: display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas; Parallax reading means for reading parallax relating to the video projected on the display means based on the left-eye video signal representing the video for the right eye and the video signal for the right eye representing the video for the right eye, and for variably setting the target parallax value. Target parallax value setting means, differential parallax deriving means for deriving data representing differential parallax which is a deviation between the target parallax value set by the target parallax value setting means and the current value of parallax, and the differential parallax deriving means. And a binocular parallax control means for performing a control operation to effectively change the binocular parallax based on the data representing the differential parallax derived from the stereoscopic image display. It is a play apparatus. …… (7)

Still another aspect of the present invention is that the target parallax value setting means variably sets the target parallax value according to the value of the visual distance related to the display means. The stereoscopic image display device according to the above (7) is characterized. …… (8)

Still another invention of the present application is the above-mentioned (8), further comprising: visual distance detection means for detecting the value of the visual distance related to the display means. The stereoscopic image display device described in 1. ......
…………………………………… (9)

Still another aspect of the present invention is that the target parallax value setting means variably sets the target parallax value in accordance with the value of the interpupillary distance adjustment of the display means. The stereoscopic image display device according to (7) above. …… (10)

Still another invention of the present application is characterized by further comprising: an interpupillary adjustment value detecting means for detecting an interpupillary adjustment value associated with the display means. The stereoscopic image display device according to (10). …… (11)

Still another aspect of the present invention is that the target parallax value setting means variably sets the target parallax value according to the parallax value read by the parallax reading means. The stereoscopic image display device according to (7) above. …… (12)

Still another aspect of the present invention is that the target parallax value setting means is configured to variably set the target parallax value according to the operating status of the operating means that responds to an external operation. The above (7) characterized in that
The stereoscopic image display device described in 1. …… (1
3)

Still another aspect of the present invention is: display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and the left eye. Parallax reading means for reading the parallax relating to the video projected on the display means based on the left-eye video signal representing the video for right and the right-eye video signal representing the video for the right eye, and the parallax read by the parallax reading means. The required shift amount for obtaining data representing the required horizontal shift amount for the left-eye image and the right-eye image for binocular parallax adjustment according to the control parameter related to the deviation between the current value of the The calculation means and the data obtained by performing a process of effectively increasing or decreasing or multiplying the deviation between the current value of the parallax and the predetermined target parallax value in a selected form as required are described above. Control parameter selecting means for supplying the required shift amount calculation means as a control parameter,
A stereoscopic image display device comprising: … (14)

Still another invention of the present application is: display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas; Parallax reading means for reading parallax relating to the video image displayed on the display means based on the left-eye video signal representing the video image and the right-eye video signal representing the right video image, and a predetermined target parallax value and parallax value. A difference parallax deriving means for deriving data representing a difference parallax which is a deviation from the current value, and an effective change of the binocular parallax based on the data representing the difference parallax derived by the difference parallax deriving means. A binocular parallax control unit that performs a control operation, a first operation mode in which the control operation that effectively changes the binocular parallax in the binocular parallax control unit can be performed, and a second operation mode that cannot be performed. And switching means for switching, a three-dimensional image display apparatus characterized by including the. … (15)

Still another invention of the present application is: display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas; Parallax reading means for reading parallax relating to a video image displayed on the display means based on a left-eye video signal representing a video image and a right-eye video signal representing a right-eye video image,
Differential parallax deriving means for deriving data representing differential parallax which is a deviation between a predetermined target parallax value and the current value of parallax, and the binocular parallax based on the data representing differential parallax derived by the differential parallax deriving means. Binocular disparity control means for controlling so as to change effectively, and damping for suppressing this change from becoming steep with respect to the effective change of the binocular disparity by the binocular disparity control means. Means and
A stereoscopic image display device comprising: … (16)

Still another aspect of the present invention is: the stereoscopic image display device has a gazing point detecting means for detecting a gazing point of an observer, and the damping means uses the gazing point detecting means. The stereoscopic image display device according to (16) above, which is activated when it is detected that the point of gaze has changed. ………………
(17)

According to the present invention described above, this type of stereoscopic image is adapted to further improve the adaptation speed and cost by shortening the calculation time, and to perform optimal stereoscopic image display according to various conditions. A display device can be realized.

[0034]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a stereoscopic image display device as an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claim 1 and the like). Right eye 10R and left eye 10
Right eye LCD having right eye image display surface corresponding to each L
Left-eye LCD 1 having 11R and left-eye image display surface
1L is provided so that each image on the display surface of each of the LCDs 11R and 11L can be recognized by an observer through the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L as an image by the right eye eyepiece optical system 12R and the left eye eyepiece optical system 12L. Has been done. The right-eye image signal from the image reproduction device 31 for reproducing and outputting the stereoscopic image signal is supplied to the right-eye LCD 11R through the image shift circuit 32R and the right-eye LCD driver circuit 33R to generate the right-eye image. LCD11R
It is designed to be projected on. Similarly, LC for the left eye
The video signal for the left eye from the video reproduction device 31 is supplied to the D11L through the video shift circuit 32L and the LCD driver circuit 33L for the left eye, and the video for the left eye is supplied to the LCD.
It is designed to be projected on 11L.

In the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the right eye 10R
And either left eye 10L (in this case, left eye 10L)
Accordingly, a line-of-sight detector 18 for detecting the line-of-sight of the eye is provided, which includes a light source 15 and a photoelectric conversion element 17 for receiving reflected light from the eyeball surface of the light projected from the light source 15 through a lens 16. It is provided. Line-of-sight detector 18
The line-of-sight detection signal (which serves as information representing the part of the video image that is being watched by the observer) is supplied to the line signal extraction circuit 45. This line signal extraction circuit 45
Is also supplied with a video signal for the right eye and a video signal for the left eye from the video reproduction device 31, and based on these supplied signals, the video signal of each one horizontal line of the gaze part of the observer in the left and right images. It is extracted and supplied to the correlation calculation circuit 46 together with the supplied line-of-sight detection signal. The correlation calculation circuit 46 calculates a parallax value between the video signal for the right eye and the video signal for the left eye based on the correlation of the video signals of the both horizontal lines, and outputs a parallax signal representing the calculated parallax value. The line-of-sight detector 18, the line signal extraction circuit 45, and the correlation calculation circuit 46 constitute a parallax reading unit 40 that reads the parallax of the image displayed on the display unit based on the right-eye image signal and the left-eye image signal. To do.

Parallax reading means 40 (correlation calculation circuit 4
The parallax signal which is the output of 6) is supplied to the address conversion circuit 47. The address conversion circuit 47 converts the value of the parallax signal thus supplied into the data of the address number corresponding to this value and outputs it. Of the data stored in the table in the memory 48 as the required shift amount holding means for holding the data of the required horizontal shift amounts for the right-eye image and the left-eye image by the data of this address number, The corresponding one is retrieved and read from the memory 48. The data representing the required shift amount thus read out, that is, the shift amount signal is supplied to the video shift circuits 32R and 32L, respectively.

The video shift circuits 32R and 32L use the video reproduction device 3 based on the signals representing the required shift amount.
For the right-eye video signal and the left-eye video signal from 1, the right-eye LCD 11R and the left-eye LCD 11
Each image on L is horizontally shifted by the required shift amount, and signal processing is performed so that the binocular parallax of the right-eye image and the left-eye image is appropriate.

The video shift circuits 32R and 32L,
The line signal extraction circuit 45, the correlation calculation circuit 46, and the address conversion circuit 47 may be integrated as a digital circuit or may be configured as individual data processing devices or circuits.
Also, all or part of the left eye LCD driver circuit 33L may be configured to be included in the data processing device or circuit as a digital circuit.

Further, in the above description, the horizontal display position of the target video pattern is shifted (together with the background) within each display surface of the right-eye video image and the left-eye video image. The display planes of the eye image and the left eye image (right-eye LCD 11R and left-eye LCD 11L, which are display devices) are shifted for each, and as a result, the horizontal of the noticeable image pattern displayed on these display surfaces. The display position may be configured to be shifted (with the background).

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the line signal extraction and correlation calculation in the parallax reading means 40 in the apparatus of FIG. Now, for example, the LCD 11R for the right eye and the LCD 11 for the left eye as shown in FIG.
It is assumed that there is a right-eye image 50R and a left-eye image 50L of a triangular pyramid and a sphere projected on L, and the observer's left eye is gazing at the sphere as indicated by the cross mark. The gaze point detection is performed by the line-of-sight detector 18 by a method known per se, and the coordinates (x ', y') of the gaze point position are determined.

Next, only the signal on the line y'is extracted from the right-eye video signal and the left-eye video signal (FIG. 2 (b) part). As a result, the coordinates (x ′,
The video signals of the horizontal line corresponding to the vertical coordinate y'in y ') are extracted as the left y'line video signal and the right y'line video signal, respectively. For each of the left y'line image signal and the right y'line image signal extracted as described above, the correlation is calculated along the horizontal coordinate x'in the coordinate (x ', y'). For example, the correlation between the signal in the. +-.. DELTA.x section centered on x'of the left y'line image signal and the right y'line image signal is examined. That is, the parallax amount is determined from this time difference by detecting the time difference of the corresponding part of the right eye image having the highest correlation with the signal existing at the horizontal coordinate x'of the left eye image. The shift amount calculation circuit calculates the required shift amount based on the information thus obtained.

FIG. 3 shows a line signal extraction circuit 4 of the apparatus shown in FIG.
5 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of a correlation calculation circuit 5 and a correlation calculation circuit 46. FIG. In this example, as shown in the figure, the right line memory 66R, the left line memory 66L, the multiplier 67, and the integrator 68 are provided. Each line memory 66R,
66L is supplied with a video signal for the right eye and a video signal for the left eye from the video reproduction device 31 (FIG. 1), respectively, and is also provided with a hold signal from the counter 65. A horizontal synchronizing signal is input to the counter 65, and designated line information is input to the counter 65. Here, the line information is input according to the y-coordinate information of the gazing point coordinates determined based on the output of the line-of-sight detector 18. Set.

In the configuration of FIG. 3, the counter 65 counts the pulses of the horizontal synchronizing signal, and the right-eye video signal and the right-eye video signal when the specified number of lines obtained by the visual axis detection are obtained. Write to the line memories 66R and 66L. As described above, the line memories 66R, 66
A parallax signal is obtained by taking out only a required signal from the video signals written in L and performing multiplication and integration through a multiplier 67 and an integrator 68. Here, the parallax reading means 40 may of course perform the calculation using a plurality of horizontal line video signals.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the format of a table in the memory 48 as the required shift amount holding means of the apparatus of FIG. 1 (corresponding to claim 2 etc.). FIG. 4A shows the memory 48.
As a result, when a ROM fixedly provided for this apparatus is applied, the state of table data held in this ROM is shown. As shown in the figure, the read parallax C and the corresponding horizontal shift amounts S for the right-eye image and the left-eye image corresponding to the read parallax C are held in the table in the relation as shown. The read parallax signal output from the parallax reading unit 40 of FIG. 1 is associated with each address number having a fixed correspondence relationship in each range of a predetermined value of the read parallax signal in the address conversion circuit 47 at the next stage, The address numbers (that is, this corresponds to the reading parallax C) C0 and C2 output from the conversion circuit 47.
, ..., Cn depends on the required horizontal shift amount S0,
S1, S2, ... Sn are searched and taken out as a shift amount signal.

FIG. 4B shows a state of table data held in the IC memory card when an IC memory card having a detachable memory structure is applied to this apparatus as the memory 48. As shown in the figure, by preparing a plurality of types of IC memory cards having various tables such as type A, type B, ... And selectively applying these, user's preference and situation You can see the stereoscopic image in the optimal condition according to.

According to the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, it is possible to perform the complicated calculation based on the read parallax without calculating the required horizontal shift amount for the right eye image and the left eye image. By directly searching the table data, the required horizontal shift amount can be obtained easily and quickly. Therefore, the response speed for controlling the image to be projected so as to adapt to the state suitable for observing with this apparatus becomes extremely fast.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claims 4, 5 and the like). In FIG. 5, a right-eye LCD 11R having a right-eye image display surface and a left-eye LCD 11L having a left-eye image display surface are provided corresponding to the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L, respectively.
The configuration in which the images on the display surfaces of D11R and 11L are recognized by the observer through the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L as images by the right eye eyepiece optical system 12R and the left eye eyepiece optical system 12L is shown in FIG. It is similar to the embodiment. Further, the right-eye LCD 11R is supplied with the right-eye image signal from the image reproducing device 31 for reproducing and outputting the stereoscopic image signal through the image shift circuit 32R and the right-eye LCD driver circuit 33R, and the right-eye image is displayed. Is the same LCD
The LCD 11L for the left eye is adapted to be displayed on 11R.
The video signal for the left eye from the video reproduction device 31 is supplied to the video shift circuit 32L and the LCD driver circuit 3 for the left eye.
The point that the image for the left eye is supplied through the 3L and is displayed on the LCD 11L is also similar to the embodiment of FIG.

In the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the parallax reading circuit 40 for reading the parallax relating to the image projected on the display means based on the right-eye image signal and the left-eye image signal from the image reproducing device 31. 'Is provided. This parallax reading circuit 40 'has a part of the same construction as the parallax reading means 40 in the embodiment of FIG. 1 and shows the correlation of the video signals of each predetermined horizontal line in the left and right images displayed on the display means. A parallax value is calculated and the parallax value regarding the images is calculated, and a parallax signal representing the calculated parallax value is output.

The parallax signal output from the parallax reading circuit 40 'is supplied to the mixer 41 as one of the input signals. As the other input of the mixer 41, a signal representing the value of the parameter K selectively generated by the switch circuit 49 or the trimmer circuit 49a for selectively operating the parameter K described later is supplied. The mixer 41 mixes the parallax signal which is both of these input signals and the signal representing the value of the parameter K, and supplies the mixed signal to the address conversion circuit 47 'of the next stage. The address conversion circuit 47 'converts the parallax signal thus supplied and the signal representing the value of the parameter K into the data of the address number corresponding to both values and outputs them. The memory 4 serving as a required shift amount holding unit that holds data of required horizontal shift amounts for the right-eye image and the left-eye image by the data of the address number.
Of the data stored in the table in 8 ', the data corresponding to the address number is searched and read from the memory 48'. The data representing the required shift amount read in this way, that is, the shift amount signal is the video shift circuit 32.
Supplied to R and 32L respectively.

The video shift circuits 32R and 32L use the video reproduction device 3 based on the respective signals representing the required shift amount.
For the right-eye video signal and the left-eye video signal from 1, the right-eye LCD 11R and the left-eye LCD 11
Each image on L is horizontally shifted by the required shift amount, and signal processing is performed so that the binocular parallax of the right-eye image and the left-eye image is appropriate.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of a table held in the memory 48 'applied to the embodiment of FIG. Part (a) of FIG. 6 shows data S representing the required shift amount in a form corresponding to the above-mentioned reading parallax C and the value of the parameter K.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state of the prepared ROM table, and FIG. 6B is a diagram for explaining how the characteristic of the shift amount by the data S differs depending on the selection of the parameter K. As will be understood with reference to part (a) of FIG. 6, in the memory 48 ', the data C0, C1, C2, ..., Cn of the current value of the parallax signal C and the selection of the parameter K are selected. Data representing values K0, K1, K2, ...
, Kn and data representing the required shift amount corresponding to the address (C, K) determined by the address conversion circuit 47 'are prepared in the form of ROM data or the like. Further, as understood with reference to part (b) of FIG. 6, by changing the selection value of the parameter K, the degree of change in the horizontal shift amount according to the current value of parallax (read parallax C) can be selected. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the user of the apparatus operates the switch circuit 49 or the trimmer circuit 49a to arbitrarily select the value of the parameter K, so that the user can select the optimum value according to his or her preference and situation. You can see stereoscopic images in the state.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining how the appearance of the image changes in response to the selection of the value of the parameter K as described above. In the figure, when a triangular pyramid image and a sphere image exist in different perspectives, the appearance of both images differs depending on the value of the parameter K. For example, when K = Kn, the image of the sphere changes so as to increase as the binocular parallax (and thus the vergence angle) remains fixed. As a result, the position of the image of the triangular pyramid looks relatively far, and K = When K0 is set, the position of the image of the triangular pyramid does not change, and the image of the sphere changes so that the binocular parallax (and thus the angle of convergence) gradually increases and appears relatively closer. When K is set to an intermediate value between Kn and K0, the image of the sphere changes so that the binocular parallax (and thus the angle of convergence) gradually increases, and the image of the triangular pyramid appears to be distant. The distance between the two will appear to be increasing.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the image shift circuits 32R and 32L, the parallax reading circuit 40 ', and the address conversion circuit 47' may be integrated as a digital circuit or configured as individual data processing devices or circuits. Often,
Furthermore, the video reproducing device 31 and the LCD driver circuit 3 for the right eye
All or part of the 3R and left-eye LCD driver circuit 33L may be configured to be included in the data processing device or circuit as a digital circuit.

Further, in the above description, the horizontal display position of the video pattern of interest is shifted (together with the background) within each display surface of the video for the right eye and the video for the left eye, but this embodiment is also applicable. , Each of the display surfaces of the right-eye image and the left-eye image (right-eye LCD 11R and left-eye LCD 11L that are display devices) are shifted.
As a result, the horizontal display position of the video pattern of interest displayed on these display surfaces may be shifted (along with the background).

FIG. 8 shows the present invention (corresponding to claims 7, 13 and the like).
It is a block diagram showing an embodiment. In FIG.
A right-eye LCD 11R having a right-eye image display surface and a left-eye LCD 11L having a left-eye image display surface are provided corresponding to the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L, respectively.
The configuration in which the images on the display surfaces of the CDs 11R and 11L are recognized by an observer through the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L as images by the right eyepiece optical system 12R and the left eyepiece optical system 12L is shown in FIGS. This is similar to the embodiment of FIG. In addition, the right-eye image signal from the image reproduction device 31 for reproducing and outputting a stereoscopic image signal is output to the right-eye LCD 11R by the image shift circuit 32R and the right-eye LCD.
The image for the right eye is supplied through the driver circuit 33R so that the image for the right eye is displayed on the LCD 11R.
The video signal for the left eye from the video reproduction device 31 is supplied to the D11L through the video shift circuit 32L and the LCD driver circuit 33L for the left eye, and the video for the left eye is supplied to the LCD.
The point of being displayed on 11L is also the same as the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5.

Further, a parallax reading circuit 40 'similar to that in FIG. 5 for reading the parallax relating to the image displayed on the display means based on the right-eye image signal and the left-eye image signal from the image reproducing device 31. Is provided. In particular, in the embodiment of FIG. 8, the parallax signal output from the parallax reading circuit 40 'is supplied as one of the input signals to the difference calculator 42 as the difference parallax deriving means. The target parallax setting circuit 4 is used as the other input of the difference calculator 42.
A signal representing the target parallax from 4 is supplied.

The parallax signal which is the output of the parallax reading circuit 40 'is supplied to the target parallax setting circuit 44 from one of its input terminals, and the switch circuit 49 or the trimmer circuit 4 is supplied.
A signal is supplied which represents the value of the parameter α selectively generated by 9a. The target parallax setting circuit 44 selectively sets the target parallax value on the basis of the parallax signal which is the both input signals and the signal representing the value of the parameter α, and supplies the signal representing the target parallax value to the difference calculator 42. .
The difference calculator 42 generates a difference signal representing the deviation between the target parallax value based on this signal and the read parallax value (current parallax value) based on the parallax signal, and supplies it to the shift amount calculation circuit 43 in the next stage. The shift amount calculation circuit 43 generates data of each required horizontal shift amount for the right-eye image and the left-eye image, that is, the shift amount signal based on the difference signal thus supplied. The shift amount signal thus generated is supplied to the video shift circuits 32R and 32L, respectively.

The video shift circuits 32R and 32L use the video reproduction device 3 based on the respective signals representing the required shift amount.
For the right-eye video signal and the left-eye video signal from 1, the right-eye LCD 11R and the left-eye LCD 11
Each image on L is horizontally shifted by the required shift amount, and signal processing is performed so that the binocular parallax of the right-eye image and the left-eye image is appropriate. According to the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 8 above, the adaptive adjustment operation can be performed according to the value of the read parallax.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing various modes of setting the target parallax in the parallax setting circuit 44 in the embodiment of FIG. For all cases of (a) to (g) of FIG.
The horizontal axis represents the read parallax value (current parallax value), the vertical axis represents the target parallax value, and C0 represents the parallax value when the vergence distance and the parallax distance (diopter) are equal. In (a) above, the target parallax with respect to the reading parallax changes linearly, and in (b) above, the target parallax becomes flat in the vicinity section where the reading parallax value becomes C0 and linearly increases linearly in the sections before and after this. (C) is the same as that of
This is a polygonal change mode in which the reading parallax value tends to monotonously increase linearly in the vicinity of the section and becomes flat in the sections before and after this, and (d) is the same step-like change. (E) is a sawtooth-like variation, and (f) is flat when the reading parallax value reaches a predetermined value exceeding C0, and is flat in the subsequent regions. This is a polygonal linear variation that linearly increases linearly, and in (g), the reading parallax value is C0.
When it reaches a predetermined value exceeding, it is flat, and in the subsequent region, it is a non-linear monotonically increasing change.
In either case, when α = α0, the reading parallax and the target parallax are set to have the same relationship. In all cases (a) to (g), the same reading parallax value (current parallax value) is obtained according to the values α0 to αn of the parameter α selectively generated by the switch circuit 49 or the trimmer circuit 49a. ), Different values are selected as the target parallax values selected, that is, curves having different rates of change are selected as shown in the figure. According to the embodiment in which the parallax setting circuit 44 exhibiting the characteristics described with reference to FIG. 9 is applied to the configuration of FIG.
In addition to performing the adaptive adjustment operation according to the value of the read parallax, the user of the present device operates the switch circuit 49 or the trimmer circuit 49a to arbitrarily select the value of the parameter α. You can see stereoscopic images in the optimal condition according to your taste and situation.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claims 7 to 11). In FIG. 10, a right-eye LCD 11R having a right-eye image display surface and a left-eye LCD 11L having a left-eye image display surface are provided respectively corresponding to the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L, and these LCDs 11R and 11L are provided. The image on the display surface is displayed by the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L as an image by the right eyepiece optical system 12R and the left eyepiece optical system 12L. In the embodiment of FIG. 10, in particular, the LCD 11R for the right eye and the eyepiece optical system 12R for the right eye are integrally provided in one right lens frame 12Rf, and the LCD 11R is provided by the diopter adjustment mechanism 11Rm. The diopter is adjusted by adjusting the distance from the system 12R. LCD1 for left eye
Similarly, 1L is integrally provided in one left lens frame 12Lf together with the eyepiece optical system 12L for the left eye, and the LCD 11
L is configured so that the diopter adjustment mechanism 11Lm adjusts the diopter by adjusting the distance from the eyepiece optical system 12L. Further, the right lens frame 12Rf and the left lens frame 12Lf are coupled to each other via an interpupillary distance adjusting mechanism 12A, and the interpupillary distance adjusting mechanism 12A is configured to adjust the left and right mirror frames, and thus the interpupillary distance. There is. Further, the adjustment state of the diopter by the diopter adjusting mechanisms 11Ra and 11La is detected by the diopter adjusting sensor 11Ad to obtain a viewing distance value signal. Further, the condition of the interpupillary distance adjustment by the interpupillary distance adjustment mechanism 12A is detected by the interpupillary distance sensor 12Ad to obtain the interpupillary distance signal. The diopter adjustment mechanisms 11Rm and 11Lm are configured to work together.

To the right-eye LCD 11R, the right-eye video signal from the video reproducing device 31 for reproducing and outputting the stereoscopic video signal is supplied through the video shift circuit 32R and the right-eye LCD driver circuit 33R to the right-eye LCD 11R. The image is the same LC
The LCD 11 for the left eye is adapted to be displayed on the D11R.
The left-eye video signal from the video reproduction device 31 is supplied to L through the video shift circuit 32L and the left-eye LCD driver circuit 33L, and the left-eye video is supplied to the LCD 11L.
It is similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 to 7 in that it is displayed on the screen.

Further, the parallax reading circuit 4 for reading the parallax relating to the image displayed on the display means based on the right-eye image signal and the left-eye image signal from the image reproducing device 31.
0 'is provided. The parallax signal output from the parallax reading circuit 40 'is supplied to the difference calculator 42 as the difference parallax deriving means as one input signal thereof. As the other input of the difference calculator 42, a target parallax setting circuit 44 '
A signal representing the target parallax from is supplied.

The target parallax setting circuit 44 'receives the visual distance value signal from the diopter adjustment sensor 11Ad and the eye distance value signal from the eye distance sensor 12Ad. The target parallax setting circuit 44 'substitutes numerical values for the visual distance L and the eye width d in the above-mentioned (Equation 3) based on these both input signals to perform calculation, for example, to obtain the target parallax value (left side in the Equation 3). Of the target parallax value is supplied to the difference calculator 42. The difference calculator 42 generates a difference signal representing the deviation between the target parallax value based on this signal and the read parallax value (current parallax value) based on the parallax signal, and supplies it to the shift amount calculation circuit 43 in the next stage. The shift amount calculation circuit 43 generates data of each required horizontal shift amount for the right-eye image and the left-eye image, that is, a shift amount signal based on the difference signal thus supplied. The shift amount signal thus generated is supplied to the video shift circuits 32R and 32L, respectively.

The video shift circuits 32R and 32L use the video reproduction device 3 based on the respective signals representing the required shift amount.
For the right-eye video signal and the left-eye video signal from 1, the right-eye LCD 11R and the left-eye LCD 11
Each image on L is horizontally shifted by the required shift amount, and signal processing is performed so that the binocular parallax of the right-eye image and the left-eye image is appropriate. FIG. 10 above
According to the embodiment described above, an appropriate adjustment operation can be performed according to the adjustment state of the pupil distance and the diopter.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claim 14 etc.). In FIG.
A right-eye LCD 11R having a right-eye image display surface and a left-eye LCD 11L having a left-eye image display surface are provided corresponding to the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L, respectively.
The configuration in which the images on the display surfaces of the CDs 11R and 11L are recognized by an observer through the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L as images by the right eyepiece optical system 12R and the left eyepiece optical system 12L is shown in FIGS. This is similar to the embodiment of FIG. In addition, the right-eye image signal from the image reproduction device 31 for reproducing and outputting a stereoscopic image signal is output to the right-eye LCD 11R by the image shift circuit 32R and the right-eye LCD.
The image for the right eye is supplied through the driver circuit 33R so that the image for the right eye is displayed on the LCD 11R.
The video signal for the left eye from the video reproduction device 31 is supplied to the D11L through the video shift circuit 32L and the LCD driver circuit 33L for the left eye, and the video for the left eye is supplied to the LCD.
The point of being displayed on 11L is also the same as the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5.

A parallax reading circuit 40 'similar to that shown in FIG. 5 for reading the parallax relating to the image displayed on the display means based on the right-eye image signal and the left-eye image signal from the image reproducing device 31. Is provided. In particular, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the parallax reading circuit 40 '.
The parallax signal which is the output of is supplied to the difference calculator 42 for deriving a signal corresponding to the deviation from the target parallax value as one of the input signals. As the other input of the difference calculator 42, a signal representing the target parallax from the target parallax storage circuit 44a that holds a predetermined target parallax value is supplied. The target parallax value is, for example, the LCDs 11R and 11 described above.
L and the eyepiece optical systems 12R and 12L, etc. are set to correspond to the visual distance and the like peculiar to the display means.

The output of the difference calculator 42 is supplied to the shift amount calculation circuit 43 through the multiplier 42a. The multiplier 42a is supplied with a signal representing the value of the coefficient β which is a control parameter selectively generated by the switch circuit 49 or the trimmer circuit 49a. That is, the shift amount calculation circuit 43 is supplied with a value obtained by multiplying the output of the difference calculator 42 by this coefficient β. Shift amount calculation circuit 43
Then, based on the signal thus supplied, data of each required horizontal shift amount for the right-eye image and the left-eye image, that is, a shift amount signal is generated. The shift amount signal thus generated is supplied to the video shift circuits 32R and 32L, respectively.

The video shift circuits 32R and 32L use the video reproduction device 3 based on the respective signals representing the required shift amount.
For the right-eye video signal and the left-eye video signal from 1, the right-eye LCD 11R and the left-eye LCD 11
Each image on L is horizontally shifted by the required shift amount, and signal processing is performed so that the binocular parallax of the right-eye image and the left-eye image is appropriate. In the above example, the multiplier 42a is provided so as to be interposed between the difference calculation circuit 42 and the shift amount calculation circuit 43, but the position at which the multiplier 42a is provided is not limited to this. For example, the parallax reading circuit 40 'and the difference calculator 42
It may be provided so as to be interposed between the target parallax storage circuit 44a and the output of the target parallax storage circuit 44a, and may be provided so as to be multiplied by a coefficient. As shown in the various examples above, the multiplier 42
a is a circuit capable of effectively increasing / decreasing or multiplying the deviation (output of the difference calculator 42) of the deviation between the current value of the parallax and a predetermined target parallax value. It can be effectively functioned by providing it in a proper place. According to the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 11 above,
The user of the device uses the switch circuit 49 or the trimmer circuit 4
By operating 9a to arbitrarily select the value of the coefficient β which is a control parameter, it is possible to view a stereoscopic image in an optimal state according to the user's preference and situation.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the case of applying the embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claim 15). The part (a) of FIG.
It shows that a reproduced electronic image and a real object (outside light) are simultaneously observed. LCD 11 for left eye
L is a backlight 11La and LC as shown in FIG.
And D11Lb. The eyepiece optical system 12L for the left eye is a prism having a concave mirror 12La on the inner surface of its bottom and a half mirror 12Lb provided substantially diagonally in the center of the inside. A liquid crystal shutter 12S is provided on the incident surface side of external light with respect to this prism. The liquid crystal shutter 12S can be switched between a light blocking state and a light transmitting state by applying a control voltage from the outside.
When the liquid crystal shutter 12S is in the light transmitting state, outside light is transmitted through the liquid crystal shutter 12S and the half mirror 12Lb of the prism 12L and is incident on the left eye 10L, so that the outside scene can be observed. At the same time, the light of the electronic image from the LCD 11L for the left eye is reflected by the half mirror 12 of the prism 12L.
After passing through Lb once, it is reflected by the concave mirror 12La on the inner surface of the bottom of the prism 12L, is further reflected by the half mirror 12Lb and is incident on the left eye 10L, so that the virtual image of the electronic image is superimposed on the outside scene described above. To be observed. In the figure, only the system for the left eye is shown, but it goes without saying that the system for the right eye is similarly configured. FIG.
Similarly, in part (b) of FIG. 2, a stereoscopic television shows a state in which an actual object existing in front of the display screen and an electronic image by the television are simultaneously observed. The observer fuses the stereoscopic image (fusion) in consciousness by switching between the left-eye image and the right-eye image for each field by using the glasses with the deflection plate, but Will directly look at the same object with both eyes through glasses.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining the appearance of an image perceived by the observer in the case described with reference to FIG. In this example, as for the electronic images on the LCDs 11R and 11L, it is assumed that the images of the triangular pyramid and the sphere are observed by the HMD, as described above with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the image of the sphere becomes larger as the sphere approaches, but the vergence distance L with respect to the sphere does not change. On the other hand, the triangular pyramid does not change in size, but moves to a long distance.
In other words, the distance difference between the triangular pyramid and the sphere is perceived as gradually increasing. However, the vergence distance L with respect to the sphere is almost constant. As already mentioned, this takes advantage of the fact that the human eye is sensitive to changes in relative distance but less sensitive to detection of absolute distance. To the observer, it appears that the sphere is approaching and the triangular pyramid is not changing position.
Therefore, while keeping the convergence distance to the sphere almost constant,
It is possible to present a stereoscopic image. At this time,
In the case of FIG. 13, as described in FIG. 12A, the actual image of the external light is simultaneously observed. In such a situation, it is perceived that the distance between the real image and the image of the sphere does not change, and due to this, the convergence distance related to the image of the sphere remains constant. Therefore, it becomes impossible to perceive the movement in the depth direction.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claim 15). In FIG. 14, a right-eye LCD 11R having a right-eye image display surface and a left-eye LCD 11L having a left-eye image display surface are provided corresponding to the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L, respectively.
The configuration in which the images on the display surfaces of D11R and 11L are recognized by the observer through the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L as images by the right eyepiece optical system 12R and the left eyepiece optical system 12L has been described above. It is similar to the embodiment. The difference between this embodiment and the above-described embodiment is that
The right-eye and left-eye video signals from the video reproduction device 31 are passed through the respective video shift circuits 32R and 32L, and the right-eye and left-eye LCD driver circuits 33R and 33L are provided.
In each of the signal paths to be supplied to the right eye and left eye video signals by bypassing these video shift circuits 32R and 33L without switching through the video shift circuits 32R and 33L.
The second circuit system for supplying the driver circuits 33R and 33L is added. When the second circuit system is selected by the switching operation, the video is not shifted in the horizontal direction.

As shown in the figure, this second circuit system includes switching circuits 31XR and 31XL which are controlled to be switched by a switching circuit 49b operated by a user.
Thus, for example, when the switching circuits 31XR and 31XL are switched to the contact a side, the right-eye and left-eye video signals are supplied to the video shift circuits 32R and 33L, respectively, and these circuits 32R and 33L are used as described above. The image is shifted in the horizontal direction (first
System). When the switching circuits 31XR and 31XL are switched to the contact b side, the right-eye and left-eye video signals bypass the video shift circuits 32R and 33L, respectively, and bypass the right-eye and left-eye LCD driver circuits 33R. And 33L, and the video shift circuits 32R and 33L do not shift the video in the horizontal direction.

Further, a parallax reading circuit 40 'similar to that in FIG. 5 for reading the parallax relating to the image projected on the display means based on the image signal for the right eye and the image signal for the left eye from the image reproducing device 31. Is provided. The parallax signal output from the parallax reading circuit 40 'generates a shift amount signal representing the required horizontal shift amount of the image corresponding to the parallax signal (read parallax).
3b. This shift amount conversion circuit 43b is shown in FIG.
The configuration is almost the same as that of the circuit unit in which the address conversion circuit 47 for generating the shift amount signal according to the output of the parallax reading unit and the memory 48 in the embodiment are vertically connected. The shift amount conversion circuit 43b supplies the shift amount signals thus generated to the video shift circuits 32R and 32L, respectively.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a manner in which the appearance of an image is switched by system switching in switching circuits 31XR and 31XL in the embodiment of FIG. The state shown in part (a) of FIG. 15 shows a state when the switching circuits 31XR and 31XL are switched to the system on the side of the contact a, and as described above, the control for horizontally shifting the image. As a result, the convergence distance remains constant, and the images of the sphere can be perceived as being relatively closer to each other and further away from the image of the triangular pyramid. The state shown in part (b) shows the state when the switching circuits 31XR and 31XL are switched to the system on the contact b side. As a result, the control for horizontally shifting the image is not performed,
The vergence distance changes and the image of the sphere can be perceived as the distance from the real object increases.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 14, the binocular parallax can be selectively controlled as described above according to the individual difference of the observer, the observation situation, the observation environment, the type of the image, and the like. An operation mode for observing a natural stereoscopic image and a mode for faithfully observing a stereoscopic effect on an actual image can be selected as desired.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claims 16 and 17). In FIG. 16, a right-eye LCD 11R having a right-eye image display surface and a left-eye LCD 11L having a left-eye image display surface are provided respectively corresponding to the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L, and these LCDs 11R and 11L are provided. The configuration in which the image on the display surface is recognized by the observer through the right eye 10R and the left eye 10L as an image by the right eye eyepiece optical system 12R and the left eye eyepiece optical system 12L. Is the same as. Further, the right-eye LCD 11R is supplied with the right-eye image signal from the image reproducing device 31 for reproducing and outputting the stereoscopic image signal through the image shift circuit 32R and the right-eye LCD driver circuit 33R, and the right-eye image is displayed. Is displayed on the LCD 11R, and the LCD for the left eye
A video signal for the left eye from the video reproduction device 31 is supplied to 11L through a video shift circuit 32L and a LCD driver circuit for the left eye 33L, and the video for the left eye is supplied to the LCD 1.
The point of being projected on 1L is also the same as that of the above-described embodiment.

Further, a parallax reading circuit 40 'similar to that in FIG. 5 for reading the parallax relating to the image displayed on the display means based on the right-eye image signal and the left-eye image signal from the image reproducing device 31. Is provided. In the present embodiment, the parallax reading circuit 40 ′ is configured to receive a signal (gaze position signal) that identifies the gaze position detected by the gaze position detector 207 and read the parallax for this gaze position. There is. The parallax signal output from the parallax reading circuit 40 'is supplied to a shift amount conversion circuit 43b which generates a shift amount signal representing a horizontal shift amount of a desired image corresponding to the parallax signal (read parallax). This shift amount conversion circuit 43b has the same configuration as that in the embodiment of FIG. The shift amount conversion circuit 43b supplies the shift amount signals thus generated to the image shift circuits 32R and 32L, respectively. The output of the shift amount conversion circuit 43b is characteristic in the embodiment of FIG. Is supplied to the video shift circuits 32R and 32L via the low-pass filter 43D as the damping means, respectively.

The low-pass filter 43D as the damping means provides a buffering action with a predetermined time constant when the output of the shift amount conversion circuit 43b changes abruptly in a stepwise manner as shown in the figure, thereby providing a video shift circuit. This acts to suppress a phenomenon in which the horizontal positions of the right and left images are rapidly shifted by 32R and 32L. Here, the suppression time ΔT is 100 ms to 10
More preferably, it is between 00 ms. The low-pass filter 43D may be configured to operate only when the gaze position detector 207 changes the gaze position of the observer.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the operation in the embodiment of FIG. As shown in the figure, at first, the image of the sphere in the foreground, which is the gazing point (gazing position), was in the vergence distance, but the binocular parallax regarding the projected image was gradually adjusted, The object on the rear side of the sphere in the depth direction will be perceived as gradually approaching, and eventually it will be perceived as if a triangular pyramid exists at the position where the sphere was originally located. Transition to the state of being. In this final state, the position of interest also coincides with the triangular pyramid, and the image of the sphere appears in front of it.

As described above, a large change in the shift amount that can occur when the observer changes the gaze position can be suppressed, and the flicker of the image can be suppressed. Low-pass filter 43
By operating D only when the observer's gaze position is changed,
The suppression effect is not unnecessarily exerted at the time of image switching or scenes in which the depth of the image changes rapidly.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 16 described above, the output of the shift amount conversion circuit 43b does not suddenly change due to the action of the low-pass filter 43D as the damping means, so that the binocular parallax changes abruptly. Is suppressed, so that the flicker of the image is suppressed and the display of the image is stabilized.

[Various Devices to Which the Present Invention can be Applied] Among the various devices for handling stereoscopic images proposed by the present applicant, the present invention is applied to display of stereoscopic images. Some examples of what gives favorable results are described below.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an apparatus for producing a right-eye image and a left-eye image as computer graphics (CG) as a stereoscopic image producing apparatus.
The stereoscopic image display device 350 of this example is configured as an HMD, and includes the same line-of-sight detector 311 as described above and a head motion sensor 312 that detects the movement of the observer's head (head posture). . Stereoscopic image creation device 350
Rewrites the CG image in real time in accordance with the detected movement of the observer's head. 3D image creation device 3
Reference numeral 50 designates an input device 305 and a display device 304 for inputting various data of a virtual object or a virtual camera, an external storage device 303 for storing the input data, a processing device 301 for creating a CG, and a CG. It is configured by an internal storage device 302 or the like for temporarily storing data at the time of creation. The parallax signal 306, the left-eye video signal 307, the right-eye video signal 308, and the audio signal 309 from the stereoscopic video creation device 350 are the stereoscopic video display device 3.
10, the head motion signal 313 is output from the stereoscopic image display device 310 to the stereoscopic image creation device 350.

In the stereoscopic image creating apparatus 350, when a stereoscopic image is created by using the computer as the processing apparatus 301, a plurality of virtual objects and left and right virtual cameras are arranged in a virtual three-dimensional space, and the left and right cameras are arranged. Generates each video signal of the imaging target. At this time, left and right video signals with parallax are generated respectively. In the case of creating a three-dimensional moving image, a plurality of sequential images are created by moving an object or moving two cameras. The operation of the stereoscopic image display device 310 is the same as that of the stereoscopic image display device 400 ′ of the device shown in FIG. 24 described later.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of a stereoscopic image producing apparatus, and FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a stereoscopic image display apparatus corresponding to the image producing apparatus of FIG. The stereoscopic image display device 400 of FIG. 20 is provided with a line-of-sight detector 130 for detecting the line-of-sight direction of an observer. This line-of-sight detector 13
The line-of-sight direction signal 305 from 0 is transmitted to the stereoscopic image creation apparatus 300 of FIG. 19 via the transmitter 311. On the other hand, FIG.
The stereoscopic image creating apparatus 300 of 9 includes a stereo camera (including a plurality of distance measuring devices 180) 101 and multiplexers 106 and 107.
In addition to the transmitter 108, a receiver 160 that receives the line-of-sight direction signal 305 from the stereoscopic image display device 400, a rangefinder selector 170 that selects one from a plurality of rangefinders 180, and the like are provided.

The stereoscopic image display device 40 by the receiver 160.
The line-of-sight direction signal 161 received from 0 is the rangefinder selector 1
70 is input. Upon receiving this input, the rangefinder selector 1
The reference numeral 70 outputs a selection signal 171 for selecting a distance measuring device having a distance measuring direction suitable for the line of sight of the observer. Upon receiving this selection signal 171, the distance measuring signal 315 from the corresponding distance measuring device 180 is sent to the AF control unit 150 and the parallax calculator 130. The AF control unit 150 is a unit that issues an AF signal 151 based on the distance measurement signal 315 to control the focusing of the camera 101. Therefore, it is possible to create a focused image in the region where the observer is gazing. The parallax calculator 130 also generates a parallax signal 131 by performing a predetermined calculation. In this example, only the distance measurement signal 315 of the selected distance measuring device of the plurality of distance measuring devices 180 is converted. The single parallax signal 131 and the left-eye video signal and right-eye video signal 1 from the stereo camera 101.
11, 112 are synthesized by the multiplexer 106, further synthesized by the multiplexer 107 with the right and left audio signals 113, 114 from the microphones 102, 102, and are transmitted to the stereoscopic image display device 400 by the transmitter 108. Sent.

The stereoscopic image display device 400 of FIG. 20 does not need the function of selecting a specific one from a plurality of parallax signals because the transmitted parallax signal is single. Therefore, the video / audio demultiplexer 20 is received by the receiver 201.
2 and the required shift amount is calculated by the shift amount calculator 140 based on the parallax signal 131 extracted via the video / parallax wave detector 203. With the right-eye video shift signal 141 and the left-eye video shift signal 142 calculated in this way, the left-eye video signal and the right-eye video signal, which are the other output of the video / parallax wave detector 203, are compared. Then, a process for shifting these by the required amount is performed.
In order to display an image shifted in accordance with these shift signals 141 and 142, the right-eye image shift circuit 401R and the right-eye LCD controller 402 are provided for the right eye.
An R, a right-eye LCD 11R, and a right-eye eyepiece optical system 12R are provided. Similarly, for the left eye, the left-eye image shift circuit 401L and the left-eye LCD controller 402
L, a left-eye LCD 11L, and a left-eye eyepiece optical system 12L are provided. The audio signal, which is the other output of the video / audio demultiplexer 202, is reproduced through the audio signal processing circuit 204 and sound is produced from the speaker 405. FIG.
In the apparatus No. 0, the image / parallax wave detector 203 corresponds to the parallax reading means 40 in the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing an example of another device which is substantially similar to the device of FIG. 18 for producing right-eye images and left-eye images as computer graphics (CG) as a stereoscopic image producing device. is there. The stereoscopic image display device 500 of this example is also configured as an HMD, and includes a head motion sensor 512 that detects the movement of the observer's head (posture of the head). The stereoscopic image creating apparatus 500 also rewrites the CG image in real time in accordance with the detected movement of the head of the observer. An input device 505 and a display device 504 for inputting various data of a virtual object or a virtual camera, an external storage device 503 for storing the input data, a processing device 501 for creating a CG, and a CG creation time, etc. The point that the internal storage device 502 or the like for temporarily storing data is stored in FIG.
The device is the same as that of. A parallax signal S40, a left-eye image signal S10, a right-eye image signal S20, and an audio signal S30 are output from the stereoscopic image display device 5 from the stereoscopic image creating device 500.
10, the head motion signal E1 and the line-of-sight direction detection signal E2 from the parallax detector 511 are output from the stereoscopic image display device 510 to the stereoscopic image creation device 500.

In the three-dimensional image producing apparatus 500, when a three-dimensional image is produced by using the computer as the processing apparatus 501, a plurality of virtual objects and left and right virtual cameras are arranged in a virtual three-dimensional space and left and right cameras are arranged. Generates an image to be captured. At this time, left and right images with parallax are generated. In the case of creating a three-dimensional moving image, a plurality of images are created by moving an object or moving two cameras. Particularly in the case of this example, the control of the movement of the camera based on the head motion signal E1 and the line-of-sight direction detection signal E2 can be performed. The operation of the stereoscopic image display device 510 is similar to that of the stereoscopic image display device 400 of FIG. 20 described above.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an example of a three-dimensional image display system of a system in which a three-dimensional image producing device and a corresponding three-dimensional image display device are connected off-line.
In the system of FIG. 22, as shown in the figure, after the stereoscopic image creation device 600 generates a right-eye image and a left-eye image and a plurality of parallax signals, the recording device 610 records the signals on the recording medium 640. During image observation, the signals recorded on the recording medium 640 can be reproduced by the reproducing device 620 and then displayed on the stereoscopic image display device 630. As the recording medium 640, for example, a magnetic tape, a magneto-optical disk or the like can be used. The operation of the stereoscopic image display device 630 is described below with reference to FIG.
Same as 0 '.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram of a stereoscopic image creating apparatus of the stereoscopic image display system related to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a stereoscopic video display device of the stereoscopic video display system, which is a system including an HMD. In FIG. 23, a stereoscopic image creation device 30
0'is a stereo camera (including a plurality of rangefinders 180)
101, microphone 102, parallax calculator 130, and multiplexer 10
6, 107 and the transmitter 108. The distance measurement signal 151 from the distance measuring device 180 is input to the parallax calculator 130, and is output to the multiplexer 106 as the parallax signal 131. The multiplexer 106 combines the parallax signal 131, the right-eye video signal 112 from the right camera of the stereo camera 101, and the left-eye video signal 111 from the left camera.
On the other hand, the left and right microphones 102 output the right audio signal 113 and the left audio signal 114, respectively, and the multiplexer 107
Then, it is multiplexed with the multiplexed signal from the multiplexer 106. The combined video signal, parallax signal, and audio signal are transmitted by the transmitter 1.
08, it is transmitted to the stereoscopic image display device 400 'of FIG.

A plurality of rangefinders 180 are attached to one of the stereo cameras 101, for example. Then, distance measurement is performed in different directions within the angle of view of the camera. The distance measuring directions of the plurality of distance measuring devices can be considered as distance measuring coordinates on the image pickup screen. For example, when distances are measured in nine directions with nine distance measuring devices, it is considered that there are nine distance measuring points by dividing the entire imaging range into three in both the horizontal and vertical directions. The distance signal associated with the distance measuring direction or the distance measuring point coordinates can be calculated by the parallax calculator 130. The plurality of parallax signals obtained by this calculation are converted into serial signals and transmitted as one signal.
In this case, it is important to generate a serial signal so that it can be determined which distance measurement point coordinate each parallax signal corresponds to. As one form, there is a method of superimposing the horizontal synchronizing signal and the vertical synchronizing signal included in the video signal on the serial signal. The distance measurement point coordinates of the parallax signal can be determined by counting the horizontal synchronization signal and the vertical synchronization signal. Further, as another method, there is a method of superimposing a signal indicating the distance measurement point coordinates and a parallax signal. In this case, after being transmitted into the stereoscopic image creating apparatus 300 ', the signal representing the coordinates is used as an address number to be stored in the memory for each parallax signal. The conversion of serial signals as described above is not indispensable in this apparatus, and it goes without saying that a method of transmitting a plurality of parallax signals in parallel may be adopted. In this way,
The plurality of parallax signals 131 are transmitted to the stereoscopic image display device 400 'of FIG. 24 together with the right-eye video image and right-eye video images 111 and 112 and the audio signals 113 and 114.

In FIG. 24, a stereoscopic image display device 40 is shown.
Reference numeral 0'denotes a receiver 201, a video / audio demultiplexer 202, a video / parallax wave splitter 203, a parallax signal selector 410, a shift amount calculator 140, a left-eye video shift circuit 401L and a right-eye video. Shift circuit 401R, left and right LCD controllers 402L and 402R, and audio signal processing circuit 2
04 and HMD. In that HMD,
LCDs 11L and 11R corresponding to both eyes and eyepiece optical systems 12L and 12R for enlarging an image on the LCD surface are respectively arranged, and a line-of-sight detector 190 for detecting the gazing point of the observer and a speaker for outputting sound by a sound signal. 205 is provided.

The signal from the stereoscopic image producing apparatus 300 'shown in FIG. 23 is received by the receiver 201, and the image / audio demultiplexer 20 is received.
After being separated into an audio signal and a video signal in 2, the video / parallax wave detector 123 further separates into a plurality of parallax signals 131, a right-eye video signal 140, and a left-eye video signal 141. The separated left and right video signals are sent to the left and right LCD controllers 402L and 402R, respectively, and are displayed on the LCDs 11L and 11R. On the other hand, the plurality of parallax signals 131, 131 are sent to the parallax signal selector 410. The HMD incorporates a line-of-sight detector 190 that detects the gazing point of the observer. The line-of-sight detector 190 is
It is composed of an infrared light source and a detector. The eyepiece optical system allows the observer to see a magnified virtual image of the LCD image. The line-of-sight detector 190 can determine the gaze coordinates in the observation area from the line-of-sight direction. The observation area is divided into a plurality of small areas, and it is determined which small area is being watched. It is desirable that the division of the small area at this time be the same as the coordinates of the distance measurement point at the time of distance measurement. For example, if three distance measuring points are arranged in the horizontal direction, the line-of-sight detection is also divided into three in the horizontal direction. If nine distance measuring points are arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions, the line-of-sight detection is divided into three correspondingly in the horizontal and vertical directions to form nine small areas.

The line-of-sight direction signal 191 of the line-of-sight detector 190 is sent to the parallax signal selector 410. Parallax signal selector 41
At 0, the coordinates (x, y) of the small area are determined based on the input line-of-sight direction signal 191, and the parallax signal 131 corresponding to this coordinate is selected. As a method of selection, when a horizontal synchronizing signal is added, the horizontal synchronizing signal is counted based on the y signal, and the time from the horizontal synchronizing signal is counted based on the x signal. The parallax signal existing at that position is extracted from these count values. Alternatively, a parallax signal is stored in a memory in which coordinates and address numbers have a one-to-one correspondence, an address number to be read is determined based on the coordinate signal, and the parallax signal stored in the corresponding address number is determined. Read the data. The parallax signal 131 selected in this way is sent to the shift amount calculator 140, where the difference from the predetermined target value is obtained. The value of the diopter of the HMD, the value of the pupil distance, and the value of the angle of view are stored in the memory, and these values are read out and calculated. The left-eye image and the right-eye image are horizontally shifted by a required amount according to the result of this calculation. In the apparatus of FIG. 24, the image / parallax wave detector 203
The visual axis detector 190 and the parallax signal selector 410 correspond to the parallax reading means 40 in the present invention.

The constitutions of the respective inventions included in the present specification, the problems solved by them, and the effects as the invention will be summarized below.

(1) Display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and a left-eye image representing the left-eye image A parallax reading unit for reading parallax relating to the image displayed on the display unit based on the signal and the image signal for the right eye representing the image for the right eye; various read parallax values read by the parallax reading unit; A required shift amount holding means for holding each data representing a required horizontal shift amount for a left-eye image and a right-eye image for binocular parallax adjustment related to each other, and the current parallax read by the parallax reading means. According to the value, the corresponding data among the data representing the horizontal shift amount held in the required shift amount holding means is searched, and the binocular vision is performed based on the searched data. Stereoscopic image display apparatus characterized by including a binocular parallax control means for controlling operation so as to effectively change the a.

In the technique prior to the invention of the above (1), the required shift amount in the horizontal direction of the left and right image signals is calculated and the binocular parallax is adjusted based on this calculated value. Since this calculation is complicated, there is a problem that the calculation time until the required horizontal shift amount is calculated becomes long.

According to the invention of the above (1), the required horizontal shift amount of the image for adjusting the binocular parallax can be promptly derived, so that the image suitable for the condition at the time of observation is obtained. Response speed is improved.

(2) The required shift amount holding means is a storage device that holds data representing a required horizontal shift amount for the left-eye image and the right-eye image in a relationship uniquely corresponding to the current value of parallax. The stereoscopic image display device according to (1) above, which is characterized by being present.

According to the invention of (2) above, in addition to the effect of the invention of (1) above, a device having a faster response speed can be realized.

(3) The required shift amount holding means has a required horizontal shift amount for the left-eye image and the right-eye image in a relationship uniquely corresponding to a deviation between the current value of parallax and a predetermined target parallax value. The stereoscopic image display device according to (1) above, which is a storage device holding data representing

According to the invention of (3) above, in addition to the effects of the inventions of (1) and (2) above, there is an advantage that it is possible to deal with the case where the target parallax value is variably set.

(4) The required shift amount holding means has a plurality of systems of data in which the correspondence between the current value of parallax and the data representing the required horizontal shift amount is divided for each corresponding value of a predetermined parameter. The stereoscopic image display device according to (1) above, which is a storage device held as a series of.

According to the invention of the above (4), it is possible to realize an apparatus for displaying a stereoscopic image which is well adapted to the individual difference of the observer, the observation situation, the observation environment, the type of the image and the like.

(5) The solid according to (4) above, further comprising selection means for selecting one of the plurality of data series by selecting the parameter. Video display device.

According to the invention of the above (5), in addition to the effect of the invention of the above (4), the observer can arbitrarily select the display condition of the stereoscopic image.

(6) The stereoscopic image display apparatus described in (2), (3) or (4) above, wherein the storage device is a memory structure that is detachable from the apparatus body.

According to the invention of the above (6), the above (2),
In addition to the effect of the invention of (3) or (4), by preparing a plurality of types of memory structures, it is possible for an observer to arbitrarily select the display status of a stereoscopic image and various display statuses within the apparatus main body. Since it is not necessary to retain the data corresponding to, the apparatus main body can be inexpensive.

(7) Display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and a left-eye image representing the left-eye image A signal and a parallax reading unit for reading parallax relating to the image displayed on the display unit based on the right-eye image signal representing the right-eye image signal, and a target parallax value setting unit for variably setting the target parallax value, A differential parallax deriving unit that derives data representing a differential parallax that is a deviation between the target parallax value set by the target parallax value setting unit and the current value of the parallax, and a differential parallax derived by the differential parallax deriving unit. Binocular parallax control means for performing a control operation to effectively change the binocular parallax based on the data,
A stereoscopic image display device comprising:

According to the invention described in (7) above, it is possible to realize an apparatus for displaying a stereoscopic image that is well adapted to the individual difference of the observer, the observation situation, the observation environment, the type of image, and the like.

(8) The above-mentioned (7) is characterized in that the target parallax value setting means is adapted to variably set the target parallax value according to the value of the viewing distance related to the display means. The stereoscopic image display device described.

According to the invention of the above (8), in addition to the effect of the invention of the above (7), adaptive adjustment can be performed according to the diopter adjustment situation of the apparatus.

(9) The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to (8), further comprising a visual distance detecting means for detecting the diopter value of the display means.

According to the invention of (9), in addition to the effect of the invention of (8), the visual distance is automatically detected, so that the operability is further improved.

(10) The target parallax value setting means is adapted to variably set the target parallax value in accordance with the value of the interpupillary distance adjustment of the display means. The stereoscopic image display device described in.

According to the invention of (10) above, in addition to the effect of the invention of (7) above, adaptive adjustment can be performed according to the condition of the interpupillary adjustment of the apparatus.

(11) The stereoscopic image according to the above (10), further comprising eye width adjustment value detection means for detecting the value of eye distance adjustment related to the display means. Display device.

According to the invention of the above (11), the above (10)
In addition to the effect of the invention described above, operability is further improved because the interpupillary distance is automatically detected.

(12) The target parallax value setting means is adapted to variably set the target parallax value in accordance with the parallax value read by the parallax reading means. The stereoscopic image display device described.

According to the invention of the above (12), the target parallax changes with the perspective of the original image, so that the three-dimensional movement of the original stereoscopic image can be expressed.

(13) The target parallax value setting means is adapted to variably set the target parallax value in accordance with the operating condition of the operating means which responds to an operation from the outside. The stereoscopic image display device according to 7).

According to the invention of (13) above, in addition to the effect of the invention of (7) above, the observer can select the display condition of the stereoscopic image by an arbitrary operation.

(14) Display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and a left-eye image representing the left-eye image A parallax reading unit that reads the parallax relating to the image displayed on the display unit based on the signal and the image signal for the right eye that represents the image for the right eye, and the current value of the parallax read by the parallax reading unit and a predetermined target parallax. A required shift amount calculating means for obtaining data representing a required horizontal shift amount for the left-eye image and the right-eye image for binocular parallax adjustment according to a control parameter related to the deviation from the value, and the current parallax For the deviation between the value and the predetermined target parallax value, the data that has been subjected to the process of effectively increasing / decreasing or multiplying the value in a selected form is required as the control parameter. Stereoscopic image display device for the control parameter selecting means for supplying to the shift amount calculating means, characterized in that it comprises a.

According to the invention of the above (14), it is possible to realize an apparatus for displaying a stereoscopic image which is well adapted to the individual difference of the observer, the observation situation, the observation environment, the kind of the image and the like.

(15) Display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and a left-eye image representing the left-eye image A parallax reading unit that reads the parallax relating to the image displayed on the display unit based on the signal and the image signal for the right eye that represents the image for the right eye, and the difference that is the deviation between the predetermined target parallax value and the current value of the parallax. Differential parallax deriving means for deriving data representing parallax, and binocular parallax control for performing control operation for effectively changing the binocular parallax based on the data representing differential parallax derived by the differential parallax deriving means. And a first operation mode in which the control operation for effectively changing the binocular parallax in the binocular parallax control means can be performed and a second operation mode in which the control operation cannot be performed. Stereoscopic image display apparatus characterized by including a Toggles means.

According to the invention of the above (15), a natural stereoscopic image can be viewed by controlling the binocular parallax according to the individual difference of the observer, the observation situation, the observation environment, the type of image, and the like. A mode (first mode) and a mode (second mode) in which the original stereoscopic image can be viewed faithfully can be switched and selected.

(16) Display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and a left-eye image representing the left-eye image A parallax reading means for reading the parallax relating to the image displayed on the display means based on the signal and the image signal for the right eye representing the image for the right eye, and the difference which is the deviation between the predetermined target parallax value and the current value of the parallax. Differential parallax deriving means for deriving data representing parallax, and binocular parallax control means for controlling so as to effectively change the binocular parallax based on data representing differential parallax derived by the differential parallax deriving means. And a damping means for suppressing a steep change of the binocular parallax by the binocular parallax control means. Play devices.

According to the invention of the above (16), since the binocular parallax is prevented from changing rapidly, the flickering of the image is suppressed and the image display is stabilized.

(17) The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to (16), wherein the damping means is activated when the gazing point detecting means detects that the gazing point of the observer has changed.

According to the above invention (17), it is possible to suppress the flicker of the image which occurs when the gazing point of the observer is changed.

[0132]

According to the present invention, the stereoscopic image of this kind is adapted to further improve the adaptation speed and cost by shortening the calculation time and to make the optimum stereoscopic image display according to various conditions. A video display device can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a stereoscopic image display device as an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claim 1 and the like).

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining extraction of line signals and correlation calculation in a parallax reading unit in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of a line signal extraction circuit and a correlation calculation circuit of the device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a format of a table in a memory as a required shift amount holding means of the apparatus of FIG. 1 (corresponding to claim 2 and the like).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claims 4 and 5).

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a table held in a memory applied to the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining how the appearance of an image changes in response to selection of the value of parameter K in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claims 7, 13 and the like).

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing various modes of setting a target parallax in a parallax setting circuit in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claims 7 to 11).

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claim 14 or the like).

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a case where an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claim 15) is applied.

13 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state of an image perceived by an observer when FIG. 12 is described.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claim 15).

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing how the appearance of an image is switched by system switching in the switching circuit in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claims 16 and 17).

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the operation in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an apparatus for creating a right-eye image and a left-eye image as computer graphics (CG) as a stereoscopic image creating apparatus.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of a stereoscopic image creation device.

20 is a block diagram of a stereoscopic image display device corresponding to the image creation device of FIG.

21 is a block diagram showing an example of another device that is substantially similar to the device of FIG. 18 that creates a right-eye image and a left-eye image as computer graphics (CG) as a stereoscopic image creation device.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an example of a stereoscopic video display system in which a stereoscopic video creation device and a corresponding stereoscopic video display device are connected offline.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram of a stereoscopic image creating apparatus of the stereoscopic image display system related to the present invention.

24 is a block diagram of a stereoscopic image display device corresponding to the stereoscopic image creation device in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is an external view showing a head device type display device (HMD: Head Mounted Display) which is an example of a stereoscopic image display device.

[Fig. 26] Fig. 26 is a diagram for describing how a stereoscopic image is viewed by a left-eye image and a right-eye image on a stereoscopic image display device.

27 is a diagram showing how the image of FIG. 26 looks when observed with both eyes.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a display state of left-eye and right-eye images in the already proposed stereoscopic image display device.

29 is a diagram showing how the image of FIG. 28 looks with both eyes when observed with an HMD.

[Fig. 30] Fig. 30 is a diagram for describing the state of fusion of stereoscopic images actually displayed on the left and right display surfaces.

31 is a horizontal position X1 and a horizontal position X2 in FIG.
It is a figure for explaining a mode that standardization is carried out.

[Fig. 32] Fig. 32 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between convergence and accommodation (whether or not an eye is in focus adjustment state).

[Explanation of symbols]

10R right eye 10L left eye 11R right eye LCD 11L left eye LCD 12R right eye eyepiece optical system 12L left eye eyepiece optical system 15 light source 16 lens 17 photoelectric conversion element 18 line-of-sight detector 31 image reproducing device 32R right eye Video signal 32L Left eye video signal 33R Right eye LCD driver circuit 40 Parallax reading means 40 'Parallax reading circuit 41 Mixer 42 Difference calculator 42a Multiplier 43 Shift amount calculation circuit 44, 44' Target parallax setting circuit 44a Target parallax Storage circuit 45 Line signal extraction circuit 46 Correlation calculation circuit 47 Address conversion circuit 48 Memory 49 Switch circuit 49a Trimmer circuit 65 Counter 66R Right line memory 66L Left line memory 67 Multiplier 68 Integrator 101 Stereo camera 102 Microphone 106, 107 Combined 108 transmitter 111 left-eye image signal 112 right-eye image signal 140 shift amount calculator 141 right-eye image shift signal 142 left-eye image shift signal 150 AF control unit 151 AF signal 160 receiver 161 eye-gaze direction signal 170 measurement Rangefinder selector 171 Selection signal 180 Rangefinder 300 'Stereoscopic image creation device 301 Processing device 302 Internal storage device 303 External storage device 304 Display device 305 Input device 306 Parallax signal 307 Left eye image signal 308 Right eye image signal 309 Audio signal 310 Stereoscopic image display device 311 Line-of-sight detector 312 Head motion sensor 313 Head motion signal 350,400 'Stereoscopic image display device 400 Stereoscopic image display device 500 Stereoscopic image creating device 510 Stereoscopic image creating device 600 Stereoscopic image creating device 610 Recording device 620 reproducing apparatus 630 three-dimensional display device 700 a head unit display device (HMD: Head M
ounted Display)

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and a left-eye image signal representing the left-eye image. And parallax reading means for reading the parallax relating to the image displayed on the display means based on the image signal for the right eye representing the image for the right eye, and various read parallax values read by the parallax reading means and the respective predetermined relationships. A required shift amount holding means for holding each data representing a required horizontal shift amount for a left-eye image and a right-eye image for binocular parallax adjustment, and a current value of parallax read by the parallax reading means. Corresponding data among the data representing the horizontal shift amount held in the required shift amount holding means, and the binocular parallax is calculated based on the searched data. Stereoscopic image display apparatus for a binocular parallax control means for controlling operation that causes effective manner changed, to become equipped with features. 2. The required shift amount holding means is a storage device that holds data representing a required horizontal shift amount for a left-eye image and a right-eye image in a relationship uniquely corresponding to a current value of parallax. The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stereoscopic image display apparatus is a stereoscopic image display apparatus. 3. The required shift amount holding means sets a required horizontal shift amount for a left-eye image and a right-eye image in a relationship that uniquely corresponds to a deviation between a current value of parallax and a predetermined target parallax value. The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stereoscopic image display apparatus is a storage device that holds data to represent. 4. The required shift amount holding means stores data of a plurality of systems in which a correspondence relationship between a current value of parallax and data representing the required horizontal shift amount is divided for each corresponding value of a predetermined parameter. The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to claim 1, which is a storage device held as a series. 5. A selection means for selecting one of the series of data of the plurality of series by selecting the parameter is further provided.
The stereoscopic image display device described in. 6. The storage device according to claim 2, wherein the storage device is a memory structure that is detachable from the main body of the apparatus.
The stereoscopic image display device according to 3 or 4. 7. A display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and a left-eye image signal representing the left-eye image. And parallax reading means for reading the parallax relating to the image displayed on the display means based on the right-eye image signal representing the right-eye image, target parallax value setting means for variably setting the target parallax value, and Differential parallax deriving means for deriving data representing differential parallax which is a deviation between the target parallax value set by the target parallax value setting means and the current value of parallax, and data representing the differential parallax derived by the differential parallax deriving means. A binocular parallax control means for performing a control operation for effectively changing the binocular parallax based on the above. 8. The target parallax value setting means is adapted to variably set the target parallax value in accordance with the value of the visual distance associated with the display means. 3D image display device. 9. The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a visual distance detecting means for detecting a diopter value of the display means. 10. The target parallax value setting means is adapted to variably set the target parallax value in accordance with the value of the interpupillary distance adjustment of the display means.
The stereoscopic image display device described in. 11. The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising an interpupillary adjustment value detecting means for detecting an interpupillary adjustment value associated with the display means. . 12. The target parallax value setting means is configured to variably set the target parallax value in accordance with the parallax value read by the parallax reading means. 3D image display device. 13. The target parallax value setting means is adapted to variably set the target parallax value in accordance with the operating condition of the operating means in response to an operation from the outside. The stereoscopic image display device described in. 14. Display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and a left-eye image signal representing the left-eye image. And a parallax reading unit that reads the parallax relating to the image displayed on the display unit based on the right-eye image signal representing the right-eye image, and the current value of the parallax read by the parallax reading unit and a predetermined target parallax value. Required shift amount calculation means for obtaining data representing a required horizontal shift amount for the left-eye image and the right-eye image for binocular parallax adjustment according to the control parameter related to the deviation between And a predetermined target parallax value with respect to the deviation, the value is effectively increased / decreased or multiplied in a selected form as required. Stereoscopic image display apparatus characterized by comprising and a control parameter selecting means for supplying the quantity calculating means. 15. Display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and a left-eye image signal representing the left-eye image. And a parallax reading unit that reads parallax relating to the image displayed on the display unit based on a right-eye image signal that represents the right-eye image, and a differential parallax that is a deviation between a predetermined target parallax value and the current parallax value. And a binocular parallax control means for performing a control operation for effectively changing the binocular parallax based on the data representing the differential parallax derived by the differential parallax deriving means. And a switch for switching between a first operation mode in which the control operation for effectively changing the binocular parallax in the binocular parallax control unit can be performed and a second operation mode in which the control operation cannot be performed. A stereoscopic image display device comprising: a changing means. 16. Display means capable of displaying a left-eye image and a right-eye image having binocular parallax in respective predetermined display areas, and a left-eye image signal representing the left-eye image. And a parallax reading unit that reads parallax relating to the image displayed on the display unit based on a right-eye image signal that represents the right-eye image, and a differential parallax that is a deviation between a predetermined target parallax value and the current parallax value. Differential parallax deriving means for deriving data representing, and binocular parallax control means for controlling so as to effectively change the binocular parallax based on the data representing the differential parallax derived by the differential parallax deriving means, A stereoscopic image display, comprising: a damping unit for suppressing a steep change of the binocular parallax by the effective change of the binocular parallax control unit. Ray device. 17. The stereoscopic image display device has a gazing point detecting means for detecting a gazing point of an observer, and the damping means detects that the gazing point of the observer has been changed by the gazing point detecting means. The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the stereoscopic image display apparatus operates when the stereoscopic image is displayed.