Image processing device and head-up display

Abstract

Provided are an image processing device capable of reducing the processing load when generating a stereoscopic image and a head-up display capable of displaying the stereoscopic image. The image processing device of an embodiment comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires a target image; a generation unit that rearranges a plurality of video signals corresponding to the acquired target image in a manner that the signals are written to pixels spaced a predetermined number of times among a plurality of pixels arranged in a horizontal direction, thereby generating a stereoscopic image; and an output unit that outputs the generated stereoscopic image to a display device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an image processing device and a head-up display. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, display devices that allow viewers to see stereoscopic images (three-dimensional images) with naked eyes have become popular. The stereoscopic images displayed by such display devices are generated by, for example, synthesizing images of the same number as the number of parallaxes, or by obtaining a depth map from the image.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-271535

[0006] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-182533 Summary of the invention

[0007] Technical problem to be solved by the invention

[0008] However, the above-mentioned method requires complicated processing such as the processing of synthesizing a plurality of images, and thus there is a problem that a large processing load is imposed on a device that generates the stereoscopic image every time a stereoscopic image is generated.

[0009] Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an image processing device capable of reducing the processing load when generating a stereoscopic image and a head-up display capable of displaying the stereoscopic image.

[0010] Means for solving technical problems

[0011] According to the present technical solution, an image processing device is provided, comprising: an acquisition unit, which acquires an object image; a generation unit, which rearranges a plurality of image signals corresponding to the acquired object image in a manner of writing them into pixels spaced a specified number of times among a plurality of pixels arranged in a horizontal direction, to generate a stereoscopic image; and an output unit, which outputs the generated stereoscopic image to a display device.

[0012] According to the present technical solution, there is provided a head-up display including: an image processing device; and a display device for displaying and outputting the stereoscopic image output from the image processing device.

[0013] Effects of the Invention

[0014] According to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an image processing device capable of reducing the processing load when generating a stereoscopic image and a head-up display capable of displaying the stereoscopic image. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 This is a diagram schematically showing a head-up display using the display device according to the embodiment.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the image processing device according to this embodiment.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a diagram for schematically explaining the rearrangement process performed by the image processing apparatus according to this embodiment.

[0018] Figure 4 This is another diagram for schematically explaining the rearrangement process performed by the image processing apparatus according to this embodiment.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a diagram for specifically explaining the rearrangement processing performed by the image processing device according to this embodiment.

[0020] Figure 6 This is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of a stereoscopic image generation process executed by the image processing device according to this embodiment.

[0021] Figure 7 It is a diagram for explaining a modified example of the stereoscopic image generation process executed by the image processing device according to the embodiment.

[0022] Figure 8 This is another diagram for explaining a modified example of the stereoscopic image generation process executed by the image processing device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Please refer to the attached Figure 1 Several implementation modes will be described.

[0024] In addition, the present disclosure is only an example, and the forms that can be easily thought of by those skilled in the art while maintaining the main purpose of the invention are of course included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, the drawings are schematically shown in comparison with the embodiments in order to make the description clearer, but they are only examples and do not limit the interpretation of the present invention. In addition, in this specification and each figure, there are cases where the same reference numerals are given to the constituent elements that play the same or similar functions as the constituent elements described in the given figures, and the repeated detailed description is omitted.

[0025] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a head-up display (HUD) using an image processing device according to an embodiment. The HUD includes a liquid crystal display device 10 as a display device for projecting an image. In addition, the HUD includes a plurality of concave mirrors, for example, two concave mirrors M1 and M2. Furthermore, the HUD includes an image processing device 20 electrically connected to the liquid crystal display device 10. In addition, the image processing device 20 may also be connected to the liquid crystal display device 10 in a communicable manner.

[0026] The image processing device 20 generates a stereoscopic image and outputs the generated stereoscopic image to the liquid crystal display device 10. The liquid crystal display device 10 has a plurality of pixels PX arranged in a matrix. If the liquid crystal display device 10 obtains a stereoscopic image output from the image processing device 20, it writes a video signal V corresponding to the obtained stereoscopic image to the pixel PX. Thus, the obtained stereoscopic image is displayed and output as a projected image. The projected image output from the liquid crystal display device 10 is reflected and focused by the concave mirrors M1 and M2, and is projected onto the inner surface of the front windshield FG of the car as a projection surface. The projected image is reflected by the front windshield FG toward the observer (driver) side, and a virtual image VI is formed a few meters in front of the front windshield FG. In addition, the stereoscopic image in this specification refers to an image that gives the image as a whole a sense of depth or a sense of being in front of it.

[0027] In addition, the mirror constituting a part of the HUD is not limited to a concave mirror, and other optical components such as a half mirror, a Fresnel mirror, etc. can be selected. In addition, it is not limited to a structure in which the image is projected directly onto the front windshield FG, and a transparent reflector (projection surface) can be provided in front of the observer and the image is projected onto the reflector.

[0028] exist Figure 1 In the HUD shown, a parallax barrier and / or a lenticular lens, for example, is provided on the display surface of the liquid crystal display device 10 .

[0029] The parallax barrier restricts the transmitted light and functions as a light control unit. The parallax barrier is provided with a plurality of fine slits. The slits are provided along a direction inclined at a predetermined angle from the longitudinal direction of the display surface of the liquid crystal display device 10 .

[0030] The lenticular lens controls the emission direction of the transmitted light and functions as a light control unit in the same manner as the parallax barrier. The lenticular lens is a semi-cylindrical lens extending in the longitudinal direction of the display surface of the liquid crystal display device 10. On the display surface of the liquid crystal display device 10, a plurality of lenticular lenses are arranged in a lateral direction along the display surface.

[0031] By providing such a parallax barrier and / or a lenticular lens, it is possible for an observer (driver) to recognize a stereoscopic image.

[0032] Figure 22 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the image processing device 20 according to the present embodiment. Figure 2 As shown, the image processing device 20 includes a target image acquisition unit 21 , a stereoscopic image generation unit 22 , a stereoscopic image output unit 23 , and the like.

[0033] The object image acquisition unit 21 acquires an object image (two-dimensional image) as a source of a stereoscopic image. As an example of the object image, there can be cited a car navigation image (for example, an image indicating a turning angle of right or left turn), or an instrument image corresponding to various instruments such as a speedometer, a tachometer, and a warning light, etc. The acquired object image is output to the stereoscopic image generation unit 22.

[0034] The stereoscopic image generating unit 22 generates a stereoscopic image based on the one target image acquired by the target image acquiring unit 21. The stereoscopic image generating process executed by the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 will be described later, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0035] The stereoscopic image output unit 23 outputs the stereoscopic image generated by the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 to the liquid crystal display device 10. The liquid crystal display device 10 displays and outputs the stereoscopic image output by the stereoscopic image output unit 23 of the image processing device 20 as a projected image. Thus, a virtual image VI is formed several meters in front of the front windshield FG, and the observer (driver) can confirm the car navigation image or the instrument image without moving his sight away from the driving direction of the vehicle.

[0036] Here, refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the rearrangement processing performed by the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 is schematically described.

[0037] exist Figure 3 In Figure 3 As shown in (a), it is assumed that the target image is an image that can be displayed by writing video signals V0 and V1 to two pixels PX. In this case, when a setting is made that a stereoscopic image corresponding to two parallaxes is to be displayed at a position away from the observer's eyes by a predetermined distance, the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 generates a stereoscopic image as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown in (b) of FIG. 1 , the video signals V0 and V1 are rearranged so that the video signals V0 and V1 are skipped by two and written into the pixels PX, thereby generating a three-dimensional image.

[0038] In addition, the number of pixels PX to which the image signals V0 and V1 are skipped is determined by how far away from the observer's eyes the stereoscopic image is to be displayed, assuming that the distance from the observer's eyes to the stereoscopic image can be arbitrarily set by the observer. Hereinafter, the value of the distance from the observer's eyes to the stereoscopic image (i.e., the number of pixels PX to which the image signals V are skipped) determined by the observer is referred to as a setting value n for explanation.

[0039] Furthermore, the number of parallaxes corresponding to the desired stereoscopic image to be displayed (ie, the number of parallaxes) can be arbitrarily set by the observer.

[0040] exist Figure 4 In Figure 4 As shown in (a), it is assumed that the target image is an image that can be displayed by writing image signals V0 to V4 to five pixels PX. In this case, when a setting is made that a stereoscopic image corresponding to five parallaxes is to be displayed at a position away from the observer's eyes by a predetermined distance (here, the distance at which the setting value n is 1), the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 generates the image as follows: Figure 4 As shown in (b) of FIG. 5 , the video signals V0 to V4 are rearranged so that one of the video signals V0 to V4 is skipped and written into the pixel PX, thereby generating a three-dimensional image.

[0041] Here, refer to Figure 5 , the rearrangement processing performed by the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 will be described in more detail. Figure 5 In Figure 5 As shown in (a) of FIG. 1 , it is assumed that the target image is an image that can be displayed by writing video signals V0 to V29 to 30 pixels PX0 to PX29. Figure 5 In FIG. 1 , it is assumed that a stereoscopic image corresponding to five parallaxes is to be displayed at a position away from the eyes of the observer by a predetermined distance, and the setting value n determined according to the distance is 1.

[0042] In this case, since it is a stereoscopic image corresponding to five parallaxes, the above-mentioned setting value n is 1, so the image signals V0 to V4, V5 to V9, V10 to V14, V15 to V19, V20 to V24, and V25 to V29 are rearranged so as to skip one of each and write them to the pixel PX. In addition, if there is a pixel PX to which none of the image signals V0 to V29 can be written, the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 allocates the image signal VB (for displaying black) to the pixel PX. Figure 5 The image signals VB1~VB4 shown in (b)).

[0043] Therefore, if Figure 5As shown in (b), a stereoscopic image of the image signal V is generated in the order of "image signal V0, image signal VB1, image signal V1, image signal VB2, image signal V2, image signal V5, image signal V3, image signal V6, image signal V4, image signal V7, ..."

[0044] Here, if we focus on the image signal V0, for example, the image signal V0 is written into the pixel PX0 when the target image is displayed, but as a result of the above rearrangement, it is written into the pixel PXa which is offset (shifted) by two pixels in the horizontal direction from the pixel PX0 when the stereoscopic image is displayed. That is, the offset amount of the pixel PX into which the image signal V0 is written is two pixels. Similarly, let us focus on the image signal V1. The image signal V1 is written into the pixel PX1 when the target image is displayed, but as a result of the above rearrangement, it is written into the pixel PX0 which is offset (shifted) by one pixel in the horizontal direction from the pixel PX0 when the stereoscopic image is displayed. That is, the offset amount of the pixel PX into which the image signal V1 is written is one pixel. Furthermore, if we focus on the image signal V2, the image signal V2 is written into the pixel PX2 regardless of whether the target image is displayed or the stereoscopic image is displayed. That is, the offset amount of the pixel PX into which the image signal V2 is written is 0.

[0045] In this way, the offset amount of the pixel PX into which the image signal V is written (in other words, the offset amount of the image signal V) is determined based on the position (i.e., coordinates) of the pixel into which the image signal V is written when the object image is displayed, the number of parallaxes to which the stereoscopic image corresponds (i.e., the number of parallaxes), and the above-mentioned set value n.

[0046] The resolution of the stereoscopic image generated by executing the above-described rearrangement processing is greater than the resolution of the target image by "n×(parallax number-1)" in the relationship that the video signal V corresponding to the target image is allocated to the pixels PX skipped by n. For example, Figure 5 In the case of , the resolution of the object image is 30 pixels, and the resolution of the stereoscopic image is 34 pixels. The resolution of the stereoscopic image is 4 pixels larger than the resolution of the object image (= "1×(5-1)"). In addition, these 4 pixels correspond to the image signal VB written to display black (in Figure 5 In the case of , it is the number of pixels of the image signal VB1 to VB4).

[0047] in addition, Figure 5 The rearrangement processing shown is performed in units of pixel rows.

[0048] Figure 6 1 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the stereoscopic image generation process executed by the stereoscopic image generation unit 22 .

[0049] First, the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 acquires the target image output from the target image acquiring unit 21 (step S1). Next, the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 performs the above-mentioned rearrangement processing on the video signal V corresponding to the acquired target image to generate a stereoscopic image (step S2). Then, the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 outputs the generated stereoscopic image to the stereoscopic image output unit 23 (step S3), and a series of stereoscopic image generation processing ends.

[0050] As described above, in the stereoscopic image generation process of this embodiment, a stereoscopic image can be generated based on one object image, and there is no need to synthesize the same number of images as the number of parallaxes or obtain a depth map, so the processing load spent in the device when generating a stereoscopic image can be greatly reduced.

[0051] Furthermore, in the stereoscopic image generation process of the present embodiment, since a stereoscopic image corresponding to an arbitrarily set / changed parallax number can be generated, it is possible to obtain an advantage that there is no need to change the parallax barrier and / or lenticular lens already provided on the display surface of the liquid crystal display device 10. In other words, even in the case where a parallax barrier and / or lenticular lens is already provided on the display surface of the liquid crystal display device 10, a stereoscopic image corresponding to the parallax number that the parallax barrier and lenticular lens can correspond to can be generated, so it is possible to obtain an advantage that there is no need to provide a new parallax barrier and / or lenticular lens along with the installation of the image processing device 20.

[0052] In the above-mentioned embodiment, a case where a stereoscopic image is generated in which the three-dimensional display image is recognized by the observer with the same depth as a whole is described. However, since the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 performs the above-mentioned rearrangement processing in units of pixel rows, it is also possible to generate a stereoscopic image that is recognized with different depths depending on the pixel rows. For example, Figure 7 As shown, it is also possible to generate a stereoscopic image in which the upper half of the image is recognized by the observer as having a greater sense of depth than the lower half.

[0053] In this case, the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 can generate a stereoscopic image in which the upper half of the image is recognized by the observer as having a greater sense of depth than the lower half by making the setting value n applied to the rearrangement processing of the image signal V written to the pixel rows in the upper half of the liquid crystal display device 10 larger than the setting value n applied to the rearrangement processing of the image signal V written to the pixel rows in the lower half.

[0054] Figure 8 This is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement processing performed to generate a stereoscopic image corresponding to five parallaxes, and is a rearrangement processing for generating a stereoscopic image in which the upper half of the image is recognized by the observer with a greater sense of depth than the lower half.

[0055] In this case, the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 sets the setting value n applied to the rearrangement process of the video signal V written to the pixel row in the upper half of the liquid crystal display device 10 to 2. Figure 8 As shown in (a), the image signals V0 to V4, V5 to V9, V10 to V14, V15 to V19, V20 to V24, and V25 to V29 are rearranged so as to skip two of each and write them into the pixel PX. In addition, for the pixel PX into which none of the image signals V0 to V29 can be written, the image signal VB ( Figure 8 The image signals VB1~VB8 shown in (a).

[0056] Furthermore, the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 sets the setting value n applied to the rearrangement process of the video signal V written into the pixel row in the lower half of the liquid crystal display device 10 to 1. Figure 8 As shown in (b), the image signals V0 to V4, V5 to V9, V10 to V14, V15 to V19, V20 to V24, and V25 to V29 are rearranged so as to skip one of them and write them into the pixel PX. In this case, for the pixel PX to which none of the image signals V0 to V29 can be written, the image signal VB ( Figure 8 The image signals VB3~VB6 shown in (b).

[0057] In addition, when different pixel rows have different depth perceptions, the stereoscopic image generation unit 22 determines the resolution of the stereoscopic image based on the pixel row having the greatest depth perception. Figure 7 and Figure 8 In the case of , the resolution of the stereoscopic image is determined based on the number of image signals V written into the pixel rows in the upper half of the liquid crystal display device 10 (in other words, the number of pixels PX into which the image signals V are written). Therefore, in order to make the number of image signals V written into the pixel rows in the lower half of the liquid crystal display device 10 the same as the number of image signals V written into the pixel rows in the upper half of the liquid crystal display device 10, the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 further allocates image signals VB for displaying black to both ends of the pixel rows in the lower half ( Figure 8 Thus, the resolution of the stereoscopic image displayed on the lower half of the liquid crystal display device 10 can be made the same as the resolution of the stereoscopic image displayed on the upper half of the liquid crystal display device 10 .

[0058] According to the stereoscopic image generation process including the rearrangement process described above, it is possible to generate a stereoscopic image that is recognizable with different depth perceptions (or proximity perceptions) for each pixel row.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the parallax barrier and / or lenticular lens are arranged on the entire display surface of the liquid crystal display device 10. However, the parallax barrier and lenticular lens may be arranged only on a portion of the display surface of the liquid crystal display device 10.

[0060] In this case, the stereoscopic image generating unit 22 only needs to perform the above-mentioned rearrangement processing on the image signal V written to the pixel PX located in the portion where the parallax barrier and / or the lenticular lens are arranged. As a result, the observer can recognize the stereoscopic image (three-dimensional image) corresponding to the image signal V written to the pixel PX located in the portion where the parallax barrier and / or the lenticular lens are arranged, and can recognize the two-dimensional image corresponding to the image signal V written to the pixel PX located in the portion where the parallax barrier and / or the lenticular lens are not arranged.

[0061] According to the embodiment described above, the image processing device 20 includes: an object image acquisition unit 21 for acquiring an object image; a stereoscopic image generation unit 22 for rearranging a plurality of image signals V corresponding to the acquired object image in a manner of skipping n pixels PX among a plurality of pixels PX arranged in a horizontal direction to generate a stereoscopic image; and a stereoscopic image output unit 23 for outputting the generated stereoscopic image to the liquid crystal display device 10. Since a stereoscopic image can be generated from one object image, the processing load when generating a stereoscopic image can be reduced.

[0062] Furthermore, it is possible to provide a head-up display HUD including the image processing device 20 and the liquid crystal display device 10 that displays a stereoscopic image output from the image processing device 20 .

[0063] In the scope of the concept of the present invention, as long as a person skilled in the art can think of various variations, it should be understood that these variations also belong to the scope of the present invention. For example, a person skilled in the art can appropriately add, delete or design the form after the constituent elements are added, deleted or the form after the conditions are changed for each of the above-mentioned embodiments, as long as they have the gist of the present invention, they are included in the scope of the present invention.

[0064] Furthermore, other effects brought about by the forms described in the above-mentioned embodiments that are obvious from the description of this specification or that can be appropriately conceived by those skilled in the art should of course be considered to be brought about by the present invention.

[0065] Description of Reference Numerals

[0066] 10…liquid crystal display device; 20…image processing device; PX…pixel; M1, M2…concave mirrors; FG…front windshield; VI…virtual image; 21…object image acquisition unit; 22…stereoscopic image generation unit; 23…stereoscopic image output unit.

Claims

1. An image processing device, wherein: The invention comprises: an acquisition unit for acquiring an object image; a generation unit for grouping a plurality of image signals corresponding to the acquired object image according to a parallax number, and rearranging the plurality of image signals corresponding to the acquired object image by skipping a set number of image signals for each group and writing the same number of pixels as the parallax number into a plurality of pixels arranged in a horizontal direction, so as to generate a stereoscopic image, so that each pixel of the rearranged stereoscopic image is offset from each pixel of the object image by a prescribed offset amount; and an output unit for outputting the generated stereoscopic image to a display device, wherein the offset amount of the pixels into which the image signal is written is determined based on the position of the pixel into which the image signal is written when the object image is displayed, the parallax number and the set value.

2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The setting value is determined based on the distance from the position of a virtual image formed when the stereoscopic image is displayed and output to the position where the stereoscopic image is recognized by an observer.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: When the set value is n, the resolution of the stereoscopic image is n×(the number of parallaxes−1) greater than the resolution of the target image.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The generating unit allocates a black video signal to pixels to which any video signal among the plurality of video signals cannot be written.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: The black video signal is distributed to pixels near both ends of the plurality of pixels arranged in the horizontal direction.

6. A head-up display, wherein: The method comprises: the image processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5; and a display device for displaying and outputting the stereoscopic image output from the image processing device.

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