Stereoscopic image display and method of adjusting stereoscopic image thereof

• US 8,963,913 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2011
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Baek, Heumeil
• Primary Examiner(s): Zarka, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mazumder, Tapas
• Application Number:
  US13/312,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20120274629A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,176 Days
• Field of Search: 345/419
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/128 Adjusting depth or disparity
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/271 wherein the generated image signals comprise depth maps or disparity maps

Abstract

A stereoscopic image display includes a depth map extracting unit for extracting a region of interest (ROI) and a depth map from a 3D input image, an average depth for calculating unit calculating an average depth of the ROI, a depth map adjusting unit, which converts the average depth of the ROI into a screen depth value of a display panel, shifts depth values of the 3D input image in a shift direction of the average depth by a shifted amount of the average depth of the ROI, and adjusts a depth map of the 3D input image, a left/right eye image producing unit for producing left eye image data and right eye image data based on the adjusted depth map, and a display panel driver for displaying the left eye image data and the right eye image data on the display panel.

Claims

1. A stereoscopic image display comprising:

a left/right eye image separator to separate a left eye image and a right eye image from a 3D input image;

an ROI and depth map extractor to select one of the left eye image and the right eye image as a reference image and extract a region of interest (ROI) from the reference image and a depth map of the 3D input image from the left eye image and the right eye image;

an average depth calculator to calculate an average value of all depths of the ROI as an average depth;

a depth map adjuster to adjust the depth map by shifting depth values of the 3D input image in a same direction by an amount of the average depth of the ROI such that the average depth of the ROI becomes a screen depth value of a display panel and some depth values of the 3D input image are converted from positive values corresponding to in front of the screen of the display panel into negative values corresponding to behind the screen or from negative values into positive values;

a left/right eye image producer to produce left eye image data and right eye image data based on the depth map adjusted by the depth map adjuster; and

a display panel driver comprising a data driving circuit to convert digital video data into a data voltage and supply the data voltage to data lines of the display panel, a scan driving circuit to supply scan pulses synchronized with the data voltage to scan lines of the display panel, and a timing controller to control operation timings of the data driving circuit and the scan driving circuit, the display panel driver to display the left eye image data and the right eye image data received from the left/right eye image producer on the display panel.

2. The stereoscopic image display of claim 1, further comprising a 2D-3D image converter to convert a 2D input image into the 3D input image.

3. The stereoscopic image display of claim 1, wherein the display panel is implemented as a display panel of one of a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP) display, an electroluminescence device (EL), and an electrophoresis display (EPD).

4. A method of adjusting a stereoscopic image of a stereoscopic image display, the method comprising:

separating a left eye image and a right eye image from a 3D input image;

selecting one of the left eye image and the right eye image as a reference image;

extracting a region of interest (ROI) from the reference image and a depth map of the 3D input image from the left eye image and the right eye image;

calculating an average value of all depths of the ROI as an average depth;

adjusting the depth map by shifting depth values of the 3D input image in a same direction by an amount of the average depth of the ROI such that the average depth of the ROI becomes a screen depth value of a display panel and some depth values of the 3D input image are converted from positive values corresponding to in front of the screen of the display panel into negative values corresponding to behind the screen or from negative values into positive values;

producing left eye image data and right eye image data based on the adjusted depth map; and

displaying the left eye image data and the right eye image data on the display panel.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising converting a 2D input image into the 3D input image.