Stereoscopic image producing method and stereoscopic image display device

• US 20050105179A1
• Filed: 09/29/2004
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamauchi, Yasunobu, Yanagawa, Shingo, Taira, Kazuki, Saishu, Tatsuo, Hirayama, Yuzo, Fukushima, Rieko
• Application Number:
  US10/952,159
• Publication Number:
  US 20050105179A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/463
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/305 using lenticular lenses, e.g. arrangements of cylindrical lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/31 using parallax barriers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/324 Colour aspects

Abstract

A stereoscopic image producing method can produce a stereoscopic image efficiently. The stereoscopic image producing method includes inputting a plurality of parallax images with pixel data including information pieces about the three primary colors, which are produced from different viewpoints, and, based upon information about arrangement of color pixel dots constituting a pixel of a display screen which displays a two-dimensional image thereon, composing some pieces of the three primary color information pieces in each of the parallax images and allocating the three primary color information pieces for different ones of the parallax images to the color pixel dots adjacent to each other in a screen horizontal direction on the display screen, where a stereoscopic image including a plurality of different parallax image information pieces in a horizontal direction in a space in which the stereoscopic image is displayed is produced.

Claims

1. A stereoscopic image producing method comprising:

inputting a plurality of parallax images with pixel data including the three primary color information pieces, which are produced from different viewpoints;

composing some pieces of the three primary color information pieces in each of the parallax images based upon information about arrangement of color pixel dots constituting a pixel of a display screen which displays a two-dimensional image thereon; and

allocating the three primary color information pieces for different ones of the parallax images to the color pixel dots adjacent to each other in a screen horizontal direction on the display screen, wherein

a stereoscopic image including a plurality of different parallax image information pieces in a horizontal direction in a space in which the stereoscopic image is displayed is produced.

2. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 1, wherein the allocating of the three primary color information pieces is constituted so as to allocate the three primary color information pieces on each parallax image to the color pixel dots on the basis of a ratio of an elemental image width to a dot pitch of the color pixel dots.

3. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 2, further comprising multiplying the plurality of parallax images in the screen horizontal direction and in a screen vertical direction of the display screen to n times respectively, when n is defined as a natural number of 3 or more.

4. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

multiplying the plurality of parallax images to n times in a horizontal direction, when n is defined as a natural number of 3 or more, m is defined as a regular integer, s is defined as an integer meeting 0≦

s≦

2, and an equation (n=3×

m+s) is satisfied,

multiplying the respective parallax images to 3×

m times in a vertical direction, and

adding the pixel data, which is obtained by multiplying the respective parallax images to n times in a horizontal direction of the s line(s), for each three lines in a vertical direction.

5. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 1, wherein the color pixel dot arrangement is a stripe arrangement.

6. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 1, wherein the color pixel dot arrangement is a mosaic arrangement.

7. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 1, further comprising producing the plurality of parallax images.

8. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of parallax images are produced by orthographic projection.

9. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of parallax images are produced by perspective projection.

10. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 9, wherein producing of a plurality of parallax images includes performing a plurality of geometrical conversions accompanying parallel movement of a target point and a viewpoint at a time of producing each parallax image.

11. A stereoscopic image producing method comprising:

inputting a plurality of parallax images with pixel data including the three primary color information pieces, which are produced from different viewpoints;

allocating the three primary color information pieces in each of the parallax images to color pixel dots displaying corresponding color information pieces generally in a screen vertical direction of a display screen based upon information about arrangement of the color pixel dots constituting a pixel of the display screen which displays a two-dimensional image thereon; and

allocating the three primary color information pieces for different ones of the parallax images to the color pixel dots adjacent to each other in a screen horizontal direction on the display screen, wherein

a stereoscopic image including a plurality of different parallax image information pieces in a horizontal direction in a space in which the stereoscopic image is displayed is produced.

12. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 11, wherein the allocating of the three primary color information pieces is constituted so as to allocate the three primary color information pieces on each parallax image to the color pixel dots on the basis of a ratio of an elemental image width to a dot pitch of the color pixel dots.

13. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 12, further comprising multiplying the plurality of parallax images in the screen horizontal direction and in a screen vertical direction of the display screen to n times respectively, when n is defined as a natural number of 3 or more.

14. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 12, further comprising:

multiplying the plurality of parallax images to n times in a horizontal direction, when n is defined as a natural number of 3 or more, m is defined as a regular integer, s is defined as an integer meeting 0≦

s≦

2, and an equation (n=3×

m+s) is satisfied,

multiplying the respective parallax images to 3×

m times in a vertical direction, and

adding the pixel data, which is obtained by multiplying the respective parallax images to n times in a horizontal direction of the s line(s), for each three lines in a vertical direction.

15. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 11, wherein the color pixel dot arrangement is a stripe arrangement.

16. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 11, wherein the color pixel dot arrangement is a mosaic arrangement.

17. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 11, further comprising producing the plurality of parallax images.

18. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 17, wherein the plurality of parallax images are produced by orthographic projection.

19. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 17, wherein the plurality of parallax images are produced by perspective projection.

20. A stereoscopic image producing method according to claim 19, wherein producing of a plurality of parallax images includes performing a plurality of geometrical conversions accompanying parallel movement of a target point and a viewpoint at a time of producing each parallax image.

21. A stereoscopic image display device comprising:

an image display element on which a plurality of color pixel dots are arranged;

a light beam direction restricting element which is disposed in front of or behind the image display element to restrict a direction of light beam which is emitted from the image display element or entered to the image display element; and

an image display element driving unit which, based upon information about arrangement of the color pixel dots of the image display element, drives the image display element so as to compose some pieces of three primary color information pieces in a plurality of parallax images with pixel data including the three primary color information pieces, which are produced from different viewpoints, and allocate the three primary color information pieces for different ones of the parallax images to the color pixel dots adjacent to each other in a screen horizontal direction on the image display element to display a stereoscopic image including a plurality of different parallax image information pieces in a horizontal direction in a space in which the stereoscopic image is displayed is produced.

22. A stereoscopic image display device according to claim 21, wherein a stereoscopic image including a plurality of different parallax image information pieces in a screen horizontal direction of the image display element is displayed on the basis of a ratio of an elemental image width to a dot pitch of the color pixel dots.

23. A stereoscopic image display device according to claim 21, wherein the image display element is a liquid crystal display panel.

24. A stereoscopic image display device according to claim 21, wherein the light beam direction restricting element is a slit array with a plurality of slit apertures, and

a longitudinal side of each slit aperture is coincident with a screen vertical direction of the image display element.

25. A stereoscopic image display device according to claim 21, wherein the light beam direction restricting element is a cylindrical lens array having a chief line extending in a screen vertical direction of the image display element, and

the light beam direction restricting element is disposed in front of the image display element.

26. A stereoscopic image display device comprising:

an image display element on which a plurality of color pixel dots are arranged;

a light beam direction restricting element which is disposed in front of or behind the image display element to restrict a direction of light beam which is emitted from the image display element or entered to the image display element; and

an image display element driving unit which, based upon information about arrangement of the color pixel dots of the image display element, drives the image display element so as to allocate three primary color information pieces in a plurality of parallax images with pixel data including the three primary color information pieces, which are produced from different viewpoints, to the color pixel dots displaying corresponding color information piece generally in a screen vertical direction of the display screen and allocate the three primary color information pieces for different ones of the parallax images to the color pixel dots adjacent to each other in a screen horizontal direction on the image display element to display a stereoscopic image including a plurality of different parallax image information pieces in a horizontal direction in a space in which the stereoscopic image is displayed.

27. A stereoscopic image display device according to claim 26, wherein a stereoscopic image including a plurality of different parallax image information pieces in a screen horizontal direction of the image display element is displayed on the basis of a ratio of an elemental image width to a dot pitch of the color pixel dots.

28. A stereoscopic image display device according to claim 26, wherein the image display element is a liquid crystal display panel.

29. A stereoscopic image display device according to claim 26, wherein the light beam direction restricting element is a slit array with a plurality of slit apertures, and

a longitudinal side of each slit apertures is coincident with a screen vertical direction of the image display element.

30. A stereoscopic image display device according to claim 26, wherein the light beam direction restricting element is a cylindrical lens array having a chief line extending in a screen vertical direction of the image display element, and

the light beam direction restricting element is disposed in front of the image display element.