Three-dimensional image display device and three-dimensional image display method for displaying control menu in three-dimensional image

• US 9,204,126 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2011
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• 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.), Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hatakeda, Takashi, Daigo, Shinji
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Xiao
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cobb, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US13/013,118
• Publication Number:
  US 20110254844A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,771 Days
• Field of Search: 345419-427, 715/757, 715810-845, 348 42- 60
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 as a three-dimensional (3D) object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints,

wherein a plurality of 3D objects are displayed in the virtual three-dimensional space at various depths in a depth direction from a viewpoint of a user;

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 display the control menu stereoscopically as a 3D menu object with parallax and to dynamically move the 3D menu object away from the viewpoint of the user in the depth direction after receiving the interrupt request,

wherein, as the 3D menu object fluidly moves away from the viewpoint,

if any 3D object is located in front of the 3D menu object in the depth direction, any portion of the 3D object overlapping with the 3D menu object is overwritten by the 3D menu object,

if any 3D object is located at a same depth of the 3D menu object in the depth direction, any portion of the 3D object overlapping with the 3D menu object is overwritten by the 3D menu object, and

if any 3D object is located behind the 3D menu object in the depth direction, any portion of the 3D object overlapping with the 3D menu object is overwritten by the 3D menu object,

wherein the user cannot interact with the 3D menu object until it arrives at a final location in the virtual three-dimensional space,

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 menu 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 and the menu object is displayed with no parallax at the final location.

2. 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 receiving unit.

3. 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 as a three-dimensional (3D) object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints,

wherein a plurality of 3D objects are displayed in the virtual three-dimensional space at various depths in a depth direction from a viewpoint of a user on a display device;

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

displaying the control menu stereoscopically as a 3D menu object with parallax and dynamically moving the 3D menu object away from the viewpoint of the user in the depth direction after receiving the interrupt request,

wherein, as the 3D menu object fluidly moves away from the viewpoint, if any 3D object is located in front of the 3D menu object in the depth direction, any portion of the 3D object overlapping with the 3D menu object is overwritten by the 3D menu object,

if any 3D object is located at a same depth of the 3D menu object in the depth direction, any portion of the 3D object overlapping with the 3D menu object is overwritten by the 3D menu object, and

if any 3D object is located behind the 3D menu object in the depth direction, any portion of the 3D object overlapping with the 3D menu object is overwritten by the 3D menu object,

wherein a user cannot interact with the 3D menu object until it arrives at a final location in the virtual three-dimensional space, and

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,

outputting the image of the menu 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 and the menu object is displayed with no parallax at the final location.

4. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a program, the program 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 as a three-dimensional (3D) object in a virtual three-dimensional space from different viewpoints on a display device,

wherein a plurality of 3D objects are displayed in the virtual three-dimensional space at various depths in a depth direction from a viewpoint of a user;

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

a module configured to display the control menu stereoscopically as a 3D menu object with parallax and to dynamically move the 3D menu object away from the viewpoint of the user in the depth direction after receiving the interrupt request,

wherein, as the 3D menu object fluidly moves away from the viewpoint,

if any 3D object is located in front of the 3D menu object in the depth direction, any portion of the 3D object overlapping with the 3D menu object is overwritten by the 3D menu object,

if any 3D object is located at a same depth of the 3D menu object in the depth direction, any portion of the 3D object overlapping with the 3D menu object is overwritten by the 3D menu object, and

if any 3D object is located behind the 3D menu object in the depth direction, any portion of the 3D object overlapping with the 3D menu object is overwritten by the 3D menu object, and

wherein a user cannot interact with the 3D menu object until it arrives at a final location in the virtual three-dimensional space,

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 module configured to display the control menu outputs the image of the menu 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 and the menu object is displayed with no parallax at the final location.