Compound eye camera system

• US 6,278,480 B1
• Filed: 02/04/1998
• Issued: 08/21/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Mori, Katsuhiko, Iijima, Katsumi, Yano, Kotaro, Morishima, Hideki, Sakimura, Takeo, Kurahashi, Sunao
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelly, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): An, Shawn S.
• Application Number:
  US09/018,652
• Time in Patent Office: 1,294 Days
• Field of Search: 348/59, 348/42, 348/50, 348/51, 348/52, 358/108, 396/326, 396/324, 396/377, 396/20, 396/332
• US Class Current: 348/59
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/27 involving lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/10 Processing, recording or transmission of stereoscopic or multi-view image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/15 for colour aspects of image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/161 Encoding, multiplexing or demultiplexing different image signal components for multi-view video sequence encoding H04N19/597
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/167 Synchronising or controlling image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/189 Recording image signals; Reproducing recorded image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/194 Transmission of image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/239 using two 2D image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance H04N13/243 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/296 Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof
• 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 13/356 having separate monoscopic and stereoscopic modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/398 Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/597 specially adapted for multi-view video sequence encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2013/0088 Synthesising a monoscopic image signal from stereoscopic images, e.g. synthesising a panoramic or high resolution monoscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

A compound eye camera provided integrally with plural image pickup elements and a display unit adapted to display an image, divided into stripes in every scanning line or in every plural scanning lines and to give different directionalities to the display of the striped image in the odd-numbered lines and the display of the striped image in the even-numbered lines, thereby providing stereoscopic display at a predetermined observing position. The camera further has a display control unit for dividing each of two images, picked up with the plural image pickup elements and having a parallax, into stripes in the horizontal direction and alternately arranging the divided stripes by every line to synthesize a striped image, and causing the display unit to display such synthesized striped image.

Claims

1. A stereo camera comprising:

left and right image pickup means provided a predetermined distance apart from each other, for converting an object image to left and right image signals;

image processing means for performing a predetermined process to left and right image signals output from said left and right image pickup means;

recording means for recording output signals from said image processing means;

display means for displaying the output signals of said image processing means; and

display control means for controlling said display means to display the left and right image signals in first and second displaying regions in a display screen of said display means so as to form a stereo image with a predetermined parallax at a position a predetermined distance apart from a surface of said display means,

wherein said left and right image pickup means are mechanically and rotatable supported on said display means so as to vary an orientation of image pickup operation of said left and right image pickup means, and

wherein said display control means causes said display means to selectively display the object image picked up by said left and right image pickup means in one of a stereoscopic image pickup mode and a two-dimensional image pickup mode.

2. A stereo camera according to claim 1, wherein said display means includes light emitting display elements and is adapted, by said display elements, to form a light emitting pattern having different directionalities in the display of odd-numbered lines of a striped image and in the display of even-numbered lines of the striped image.

3. A stereo camera according to claim 1, wherein said display means includes:

an illuminating light source;

an aperture mask having checker-patterned apertures that transmit light received from said illuminating light source;

a first lenticular lens that provides a light beam transmitted by said aperture mask with different directionalities respectively corresponding to odd-numbered lines and even-numbered lines of a striped image;

a second lenticular lens that provides a light beam transmitted by said first lenticular lens with a viewing area corresponding to each line of the striped image; and

liquid crystal display means for displaying the striped image.

4. A stereo camera according to claim 1, further comprising:

memory means for storing images with a parallax, picked up by said left and right image pickup means;

wherein said display control means is adapted to synthesize the images with a parallax, stored in said memory means, into a striped image and to cause said striped image to be displayed.

5. A stereo camera according to claim 1, further comprising:

mode setting means for selectively setting the camera in the stereoscopic image pickup mode or the two-dimensional image pickup mode;

wherein said display means selectively displays the image as one of a stereoscopic image display, in which different directionalities are given to the display of the odd-numbered lines and the display of the even-numbered lines, and a two-dimensional image display, in which different directionalities are not given to the display of every line; and

wherein said display control means is adapted, when the camera is set in the stereoscopic image pickup mode, to synthesize the image with a parallax, picked up by said left and right image pickup means, into a striped image and to cause said display means to display a stereoscopic image, and, when the camera is set in the two-dimensional image pickup mode, to cause said display means to two-dimensionally display the two-dimensional images picked up by said left and right image pickup means.

6. A stereo camera according to claim 1, further comprising:

a digital interface connectable with an external equipment through an interface cable;

wherein said control means is adapted to transmit the image, synthesized by said display control means, through said digital interface.

7. A stereo camera according to claim 1, wherein said display means displays the stereo image divided in stripes by every scanning line or by every plural scanning lines, with different directionalities for the display of stripe images in even-numbered lines, thereby providing a stereoscopic image at a predetermined observing position;

and

said display control means divides each of two images with a parallax, picked up by said plural image pickup means, into stripes in the horizontal direction, synthesizing a striped image by alternately arranging thus divided stripes by every line, and

outputting said synthesized striped image to said display means.

8. A stereo camera according to claim 5, wherein the two-dimensional image pickup mode is a panoramic image pickup mode;

and

wherein said display control means is adapted, when the camera is set in the panoramic image pickup mode, to combine left and right images, picked up by said left and right image pickup means and having overlapping portions, in a lateral direction in such a manner that the overlapping portions mutually overlap thereby forming a panoramic image and to cause said display means to two-dimensionally display the panoramic image.

9. A stereo camera according to claim 5,

wherein said mode setting means selectively sets the camera in a recording mode or a reproducing mode;

and

wherein the camera further comprises;

memory means for storing images picked up by said left and right image pickup means; and

control means for controlling said memory means and adapted, when the camera is set in the recording mode, to cause said memory means to store images with a parallax or two-dimensional images picked up by said left and right image pickup means, and, when the camera is set in the reproducing mode, to read out the images with parallax or the two-dimensional images stored by said memory means; and

wherein said display control means is adapted to synthesize the images with a parallax or the two-dimensional images read out from said memory means and to cause said display means to display said synthesized image.

10. A stereo camera according to claim 9,

wherein the two-dimensional images stored by said memory means are left and right images picked up by said left and right image pickup means and having overlapping portions;

and

said display control means is adapted, when the left and right images having overlapping portions are read out from said memory means, to combine the left and right images in a lateral direction in such a manner that the overlapping portions mutually overlap thereby forming a panoramic image and to cause said display means to two-dimensionally display the panoramic image.