KR100609379B1 - Three-dimensional display using point source array of light - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display apparatus using a point light source array.

In the present invention, after passing the light from the surface light source to the lens array to form a point light source using a pinhole array installed at a position separated by a focal length from the surface light source. To this end, the light emitted from the surface light source is collected by each lens of the lens array, and only the light emitted from each lens in the direction perpendicular to the light emitting surface of the surface light source is directed to each hole of the pinhole array. Passes to form an array of point light sources. The light starting from the point light source array thus formed is incident to and passed through a transmission type image display unit displaying a predetermined image to form a 3D image.

According to the present invention, while the volume of the integrated imaging method using the point light source array can be reduced, only the light component in the direction perpendicular to the light emitting surface is extracted from the light emitted from the surface light source and used as the point light source array, thereby improving the light efficiency. do.

Stereoscopic image, pinhole array, point light source, surface light source

Description

Three-dimensional display using point source array of light}

1 is a basic conceptual diagram of an integrated imaging system using a point light source.

2 is a structural diagram of a stereoscopic image display apparatus using a point light source array according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a structural diagram of a stereoscopic image display apparatus using a point light source array according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a structural diagram of a stereoscopic image display apparatus using a point light source array according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image display apparatus, and more particularly, to a stereoscopic image display apparatus that displays a three-dimensional image using integrated imaging technology (hereinafter referred to as II). .

Among the technologies for implementing 3D images, the II method using a lens array has been gradually improved since it was first proposed by Lippmann in 1908, but it has not received much attention due to the limitations of the imaging device or display device technology. In recent years, with the development of high-resolution imaging devices and high-resolution display devices, research has been actively conducted.

In particular, recent studies have been conducted on a device for displaying a 3D image using a point light source, and an integrated image method using a point light source uses different information for each angle of light emitted from a point light source using a transmissive image display device. The 3D image is displayed by giving.

1 is a conceptual diagram of an integrated imaging method using a general point light source.

As shown in FIG. 1, an integrated image method using a point light source uses a point light source array including a plurality of point light sources and a transmissive image display device. Light rays emitted from each point light source have different information for each angle as they pass through the transmissive image display device. As the rays having different information are integrated three-dimensionally, a three-dimensional stereoscopic image is formed.

However, this method has an advantage that the viewing angle is not limited according to the depth and the depth that can be expressed is wider than that of the conventional integrated image method, but it requires an ultra-high resolution transmissive image display device. In addition, the light rays radiated from the point light source must be accurately incident on a predetermined area of the transmissive image display device, but the amount of light incident on the transmissive image display device is reduced due to light spreading, and thus a sharp stereoscopic image cannot be formed. have.

Therefore, the technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to display a three-dimensional image with a clear and deep while improving the light efficiency in a three-dimensional image display device for displaying a three-dimensional image using a point light source array.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stereoscopic image display apparatus using a point light source array having a high light efficiency and a small volume.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stereoscopic image display device including an image processor for transmitting an image signal corresponding to an image to be displayed; A transmissive image display unit displaying an image corresponding to an image signal transmitted from the image processor; And forming a point light source array composed of a plurality of point light sources so that light from the point light source array is incident and passed through the transmissive image display unit to form a three-dimensional image of an image displayed on the transmissive image display unit. It includes a point light source array forming portion.

In particular, the point light source array forming unit may include a lens array including a surface light source for emitting a predetermined light, a plurality of lenses for collecting and outputting light emitted from the surface light source, and light collected from each lens of the lens array. It includes a pinhole array consisting of a plurality of holes passing through the light emitted in a direction perpendicular to the light emitting surface of the surface light source to form the point light source array.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

2 is a structural diagram of a stereoscopic image display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the stereoscopic image display apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention generates a point light source array forming unit 10 that forms a point light source array, and generates a base image for reproducing a 3D image. The image processing unit 20 transmits a general 2D image as it is, and a transmission type image display unit 30 which is a transmissive display element displaying a basic image or a general 2D image generated by the image processing unit.

The point light source array forming unit 10 includes a point light source 11, a collimation lens 12, and a lens array 13 including a plurality of elementary lenses. The distance between the lens array 13 and the transmissive image display unit 30 may be positioned at any position in a region larger than the focal length of the lens array. For example, it may be assumed that the transmissive image display unit 30 is separated from the lens array 11 having the focal length f by g_lens_slm (f <g_lens_slm).

The transmissive image display unit 30 receives and displays an image signal from the image processor 20, and is a device commonly used in existing two-dimensional displays such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a spatial light modulator with a backlight removed. This can be used.

The image processor 20 provides an image signal for displaying a predetermined image to the transmissive image display unit 30. For example, the image processor 20 calculates basic images from three-dimensional information of a three-dimensional image to be displayed, and transmits an image signal corresponding to the basic image to the image display unit 30. Alternatively, an image signal corresponding to a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional object captured by a photographing device such as a camera is transmitted to the image display unit 30. Here, the basic image is an image generated by the image processing unit 20 through a separate generation process based on predetermined information by itself, and the 2D image is image information provided from the outside.

Hereinafter, a method of generating the base images in the image processor will be described in detail.

The position on the plane of a point P forming the three-dimensional image to be displayed is (x, y) in Cartesian coordinates, and its depth information, that is, from the point light source array surface (focal plane of the lens array) to the point where the image of the point is formed. The distance z (where point P is in front of the point light source array plane, i.e. the observer's side, z is positive; if point P is behind the point light source array plane, z is negative) (Pls_x [i] [j], pls_y [i] [j]) (i.e., the primary lens forming the point light source). Is equal to the center coordinate of the light source, and the distance between the light sources in the x direction is Lx and the y direction is Ly (where Lx is the distance between the centers of the primary lens in the x direction, and Ly is the distance between the centers of the primary lens in the y direction The focal length of the lens array, f, the lens array and the transmission image display unit. Let the distance between g_lens_slm. Since the point light source array is generated on the focal plane of the lens array, the distance g_pls_slm between the point light source array and the transmissive image display unit is calculated as follows.

At this time, the base image for the point light source located in the i-th from the left and the j-th from the left among the basic images of the point P, which is a virtual object point, becomes a point E_ij having a coordinate value according to the following equation.

However, the point E_ij calculated by Equations 2 and 3 above is not necessarily the base image for the point light source located at the i th from the left and the j th from the top, but is a base image only when the following two conditions are satisfied at the same time. .

(Condition 1)

(Condition 2)

When the values calculated by Equations 2 and 3 above do not satisfy Condition 1 and Condition 2 simultaneously, the point E_ij cannot be the base image of the point P. Regardless of whether the condition 1 and condition 2 are satisfied, when the points calculated by Equation 2 and Equation 3 are treated as the points forming the base image, the base image is constructed, and the mutual interference between the base images of each point light source The quality of the reproduced three-dimensional image is significantly degraded. In this way, the basic images for the point P can be generated, and a complete basic image can be obtained by performing all the points forming the 3D image to be displayed and superimposing them. At this time, in superimposing the base images for each point constituting the 3D image, the base images are superimposed in the reverse order of depth, that is, by superimposing the base images of the large z points on the base images of the small Z points. This avoids psedoscopic phenomena of the generated 3D image, which is the same as the existing computer-generated integrated imaging technology (Computer-Generated Integral imaging or Computer-Generated Integral Photography or CGII or CGIP).

Here, the position of the observer may or may not be taken into account when calculating the base image. That is, assuming a position (viewpoint) of several observers (position, number of views, etc.), a base image displayed on the transmissive image display unit may be generated so that a corresponding image can be observed at the position. In addition, only three-dimensional information of the object is considered, and the base images may be generated without considering the position of the observer.

In the stereoscopic image display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention having such a structure, the light emitted from the point light source 11 is output as parallel light through the collimation lens 12. At this time, the distance between the point light source 11 and the collimation lens 12 coincides with the focal length of the collimation lens to produce parallel light.

The parallel light output from the collimation lens 12 passes through the lens array 13, whereby focus is achieved at the focal plane of the lens array 13. At this time, since each lens constituting the lens array has a corresponding focal point (point light source), the point light source array composed of as many point light sources as the number of lenses constituting the lens array is eventually the focal plane of the lens array 13. Is formed. The light starting from the point light source array thus formed passes through the transmissive image display unit 30 to form a 3D image.

According to the first exemplary embodiment, since the light emitted from the point light source is accurately incident on a predetermined region of the transmissive image display unit, the amount of light incident to the transmissive image display device may be prevented from being reduced due to light spreading.

Meanwhile, in the first embodiment, space for installing the collimation lens is required by forming parallel light using the collimation lens. In the following second embodiment, a display device occupying a small volume may be implemented by reducing the space. In the second embodiment and the third embodiment described later, the same numbers are assigned to components that perform the same functions as the first embodiment.

3 is a structural diagram of a stereoscopic image display apparatus using a point light source array according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the stereoscopic image display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention also has a point light source array forming unit 40, a transmissive image display unit 30, and the same as the first embodiment. An image processor 20 is included. The transmission image display unit 30 and the image processing unit 20 function in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

However, unlike the first embodiment, the point light source array forming unit 40 includes a surface light source 41 and a pinhole array 42 having a plurality of pinholes, that is, holes.

In the stereoscopic image display device according to the second exemplary embodiment having the above structure, unlike the above first exemplary embodiment, the pinhole array may be used to form the point light source array while occupying a very small volume.

Specifically, the light emitted from the surface light source 41 is partially passed by the pinhole array 42 to be incident to the transmissive image display unit 30. In this case, only light incident to each hole of the pinhole array 42 is transmitted to the transmission type image display unit 30, and the number of point light sources corresponding to the respective holes of the pinhole array 42 is formed. A point light source array is formed on the pinhole array 42 surface. Light starting from the point light source array thus formed passes through the transmissive image display unit 30 to form a 3D image.

According to the second exemplary embodiment, a very small volume stereoscopic image display device may be provided by forming a point light source array using a pinhole array. However, in the second embodiment, since the parallel light is not required, the volume is small but the light efficiency may be reduced since most of the light is blocked by the pinhole array.

Accordingly, according to the third embodiment, a stereoscopic image display apparatus using a point light source array having high light efficiency and occupying a small volume is provided.

4 is a structural diagram of a stereoscopic image display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the stereoscopic image display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention also has the same point light source array forming unit 50 and the image processing unit 20 as the first embodiment. ), And a transmissive image display unit 30. The transmission image display unit 30 and the image processing unit 20 function in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Unlike the first and second embodiments, the point light source array forming unit 50 includes a surface light source 51, a lens array 52 composed of a plurality of elementary lenses, and a pinhole array 53. The pinhole array 53 including a plurality of life preservers is positioned at a distance apart from the focal length of the lens array 52 in the image direction in which the 3D image is generated. The surface light source 51 emits a predetermined light, and the light emitted from the surface light source is focused on the focal plane by the lens array 52. At this time, each lens constituting the lens array has a corresponding focus, and since the pinhole array 53 is located at a distance away from the focal length of the lens array 52, the light emitted from the lens array 52 Passing through the holes of the pinhole array 53 forms a point light source array.

In the stereoscopic image display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention having such a structure, the lens array 52 is provided in the firing direction of the surface light source 51 as shown in FIG. The central axis of 52 is arranged so as to coincide with the line perpendicular to the light emitting surface of the surface light source 51. That is, the light emitting surface of the surface light source 51 and the lens array 52 surface are arranged in parallel with each other. In addition, the pinhole array 53 is provided at a distance apart from the focal length of the lens array 52.

The surface light source 51 emits a predetermined light. At this time, the light emitted from the surface light source 51 emits a light component emitted in a direction perpendicular to the emitting surface in a different direction, similar to ordinary surface light sources that are commonly used. It is assumed to be more than the light component being.

Since the central axis of the lens array coincides with the line perpendicular to the light emitting surface of the surface light source, and the pinhole array 53 is provided at a position separated by the focal length from the lens array, the surface light source 51 is perpendicular to the light emitting surface. The emitted light component passes through the lens array 52 and then through the holes of the pinhole array 53 to form a point light source array. At this time, the light rays emitted from the surface light source 51 in a direction not perpendicular to the surface are irradiated to portions other than the holes of the pinhole array 53 after passing through the lens array 52, thereby being blocked by the pinhole array.

In this manner, since only the light component in the direction perpendicular to the light emitting surface is extracted from the light emitted from the surface light source 51 and used as the point light source array, the light efficiency may be improved. In particular, the light efficiency becomes better than when the pinhole array is provided without the lens array.

As a result, a point light source array consisting of as many point light sources as the number of lenses constituting the lens array is formed at the focal plane of the lens array. The light starting from the point light source array thus formed is incident on and passed through the transmissive image display unit 30 displaying a predetermined image to form a 3D image.

Although this invention has been described with reference to the most practical and preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed above, but also includes various modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible to provide a stereoscopic imaging apparatus having high light efficiency while reducing the volume of the integrated imaging method using a point light source.

Claims (5)

An image processor for transmitting an image signal corresponding to an image to be displayed; A transmissive image display unit displaying an image corresponding to an image signal transmitted from the image processor; And Forming a point light source array consisting of a plurality of point light sources, the light from the point light source array is incident and passed through the transmission type image display unit, thereby forming a three-dimensional image of the image displayed on the transmission type image display unit A light source array forming unit, The point light source array forming unit A surface light source for emitting predetermined light, A lens array including a plurality of lenses for collecting and outputting light emitted from the surface light source; A stereoscopic image display device including a pinhole array made up of a plurality of holes through which light emitted from each lens of the lens array passes in a direction perpendicular to a light emitting surface of the surface light source to form the point light source array . The method of claim 1 And the pinhole array is positioned at a focal length of the lens array. The method according to claim 1 or 2 And a center axis of the lens array coincides with a line perpendicular to the light emitting surface of the surface light source. The method of claim 3, And the image processor generates a basic image for reproducing a 3D image and transmits a corresponding image signal to the transmissive image display. The method of claim 3, And the image processor transmits an image signal corresponding to a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional object to the transmission type image display unit.

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