KR20120029074A - Method, apparatus and recording medium for displaying 3d image - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method and apparatus for displaying 3D images and a recording medium for a program are provided to reduce power consumption by actively controlling the backlight brightness level of a display. CONSTITUTION: An apparatus for displaying 3D images includes an image processing unit(30). The image processing unit comprises a 3D image processing unit(31), an emitter(32), and a control signal processing unit(33). The 3D image processing unit generates 3D image data outputted to a display based on a received image. The emitter transmits an eyeglasses control signal and opens or closes one side shutter of 3D glasses corresponding to a right image or a left image forming the 3D image data. The control signal processing unit generates a backlight control signal for gradually controlling back light brightness based on a visible section of a left image or a right image.

Description

Recording medium recording apparatus, method and program for displaying stereoscopic images {METHOD, APPARATUS AND RECORDING MEDIUM FOR DISPLAYING 3D IMAGE}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for displaying a stereoscopic image, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for displaying a stereoscopic image capable of actively adjusting a luminance of a backlight of a display according to a time when each image of the stereoscopic image is viewed by a viewer.

Conventional two-dimensional (2D) displays have been common, but in recent years, interest in three-dimensional (3D) or three-dimensional image display is increasing. Increasing interest and technology for the three-dimensional content and display has made it possible to enjoy three-dimensional images easily and comfortably in the future.

Meanwhile, in watching a 3D image, the 3D image may be viewed using active stereoscopic glasses that are adjusted to open only one shutter according to the viewing section of the left image or the right image. The active glasses open and close the left eye lens or the right eye lens in synchronism with the left image and the right image that are time-divisionally displayed so that the user may alternately recognize only one stereoscopic image. In addition, the active glasses are closing both shutters during a section in which neither the left image nor the right image is visually recognized, thereby preventing any unintended image from being displayed to the user.

However, the backlight of the display is driven at the same level as the luminance level of the viewing section even during the period in which neither the left image nor the right image is viewed, thereby causing unnecessary power consumption. In addition, the power consumption is further increased when driving the backlight of the display according to the high brightness by the user's selection.

According to the present invention, power consumption can be reduced by controlling the backlight luminance level of the display step by step and actively by distinguishing between the visible and unviewed sections of both images in the stereoscopic image display apparatus using active stereoscopic glasses.

According to the present invention, compared to the conventional display device which does not adjust the brightness level of the backlight, the brightness is recognized higher by the user by setting the brightness higher during the viewing period of the image.

An apparatus for displaying a stereoscopic image by adjusting the backlight brightness of the display according to the present invention, the stereoscopic image processing unit for generating stereoscopic image data output to the display based on the received image; An emitter unit which transmits a glasses control signal for controlling to open or close one shutter of a stereoscopic glasses corresponding to at least one of a left image and a right image constituting the stereoscopic image data; And a control signal processor configured to generate a backlight control signal for controlling the brightness of the backlight stepwise based on at least one of the viewer image of the left image and the right image.

A method of displaying a stereoscopic image by actively controlling a backlight brightness of a display according to the present invention includes: generating a stereoscopic image and a left image and a right image based on the received image; A glasses control signal transmitting step of transmitting a control signal for controlling to open or close one shutter of the stereoscopic glasses corresponding to at least one of the left image and the right image; And generating a backlight control signal for controlling the brightness of the backlight stepwise based on at least one of the viewing period of the left image and the right image.

According to the present invention, in the stereoscopic image display apparatus using active stereoscopic glasses, power consumption can be reduced by controlling the backlight luminance level of the display stepwise and actively by distinguishing between the visible section and the unviewed section of both images.

In addition, according to the present invention, the brightness of the backlight may be set higher than that of the conventional stereoscopic image display device during the viewing period of the left image or the right image, thereby improving the luminance of the stereoscopic image visually recognized by the user.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a stereoscopic image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a signal flow and a configuration of an image processor between the image processor and the stereoscopic glasses and the display unit in the stereoscopic image display apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
3 illustrates a timing relationship between a signal transmitted and received between an image processor and a display and a backlight luminance level according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
4 illustrates a timing relationship between a backlight control signal transmitted from an image processor and a backlight luminance level according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
5 illustrates a timing relationship between a backlight control signal transmitted from an image processor and a backlight luminance level according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a stereoscopic image display method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention that can specifically realize the above object will be described. At this time, the configuration and operation of the present invention shown in the drawings and described by it will be described by at least one embodiment, by which the technical spirit of the present invention and its core configuration and operation is not limited.

The terminology used in the present invention was selected as widely used as possible in the present invention in consideration of the functions in the present invention, but may vary according to the intention or custom of the person skilled in the art or the emergence of new technology. In addition, in certain cases, there is also a term arbitrarily selected by the applicant, in which case the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the terms used in the present invention should be defined based on the meanings of the terms and the general contents of the present invention rather than the names of the simple terms.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a stereoscopic image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the stereoscopic image display apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a network interface unit 10, a control unit 20, an image processing unit 30, a display unit 40, a user input unit 50, and storage. It may include a portion 60.

The network interface unit 10 may receive an image or content through a network. In detail, content may be received or data related thereto may be received through a network. The received content may include content such as a broadcast, a game, a VOD, a broadcast signal, and related information. In addition, the received content may be a stereoscopic image signal including data about a left image and a right image.

The network interface unit 10 may include a broadcast receiver (not shown) for receiving broadcasts from broadcast stations. The broadcast receiver may include an antenna for receiving a broadcast signal transmitted from the outside, and a tuner for tuning a broadcast signal having a frequency band corresponding thereto according to a tuning control signal of the controller 20 to be described later, and a tuned specific tuner. And a demodulator (demodulator) outputting the broadcast signal of the channel in the form of a transport stream through a VSB (Vestigial Sideband) demodulation process and an error correction process.

On the other hand, the processing of the broadcast signal of the tuned specific channel may be performed by the image processing unit according to the present invention to be described later. In addition, the broadcast signal received through the broadcast receiver may be separated into various additional data defined as a video signal, an audio signal, and program and system information protocol (PSIP) information by a demultiplexer which will be described later, and may be output in the form of a bit stream. have.

The controller 20 performs overall operation control according to a command input from the user input unit 50. In addition, the controller 20 may perform data processing for generating and transmitting a stereoscopic image. The controller 20 may receive and execute an update file of software, that is, firmware, for executing content received from the network interface unit 10.

The control unit 20 according to the present invention may perform data processing for generating, storing and transmitting a stereoscopic image. In detail, the left image and the right image may be generated from the received stereoscopic image. In addition, the control unit 20 transmits the left image and the right image to the display unit 40 and simultaneously transmits a glasses control signal for controlling the opening or closing of the left eye shutter and the right eye shutter of the stereoscopic glasses 200. 30 can be controlled.

The image processor 30 may include a demultiplexer, a decoder, and an image scaler for processing the received image. In addition, the display unit 40 may include a 3D image scaler for displaying as a 3D image.

In addition, the image processing unit 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention, one of the left image and the right image generated by the image scaler is output to the display unit 40, the three-dimensional glasses 200 The glasses control signal may be transmitted to the stereoscopic glasses 200 such that one side of the shutter is opened. In addition, the eyeglasses are controlled to close one of the shutters of the stereoscopic glasses 200 during a section in which one of the left and right images generated by the image scaler does not recognize the image because the output of the image is not completed to the display unit 40. The signal may be transmitted to the stereoscopic glasses 200.

In addition, the image processing unit 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention generates a backlight control signal for controlling the brightness of the backlight step by step based on a section in which either the left image or the right image is viewed, for example, the image viewing section. To the display unit 40.

The display 40 may display a stereoscopic image processed by the image processor 30. The display unit 40 may use various types of displays such as digital light processing (DLP), liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display panel (PDP), and the like.

In addition, the display 40 may display a stereoscopic image by adjusting the brightness of the backlight according to the backlight control signal received from the image processor 30.

The user input unit 50 is a means for receiving a request command from a user, and generally includes an infrared receiver for receiving an infrared signal input through a remote controller or a local key input unit provided at one side of the panel.

In addition, the user input unit 50 according to the present invention may be provided with a button for manually adjusting the opening and closing timing of the stereoscopic glasses 200 in order to recognize the left image and the right image. In addition, the user input unit 50 may receive a default backlight level from the user.

The storage unit 60 may store the received image and data related thereto. The storage unit 50 may store the left image and the right image converted into the stereoscopic image. In addition, the other image may be temporarily stored while the image of either the left image or the right image is displayed. The storage unit 60 may be implemented by an HDD, a flash memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or the like. In addition, the storage unit 60 may include any storage device such as a cd-rom, a dvd, a blue ray disc capable of storing multimedia.

In addition, the storage unit 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention may store the level of the backlight control signal transmitted in the viewing section of the stereoscopic image, or the level of the backlight control signal transmitted in the section in which the stereoscopic image is not viewed. have. In addition, the storage unit 60 may store a default luminance level related to the backlight luminance level.

As described above, the stereoscopic image display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the stereoscopic image display apparatus includes a network module including a network module, a network TV, a settop box, and a broadcast receiving apparatus having a broadcast receiving function. It may include a user computer (PC), laptop (laptop), 3D stereoscopic video game machine.

2 illustrates a flow of signals transmitted and received between the image processing unit 30, the stereoscopic glasses 200, and the display unit 40 and the configuration of the image processing unit 30 in the stereoscopic image display device according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram shown.

Referring to FIG. 2, the image processor 30 may include a stereoscopic image processor 31, an emitter 32, and a control signal processor 33. The image processor 30 may transmit the stereoscopic image data S1 and the backlight control signal S3 including the left image and the right image to the display unit 40. Also, the image processor 30 may transmit the glasses control signal S2 to the stereoscopic glasses 200 to open or close one shutter of the stereoscopic 200 glasses in synchronization with at least one of the left image and the right image. .

The stereoscopic image processor 31 may generate stereoscopic image data including a left image and a right image, based on the received image. The received image is an image transmitted from the network interface unit 10, and may be an image signal generated by the 3D scaler after being separated by the demultiplexer and subjected to a decoding process by the decoder. Meanwhile, the stereoscopic image processor 31 may be configured as a stereoscopic image formatter that newly arranges the received image into a left image and a right image and outputs the image to the display unit 40.

The emitter unit 32 generates the glasses control signal s2 for opening or closing one shutter of the glasses 3D corresponding to at least one of the left image and the right image of the stereoscopic image data. Can be output to be sent to The emitter 32 may be configured as an infrared ray transceiver. The emitter 32 may be included in the stereoscopic image processor 31 according to a system environment, and may be configured as an external module separate from the image processor 30. The glasses control signal s2 generated by the emitter 32 can independently control the left eye shutter and the right eye shutter, and can be separately configured as the left eye shutter control signal and the right eye shutter control signal.

The control signal processor 33 may generate a backlight control signal s3 for gradually controlling the brightness of the backlight based on at least one of the viewing period of the left image and the right image. In addition, the control signal processor 33 may transmit the generated backlight control signal to the display 40. The control signal processor 33 may include a pulse generator for generating and outputting a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal according to the backlight control signal s3.

The backlight control signal s3 may be transmitted in synchronization with the transmission of the glasses control signal s2. Specifically, when the glasses control signal s2 for opening one of the left eye and the right eye of the stereoscopic glasses 200 is transmitted, a signal for setting the brightness level of the backlight higher than a predetermined level, for example, the first backlight The signal may be transmitted to the display unit 40. On the other hand, when the glasses control signal s2 for closing one of the left eye and the right eye of the stereoscopic glasses 200 is transmitted, a signal for setting the luminance level of the backlight lower than a predetermined level, for example, a second backlight signal The display unit 40 may transmit the data.

The display unit 40 may display the received stereoscopic image data s1 while changing the luminance level according to the backlight control signal s3.

Hereinafter, a backlight control signal and a backlight brightness level according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. 3 illustrates a timing relationship between signals S1 and S2 transmitted and received between the image processor 30 and the display 40 and a backlight luminance level according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 3A illustrates a timing diagram of stereoscopic image data transmitted to the display unit 40. 3B illustrates a timing diagram of the left eye shutter control signal S2-Left and the right eye shutter control signal s2-Right of the stereoscopic glasses 200. 3C is a backlight luminance level of the display unit, and shows a timing chart comparing the conventional backlight luminance level (formerly) with the backlight luminance level L according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3C, the luminance (before) of the backlight by the conventional stereoscopic image display is always set the same. That is, the backlight is driven at the same level as the section to which the left or right image of the stereoscopic image is not visible. Therefore, unnecessary power consumption is inevitable.

Referring to FIG. 3A, left image data of the stereoscopic image data s1 may be transmitted to the display 40 and output. When the display 40 reaches the time t1 at which the left image is displayed on the entire screen, the left eye is transmitted during the left image viewing period x by transmitting a signal s2 for opening the left eye of the stereoscopic glasses at the time t1. Only the shutter can be opened. The user may recognize only the left image during the left image viewing section x. During the left image viewing period x, the luminance level L of the backlight controlled according to the backlight control signal s3 according to the present invention may be set higher than the previous level.

Next, the right image data subsequent to the left image may be transmitted to the display unit 40 and output. The image processing unit 30 according to the present invention transmits a signal for closing the left eye shutter of the stereoscopic glasses to the transmission start time t2 of the right image, thereby performing the left eye shutter of the stereoscopic glasses 200 during the non-visible period y. Can be closed. At this time, the right eye shutter of the stereoscopic glasses 200 is also closed. During the non-visible period y, the luminance level L of the backlight controlled according to the backlight control signal s3 according to the present invention may be set lower than that of the left image visual field interval x. It can be set lower than the level. As a result, power consumption may be reduced during the non-visible period of the image.

By the same method, when the right image reaches the time t3 displayed on the full screen of the display unit 40, the right image viewing section is transmitted by transmitting a signal for opening the right eye of the stereoscopic glasses 200 at the corresponding time t3. Only the right eye shutter can be opened during (x). The user may recognize only the right image during the right image viewing period z. During the right image viewing period z, the luminance level of the backlight controlled according to the backlight control signal s3 according to the present invention may be set to be the same as the left image viewing area x by increasing (L) again.

Thereafter, when the time t4 at which the right-view visual zone z ends is reached and the left image data starts to be transmitted and output to the display unit 40, the right eye closing control signal s2 is transmitted and the backlight The luminance level may be set lower again during the non-visual period w.

As described with reference to FIG. 3, the stereoscopic image display device of the present invention sets the brightness of the backlight to be high in the viewing section of either the left or right image, and sets the brightness of the backlight to be low in the non-visible section, thereby reducing power consumption. It is possible to improve the brightness of the stereoscopic image recognized by the user while reducing the cost.

4 illustrates a timing relationship between a PWM signal and a backlight luminance level according to a backlight control signal output from the image processor 30 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 4A is a timing diagram of a backlight luminance level during a period of 1/2 of a section in which stereoscopic image data of one frame including a left image and a right image is output. 4B is a timing diagram of a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal generated according to the backlight control signal s3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4A, an L2 level of backlight brightness may be a default level. The L1 level of the backlight luminance may be an image invisible level, and the L3 level may be an image viewing level.

The default level L2 may be set at the time of manufacturing the stereoscopic image display device, or may be set and changed by the user. The default level L2 is a level for driving the backlight of the display unit 40 without actively changing the backlight brightness level according to the backlight control signal according to the present invention, and is 50 to 70 (%) of the maximum brightness level of the display. ) Range. The image visually visible level L1 may be a value in a range as low as 1/4 to 1/2 of the default level L2. The image viewing level L3 may be a value in a range as high as 1/4 to 1/2 of the default level L2.

4A and 4B, during the left image viewing period x, the first backlight control signal for setting the luminance of the backlight of the display to be higher than the default level L2 is generated by the image processor 30. The pulse width of the PWM signal according to the one backlight control signal becomes larger. Depending on the PWM signal being transmitted, the backlight luminance level is raised to L3.

When the non-visible period y reaches, a second backlight control signal is generated by the image processor 30 to set the luminance of the backlight of the display to be lower than the default level L2, and a PWM signal according to the second backlight control signal. The pulse width of N becomes narrow. As a result, the luminance level of the display is lowered to L1.

4A and 4B illustrate that the PWM signal is generated and output according to the backlight control signal according to the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the backlight control signal itself may be configured as a PWM signal.

5 illustrates a timing relationship between a backlight control signal generated by an image processor and a backlight luminance level according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the PWM signal is output so that the luminance level of the backlight is set higher or lower than the range of the backlight luminance level illustrated in FIG. 4. The image visual recognition level L3 ′ illustrated in FIG. 5A is higher than the image visual recognition level L3 illustrated in FIG. 4A, and the image visual recognition level L1 ′ is higher than the image visual recognition level L1 illustrated in FIG. 4A. It is set to be lower. For this operation, the PWM signal illustrated in FIG. 5B may generate a wider pulse width during the viewing period x and generate a narrower pulse width during the non-viewing period y.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the relative gap between the luminance levels displayed in the image viewing section and the image viewing section and the absolute value of the brightness levels may be adjusted according to the user's setting or the characteristics of the displayed content. .

As mentioned above, although the PWM signal according to the backlight control signal of this invention, and the change of the brightness level of the display by using it were demonstrated using a timing diagram, the range of this invention is not limited by the period and timing of the PWM signal which are illustrated in the figure.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a stereoscopic image display method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In operation S11, stereoscopic image data including a left image and a right image is generated based on the received image.

In operation S12, the glasses control signal for controlling to open or close one shutter of the stereoscopic glasses corresponding to at least one of the generated left image and right image is transmitted.

In operation S13, a backlight control signal is generated to control the brightness of the backlight in stages based on the at least one viewing section of the left image and the right image. According to the generated backlight control signal, a PWM signal may be generated and transmitted to the display. The display can display a stereoscopic image while actively adjusting the luminance level according to the PWM.

As described above, according to the method and apparatus for displaying a stereoscopic image according to the present invention, by actively controlling the brightness of the backlight, it is possible to reduce power consumption and improve stereoscopic image quality.

As described above, the method and apparatus for displaying a stereoscopic image according to an embodiment of the present invention have been described, but the present invention also relates to a system including the essential contents of the present invention and a computer readable recording medium for executing a program including the system on a computer. The invention can be applied.

In addition, the scope of the present invention is not limited by the embodiments of the present invention described above, the scope of the present invention is defined by the interpretation of the claims. Various modifications are possible in the above-described embodiments, all of which are included in the scope of the invention.

Claims (14)

In the device for displaying a three-dimensional image by adjusting the backlight brightness of the display,
A stereoscopic image processor which generates stereoscopic image data output to the display based on the received image;
An emitter unit which transmits a glasses control signal for controlling to open or close one shutter of a stereoscopic glasses corresponding to at least one of a left image and a right image constituting the stereoscopic image data; And
And a control signal processor configured to generate a backlight control signal for gradually controlling the brightness of the backlight based on at least one of the left image and the right image. The method of claim 1,
The control signal processor is configured to transmit the backlight control signal in synchronization with the transmitted glasses control signal. The method of claim 1,
The backlight control signal,
A first backlight signal that sets the brightness of the backlight to be higher than a predetermined level when one shutter of the stereoscopic glasses is opened; and sets the brightness of the backlight to be lower than a predetermined level when one shutter of the stereoscopic glasses is closed. A stereoscopic image display device including a second backlight signal. The method of claim 3,
The predetermined level includes a default luminance level of the backlight;
The first backlight signal sets the brightness of the backlight to be 1/4 to 1/2 higher than a predetermined level, and the second backlight signal sets the brightness of the backlight to 1/4 to 1/2 higher than a predetermined level. Stereoscopic image display device set to low. The method of claim 3,
And the predetermined level is variable and set according to an external input. In claim 1,
The control signal processor comprises a pulse generator for generating a pulse by adjusting the pulse width step by step in accordance with the backlight control signal. The method of claim 1,
And a display unit configured to display the generated stereoscopic image data based on the backlight control signal. In the method of actively controlling the backlight brightness of the display to display a stereoscopic image,
A stereoscopic image generation step of generating a left image and a right image based on the received image;
A glasses control signal transmitting step of transmitting a control signal for controlling to open or close one shutter of the stereoscopic glasses corresponding to at least one of the left image and the right image; And
And generating a backlight control signal for controlling the brightness of the backlight stepwise based on at least one of the left image and the right image. The method of claim 8,
And transmitting the backlight control signal in synchronization with the transmitted glasses control signal. The method of claim 8,
A first backlight signal for setting the luminance of the backlight to be higher than a predetermined level when the shutter of one of the left and right eyes of the stereoscopic glasses is opened; and the luminance of the backlight when the shutter of one of the stereoscopic glasses is closed And a second backlight signal set to be lower than a level. The method of claim 10,
The predetermined level includes a default luminance level of the backlight;
The first backlight signal sets the brightness of the backlight to be 1/4 to 1/2 higher than a predetermined level, and the second backlight signal sets the brightness of the backlight to 1/4 to 1/2 higher than a predetermined level. Stereoscopic image display method to set to low. The method of claim 10,
And the predetermined level is variable and set according to an external input. 9. The method of claim 8,
And generating a pulse by adjusting a pulse width step by step according to the viewing section. A recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing a method of displaying a stereoscopic image by actively controlling a backlight brightness of a display on a display device,
The stereoscopic image display method,
A stereoscopic image generation step of generating a left image and a right image based on the received image;
A glasses control signal transmitting step of transmitting a control signal for controlling to open or close one shutter of the stereoscopic glasses corresponding to at least one of the left image and the right image; And
And generating a backlight control signal for controlling the brightness of the backlight stepwise based on at least one of the left image and the right image.

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