IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20160125571A1
• Filed: 10/08/2015
• Published: 05/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products & Services Corporation (Midea Group Co., Ltd), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ohno, Katsuya
• Application Number:
  US14/878,779
• Publication Number:
  US 20160125571A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/028 by changing the viewing angle properties, e.g. widening the viewing angle, adapting the viewing angle to the view direction
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0478 Horizontal positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092

Abstract

According to one embodiment, an image processing apparatus includes a display formed of a flat panel and configured to display a video image, and a display controller configured to generate a curved image and output, to the display, a display signal for displaying the curved image. The curved image is obtained by reducing and deforming an input image. The display controller reduces the input image by a maximum reduction ratio in a predetermined position, and reduces the input image by a smaller reduction ratio in a position remoter from the predetermined position.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a display formed of a flat panel and configured to display a video image; and

a display controller configured to generate a curved image and output, to the display, a display signal for displaying the curved image, the curved image being obtained by reducing and deforming an input image included in an input video signal in accordance with a horizontal position of the input image, to curve the input image perpendicularly,

wherein the display controller reduces the input image by a maximum reduction ratio in a predetermined horizontal position, and reduces the input image by a smaller reduction ratio in a horizontal position remoter from the predetermined horizontal position.

2. The image processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display controller is configured to change a curvature as a ratio of curving of the curved image.

3. The image processing apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a position detector configured to obtain position information indicative of an observation position in which the display is observed,

wherein the display controller changes the predetermined horizontal position in which the input image is reduced by the maximum reduction ratio, based on the position information.

4. The image processing apparatus of claim 3, further comprising an observation distance measuring unit configured to calculate an observation distance as a distance between the display and the observation position,

wherein the display controller changes the predetermined horizontal position in which the input image is reduced by the maximum reduction ratio, based on the observation distance.

5. The image processing apparatus of claim 4, further comprising an observation angle measuring unit configured to obtain angle information indicative of an angle at which the display is observed in the observation position,

wherein the display controller changes the predetermined horizontal position in which the input image is reduced by the maximum reduction ratio, in accordance with the angle information.

6. The image processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the display controller changes the predetermined position in which the input image is reduced by the maximum reduction ratio, in accordance with curvature information associated with the curvature and suitable for a type of content.

7. The image processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the display controller provides a back band in a blank portion of a display area of the display, in which no curved image is displayed.

8. The image processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the input image is divided into predetermined zones, the display controller divides the input image using triangular polygons.

9. The image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein when the input image is divided into the predetermined zones defined by the triangular polygons, the display controller sets a larger number of zones, defined by a larger number of triangular polygons, for a portion of the input image that may be decreased in reduction ratio.

10. The image processing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the display controller increases a curvature of the curved image when the observation distance is short, and reduces the curvature of the curved image when the observation distance is long.

11. The image processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the display controller is configured to change the curvature as the ratio of curving of the curved image in accordance with a signal output from an external terminal.