JPH085955A - Device and method for displaying virtual image type stereoscopic picture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide device and method for displaying a virtual image type stereoscopic picture by which eyes are hardly fatigued. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with a pair of display means 10L and 10R installed corresponding to both eyes 13L and 13R of an observer and provided with display panel devices 11L and 11R and enlarging optical systems 12L and 12R; line-of-sight detection means 20L and 20R detecting information concerning the line-of-sight direction of both eyes 13L and 13R of the observer; and a virtual image position adjusting means adjusting the position of the virtual image based on the detected information concerning the line-of-sight direction of both eyes.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a virtual image type stereoscopic image display device and a virtual image type stereoscopic image display device provided with a pair of display means provided corresponding to both eyes of an observer and having a magnifying optical system and a display panel device. The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 9 shows the structure of a conventional virtual image type stereoscopic image display device. This virtual image type stereoscopic image display device,
This is called a head-mounted stereoscopic display, and has a display means 10L for the left eye and a display means 10 for the right eye.
R and. Each of the display units 10L and 10R includes a liquid crystal panel (LCD) 11L and 11R and a magnifying lens 12.
Equipped with L and 12R. An image for the left eye is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 11L, and an image for the right eye is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 11R.

An observer views an image on the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R through the magnifying lenses 12L and 12R arranged in front of the eyes 13L and 13R. Therefore, the image recognized by the observer is a virtual image on the virtual screens 14L and 14R on the rear surfaces of the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R.

[0004]

Virtual screen 14
When the point A on L, 14R is the gazing point, the focus adjustment and the vergence movement are in harmony, and the eyes are not tired. However, the virtual screens 14L, 1
When gazing at the target object displayed as the left image L and the right image R on the 4R, the gazing point shifts to the stereoscopic image position B of the target object due to binocular parallax. That is, the line of sight of the left eye 13L moves from the line 21L to 22L, and the line of sight of the right eye 13R moves from the line 21R to 22R. In this case, since the vergence movement is performed so as to match the stereoscopic image position B, and the focus adjustment is performed so as to match the virtual screens 14L and 14R on which the virtual image is formed, there is a problem of eye fatigue.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a virtual image type three-dimensional image display device and a virtual image type three-dimensional image display method in which eyes are less likely to fatigue.

[0006]

A first virtual image type three-dimensional image display device according to the present invention is a pair of displays provided corresponding to both eyes of an observer and provided with a display panel device and a magnifying optical system. Means, line-of-sight detecting means for detecting information about the line-of-sight direction of the viewer's eyes, and virtual image plane position adjusting means for adjusting the virtual image plane position based on the detected information about the line-of-sight directions of both eyes Is characterized by.

The virtual image plane position adjusting means adjusts the position of the display panel device of each display means so that the virtual image plane position comes to the observer's gazing point, and the virtual image plane position comes to the observer's gazing point. To adjust the position of the magnifying optical system of each display unit is used.

A second virtual image type three-dimensional image display device according to the present invention is provided for each of both eyes of an observer, and has a pair of display means provided with a display panel device and a magnifying optical system. Line-of-sight detection means for detecting information about the line-of-sight direction of the eyes, first adjustment means for adjusting the front-back direction position of the virtual image plane based on the detected information about the line-of-sight directions of both eyes, and the detected line-of-sight directions of both eyes Second adjusting means for adjusting the left-right center position of the virtual image plane based on the information, and third adjusting means for adjusting the horizontal display position of each of the left and right images based on the information about the detected line-of-sight directions of both eyes. It is characterized by having.

The first adjusting means adjusts the position of the display panel device of each display means so that the position of the virtual image plane in the front-rear direction is at the gazing point of the observer, and the position of the virtual image plane in the front-rear direction is observed. For example, a device that adjusts the position of the magnifying optical system of each display unit is used so that the person comes to the gazing point of the person.

The second adjusting means is, for example, one that adjusts the rotation angle positions of the display device and the magnifying optical system of both display means so that the horizontal center position of the virtual image plane is located at the gazing point of the observer. Used.

As the third adjusting means, for example, one that shifts the display image in the horizontal direction so that the left-right center of the display image of the gaze object coincides with the center of the line of sight is used.

A first virtual image type three-dimensional image display method according to the present invention is characterized in that the virtual image plane position is adjusted in accordance with the line of sight of both eyes of an observer.

According to a second virtual image type three-dimensional image display method of the present invention, information about the line-of-sight directions of the eyes of an observer is detected, and the virtual image plane position is adjusted based on the detected information about the line-of-sight directions of both eyes. Is characterized by.

[0014]

In the first virtual image type three-dimensional image display device according to the present invention, the information regarding the line-of-sight directions of both eyes of the observer is detected. Then, the virtual image plane position is adjusted based on the detected information regarding the line-of-sight directions of both eyes.

In the second virtual image type three-dimensional image display device according to the present invention, information about the line-of-sight directions of the observer's eyes is detected. The front-rear direction position of the virtual image plane is adjusted based on the detected information regarding the line-of-sight directions of both eyes. Further, the horizontal center position of the virtual image plane is adjusted based on the detected information regarding the line-of-sight directions of both eyes. In addition, the horizontal display positions of the left and right images are adjusted based on the detected information regarding the line-of-sight directions of both eyes.

In the first virtual image type three-dimensional image display method according to the present invention, the virtual image plane position is adjusted according to the line of sight of both eyes of the observer.

In the second virtual image type three-dimensional image display method according to the present invention, information regarding the line-of-sight directions of the observer's eyes is detected, and the virtual image plane position is adjusted based on the detected information regarding the line-of-sight directions of both eyes. It

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the structure of a stereoscopic image display device.

This virtual image type stereoscopic image display device comprises a display means 10L for the left eye and a display means 10R for the right eye. Each of the display units 10L and 10R includes a liquid crystal panel (LC
D) 11L and 11R and magnifying lenses 12L and 12R are provided. An image for the left eye is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 11L, and an image for the right eye is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 11R.

The liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R are arranged so as to be movable in the optical axis directions of the magnifying lenses 12L and 12R. The position of each of the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R in the optical axis direction is adjusted by a position adjusting mechanism (not shown).

Further, the display means 10L is provided with a line-of-sight detector 20L for detecting information regarding the line-of-sight direction of the left eye. Similarly, the display means 10R is provided with a line-of-sight detector 20R for detecting information about the line-of-sight direction of the right eye.

As a method of detecting the direction of the line of sight, an EOG (Electro-Oc) that utilizes a change in the electric potential of the cornea with respect to the retina is used.
ulography) method, corneal reflection method that detects the movement of a virtual image that occurs inside the cornea when a spotlight is incident on the eyeball, and the fact that when infrared rays are radiated to the eye, the amount of reflected light differs between the white and black eye parts. There is a scleral reflection method. The line-of-sight detectors 20L and 20R may detect the line-of-sight based on any method.

The observer views the image on the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R through the magnifying lenses 12L and 12R arranged in front of the eyes 13L and 13R. Therefore, the image recognized by the observer becomes a virtual image on the virtual screens (virtual image planes) 14L and 14R on the rear surfaces of the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R.

The operation of the virtual image type three-dimensional image display device when the point of gaze shifts from the point A on the virtual screens 14L and 14R to the point B in front of it will be described. The gazing point is A
When it is at a point, the distance from both eyes 13L, 13R to virtual screens 14L, 14R on which a virtual image is formed and the distance from both eyes 13L, 13R to gazing point A match. Therefore, the focus adjustment and the vergence movement are in harmony.

Point B is the stereoscopic image position of the target object when the target object displayed as the left image L and the right image R on the virtual screens 14L and 14R is focused, as shown in FIG. When the gazing point shifts to point B, the line of sight of the left eye 13L shifts from the line 21L to 22L. Also, the right eye 13
The line of sight of R transitions from the line 21R to the line 22R. Therefore, when some adjustment is not performed, both eyes 13L, 1L
Virtual screens 14L and 14R in which a virtual image is formed from 3R
And the distance from both eyes 13L and 13R to the gazing point B do not match, and the eyes are easily tired.

In this virtual image type stereoscopic image display device, when the gazing point changes, the virtual screen (virtual image plane) shifts to a new gazing point based on the information on the line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detectors 20L and 20R. Thus, the positions of the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R in the optical axis direction are adjusted.

For example, when the gazing point shifts from the point A to the point B, the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R are moved in the directions of the magnifying lenses 12L and 12R so that the virtual screen comes to the point B. The positions of the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R after the movement are shown by broken lines in FIG. Further, new virtual screens (virtual image planes) are indicated by 15L and 15R in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a virtual image formed on the virtual screens 14L and 14R when the gazing point is the point A and a new virtual screen 1 when the gazing point is changed from the point A to the point B.
An example of a relationship with a virtual image formed on 5L and 15R is shown.

In the example of FIG. 2, it is an image in which a person exists in front of the house. When the gazing point is point A, the gazing object is an image of a house. When the point of gaze is point A, the image of the house that is the point of gaze is in focus and the convergence angle. Therefore, on the virtual screens 14L and 14R, the left-eye image and the right-eye image of the house have no parallax, and the human left-eye image and the right-eye image have parallax.

When a person's image is gazed from the state of gazing at the house image, the vergence angle changes due to binocular parallax, and the gazing point shifts from point A to point B. Along with this, as described above, by moving the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R, the virtual screen moves to the position of point B. Since the virtual screen moves to the gazing point B in this way, when the gazing point is the point B, the image of the person who is the gazing object comes into focus and the convergence angle. Therefore, on the new virtual screens 15L and 15R, there is no parallax between the left-eye image and the right-eye image of the person who is the gazing object, and there is a parallax between the left-eye image and the right-eye image of the house.

As described above, in the above virtual image type three-dimensional image display device, even if the gazing point changes, the virtual screen is formed at the gazing point position, so that the vergence movement and the focus adjustment are in harmony, and the eyes are tired. It gets harder.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the liquid crystal panel 11 when the gazing point is changed by using a general model.
The optical axis direction position control method for L and 11R will be described in more detail.

A method of controlling the positions of the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R in the optical axis direction when the point of interest moves from point A to point B in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the position in the optical axis direction of the liquid crystal display 11R of the display means 10R with respect to the right eye 13R and the virtual image plane position.

In FIG. 3, the distance between both eyes 13L and 13R is E. Also, in the plane of FIG.
A line that passes through the centers of L and 13R and is orthogonal to the line that connects both eyes 13L and 13R is set as a reference line S. Further, the distance from the right eye 13R to the point A is DAR, and the distance from the left eye 13R to the point A is DAL. Further, the angle between the line of sight of the right eye 13R and the reference line S with respect to the point A is θAR, and the angle between the line of sight of the left eye 13L with respect to the point A and the reference line S is θAL.

The distance from the right eye 13R to the point B is DBR,
The distance from the left eye 13R to point B is DBL. Also,
The angle between the line of sight of the right eye 13R and the reference line S with respect to point B is θBR, and the angle between the line of sight of the left eye 13L with respect to point A and the reference line S is θBL. The distances DAR, DAL, DBR and DBL are represented by the following equations, respectively.

[0036]

[Equation 1] DAR = E / {sin θAR + (cos θAR × tan θAL)} DAL = E / {sin θAL + (cos θAL × tan θAR)} DBR = E / {sin θBR + (cos θBR × tan θBL)} DBL = E / {sin θBL + (cos θBL × tan θBR)}

In FIG. 4, the right eye 13R and the magnifying lens 1
Let e be the distance from 2R. Focusing point A and magnifying lens 12R
The distance between and is b1. When the position of the liquid crystal panel 11R when the virtual image is formed at the gazing point A is PA, the distance between the magnifying lens 12R and the liquid crystal panel 11R at that time is a1.

The distance between the gazing point B and the magnifying lens 12R is b2. When the position of the liquid crystal panel 11R when the virtual image is formed at the gazing point B is PB, the distance between the magnifying lens 12R and the liquid crystal panel 11R at that time is a2.

When the liquid crystal panel 11R is at the position PA, the following relationship is established between a1, b1 and the focal length f of the magnifying lens 12R.

[0040]

## EQU2 ## 1 / f = -1 / b1 + 1 / a1

The distance between the right eye 13R and the gazing point A is DAR
Therefore, the second equation is expressed as follows.

[0042]

## EQU00003 ## 1 / f = -1 / (DAR-e) + 1 / a1

When the liquid crystal panel 11R is at the position PB, the following relationship is established between a2, b2 and the focal length f of the magnifying lens.

[0044]

## EQU00004 ## 1 / f = -1 / b2 + 1 / a2

The distance between the right eye 13R and the gazing point B is DBR
Therefore, the above fourth equation is expressed as follows.

[0046]

## EQU5 ## 1 / f = -1 / (DBR-e) + 1 / a2

The distance ΔaR (a1-a2) for moving the liquid crystal panel 11R from the position PA to the position PB is given by the following equations 3 and 5.

[0048]

[Formula 6] ΔaR = {f ² × (DBR-DAR)} ÷ {(DBR-e + f) × (DAR-e + f)}

That is, the control movement amount of the liquid crystal panel 11R of the display means 10R with respect to the right eye 13R when the point of gaze shifts from the point A to the point B is ΔaR.

Similarly, the control movement amount ΔaL of the liquid crystal panel 11L of the display means 10L with respect to the left eye 13L when the gazing point shifts from the point A to the point B is as follows.

[0051]

[Formula 7] ΔaL = {f ² × (DBL-DAL)} ÷ {(DBL-e + f) × (DAL-e + f)}

That is, when the gazing point changes, the angle between the line of sight and the reference line S of each eye 13L, 13R with respect to the gazing point is obtained based on the information about the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detectors 20L, 20R. To be And
The distance from each eye 13L, 13R to the gazing point is calculated based on the angle formed by the line of sight of the gazing point of each eye 13L, 13R and the reference line S and the above mathematical expression 1.

After this, a predetermined magnifying lens 1
2L, 12R focal length f and magnifying lens 12L, 1
The liquid crystal panels 11L and 11L are based on the distances e between the 2Rs and the eyes 13L and 13R, the distances from the eyes 13L and 13R thus obtained to the gazing point, and Equations 6 and 7 above.
The control movement amount of R is obtained. Then, the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R are moved in the optical axis direction by the determined control movement amount.

In the above embodiment, the line-of-sight detectors 20L, 20
Based on the information on the line-of-sight direction detected by R, the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R are moved in the optical axis direction so that the virtual image position comes to a new gazing point, but the optical system is moved. Good.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, each display means for each eye 31 comprises a liquid crystal panel 32 and two lenses 33, 34 arranged between the eye 31 and the liquid crystal panel 32. One of the two lenses is a fixed lens 33
And the other is a movable lens 34 that is movable in the optical axis direction. Then, a lens position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the position of the moving lens 34 in the optical axis direction is provided.

When the gazing point moves, the line-of-sight detector 2
Based on the information regarding the line-of-sight direction detected by 0L and 20R, the moving lens 34 is moved so that the virtual image position comes to a new gazing point. In the example of FIG. 5, when the gazing point shifts from the point A to the point B, the moving lens 34 is moved from the position PA to the position PB.

FIG. 6 shows another virtual image type three-dimensional image display device.

In this virtual image type three-dimensional image display device,
Magnifying lenses 12L and 12R of the display means 10L and 10R
The liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R are different from those in FIG. 1 in that they can be rotated according to the line of sight. That is, the magnifying lens 1 of each display means 10L, 10R
The 2L and 12R and the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R are rotatably arranged. Also, magnifying lenses 12L and 12R
Further, an angular position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the rotational angular positions of the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R is provided.

When the gazing point moves from the point A to the point B, the liquid crystal panel is based on the information about the line-of-sight directions detected by the line-of-sight detectors 20L and 20R, as in the virtual image type stereoscopic image display device of FIG. By moving 11L and 11R in the optical axis direction, the virtual screen (virtual image plane) is moved to point B (this process is referred to as the first process). In this state, as shown by the virtual screens 15L and 15R in FIG. 1, the left and right center positions of the virtual screens 15L and 15R are displaced from the line-of-sight center.

Therefore, taking the image of FIG. 2 as an example, the virtual screens 15L, 15L and 15L, 15L and 15L are shown as the left and right images after the first processing shown in FIG. 2 and the image for the left eye shown in FIG. 7A.
On R, the left-right center N of the gaze object (person) image and the line-of-sight center M match, but the left-right center position G of the virtual screens 15L and 15R and the line-of-sight center M do not match. Therefore, as shown in the left-right composite image after the first processing shown in FIG. 2, there is a problem that the left-eye image and the right-eye image do not overlap each other, and the brightness of the part where both images do not overlap decreases. .

Therefore, in this virtual image type stereoscopic image display device, after the first process, the magnifying lens 12L of each of the display means 10L and 10R, based on the information about the line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detectors 20L and 20R, 12R and the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R are rotated so that their optical axes pass the gazing point B (this process is referred to as a second process). Magnifying lens 12L, 1 after rotation
The positions of 2R and the liquid crystal panels 11L and 11R are shown by broken lines in FIG. Further, new virtual screens obtained by this are shown by 15L and 15R in FIG.

By this second process, the process shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the horizontal center position G of the virtual screens 15L and 15R coincides with the line-of-sight center M. However, in this case, as shown in FIG. 7B, the lateral center N of the gaze object (person) image deviates from the line-of-sight center M.

Therefore, in this virtual image type stereoscopic image display device, after the second process, the left and right center N of the gaze object (person) image is determined based on the information on the line-of-sight directions detected by the line-of-sight detectors 20L and 20R. The left and right display images are horizontally shifted by image processing so as to match the line-of-sight center M. The image after being horizontally shifted is shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a virtual image formed on the virtual screens 14L and 14R when the gazing point is the point A, and after the gazing point is moved to the point B and the above-mentioned first to third processes are performed.
An example of a relationship with a virtual image formed on the new virtual screens 15L and 15R is shown.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the image after the gazing point is shifted to the point B, the lateral center N of the gazing object (person) image, the line-of-sight center M, and the virtual screens 15L, 15R.
The center G of the left and right of will match. In the combined image of the left eye and the right eye, the left eye image and the right eye image overlap each other in all parts, so that there is no occurrence of a portion in which the luminance is lowered unlike the image obtained by the virtual image type stereoscopic image display device of FIG. .

[0066]

According to the present invention, a virtual image type stereoscopic image display device or a virtual image type stereoscopic image display method in which the eyes of an observer are less likely to be fatigued can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a virtual image type stereoscopic image display device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a relationship between a virtual image when the gazing point is point A and a virtual image when the gazing point moves to point B in the virtual image type stereoscopic image display device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a general model when a gazing point shifts.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of adjusting the position of the liquid crystal panel in the optical axis direction when the gazing point shifts like the model of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which a virtual image position is changed by moving a lens.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of another virtual image type three-dimensional image display device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process performed by the virtual image type stereoscopic image display device in FIG.

8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a relationship between a virtual image when the gazing point is the point A and a virtual image when the gazing point shifts to the point B in the virtual image type three-dimensional image display device of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a conventional virtual image type three-dimensional image display device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10L, 10R Display means 11L, 11R Liquid crystal display 12L, 12R Magnifying lens 13L, 13R Observer's eye 14L, 14R Virtual screen 15L, 15R Virtual screen 20L, 20R Line-of-sight detector

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Yoneda 2-5-5 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshiya Iinuma 2-chome, Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Katsumi Terada 2-5-5 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A pair of display means provided corresponding to both eyes of an observer and provided with a display panel device and a magnifying optical system, and a line-of-sight detection means for detecting information regarding the line-of-sight directions of the both eyes of the observer. , And a virtual image plane position adjusting means for adjusting the virtual image plane position on the basis of the detected information about the line-of-sight directions of both eyes. 2. The virtual image type stereoscopic structure according to claim 1, wherein the virtual image plane position adjusting means adjusts the position of the display panel device of each display means so that the virtual image plane is located at the gazing point of the observer. Image display device. 3. The virtual image type stereoscopic structure according to claim 1, wherein the virtual image plane position adjusting means adjusts the position of the magnifying optical system of each display means so that the virtual image plane is located at the gazing point of the observer. Image display device. 4. A pair of display means provided corresponding to both eyes of an observer and provided with a display panel device and a magnifying optical system, and a line-of-sight detection means for detecting information regarding the line-of-sight directions of both eyes of the observer. , First adjusting means for adjusting the anteroposterior position of the virtual image plane based on the detected information on the visual line directions of both eyes, and the left-right center position of the virtual image plane on the basis of the detected information on the visual line directions of both eyes. A virtual image type stereoscopic image display device comprising: a second adjusting means for adjusting; and a third adjusting means for adjusting the horizontal display position of each of the left and right images based on the detected information regarding the line-of-sight directions of both eyes. 5. The virtual image system according to claim 4, wherein the first adjusting unit adjusts the position of the display panel device of each display unit so that the position of the virtual image plane in the front-rear direction is at the gazing point of the observer. Stereoscopic image display device. 6. The virtual image system according to claim 4, wherein the first adjusting unit adjusts the position of the magnifying optical system of each display unit so that the position in the front-rear direction of the virtual image plane is at the gazing point of the observer. Stereoscopic image display device. 7. The second adjusting means adjusts the rotational angle positions of the display device and the magnifying optical system of both display means so that the horizontal center position of the virtual image plane is located at the gazing point of the observer. Item 7. The virtual image type stereoscopic image display device according to any one of items 4, 5 and 6. 8. The third adjusting means horizontally shifts the display image so that the left-right center of the display image of the gaze object coincides with the line-of-sight center.
The virtual image type stereoscopic image display device according to any one of 1. 9. A virtual image type stereoscopic image display method for adjusting the position of a virtual image plane according to the line of sight of both eyes of an observer. 10. A virtual image type stereoscopic image display method, which detects information regarding the line-of-sight directions of both eyes of an observer, and adjusts the virtual image plane position based on the detected information regarding the line-of-sight directions of both eyes.