Automatic switching of a multi-mode display for displaying three-dimensional and two-dimensional images

• US 9,041,771 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2011
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: City University of Hong Kong
• Original Assignee: City University of Hong Kong
• Inventors: Tsang, Peter Wai Ming
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley, Christopher S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhou, Zhihan
• Application Number:
  US13/155,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20120314024A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,448 Days
• Field of Search: 348/43, 348/46, 348/51, 359/462, 359/465
• US Class Current: 348/43
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0613 The adjustment depending on the type of the information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects
• 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

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices that control switching of a multi-mode barrier component for efficiently displaying various types of 2-D content and 3-D content are presented. A barrier control component detects an optical signal in a control region of a display screen that is providing visual content to the barrier component, and identifies the type of visual content, such as 2-D content, 3-D stereoscopic content, or 3-D autostereoscopic content, based at least in part on the optical signal. The barrier control component identifies a specified control signal based at least in part on the identified content type, and transmits the specified control signal to the barrier component via a wireline or wireless connection. The barrier component is controlled to automatically switch to a specified mode, such as 2-D mode, 3-D stereoscopic mode, or 3-D autostereoscopic mode, and employ a specified barrier pattern, in response to the received specified control signal.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a barrier control component configured to generate a control signal, based at least in part on a signal sensed from a portion of a visual image of video content presented as a visual output in a control region of a display screen of a display screen component that presents the video content, and transmit the control signal to a barrier component associated with the display screen to facilitate control of selection of a barrier pattern and a barrier pattern mode that correspond to the control signal and a video content type of the video content being presented, wherein the signal comprises an optical pattern comprising a first optical portion and a second optical portion that represent multiple bits of data having a data value that corresponds to the control signal and indicates the video content type of the video content and the barrier pattern and the barrier pattern mode to use to process the video content; and

a sensor component configured to monitor the control region of the display screen and sense the signal emitted from the control region, wherein the sensor component is further configured to comprise a sensor that faces and is aligned with the control region of the display screen to facilitate the sensing of the signal emitted from the control region, wherein the sensor comprises a light sensor, wherein the sensor component is further configured to comprise a set of light sensors comprising the light sensor and at least one other light sensor, and wherein a number of light sensors in the set of light sensors is same as a number of bits of data in the multiple bits of data associated with the signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the display screen component is configured to analyze the visual image to identify the video content type of the video content and generate the signal that is presented in the control region of the display screen to the sensor component.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the barrier control component is further configured to analyze the optical pattern, determine the data value based at least in part on a result of the analysis of the optical pattern, and determine the control signal from a set of available control signals based at least in part on the data value.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the barrier control component is further configured to determine the control signal by an analysis of a mapping of respective optical signals to respective control signals, wherein the signal is an optical signal that is mapped to the control signal.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the barrier pattern is a first barrier pattern of a set of available barrier patterns, and the barrier pattern mode is a first barrier pattern mode of a set of available barrier pattern modes.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the video content type of the video content is two-dimensional video content, wherein the first barrier pattern mode is a transparent barrier pattern mode of the first barrier pattern, wherein the transparent pattern mode causes the first barrier pattern to be transparent to allow the two-dimensional video content to pass through without the two-dimensional video content being altered by the first barrier pattern, and the two-dimensional video content is output from the first barrier pattern and presented to be viewed.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the video content type of the video content is a first type of enhanced two-dimensional video content comprising multiple respective two-dimensional views that are combined to produce a reconstructed three-dimensional scene, wherein the first barrier pattern mode is at least one of a partially opaque stereoscopic-type barrier pattern mode of the first barrier pattern or a partially opaque autostereoscopic-type barrier pattern mode of the first barrier pattern, wherein the at least one of the partially opaque stereoscopic-type barrier pattern mode or the partially opaque autostereoscopic-type barrier pattern mode causes the first barrier pattern to be partially opaque wherein, in response to the enhanced two-dimensional video content being received by the first barrier pattern, the first barrier pattern directs respective illuminating pixels along respective directions corresponding to the respective two-dimensional views of the reconstructed three-dimensional scene represented by the respective two-dimensional views, and the reconstructed three-dimensional scene is output from the first barrier pattern and presented to be viewed.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the enhanced two-dimensional video content comprises stereoscopic content that has two two-dimensional views of each scene portion of a three-dimensional scene being reconstructed to form the reconstructed three-dimensional scene, and wherein the first barrier pattern comprises a series of repeated columns of evenly spaced vertical opaque strips with a transparent space between adjacent vertical opaque strips.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the enhanced two-dimensional video content comprises autostereoscopic content that has more than two two-dimensional views of each scene portion of a three-dimensional scene being reconstructed to form the reconstructed three-dimensional scene, and wherein the first barrier pattern comprises a set of slanted opaque strips that are repetitive or regularly spaced with a transparent space between adjacent slanted opaque strips.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the barrier component is further configured to receive the control signal and select in real time at least one of the barrier pattern mode or the barrier pattern, based at least in part on the control signal, and wherein the barrier component is further configured to be aligned in relation to the display screen component to facilitate reception of the video content by the barrier component.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the barrier component is further configured to analyze the control signal and determine at least one of the barrier pattern mode or the barrier pattern that corresponds to the control signal.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the barrier component is further configured to determine at least one of the barrier pattern mode or the barrier pattern via an analysis of a mapping of respective control signals to respective barrier pattern modes or respective barrier patterns, wherein the control signal is mapped to at least one of the barrier pattern mode or the barrier pattern.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the barrier component is further configured to control an amount of voltage applied to the barrier pattern to control selection of the barrier pattern mode in response to the control signal.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the barrier component is an active parallax barrier.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the video content comprises a set of visual images comprising the visual image, a second visual image that is presented after the visual image, and a third visual image that is presented after the second visual image, wherein the signal is presented in the control region in conjunction with presentation of the visual image on the display screen, no signal is presented in the control region in conjunction with presentation of the second visual image, and a different signal is presented in conjunction with presentation of the third visual image, wherein the barrier control component generates the control signal in response to the signal, maintains the control signal in response to the no signal in the control region in conjunction with the presentation of the second visual image, and generates a different control signal in response to the different signal in conjunction with the presentation of the third visual image.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the display screen is configured to be a two-dimensional display screen, wherein the control region is formed in a portion of the two-dimensional display screen, and wherein the two-dimensional display screen is a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a combination LCD-LED display, a plasma display, a plasma display panel (PDP), a digital light processing (DLP) display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT) display.

17. A method, comprising:

detecting, by a system comprising a processor, a specified signal, which is embedded in a video image that is part of video content, and is presented as a visual output from a control region of the video image displayed on a display screen associated with a barrier component, wherein the specified signal comprises an optical pattern comprising a first optical element and a second optical element that represent multiple bits of data having a data value that corresponds to a specified control signal and indicates a video content type of the video content, and a set of light sensors is aligned with the control region of the display screen to facilitate the detecting of the specified signal presented as the visual output from the control region, wherein the set of light sensors comprises a light sensor and at least one other light sensor, and wherein a number of light sensors in the set of light sensors is same as a number of bits of data in the multiple bits of data associated with the specified signal;

determining, by the system, the specified control signal, of a set of available control signals, based at least in part on the information that indicates the video content type of the video content; and

transmitting, by the system, the specified control signal to the barrier component to facilitate controlling selecting a specified barrier pattern mode and a specified barrier pattern for processing the video image from a set of available barrier pattern modes and a set of available barrier patterns, wherein the specified barrier pattern mode and the specified barrier pattern correspond to the video content type of the video content.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

forming, by the system, the control region in the video image;

selecting, by the system, the specified signal from a set of available signals based at least in part on the video content type of the video content, wherein the video content type of the video content comprises one of two-dimensional video content, enhanced two-dimensional video content comprising stereoscopic video content, or enhanced two-dimensional video content comprising autostereoscopic video content;

embedding, by the system, the specified signal in a portion of the video image that corresponds with a location of the control region; and

displaying, by the system, the specified signal in the control region of the display screen.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

monitoring, by the system, information being presented by the control region; and

receiving, by the system, the video image associated with video content, wherein the specified signal is detected from the control region in real time, and wherein the specified control signal is determined from the set of available control signals in real time based at least in part on analyzing the specified signal.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

mapping, by the system, respective signals of a set of available signals to respective control signals of the set of available control signals, wherein each of the respective control signals corresponds to a respective barrier pattern mode of the set of available barrier pattern modes or a respective barrier pattern of the set of available barrier patterns; and

analyzing, by the system, the specified signal and the mapping of the respective signals of the set of available signals to the respective control signals of the set of control signals to facilitate the determining of the specified control signal.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving, by the system, the specified control signal;

selecting, by the system, at least one of the specified barrier pattern mode or the specified barrier pattern, based at least in part on the specified control signal; and

processing, by the system, the video image using the specified barrier pattern in the specified barrier pattern mode to generate processed video content comprising a two-dimensional scene or a reconstructed three-dimensional scene depending in part on the video content type of the video content of the video image, wherein the type of video content is one of normal two-dimensional video content, enhanced two-dimensional video content comprising stereoscopic video content, or enhanced two-dimensional video content comprising autostereoscopic video content; and

presenting, by the system, the processed video content.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

selecting, by the system, the at least one of the specified barrier pattern mode or the specified barrier pattern in response to the video content type of the video content of the video image being determined to be normal two-dimensional video content, wherein the specified barrier pattern mode is a transparent barrier pattern mode that causes the specified barrier pattern to be transparent to allow the video image to pass through the specified barrier pattern without the video image being altered by the specified barrier pattern; and

presenting, by the system, the video image, which is two-dimensional video content, as an output from the specified barrier pattern to facilitate viewing of the video image.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

selecting, by the system, at least one of the specified barrier pattern mode or the specified barrier pattern in response to the video content type of the video content of the video image being determined to be enhanced two-dimensional video content comprising stereoscopic video content comprising two respective two-dimensional views of a three-dimensional scene associated with the video image, wherein the specified barrier pattern mode is a stereoscopic-type barrier pattern mode that causes the specified barrier pattern to be a stereoscopic-type barrier pattern, wherein the stereoscopic-type barrier pattern is a partially opaque barrier pattern comprising a series of repeated columns of evenly spaced vertical opaque strips with a transparent space in between adjacent vertical opaque strips;

directing, by the system, respective illuminating pixels associated with the enhanced two-dimensional video content of the video image along respective directions corresponding to the respective two-dimensional views of the reconstructed three-dimensional scene that the respective two-dimensional views represent; and

presenting, by the system, the processed video content comprising the reconstructed three-dimensional scene as an output from the specified barrier pattern to facilitate viewing of the processed video content.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

selecting, by the system, at least one of the specified barrier pattern mode or the specified barrier pattern in response to the video content type of the video content of the video image being determined to be enhanced two-dimensional video content comprising autostereoscopic video content comprising more than two respective two-dimensional views of a three-dimensional scene associated with the video image, wherein the specified barrier pattern mode is an autostereoscopic-type barrier pattern mode that causes the specified barrier pattern to be an autostereoscopic-type barrier pattern, wherein the autostereoscopic-type barrier pattern is a partially opaque barrier pattern comprising a set of slanted opaque strips that are repetitive or regularly spaced with a transparent space in between adjacent slanted opaque strips;

directing, by the system, respective illuminating pixels associated with the enhanced two-dimensional video content of the video image along respective directions corresponding to the respective two-dimensional views of the reconstructed three-dimensional scene that the respective two-dimensional views represent; and

presenting, by the system, the processed video content comprising the reconstructed three-dimensional scene as an output from the specified barrier pattern to facilitate viewing of the processed video content.

25. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

in response to the specified control signal, controlling, by the system, an amount of voltage applied to the specified barrier pattern; and

controlling, by the system, selection of the specified barrier pattern mode based at least in part on the amount of voltage applied to the specified barrier pattern.

26. A system, comprising:

means for sensing a specified signal, which is presented by a video image that is part of video content, and is presented as a visual output from a control region of a display screen associated with a barrier component, wherein the specified signal comprises an optical pattern comprising a first optical portion and a second optical portion that represent at least two bits of data having a data value that corresponds to a specified control signal and indicates a video content type of the video content, and the means for sensing is optically connected to the control region of the display screen to facilitate sensing the specified signal presented as the visual output from the control region of the display screen, wherein the means for sensing comprises a set of light sensors comprising a light sensor and at least one other light sensor, and wherein a number of light sensors in the set of light sensors is same as a number of bits of data in the at least two bits of data associated with the specified signal; and

means for transmitting the specified control signal, of a set of available specified control signals, to the barrier component to facilitate controlling selecting a specified barrier pattern mode and a specified barrier pattern that correspond to the video content type of the video content and are determined to be suitable for processing the video image from a set of available barrier pattern modes and a set of available barrier patterns, wherein the specified control signal is selected based at least in part on the information indicating the video content type of the video content.

27. A computer readable storage device storing computer executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system comprising a processor to perform operations comprising:

detecting a signal, embedded in a video image of video content, and presented as a visual output from a control region of a display screen associated with a barrier component, wherein the signal comprises an optical pattern comprising a first optical region and a second optical region that represent multiple bits of data having a data value that corresponds to a control signal and indicates a video content type of the video content, wherein a set of light sensors is aligned with the control region of the display screen to facilitate the detecting of the signal presented as the visual output from the control region, wherein the set of light sensors comprises a light sensor and at least one other light sensor, and wherein a number of light sensors in the set of light sensors is same as a number of bits of data in the multiple bits of data associated with the signal;

selecting the control signal of a set of available control signals based at least in part on the information contained in the signal; and

transmitting the control signal to the barrier component to facilitate selecting a specified barrier pattern mode and a specified barrier pattern that correspond to the video content type of the video content for processing the video image from a set of available barrier pattern modes and a set of available barrier patterns.

28. The computer readable storage device of claim 27, wherein the operations further comprise:

analyzing the optical pattern;

determining the data value based at least in part on a result of the analysis of the optical pattern; and

determining the control signal from the set of available control signals based at least in part on the data value.