Three-dimensional image evaluation unit and display device using the unit

• US 20040208357A1
• Filed: 05/27/2004
• Published: 10/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Tanaka, Yoshinobu, Tokuhashi, Yuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,372,987 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10012 Stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/97 Determining parameters from multiple pictures depth or shape recovery from multiple images G06T7/55; stereo camera calibration G06T7/85
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/147 Details of sensors, e.g. sensor lenses fingerprint or palmprint sensors G06V40/13; vascular sensors G06V40/145; eye sensors G06V40/19
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/128 Adjusting depth or disparity
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/144 for flicker reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/161 Encoding, multiplexing or demultiplexing different image signal components for multi-view video sequence encoding H04N19/597
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/04 for receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2213/002 Eyestrain reduction by processing stereoscopic signals or controlling stereoscopic devices

Abstract

A three-dimensional image evaluation unit (100) for evaluating an input image. The parallax statistic is calculated by measuring the parallax included in the input image by a parallax measuring means (3), the static parallax evaluation value for the calculated parallax statistic and/or a dynamic parallax evaluation value for a temporal change in the parallax statistic is determined by a static parallax evaluating means (4-1) and/or a dynamic parallax evaluating means (4-2) of an evaluating means (4) to evaluate parallax information on the image. An abrupt change in the parallax can be evaluated thereby, and countermeasures against errors in measurement and noise of the image can be taken, so that parallax information on the image can be suitably evaluated.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional image evaluation device for evaluating an input image comprising a parallax measuring means for calculating the parallax amount of statistics by measuring the parallax included in the input image, and an evaluating means for setting the evaluation value according to the calculated parallax amount of statistics, the evaluating means having static parallax evaluating means for setting evaluation value for value of parallax statistic and/or dynamic parallax evaluating means for setting evaluation value for a temporal change in parallax statistic.

2. A three-dimensional image evaluation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dynamic parallax evaluating means sets a constant evaluation value when the temporal change in parallax statistic exceeds the specified value.

3. A three-dimensional image evaluation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dynamic parallax evaluating means accumulates the parallax change while the parallax change is consecutive, and the dynamic parallax evaluating means sets the evaluation value according to the accumulated value, when a series of change breaks off.

4. A three-dimensional image evaluation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dynamic parallax evaluating means accumulates the parallax change, and a constant evaluation value is set when the accumulated value exceeds a default.

5. A three-dimensional image evaluation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parallax measuring means makes a histogram by measuring the parallax included in the input image, and calculates the parallax statistic based on the parallax value for the frequency in appearance of the histogram to exceed the threshold.

6. A three-dimensional image evaluation device as claimed in any one of claims 1-5, wherein the device further comprises an image recognition means for recognizing kinds of an image displayed by an image display means, and a preprocessing means for performing a picture processing to an input image according to the kinds of the recognized image, whereby the image processed by the preprocessing means is supplied to the parallax measuring means.

7. A three-dimensional image evaluation device as claimed in any one of claims 1-5, further comprising an error code setting means for setting an error code based on the parallax measurement by a parallax measuring means, whereby an evaluating means changes the evaluation value according to the error code set by the error code setting means.

8. A three-dimensional image evaluation device as claimed in any one of claims 1-5, further comprising a display mode recognizing means for recognizing a display mode of the image in an image display means, whereby the evaluating means sets the evaluation value according to the display mode recognized by the display mode recognizing means.

9. A display device comprising an image display means for displaying an input image, a three-dimensional image evaluation device as claimed in any one of claims 1-5, for evaluating the input image, and a display control means for controlling the display of the input image by the image display means based on the evaluation value in the three-dimensional image evaluation device.