IMAGE DISPLAY APPARATUS, DISPLAY METHOD THEREOF, PROGRAM, INTEGRATED CIRCUIT, GOGGLE-TYPE HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY, VEHICLE, BINOCULARS, AND DESKTOP DISPLAY

• US 20100103077A1
• Filed: 11/20/2008
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kurozuka, Akira, Yamamoto, Kakuya, Sugiyama, Keiji
• Granted Patent: US 8,269,692 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/8
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/011 comprising device for correcting geometrical aberrations, distortion
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0132 comprising binocular systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/10 Scanning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features

Abstract

An image display apparatus includes: a left-eye light source (101) that outputs a left-eye image constituting an original image in whole or in part; a left-eye deflection unit (104) that deflects, toward a left eye of the user, the left-eye image outputted by the left-eye light source (101); a right-eye light source (110) that outputs a right-eye image constituting the original image in whole or in part; a right-eye deflection unit (107) that deflects, toward a right eye of the user, the right-eye image outputted by the right-eye light source (110); and a control unit (105, 111) that controls the left-eye light source (101) and the right-eye light source (110) such that the left-eye image and the right-eye image are outputted which are different from each other in at least one of pixel position, image shape, image size, image resolution, and display frame rate so that the user can recognize the original image from the left-eye image and the right-eye image by an image fusion effect.

Claims

1. An image display apparatus which displays an image onto a retina of a user, said image display apparatus comprising:

a left-eye image output unit configured to output a left-eye image constituting an original image in whole or in part;

a left-eye deflection unit configured to deflect, toward a left eye of the user, the left-eye image outputted by said left-eye image output unit;

a right-eye image output unit configured to output a right-eye image constituting the original image in whole or in part;

a right-eye deflection unit configured to deflect, toward a right eye of the user, the right-eye image outputted by said right-eye image output unit; and

a control unit configured to control said left-eye image output unit and said right-eye image output unit such that the left-eye image and the right-eye image are outputted, the left-eye image and right-eye image being different from each other in at least one of pixel position, image shape, image size, image resolution, and display frame rate so that the user can recognize the original image from the left-eye image and the right-eye image by an image fusion effect.

2. The image display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said left-eye image output unit includes:

a left-eye light source which emits a beam for drawing each of pixels constituting the left-eye image; and

a left-eye scan unit configured to scan said left-eye deflection unit using the beam emitted from said left-eye light source, and

said right-eye image output unit includes;

a right-eye light source which emits a beam for drawing each of pixels constituting the right-eye image; and

a right-eye scan unit configured to scan said right-eye deflection unit using the beam emitted from said right-eye light source.

3. The image display apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein said control unit includes:

a scan field setting unit configured to cause one of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit to scan the beam at a first scan angle for scanning only part of the original image, and to cause the other to scan the beam at a second scan angle larger than the first scan angle and equal to or below a scan angle for scanning the original image in whole; and

an image quality setting unit configured to control said left-eye image output unit and said right-eye image output unit so as to cause said left-eye image output unit and said right-eye image output unit to output the left-eye image and the right-eye image different from each other in image quality, respectively, according to the first and the second scan angles set by said scan field setting unit.

4. The image display apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said image quality setting unit includes

a frame rate setting unit configured to cause one of said left-eye image output unit and said right-eye image output unit to output an image having a first frame rate, and to cause the other to output an image having a second frame rate smaller than the first frame rate, the one of said left-eye image output unit and said right-eye image output unit corresponding to a side for which the first scan angle is set, and the other corresponding to a side for which the second scan angle is set.

5. The image display apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said image quality setting unit includes

a resolution setting unit configured to cause one of said left-eye image output unit and said right-eye image output unit to output an image having a first resolution, and to cause the other to output an image having a second resolution lower than the first resolution, the one of said left-eye image output unit and said right-eye image output unit corresponding to a side for which the first scan angle is set, and the other corresponding to a side for which the second scan angle is set.

6. The image display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit are different in size, and

said scan field setting unit is configured to cause a larger one of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit to scan the beam at the first scan angle, and to cause a smaller one to scan the beam at the second scan angle.

7. The image display apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising

a line-of-sight detection unit configured to detect the user'"'"'s line of sight,

wherein said scan field setting unit is configured to cause one of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit to scan a field including an end of the user'"'"'s line of sight, based on a result of the detection performed by said line-of-sight detection unit, the one of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit corresponding to a side for which the first scan angle is set.

8. The image display apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said scan field setting unit is configured to cause one of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit to scan the beam at the first scan angle, and to cause the other to scan the beam at the second scan angle, the one of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit corresponding to a dominant eye of the user.

9. The image display apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said scan field setting unit is configured to cause one of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit to scan the beam at the first scan angle, and to cause the other to scan the beam at the second scan angle, the one of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit corresponding to one of the user'"'"'s eyes which has clearer vision.

10. The image display apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein said control unit includes

a scan pattern determining unit configured to divide the original image into plural scan fields, and to cause each of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit to scan the beam over a different scan field in each frame, and also to scan the beam, in an adjoining frame, over a scan field other than the different scan field.

11. The image display apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit are configured to scan the image by drawing pixels in a first direction and then repeating the drawing more than one time by concurrently shifting a scan position into a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and

said scan pattern determining unit is configured to divide the original image into the plural scan fields such that, in each frame, said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit perform scanning to draw pixels adjoining each other in the second direction.

12. The image display apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit are configured to scan the image by drawing pixels in a first direction and then repeating the drawing more than one time by concurrently shifting a scan position into a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and

said scan pattern determining unit is configured to divide the original image into the plural scan fields such that each of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit scans a series of scan fields in the second direction in each frame.

13. The image display apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit are configured to scan the image by drawing pixels in a first direction and then repeating the drawing more than one time by concurrently shifting a scan position into a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and

said scan pattern determining unit is configured to cause each of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit to scan the beam such that said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit perform scanning in directions opposite to each other when performing the scanning in the second direction.

14. The image display apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein said control unit includes a display image quality determining unit configured to generate a correction image, of which at least one of the frame rate and the number of display pixels of the original image is corrected based on a maximum drive frequency of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit, and

said scan pattern determining unit is configured to divide, into the plural scan fields, the correction image generated by said display image quality determining unit, and then cause each of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit to scan the beam.

15. The image display apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit are configured to scan the image by drawing pixels in a first direction and then repeating the drawing more than one time by concurrently shifting a scan position into a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and

said display image quality determining unit is configured to correct the frame rate of the original image by doubling a smaller one of a drive frequency of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit for scanning in the second direction and the maximum drive frequency of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit for scanning in the second direction, the drive frequency being required for displaying the original image.

16. The image display apparatus according to claim 15,

wherein said display image quality determining unit is configured to re-correct the corrected frame rate such that the number of display pixels in the second direction is equal to or larger than a predetermined value at which the frame rate of the original image is equal to or higher than 1, and is also equal to or below the number of display pixels in the second direction of the original image, the number of display pixels in the second direction being calculated from the corrected frame rate and the drive frequency of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit for scanning in the first direction.

17. The image display apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein said scan pattern determining unit is configured to divide the original image into scan fields, the number of which is equivalent to a quotient obtained by dividing a total number of pixels of one of the left-eye image and the right-eye image by the number of display pixels of each of frames corrected by said display image quality determining unit.

18. The image display apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein said display image quality determining unit is further configured to correct at least one of the frame rate and the number of display pixels of the original image, based on content information indicating contents of the original image.

19. The image display apparatus according to claim 18,

wherein said control unit further includes a user profile management unit configured to hold an image quality correction value that is set by the user per content information, and

said display image quality determining unit is configured to correct at least one of the frame rate and the number of pixels of the original image, based on the image correction value corresponding to the content information of the original image.

20. The image display apparatus according to claim 19,

wherein said user profile management unit is further configured to hold information regarding vision of the user, and

said display image quality determining unit is configured to correct at least one of the frame rate and the number of pixels of the original image, based on the information regarding the vision of the user, which is held by said user profile management unit.

21. The image display apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a battery for driving said image display apparatus;

a power management unit configured to detect a remaining charge of the battery; and

a drive frequency determining unit configured to change, according to a result of the detection performed by said power management unit, a maximum value of a drive frequency for both of said left-eye scan unit and said right-eye scan unit.

22. The image display apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein, in the case where the left-eye image becomes a left-eye distorted image which is distorted in a trapezoidal shape on said left-eye deflection unit when the beam scanned by said left-eye scan unit is obliquely incident on said left-eye deflection unit, and where the right-eye image becomes a right-eye distorted image which is distorted in a trapezoidal shape on said right-eye deflection unit when the beam scanned by said right-eye scan unit is obliquely incident on said right-eye deflection unit, said control unit includes:

a rectangular region determining unit configured to determine a left-eye rectangular region in a rectangle shape, which has, as a first side, a portion of a long side of the left-eye distorted image and, as a second side, a line segment orthogonal to the first side and connecting an endpoint of the first side and an oblique side of the left-eye distorted image, and to determine a right-eye rectangular region in a rectangle shape, which has, as a third side having a same length as the first side, a portion of a long side of the right-eye image and, as a fourth side, a line segment orthogonal to the third side and connecting an endpoint of the third side and an oblique side of the right-eye distorted image;

an aspect ratio adjusting unit configured to adjust at least one of a height and a width of the original image so as to obtain a correction image having the first side as a height and having a sum of the second and the fourth sides as a width;

a distortion correcting unit configured to generate a left-eye correction image by distorting the correction image in an opposite direction to the left-eye distorted image such that the left-eye image is displayed onto said left-eye deflection unit, and to generate a right-eye correction image by distorting the correction image in an opposite direction to the right-eye distorted image such that the right-eye image is displayed onto said right-eye deflection unit; and

an output image control unit configured to cause said left-eye image output unit to output an image portion corresponding to the left-eye rectangular region of the left-eye correction image, and to cause said right-eye image output unit to output an image portion corresponding to the right-eye rectangular region of the right-eye correction image.

23. The image display apparatus according to claim 22,

wherein said rectangular region determining unit is configured to determine the left-eye rectangular region and the right-eye rectangular region such that, when superposing the left-eye image and the right-eye distorted image in such a manner that a short side of the left-eye distorted image is included in a long side of the right-eye image and that a short side of the right-eye image is included in a long side of the left-eye distorted image, each of the second and the fourth sides becomes a straight line passing through an intersection of oblique sides of the left-eye distorted image and the right-eye distorted image.

24. The image display apparatus according to claim 22,

wherein said control unit includes

a remaining region determining unit configured to determine a left-eye remaining region in a trapezoidal shape, which has an opposite side of the first side as a long side and a portion of an oblique side of the left-eye distorted image as an oblique side and has a height smaller than the fourth side, and to determine a right-eye remaining region in a trapezoidal shape, which has a portion of an oblique side of the right-eye distorted image as an oblique side and has a height smaller than the second side,

said output image control unit is further configured to cause said left-eye image output unit to output an image portion included in the left-eye correction image and corresponding to the left-eye remaining region, and to cause said right-eye image output unit to output an image portion included in the right-eye correction image and corresponding to the right-eye remaining region.

25. The image display apparatus according to claim 24,

wherein said output image control unit is configured to decrease brightness of at least one of the left-eye remaining region and a region which is included in the right-eye rectangular region and overlaps with the left-eye remaining region, and to decrease brightness of at least one of the right-eye remaining region and a region which is included in the left-eye rectangular region and overlaps with the right-eye remaining region.

26. The image display apparatus according to claim 24,

wherein said output image control unit is configured to increase brightness of a region which is included in the right-eye rectangular region and does not overlap with the left-eye remaining region, and to increase brightness of a region which is included in the left-eye rectangular region and does not overlap with the right-eye remaining region.

27. The image display apparatus according to claim 22,

wherein said rectangular region determining unit is configured to determine a shape of the left-eye rectangular region and a shape of the right-eye rectangular region such that a ratio between the width and the height of the correction image is 16:

9 or 4;

3.

28. The image display apparatus according to claim 22,

wherein, when difference in vision between both eyes of the user is equal to or larger than a given value, said rectangular region determining unit is configured to determine a shape of the left-eye rectangular region and a shape of the right-eye rectangular region such that one of the left-eye and the right-eye rectangular regions corresponding to an eye having clearer vision is maximum in size, and the other corresponding to an eye having less clear vision is 0 in size, and

said remaining region determining unit is configured to determine a shape of the left-eye remaining region and a shape of the right-eye remaining region such that one of the left-eye and right-eye remaining regions corresponding to an eye having clearer vision is 0 in size, and the other corresponding to an eye having less clear vision is maximum in size.

32. A goggle-type head-mounted display, comprising:

the image display apparatus according to claim 1;

a left-eye lens, which is provided in front of a left eye of a user and has said left-eye deflection unit at a position opposite to the left eye of the user;

a right-eye lens, which is provided in front of a right eye of the user and has said right-eye deflection unit at a position opposite to the right eye of the user;

a left-side temple, which has one end connected to said left-eye lens and the other end fixed to a left side of the user'"'"'s head; and

a right-side temple, which has one end connected to said right-eye lens and the other end fixed to a right side of the user'"'"'s head.

33. A vehicle, comprising:

the image display apparatus according to claim 1; and

a windshield having said left-eye deflection unit and said right-eye deflection unit.

34. A pair of binoculars, comprising:

the image display apparatus according to claim 1;

a left-eye eyepiece lens having said left-eye deflection unit; and

a right-eye eyepiece lens having said right-eye deflection unit.

35. A desk-top display, comprising:

the image display apparatus according to claim 1;

a case for housing said image display apparatus; and

a display screen provided on a surface of said case and configured with said left-eye deflection unit and said right-eye deflection unit.

29. An image display method, comprising:

outputting a left-eye image constituting an original image in whole or in part;

deflecting, toward a left eye of a user, the left-eye image outputted in said outputting a left-eye image;

outputting a right-eye image constituting the original image in whole or in part;

deflecting, toward a right eye of the user, the right-eye image outputted in said outputting a right-eye image; and

controlling the left-eye image output unit and the right-eye image output unit such that the left-eye image and the right-eye image are outputted, the left-eye image and the right-eye image being different from each other in at least one of pixel position, image shape, image size, image resolution, and display frame rate so that the user can recognize the original image from the left-eye image and the right-eye image by an image fusion effect.

30. A computer program causing a computer to execute:

outputting a left-eye image constituting an original image in whole or in part;

deflecting, toward a left eye of the user, the left-eye image outputted in the outputting a left-eye image;

outputting a right-eye image constituting the original image in whole or in part;

deflecting, toward a right eye of the user, the right-eye image outputted in the outputting a right-eye image; and

controlling the left-eye image output unit and the right-eye image output unit such that the left-eye image and the right-eye image are outputted, the left-eye image and the right-eye image being different from each other in at least one of pixel position, image shape, image size, image resolution, and display frame rate so that the user can recognize the original image from the left-eye image and the right-eye image by an image fusion effect.

31. An integrated circuit, comprising:

a left-eye image output unit configured to output a left-eye image constituting an original image in whole or in part;

a left-eye deflection unit configured to deflect, toward a left eye of a user, the left-eye image outputted by said left-eye image output unit;

a right-eye image output unit configured to output a right-eye image constituting the original image in whole or in part;

a right-eye deflection unit configured to deflect, toward a right eye of the user, the right-eye image outputted by said right-eye image output unit; and

a control unit configured to control said left-eye image output unit and said right-eye image output unit such that the left-eye image and the right-eye image are outputted, the left-eye image and the right-eye image being different from each other in at least one of pixel position, image shape, image size, image resolution, and display frame rate so that the user can recognize the original image from the left-eye image and the right-eye image by an image fusion effect.