Stereoscopic television apparatus

• US 4,851,901 A
• Filed: 08/28/1987
• Issued: 07/25/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Iwasaki, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Groody, James J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peng, John K.
• Application Number:
  US07/090,521
• Time in Patent Office: 697 Days
• Field of Search: 358/88, 358/1, 358/92, 358/111, 250/306
• US Class Current: 348/42
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10012 Stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10116 X-ray image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/97 Determining parameters from multiple pictures depth or shape recovery from multiple images G06T7/55; stereo camera calibration G06T7/85
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/10 Processing, recording or transmission of stereoscopic or multi-view image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/156 Mixing 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 13/334 using spectral multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/341 using temporal multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/363 using image projection screens volumetric display H04N13/388
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/398 Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2013/0081 Depth or disparity estimation from stereoscopic image signals

Abstract

A stereoscopic television apparatus comprises two image sensors which alternately output image signals respectively corresponding to those of the right and left eyes, a monitor alternately displaying the image signals of the two image sensors as first and second field images, and a shutter member having right and left shutters alternately switched in synchronism with the alternating displays of the first and second field images, to create a stereoscopic image. A marker generator inputs brightness signals corresponding to markers into the monitor, to provide the markers at two arbitrary poionts in the stereoscopic image. A distance calculator calculates the distance between the markers, based on the coordinates X, Y, Z obtained by processing the marker signals.

Claims

1. A stereoscopic television apparatus, comprising:

image signal output means for generating image signals corresponding to views of right and left eyes, in which said image signal output means comprises X-ray generating means which irradiates X-ray onto a subject and has first and second X-ray sources arranged in a distance between them, image intensifier means which outputs as an X-ray image the X-ray received through said subject from said X-ray generating means, and image pickup means which picks up X-ray images and outputs image signals;

display means which displays as images said image signals being output from said image signal output means and corresponding to the respective views of the right and left eyes;

optical means employed to create as a stereoscopic image said image displayed by said display means;

marker signal output means connected to the output of said image signal output means and generating marker signals for combining with said image signals to form at least two markers in the stereoscopic image being displayed by said display means and observed through said optical means;

coordinate calculation means connected to said marker signal output means and calculating coordinates of markers from said marker signals, wherein said coordinate calculation means includes means which calculates the coordinates (X, Y, Z) of said markers by the following formulas, ##EQU4## where c=the distance between X-ray sources, h=the distance from said X-ray sources to said image intensifier means, d=the distance from said subject to said image intensifier means, XR=the distance from an end of said intensifier means to an X-ray image projection point of an object part corresponding to said marker and being irradiated by X-ray of said first X-ray source, XL=the distance from said end of said image intensifier means to an X-ray projection point of said subject part corresponding to said marker and being irradiated by X-ray of said second X-ray source, l=the width of said image intensifier means, and Y=the depth of said intensifier means; and

distance calculator means connected to said coordinate calculation means and calculating the distance between said markers from said coordinates.

2. A stereoscopic television apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said X-ray generating means includes an X-ray tube having two focal points which are separated with a distance between them and alternately radiate X-rays.

3. A stereoscopic television apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said image pickup means comprises first and second image sensors that alternately pick up X-ray images from said image intensifier means in synchronism with x-ray irradiation from said first and second X-ray sources.

4. A stereoscopic television apparatus, comprising:

image signal output means for generating image signals corresponding to views of right and left eyes;

display means which displays as images said image signals being output from said image signal output means and corresponding to the respective views of the right and left eyes;

optical means employed to create as a stereoscopic image said images displayed by said display means;

marker signal output means connected to the output of said image signal output means and generating marker signals for combining with said image signals to form at least two markers in the stereoscopic image being displayed by said display means and observed through said optical means, in which said marker signal output means includes means for generating marker signals, in a manner of representing stereoscopically, the marker nearer to the observer in a larger size than the size of the marker farther away from the observer;

coordinate calculation means connected to said marker signal output means and calculating coordinates of markers from said marker signals; and

distance calculator means connected to said coordinate calculation means and calculating the distance between said markers from said coordinates.

5. A stereoscopic television apparatus, comprising:

image signal output means for generating image signals corresponding to views of right and left eyes, in which said image signal output means includes image pickup means which picks up image of a subject from first and second image pickup positions corresponding to right and left eyes;

display means which displays as images said image signals being output from said image signal output means and corresponding to the respective views of the right and left eyes;

optical means employed to create as a stereoscopic image said images displayed by said display means;

marker signal output means connected to the output of said image signal output means and generating marker signals for combining with said image signals to form at least two markers in the stereoscopic image being displayed by said display means and observed through said optical means;

coordinate calculation means connected to said marker signal output means and calculating coordinates of markers from said marker signals, wherein said coordinate calculation means calculates coordinates (X, Y, Z) of said markers by the following formulas, ##EQU5## where θ

=the angle of view of camera, η

, ξ

=the angle of subject to first and second image pickup positions, l=the length of horizontal axis of frame, XL and XR=the distance from the left end of frame to the object corresponding to the marker; and

distance calculator means connected to said coordinate calculation means and calculating the distance between said markers from said coordinates.

6. A stereoscopic television apparatus as claimed in claim 5, in which said image pickup means comprises first and second solid image pickup cameras arranged to correspond to first and second image pickup positions.

7. A stereoscopic television apparatus, comprising:

image signal output means for generating image signals corresponding to views of right and left eyes, in which said image signal output means includes image pickup means for picking up image of a subject from first and second image pickup positions corresponding to right and left eyes;

display means which displays as images said image signals being output from said image signal output means and corresponding to the respective views of the right and left eyes;

optical means employed to create as a stereoscopic image said images displayed by said display means;

marker signal output means connected to the output of said image signal output means and generating marker signals for combining with said image signals to form at least two markers in the stereoscopic image being displayed by said display means and observed through said optical means;

coordinate calculation means connected to said marker signal output means and calculating coordinates of markers from said marker signals, wherein said coordinate calculation means includes means for setting, at least, an angle of view of camera, an angle of subject to first and second image pickup positions, and a distance between the first and second image pickup positions, to obtain angle data and distance data, and means for calculating the coordinates of said markers, based on the angle data and distance data; and

distance calculator means connected to said coordinate calculation means and calculating the distance between said markers from said coordinates.