STEREO IMAGE DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20010030715A1
• Filed: 05/29/1997
• Published: 10/18/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: TABATA, SEIICHIRO
• Granted Patent: US 6,324,001 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/15
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0132 comprising binocular systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/34 Stereoscopes providing a stereoscopic pair of separated images corresponding to parallactically displaced views of the same object, e.g. 3D slide viewers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/122 Improving the 3D impression of stereoscopic images by modifying image signal contents, e.g. by filtering or adding monoscopic depth cues H04N13/128 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/128 Adjusting depth or disparity
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/156 Mixing image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/344 with head-mounted left-right displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/398 Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof

Abstract

A stereo image display apparatus is disclosed, in which the influence of display area edge portions on the viewing of stereo image is taken into considerations to enable display of stereo images without spoiling the viewer'"'"'s sense just like the viewer is actually on the site of the image scene. The display of a left eye and a right eye image is controlled to have a binocular parallax substantially fixed in effect. (Specifically, image shifters 32L and 32R shift the left eye and right eye images according to a parallax signal.) Edge portions of a left eye and a right eye image display area are shaded off in effect and made obscure by a left eye and a right eye eyepiece optical system 12L and 12R.

Claims

1. A stereo image display apparatus comprising:

binocular parallax control means for executing a control operation to vary a right eye and a left eye images with a binocular parallax therebetween such that the binocular parallax is substantially fixed in effect;

display means capable of displaying the left eye and right eye images on respective predetermined display areas; and

shading-off means for shading off in effect edge portions of the display areas of the left eye and right eye images.

2. The stereo image display apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein the shading-off means includes luminance restricting means for restricting the luminance of edge portions of the left eye and right eye display areas such that the luminance is reduced as one goes toward the edges of the display areas.

3. The stereo image display apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein the shading-off means includes resolution restricting optical means for restricting the resolution of edge portions of the left eye and right eye image display areas such that the resolution becomes coarser as one goes toward the edges of the display areas.

4. A stereo image display apparatus comprising:

display means capable of displaying a left eye and a right eye images with a binocular parallax therebetween on respective predetermined display areas;

horizontal display position control means for controlling the horizontal display positions of the left eye and right eye images on the left eye and right eye image display areas in opposite directions, respectively;

monochrome display area generating means for making the left and right edges and neighborhood thereof of the left eye and right eye image display areas to be predetermined monochrome display areas; and

monochrome display area width control means for controlling the width of the monochrome display areas, constituted by the left and right edges and neighborhood thereof of the left eye and right eye image display areas, such as to be increased on the right edge side of the display and reduced on the left edge side thereof when the position of the images on the display areas is shifted to the left, and increased on the left edge side of the display areas and reduced on the right edge side thereof when the position of the images on the display areas is shifted to the right.

5. The stereo image display apparatus according to

claim 4

, wherein the monochrome display area generating means regulates the width of the monochrome display area constituted by the left edge and neighborhood thereof of the left eye image display area to be greater than the width of the monochrome display area constituted by the right edge and neighborhood thereof of the same display area, and also regulates the width of the monochrome display area constituted by the right edge and neighborhood thereof of the right eye image display area to be greater than the left edge and neighborhood thereof of the same display area.

6. The stereo image display apparatus according to one of claims 4 and 5, wherein the monochrome display area generating means generates black display areas as monochrome display areas.

7. A stereo image display apparatus comprising:

display means capable of displaying a left eye and a right eye image with a binocular parallax therebetween on respective predetermined display areas;

spacial frequency detecting means for detecting a spacial frequency concerning the left eye or right eye image;

correlation calculation area specifying means for specifying correlation calculation area according to the spacial frequency detected by the spacial frequency detecting means such that the specified correlation calculation area is the smaller the relatively higher the detected spacial frequency and the greater the relatively lower the detected spacial frequency;

correlation calculating means for calculating a correlation of the left eye and right eye images to each other with respect to the correlation calculation area specified by the correlation calculation area specifying means; and

binocular parallax control means for controlling the binocular parallax in effect according to the result of the correlation calculation in the correlation calculating means.

8. The stereo image display apparatus according to

claim 7

, which further comprises viewed point detecting means for detecting a point viewed by the viewer in the display areas of the display means, the spacial frequency detecting means being operable to detect a spacial frequency of images with respect to the viewed point detected by the viewed point detecting means and the neighborhood thereof.

9. The stereo image display apparatus according to

claim 7

, wherein the correlation calculation area specifying means specifies the horizontal size of the correlation calculation area to be the smaller the relatively higher a horizontal spacial frequency detected by the spacial frequency detecting means and be the greater the relatively lower the horizontal spacial frequency, and/or specifies the vertical size of the correlation calculation area to be the smaller the relatively higher a vertical spacial frequency detected by the spacial frequency detecting means and be the greater the relatively lower the vertical spacial frequency.

10. The stereo image display apparatus according to

claim 7

, which further comprises edge extracting means for extracting edge portions of at least either of the left eye and right eye images with a binocular parallax therebetween, the spacial frequency detecting means being operable to detect a spacial frequency concerning an image displayed with coupling of edge portions detected by the edge extracting means.