Mobile terminal and method for adjusting and displaying a stereoscopic image

• US 9,420,257 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2011
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Seol, Yunhwan
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Burwell, Joseph R
• Application Number:
  US13/053,035
• Publication Number:
  US 20120013605A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,975 Days
• Field of Search: 715/848
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/128 Adjusting depth or disparity
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/144 for flicker reduction
• 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 13/337 using polarisation multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/341 using temporal multiplexing

Abstract

A mobile terminal includes a controller and a display configured to display a stereoscopic image comprising a first image provided to a left eye and a second image provided to a right eye. The controller searches for a plurality of objects within the first image and the second image, wherein each of the plurality of objects is correspondingly present in both the first image and in the second image to form a stereoscopic image; calculates a separation distance for each object; changes only a position of a selected object of each of the first and second images when the calculated separation distance for the selected object is equal to or greater than a threshold value to decrease the separation distance for the selected object to less than the threshold value; and causes the display to display the changed first and second images.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a controller;

a user input unit; and

a display configured to display a stereoscopic image,

wherein the controller is configured to;

cause the display to display the stereoscopic image comprising a first image provided to a left eye of a user and a second image provided to a right eye of the user;

search for a plurality of objects within the first image and the second image, wherein each of the plurality of objects is correspondingly present in both the first image and in the second image to form a stereoscopic image of each object;

calculate a separation distance for each object of the plurality of objects, the separation distance corresponding to a distance between a position of each object of the plurality of objects of the first image and a position of the corresponding each object of the plurality of objects of the second image when the first and second images are overlapped;

change only a position of a selected object of the plurality of objects of each of the first and second images in response to a selection input received via the user input unit selecting the selected object, to decrease the separation distance for the selected object by a predetermined distance;

change only the position of the selected object of each of the first and second images again to decrease the separation distance for the selected object by the predetermined distance in response to each of a plurality of additional selection inputs selecting the selected object;

insert a first portion of the first image into the second image, wherein the first portion comprises image information at a position of the first image which corresponds to an original position of the selected object of the second image;

insert a second portion of the second image into the first image, wherein the second portion comprises image information at a position of the second image which corresponds to an original position of the selected object of the first image; and

cause the display to display the changed first and second images.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the display comprises an image displaying means and a parallax generating means provided over the image displaying means to change at least one of a propagation direction and a vibration direction of a light generated from the image displaying means.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to search for the plurality of objects by a block search algorithm or an object tracking algorithm.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to change the position of the selected object of each of the first and second images by moving the selected object closer by a set distance to a center point between a position of the selected object of the first image and a position of the selected object of the second image when the first and second images are overlapped.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to cause the display to display the selected object of each of the first and second images with a prescribed visual effect before changing the position of the selected object.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to cause the display to display a menu window proximate to the selected object, the menu window including a selectable manual setting to change the position of the selected object of each of the first and second images manually and a selectable automatic setting to change the position of the selected object of each of the first and second images automatically.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to cause the display to display a scroll bar for adjusting a distance of the position change of the selected object of each of the first and second images when the manual setting is selected.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to change the position of the selected object of each of the first image and second image when automatic setting is selected, such that the separation distance is less than the threshold value.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein:

the controller is further configured to cause the display to display a convergence object at a first position in the first image and at a second position in the second image,

the first position and second position are congruent when the first and second image are overlapped, and

the convergence object is displayed with a different prescribed visual effect according to a stereoscopic effect level of the selected object.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the threshold value is a distance corresponding to a binocular interval of the user.

11. A method of controlling a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

displaying a stereoscopic image comprising a first image provided to a left eye of a user and a second image provided to a right eye of the user;

searching for a plurality of objects within the first image and the second image, wherein each of the plurality of objects is correspondingly present in both the first image and in the second image to form a stereoscopic image of each object;

calculating a separation distance for each object of the plurality of objects, the separation distance corresponding to a distance between a position of each object of the plurality of objects of the first image and a position of the corresponding each object of the plurality of objects of the second image when the first and second images are overlapped;

changing only a position of a selected object of the plurality of objects of each of the first and second images in response to a selection input received via a user input unit selecting the selected object, to decrease the separation distance for the selected object by a predetermined distance;

changing only the position of the selected object of each of the first and second images again to decrease the separation distance for the selected object by the predetermined distance in response to each of a plurality of additional selection inputs selecting the selected object;

inserting a first portion of the first image into the second image, wherein the first portion comprises image information at a position of the first image which corresponds to an original position of the selected object of the second image;

inserting a second portion of the second image into the first image, wherein the second portion comprises image information at a position of the second image which corresponds to an original position of the selected object of the first image; and

displaying the changed first and second images on the display.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising searching for the plurality of objects by a block search algorithm or an object tracking algorithm.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising moving the selected object of each of the first and second images closer by a set distance to a center point between a position of the selected object of the first image and a position of the selected object of the second image when the first and second images are overlapped.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising displaying the selected object of each of the first and second images with a prescribed visual effect before changing the position of the at selected object.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the threshold value is a distance corresponding to a binocular interval of a user.