THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE DISPLAY METHOD

• US 20110254844A1
• Filed: 01/25/2011
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Daigo, Shinji, Hatakeda, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 9,204,126 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/426
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/128 Adjusting depth or disparity
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/156 Mixing image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/183 On-screen display [OSD] information, e.g. subtitles or menus

Abstract

A three-dimensional content playback unit outputs to two or more image buffers a plurality of stereoscopic images of three-dimensional content, including a first parallax image and a second parallax image, resulting from viewing an object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints. An interrupt request receiving unit receives an interrupt request requesting that a control menu be displayed. A control menu output unit overwrites, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request by the interrupt request receiving unit, a drawn image of an object in a three-dimensional space with an image of an object of the control menu drawn with parallax while moving the object of the control menu in the depth direction of the virtual three-dimensional space away from the viewpoint, regardless of the relative positions of the object of the control menu and the object in the three-dimensional space.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional image display device comprising:

a three-dimensional content playback unit configured to output to two or more image buffers a plurality of stereoscopic images of three-dimensional content, including a first parallax image and a second parallax image, resulting from viewing an object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints;

an interrupt request receiving unit configured to receive an interrupt request requesting that a control menu be displayed; and

a control menu output unit configured to overwrite, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request by the interrupt request receiving unit, a drawn image of an object in a three-dimensional space with an image of an object of the control menu drawn with parallax while moving the object of the control menu in the depth direction of the virtual three-dimensional space away from the viewpoint, regardless of the relative positions of the object of the control menu and the object in the three-dimensional space.

2. The three-dimensional image display device according to claim 1,

wherein the virtual three-dimensional space is defined such that a plane, where there is no parallax between the first parallax image and the second parallax image, coincides with a display screen of the display device displaying the image, and

the control menu output unit outputs the image of the object of the control menu drawn with parallax while moving the object of the control menu from a viewpoint that is nearer than the plane, where there is no parallax between the first parallax image and the second parallax image, until the object reaches the plane.

3. The three-dimensional image display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a luminance value control unit configured to lower a luminance value of the stereoscopic images of the three-dimensional content in response to the acquisition of an interrupt request by the interrupt request acquisition unit.

4. A three-dimensional image display device comprising:

a three-dimensional content playback unit configured to output to two or more image buffers a plurality of stereoscopic images of three-dimensional content, including a first parallax image and a second parallax image, resulting from viewing an object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints;

an interrupt request receiving unit configured to receive an interrupt request requesting that a control menu be displayed;

a buffer duplication unit configured to copy, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request by the interrupt request acquisition unit, content in the image buffer storing either the first parallax image or the second parallax image to the other image buffer; and

a control menu output unit configured to overwrite, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request by the interrupt request acquisition unit, display areas for the objects already drawn with an image of an object of the control menu, regardless of the relative positions of the object of the control menu and the object already drawn.

5. A three-dimensional image display device comprising:

a three-dimensional content playback unit configured to output to two or more image buffers a plurality of stereoscopic images of three-dimensional content, including a first parallax image and a second parallax image, resulting from viewing an object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints;

an interrupt request receiving unit configured to receive an interrupt request requesting that a control menu be displayed;

a closest coordinate acquisition unit configured to acquire, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request by the interrupt request acquisition unit, positional coordinates of the content located closest to the viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space for all the three-dimensional content output by the three-dimensional content playback unit; and

a control menu output unit configured to output to the image buffers, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request by the interrupt request acquisition unit, an image of an object of the control menu located nearer to the viewpoint than the positional coordinates acquired by the closest coordinate acquisition unit.

6. A three-dimensional image display method comprising:

outputting to two or more image buffers a plurality of stereoscopic images of three-dimensional content, including a first parallax image and a second parallax image, resulting from viewing an object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints;

receiving an interrupt request requesting that a control menu be displayed; and

overwriting, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request, a drawn image of an object in a three-dimensional space with an image of an object of the control menu drawn with parallax while moving the object of the control menu in the depth direction of the virtual three-dimensional space away from the viewpoint, regardless of the relative positions of the object of the control menu and the object in the three-dimensional space.

7. A program embedded in a computer readable recording medium, comprising:

a module configured to output to two or more image buffers a plurality of stereoscopic images of three-dimensional content, including a first parallax image and a second parallax image, resulting from viewing an object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints;

a module configured to receive an interrupt request requesting that a control menu be displayed; and

a module configured to overwrite, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request, a drawn image of an object in a three-dimensional space with an image of an object of the control menu drawn with parallax while moving the object of the control menu in the depth direction of the virtual three-dimensional space away from the viewpoint, regardless of the relative positions of the object of the control menu and the object in the three-dimensional space.

8. A three-dimensional image display method comprising:

outputting to two or more image buffers a plurality of stereoscopic images of three-dimensional content, including a first parallax image and a second parallax image, resulting from viewing an object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints;

receiving an interrupt request requesting that a control menu be displayed;

copying, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request, content in the image buffer storing either the first parallax image or the second parallax image to the other image buffer; and

overwriting, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request, display areas for the objects already drawn with an image of an object of the control menu, regardless of the relative positions of the object of the control menu and the object already drawn.

9. A program embedded in a computer readable recording medium, comprising:

a module configured to output to two or more image buffers a plurality of stereoscopic images of three-dimensional content, including a first parallax image and a second parallax image, resulting from viewing an object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints;

a module configured to receive an interrupt request requesting that a control menu be displayed;

a module configured to copy, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request, content in the image buffer storing either the first parallax image or the second parallax image to the other image buffer; and

a module configured to overwrite, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request, display areas for the objects already drawn with an image of an object of the control menu, regardless of the relative positions of the object of the control menu and the object already drawn.

10. A three-dimensional image display method comprising:

outputting to two or more image buffers a plurality of stereoscopic images of three-dimensional content, including a first parallax image and a second parallax image, resulting from viewing an object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints;

receiving an interrupt request requesting that a control menu be displayed; and

acquiring, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request, positional coordinates of the content located closest to the viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space for all three-dimensional content output to the image buffers, and outputting to the image buffers an image of an object of the control menu located nearer to the viewpoint than the acquired positional coordinates.

11. A program embedded in a computer readable recording medium, comprising:

a module configured to output to two or more image buffers a plurality of stereoscopic images of three-dimensional content, including a first parallax image and a second parallax image, resulting from viewing an object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints;

a module configured to receive an interrupt request requesting that a control menu be displayed; and

a module configured to acquire, responsive to the acquisition of an interrupt request, positional coordinates of the content located closest to the viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space for all three-dimensional content output to the image buffers, and outputting to the image buffers an image of an object of the control menu located nearer to the viewpoint than the acquired positional coordinates.