METHOD FOR SETTING STEREOSCOPIC IMAGE DATA AT A STEREOSCOPIC IMAGE DISPLAY SYSTEM

• US 20140063213A1
• Filed: 07/10/2013
• Published: 03/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: TSUCHIHASHI, MORIYUKI, ZHENG, YI
• Granted Patent: US 9,438,893 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/305 using lenticular lenses, e.g. arrangements of cylindrical lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/317 using slanted parallax optics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/324 Colour aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/351 for displaying simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/376 for tracking left-right translational head movements, i.e. lateral movements

Abstract

A method for moving viewing positions of a stereoscopic image display system is disclosed. Each cylindrical lens is tilted relative to vertical lines. A data stripe for left eye and a data stripe for right eye making up stereoscopic image data are alternately set to correspond to the cylindrical lenses. At a home position, a long axis of the cylindrical lens agrees with the center of each data stripe, thus concentrating light at a predetermined concentrating position. When setting stereoscopic image data at a different position of sub-pixels that is shifted vertically downward from the home position, the center of the data stripe is shifted relative to the long axis by 0.5 times the length of the sub-pixels horizontally to the left thus concentrating light at a concentrating position moved from the home position in the left-right direction.

Claims

1. A method for setting stereoscopic image data at a stereoscopic image display device, said method comprising:

providing a light beam controller having a long axis tilted relative to a plurality of vertical lines at a predetermined tilted angle, wherein said light beam controller is configured to concentrate light beams emitted from a pixel matrix at a predetermined position, wherein said pixel matrix includes a plurality of sub-pixels disposed at intersections of horizontal lines and vertical lines;

setting stereoscopic image data at a home position of said pixel matrix in order to concentrate light at a first viewing position; and

setting stereoscopic image data at a different position that is shifted from said home position by a predetermined number of rows of said horizontal lines in a direction of said vertical lines corresponding to an up-down direction of a viewer in order to concentrate light at a second viewing position that said viewer has moved from said first viewing position in a left-right direction of said viewer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said predetermined number of rows is one.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting stereoscopic image data at a position where said vertical lines are shifted by one column from said home position in order to concentrate light at a third viewing position by shifting a setting position of said stereoscopic image data in a direction of said vertical lines by a predetermined number of said horizontal lines and then concentrate light at a fourth viewing position by shifting said setting position in said left-right direction.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said sub-pixels have color arrangement of vertical stripes, and one pixel is made up of a plurality of sub-pixels in different colors that are adjacent in a direction of said horizontal lines.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said light beam controller includes elements for left eye and elements for right eye that are disposed alternately in the direction of said horizontal lines, each of said elements having a long axis, and stereoscopic image data for left eye is set at sub-pixels corresponding to said elements for left eye and stereoscopic image data for right eye is set at sub-pixels corresponding to said elements for right eye.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising setting stereoscopic image data at said home position in order to concentrate line at a fifth viewing position that is shifted further in said left-right direction from said fourth viewing position.

7. The method of claims 1, wherein stereoscopic image data is set at pixels made up of a plurality of sub-pixels in different colors disposed along lines parallel to said long axis of said light beam controller.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising

detecting a position of said viewer of said stereoscopic image display device;

and

determining a number of rows of said horizontal lines for shifting and a direction for shifting in accordance with said position of said viewer.

9. A method for moving a viewing position of a stereoscopic image display device, said method comprising:

providing a light beam controller having a plurality of elements aligned in a horizontal direction, each of said plurality of elements includes a long axis that is tilted relative to a plurality of vertical lines at a predetermined tilted angle, wherein said light beam controller is configured to concentrate light beams emitted from a pixel matrix at a predetermined position, wherein said pixel matrix includes a plurality of sub-pixels disposed at intersections of horizontal lines and vertical lines;

setting stereoscopic image data at a basic position of said pixel matrix;

shifting a setting position of stereoscopic image data at said pixel matrix in accordance with a viewing position from a basic position by a predetermined number of rows in a direction of said vertical lines; and

shifting a setting position of stereoscopic image data at said pixel matrix in accordance with a viewing position from said basic position by a predetermined number of columns in a direction of said horizontal lines.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said stereoscopic image data is set at pixel stripes made up of said plurality of sub-pixels, each pixel stripe being defined corresponding to each element of said light beam controller, and the stereoscopic image data makes up data stripes, each having a center line that is shifted by a length shorter than a lengthwise length of each sub-pixel in a direction of said horizontal lines when a setting position of said stereoscopic image data is shifted by one row of said horizontal lines from said basic position.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said plurality of sub-pixels make up one pixel, and the number of sub-pixels making up one pixel stripe is integral multiple of the number of sub-pixels making up one pixel.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein each sub-pixel has a crosswise length that is a times a lengthwise length and a tilted angle is θ

, a center line is shifted by a×

tan θ

in the direction of horizontal lines when a setting position of the stereoscopic image data is shifted by one row of said horizontal lines from said basic position.

13. The method of claims 9, wherein said data stripes making up stereoscopic image data for left eye and the data stripes making up stereoscopic image data for right eye are disposed alternately in the direction of the horizontal lines.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein said data stripes include stereoscopic image data shot at a plurality of viewpoints.

15. A stereoscopic image display system comprising:

a light beam controller having a long axis that is tilted relative to a plurality of vertical lines at a predetermined tilted angle, wherein said light beam controller is configured to concentrate light beams emitted from a pixel matrix at a viewing position, wherein said pixel matrix includes a plurality of sub-pixels disposed at intersections of horizontal lines and vertical lines;

a data conversion circuit for converting stereoscopic image data to be set at a home position of said pixel matrix into stereoscopic image data to be set at said pixel matrix at a position where said horizontal lines are shifted from said home position in a direction of said vertical lines corresponding to an up-down direction of a viewer by a predetermined number of rows; and

a viewing position detection circuit that detects a viewing position of said viewer, wherein said data conversion circuit determines the number of rows of said horizontal lines for shifting and a direction for shifting in accordance with an output from said viewing position detection circuit.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said light beam controller is a lenticular sheet.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein said viewing position detection circuit includes a camera.