Image processing device, control method, and control program

Abstract

To realize processing for creating an image to be displayed on a naked eye three-dimensional display with a minimum amount of memory capacity required, and to reduce an operation amount.SOLUTION: An image processing device has: an acquisition section 11 for acquiring object image information for a right eye and object image information for a left eye; and a drawing section 12 for drawing an object image for a right eye on the basis of the object image information for a right eye and for drawing object information for a left eye on the basis of the object image information for a left eye. The drawing section 12 performs α blending processing by using an RGB value and an α value of pixels of an object image for a right eye and an RGB value and an α value of pixels included in a common image, and performs α blending processing by using an RGB value and an α value of pixels included in an object image for a left eye, an RGB value of pixels included in a common image, and an α value included in a storage section 24. The object image for a right eye and the object image for a left eye subjected to α blending processing are masked by mask information, and are written to a sub-pixel for a right eye and a sub-pixel for a left right of a frame buffer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a control method, and a control program.

Background Art

[0002] Techniques are known for imparting a three-dimensional effect to an image using a stereoscopic display without glasses and improving the sense of presence given to a user. Also, gaming machines such as pachinko machines and pachislot machines are known, and some of the display devices that perform video effects in these gaming machines use a stereoscopic display without glasses. Along with this, techniques for creating a stereoscopic image to be displayed on a stereoscopic display without glasses have been developed. For example, in Patent Document 1, with respect to frame data of a 3D video of at least one of a side-by-side method, an up-and-down method, and an MVC method, alpha compositing processing is performed on the frame data for the left eye and the frame data for the right eye, and one frame data obtained by synthesizing the frame data for the left eye and the frame data for the right eye is generated.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a conventionally known technique for drawing a stereoscopic image, an image processing apparatus creates two common images that are common to the left and right, and writes a target image for the right eye and a target image for the left eye that are the objects of stereoscopic vision to each of the common images to create an image for the right eye and an image for the left eye. Then, the image processing apparatus creates a stereoscopic image for stereoscopic vision by synthesizing the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye. The right-eye image, the left-eye image, and the two left-and-right common images are temporarily stored in the memory. Therefore, in addition to creating a planar image, the image processing apparatus requires an additional memory area for storing the duplicated common images and a compositing process for the right-eye image and the left-eye image. This requires a large memory capacity and a large amount of computation. As one aspect, the present invention realizes a process of creating a stereoscopic image to be displayed on a naked-eye 3D display with a minimum required memory capacity and reduces the amount of computation.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0005] As one aspect, an image processing apparatus creates an image by writing a first image and a second image as target images to a predetermined image, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires first image information including color information and a first transmittance of each pixel included in the first image, and second image information including color information and a second transmittance of each pixel included in the second image; a drawing unit that draws the first image to be written to a first sub-pixel in a pixel of the predetermined image based on the first image information, and draws the second image to be written to a second sub-pixel in a pixel of the predetermined image based on the second image information; first selection information for selecting a sub-pixel of the first image to be written to the first sub-pixel; second selection information for selecting a sub-pixel of the second image to be written to the second sub-pixel; and a writing mask unit that writes, to the predetermined image, the sub-pixels drawn by the drawing unit and selected based on the first selection information and the second selection information. Also, as one aspect, there is provided an image processing apparatus that creates an image by writing a first image, a second image, and a third image as target images to a predetermined image, wherein the image is visually recognized in different modes according to a combination of target images to be visually recognized, and an acquisition unit that acquires first image information including color information and a first transmittance of each pixel included in the first image, second image information including color information and a second transmittance of each pixel included in the second image, and third image information including color information and a third transmittance of each pixel included in the third image; a drawing unit that draws the first image to be written to a first sub-pixel in a pixel of the predetermined image based on the first image information, draws the second image to be written to a second sub-pixel in a pixel of the predetermined image based on the second image information, and draws the third image to be written to a third sub-pixel in a pixel of the predetermined image based on the third image information; first selection information for selecting a sub-pixel of the first image to be written to the first sub-pixel, second selection information for selecting a sub-pixel of the second image to be written to the second sub-pixel, and third selection information for selecting a sub-pixel of the third image to be written to the third sub-pixel; and a writing mask unit that writes the sub-pixels drawn by the drawing unit and selected based on the first selection information, the second selection information, and the third selection information to the predetermined image.

Effect of the Invention

[0006] As one aspect, according to the present invention, a process of creating a stereoscopic image to be displayed on a naked-eye 3D display can be realized with a minimum necessary memory capacity, and the amount of calculation can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a gaming machine according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the gaming machine 100 includes a main control board (main board) 1A, a performance control board (sub - board) 2A, an external storage device 3, and a display device 4. The main control board 1A is equipped with a main control device (main CPU) 1. The performance control board 2A is equipped with a performance control device 2 (sub - CPU). As will be described later, the performance control device 2 is an image processing device capable of controlling the display of a stereoscopic image. The gaming machine 100 is, for example, a pachinko gaming machine that plays a game using game balls as game media. The main control board 1A, the effect control board 2A, the effect control board 2A and the external memory device 3, and the effect control board 2A and the display device 4 are communicably connected to each other. However, the communication between the main control board 1A and the effect control board 2A is one-way communication that only permits the input of commands from the main control board 1A to the effect control device 2. It is not possible to input data or commands from the effect control device 2 to the main control board 1A.

[0009] When the gaming machine 100 is a pachinko machine, upon the gaming medium launched into the gaming area by the launching device winning in the start winning opening provided in the gaming area, the main control device 1 conducts a lottery of symbols using random numbers and makes a jackpot determination based on the lottery result. The main control board 1A outputs a command specifying the symbol variation time and variation pattern based on the jackpot determination result to the effect control device 2. Alternatively, if there is no start winning for a certain period of time, the main control board 1A sets the gaming machine 100 to the customer waiting state (standby state) and inputs a command indicating that it has entered the customer waiting state to the effect control device 2. In the case of winning the jackpot in the jackpot determination, after the symbol variation ends, a jackpot is conducted where prize balls are paid out by the gaming medium entering the opened attacker. The effect control device 2 executes various effects of the gaming machine 100 based on the commands input from the main control board 1A. The effect control device 2 selects the effects to be performed using effect devices such as the display device 4 and conducts control to execute the selected effects during the specified variation time and the effects during customer waiting.

[0010] The display device 4 displays the display image created by the effect control device 2. Here, it is assumed that the display device 4 is a naked-eye 3D display that can display a stereoscopic image visible as a three-dimensional image with the naked eye. The display device 4 is, for example, a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), PDP (Plasma Display Panel), and OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) equipped with necessary lenses and the like as described in FIG. 2.

[0011] The external storage device 3 is an external storage device connected to a memory I / F (not shown) provided in the effect control device 2, and is, for example, an SSD (Solid State Drive). The external storage device 3 stores various effect data used for the effects of the gaming machine 100, a bootloader for starting the effect control device 2, basic software such as an OS (Operating System), and the like. Unlike the storage device mounted on the effect control board 2A and the storage device built in the effect control device 2, it has a large capacity and can store a lot of effect data. The effect data is, for example, image data used for game effects, customer waiting effects (waiting effects), and effects during a big win.

[0012] The effect control device 2 reads out image data from the external storage device 3 and draws an image in response to an instruction from the main control device 1. The effect control device 2 creates a display image to be displayed on the display device 4 using the drawn image. The effect control device 2 outputs the display image to the display device 4 and causes the display device 4 to display the image. Note that the image data is, for example, image data of a background or a person. Then, the effect control device 2 draws a background image and a person image from the image data, and combines the background image and the person image to create a display image. The display image shall include a planar image and a three-dimensional image.

[0013] Note that the display mode of the display device 4 in the present embodiment can be used not only for pachinko machines and pachislot machines, but also for other gaming machines, game machines, digital signage, and other general devices having a display device. Therefore, the image processing device described as the effect control device 2 in the present embodiment can be used for image processing for displaying a three-dimensional image in other gaming machines, game machines, digital signage, and other general devices having a display device. In that case, the image processing device performs various processes based on the control of the CPU (overall control CPU) provided in the effect control device 2 described later, rather than an instruction from the main control device.

[0014] First, the technology for realizing a naked-eye three-dimensional display will be outlined. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the technology for realizing a naked-eye three-dimensional display. The naked-eye three-dimensional display can be realized, for example, by providing a lenticular lens or a parallax barrier on the front side (viewer side) of a normal liquid crystal display 200. As shown in FIG. 2(a), the liquid crystal display 200 forms one pixel 210 by arranging at least three sub-pixels 210R, 210G, and 210B of R (Red), G (Green), and B (Blue) horizontally side by side. Then, the liquid crystal display 200 expresses the color of one pixel by adjusting the amount of light transmitted through each sub-pixel of RGB.

[0015] The lenticular method shown in FIG. 2(b) attaches a sheet-like lenticular lens 250 to the surface of the liquid crystal display 200 so that different images can be seen depending on the viewing angle. The lenticular lens is a sheet in which innumerable fine and elongated convex lenses are arranged on the surface. The parallax image for the right eye and the parallax image for the left eye are alternately displayed for each pixel of the liquid crystal display 200. When such a display is viewed through the lenticular lens 250, the parallax image for the right eye can be seen from the position of the right eye and the parallax image for the left eye can be seen from the position of the left eye, so that the viewer can recognize the image stereoscopically.

[0016] The parallax barrier method shown in FIG. 2(c) attaches a barrier (parallax barrier) 260 with fine slits in front of the liquid crystal display 200. Similar to the case of FIG. 2(b), the parallax image for the right eye and the parallax image for the left eye are alternately displayed for each pixel of the liquid crystal display 200. Then, when such a display is viewed through the parallax barrier 260, the parallax image for the right eye can be seen from the position of the right eye and the parallax image for the left eye can be seen from the position of the left eye, so that the viewer can recognize the image stereoscopically. The parallax barrier method can obtain the same effect as the lenticular method. Note that, as described above, in the lenticular method and the parallax barrier method, left and right parallax images are displayed on the liquid crystal display 200 in pixel units. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2(d), by alternately displaying left and right parallax at the sub-pixel unit of the liquid crystal display, it is possible to realize a stereoscopic view with higher definition and a sense of three-dimensionality.

[0017] Before explaining the procedure for creating a stereoscopic image in the present embodiment, as a comparative example for the present embodiment, a conventionally known procedure for creating a stereoscopic image will be explained. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a conventionally known procedure for creating a stereoscopic image. A case where the production control device 2 in FIG. 1 executes a conventionally known production procedure will be described. The production control device 2 creates a stereoscopic image using a common image for the right eye and the left eye, and a right-eye image and a left-eye image corresponding to the object of stereoscopic vision. The common image is an image that does not generate parallax when viewed with the left and right eyes. First, the production control device draws a common image a as the background image shown in FIG. 3(a). Then, the production control device 2 duplicates the common image a to create a common image b shown in FIG. 3(b). Note that the duplicated common image b is the same image as the common image a.

[0018] The production control device 2 writes a right-eye target image T1 to the common image a to create a right-eye image c shown in FIG. 3(c). The production control device 2 writes a left-eye target image T2 to the common image b to create a left-eye image d shown in FIG. 3(d). The production control device 2 creates a stereoscopic image e shown in FIG. 3(e) by synthesizing the right-eye image c and the left-eye image d. When synthesizing the right-eye image c and the left-eye image d, as described in FIG. 2(d), the right-eye image c and the left-eye image d are alternately stored in the sub-pixel unit of the liquid crystal display 200.

[0019] The conventional effect control device 2 shown in FIG. 3 temporarily stores the common image a, the common image b, the right-eye image c, and the left-eye image d in the memory until the stereoscopic image e is created. Therefore, the effect control device 2 requires a larger memory area for replicating the common image and a compositing process for the right-eye image c and the left-eye image d that is not executed when creating a planar image. More specifically, a memory area for the right eye (common image a, right-eye image c), a memory area for the left eye (common image b, left-eye image d), and a memory area for compositing the right-eye image c and the left-eye image d are required.

[0020] For one common image a in FIG. 3(a), the right-eye target image T1 and the left-eye target image T2 may be directly and sequentially written. As a result, the stereoscopic image e in FIG. 3(e) can be created without requiring an additional compositing process and a memory area for replicating the common image. However, when writing the right-eye target image and the left-eye target image for each sub-pixel as shown in FIG. 2(d), there is a problem that the α-blending process cannot be correctly executed as described below.

[0021] In image processing for gaming machines, overlay using the "drawing mode" function of Adobe's video editing software After Effects has become the standard. In this embodiment, such an overlay is expressed as an "α-blending process". The α-blending process is a process of generating an image composed of a new α value and a new RGB value using the α value and RGB value of the common image and the α value and RGB value of the stereoscopic target image. Here, the RGB value is the luminance value of the sub-pixels R, G, and B that make up a pixel. The RGB value indicates the color information (pixel value) of a pixel. In the following description, the color information of a pixel that is masked for sub-pixels and does not have all RGB components may also be conveniently referred to as the RGB value.

[0022] The frame buffer usually holds only one α value per pixel. When writing the right-eye image and the left-eye image for each sub-pixel within a single pixel as shown in FIG. 2(d), if the α-blending process is performed on the right-eye target image, the α value of the pixels in the frame buffer is updated. When drawing the left-eye target image with reference to the α value of the frame buffer in this state, the updated α value will be referenced instead of the α value of the common image that should originally be referenced. Therefore, the correct result of the α-blending process cannot be obtained.

[0023] This problem can be solved by not updating the α value when drawing (α-blending process) the right-eye target image. However, when there are multiple objects for stereoscopic viewing and multiple right-eye and left-eye target images, a problem occurs. When overlapping multiple right-eye or left-eye target images, when drawing the next target image after writing the first target image to the frame buffer, drawing is performed using the α value, RGB values of the frame buffer, and the α value of the next target image. At this time, since the α value of the frame buffer is not updated, the α value of the common image is repeatedly referenced for drawing. As a result, the correct α-blending result cannot be obtained, and the overlap of multiple target images cannot be appropriately represented.

[0024] In order to solve the problem of the α-blending process in realizing the process of creating a stereoscopic image to be displayed on the autostereoscopic 3D display with a small amount of calculation and the minimum necessary memory capacity, the effect control device 2 of the present embodiment has the configuration described below.

[0025] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the effect control device, and shows the functional configuration of the effect control device 2. As described above, the effect control device 2 can function as an image processing device, and includes an image processing unit 10 and a storage unit 20. The image processing unit 10 includes an acquisition unit 11, a drawing unit 12, a write mask unit 13, and a transfer unit 19. The acquisition unit 11 reads out image data for effects and the like from the external storage device 3. The drawing unit 12 draws a production image including a stereoscopic image from the production image data for the production. The stereoscopic image is an image created by writing a target image, which is the object of stereoscopic viewing, onto a common image that is not the object of stereoscopic viewing. The writing mask unit 13 performs a mask, which will be described below, on the target image when the drawing unit 12 writes the target image onto the common image to draw the production image. The transfer unit 19 transfers the created stereoscopic image to the display device 4 for display. The display device 4 is a naked-eye 3D display, for example, a liquid crystal display 200 with a lenticular lens or the like attached as described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0026] The storage unit 20 includes a decoding area 21, a mask information storage unit 23A, a transmittance information storage unit 24A, and a frame buffer 25. The mask information storage unit 23A stores mask information 23, which will be described later. The transmittance information storage unit 24A stores transmittance information 24, which will be described later. The decoding area 21 stores production image data and the like read from the external storage device 3. The frame buffer 25 holds the drawing result by the drawing unit 12.

[0027] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the production control device. In FIG. 5, the production control device 2 includes at least a general control CPU 110, a storage device 111, an image processing circuit 112, and an input / output I / F 113. Each component is connected by a bus 114. In addition to these, the production control device 2 includes an audio control circuit that controls the production sound output from the speaker, a motor control circuit that controls a motor that operates a production prop, etc., but the description thereof is omitted here. The external storage device 3 is connected to the production control device 2 via the input / output I / F 113. Also, the display device 4 is connected to the image processing circuit 112 via an interface (not shown).

[0028] The general control CPU 110 controls the entire production control device 2. The overall control CPU 110 is activated by executing a startup program stored in the external storage device 3. The overall control CPU 110 acquires commands input from the main control device 1 and determines the production content according to the commands. The overall control CPU 110 controls the image processing circuit 112 and controls the display of an image for realizing the determined production content. At that time, the overall control CPU 110 executes a control program stored in the external storage device 3. The storage device 111 is a RAM and functions as the storage unit 20 in FIG. 4. The storage device 111 is used as a work area by the image processing circuit 112 and the overall control CPU 110. By being controlled by the overall control CPU 110, the image processing circuit 112 functions as the image processing unit 10 in FIG. 4. The image processing circuit 112 reads out production image data and the like from the external storage device 3 according to commands from the overall control CPU 110. The image processing circuit 112 performs drawing of image data and display on the display device 4 according to commands from the overall control CPU 110.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of mask information. The mask information 23 stores, for example, as shown in FIG. 6(a), an identifier and a mask in association with each other. The identifier MA is an identifier for identifying the mask MR. Also, the identifier MB is an identifier for identifying the mask ML. The mask MR and the mask ML are information as shown in FIG. 6(b), for example. The mask MR and the mask ML are used to select sub-pixels that are visually recognized by the right eye and the left eye as parallax images from the target image of the object to be stereoscopically viewed so that a display as shown in FIG. 2(d) can be made on the liquid crystal display 200 provided in the display device 4. The mask MR is, in particular, information for extracting sub-pixels at locations where RGB is specified from the right-eye image. Also, the mask ML is, in particular, information for extracting sub-pixels at locations where RGB is specified from the left-eye target image.

[0030] In the mask MR shown in Fig. 6(b), the masks MR1 and MR2 respectively correspond to two adjacent pixels. The mask MR1 masks the G sub-pixels in one pixel and extracts only R and B. The mask MR2 masks the R and B sub-pixels in the pixel adjacent to the above-mentioned one pixel and extracts only the G sub-pixels. Similarly, in the mask ML, the masks ML1 and ML2 respectively correspond to two adjacent pixels. The mask ML1 masks the R and B sub-pixels in one pixel and extracts only the G sub-pixels. The mask ML2 masks the G sub-pixels in the pixel adjacent to the above-mentioned one pixel and extracts only the R and B sub-pixels.

[0031] Also, the mask MR and the mask ML may be, for example, the information shown in Fig. 6(c). The mask MR and the mask ML shown in Fig. 6(c) are also information for extracting the sub-pixels at the locations where RGB is specified from the target image so that the display as shown in Fig. 2(d) can be performed in the liquid crystal display 200 provided in the display device 4. In the mask MR shown in Fig. 6(c), the masks MR1, MR2, MR3, and MR4 respectively correspond to four pixels adjacent to each other horizontally and vertically. The mask MR1 masks the G sub-pixels in one pixel and extracts only the R and B sub-pixels. The mask MR2 masks the R and B sub-pixels in the pixel adjacent to the right of the above-mentioned one pixel and extracts only the G sub-pixels. The mask MR3 masks the R and B sub-pixels in the pixel adjacent to the bottom of the above-mentioned one pixel and extracts only the G sub-pixels. The mask MR4 masks the G sub-pixels in the pixel at the lower right of the above-mentioned one pixel and extracts only the R and B sub-pixels.

[0032] In the mask ML shown in Fig. 6(c), the masks ML1, ML2, ML3, and ML4 respectively correspond to four pixels adjacent to each other horizontally and vertically. Mask ML1 masks the R and B sub-pixels in one pixel and extracts only the G sub-pixel. Mask ML2 masks the G sub-pixel in the pixel adjacent to the right of the above-mentioned one pixel and extracts only the R and B sub-pixels. Mask ML3 masks the G sub-pixel in the pixel below the above-mentioned one pixel and extracts only the R and B sub-pixels. Mask ML4 masks the R and B sub-pixels in the pixel diagonally below the above-mentioned one pixel and extracts only the G sub-pixel.

[0033] Mask information 23 is appropriately set according to the stereoscopic viewing method of the display device 4 that displays the stereoscopic image. Note that a plurality of masks may be stored in the mask information 23, and the effect control device 2 may selectively switch the mask applied to the target image according to the stereoscopic viewing method of the display device 4. It is preferable that the values of mask MR and mask ML are set so that sub-pixels at different positions in the pixel are selected, but it is not limited thereto, and it may be set so that sub-pixels at positions where a stereoscopic image can be created are extracted. The mask pattern described above corresponds to the parallax barrier or the concavo-convex pattern of the lenticular lens described in FIG. 2.

[0034] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of transmittance information. The transmittance information 24 stored in the transmittance information storage unit 24A includes, for example, a transmittance TC as shown in FIG. 7(a). The transmittance TC is the transmittance (α value) of each pixel included in the common image that is not the target of stereoscopic viewing as shown in FIG. 7(b). As will be described later, when the effect control device 2 acquires the image data of the common image from the external storage device 3 and draws the common image, the α value of each pixel included in the common image is stored in the transmittance information 24 as the transmittance information 24 and saved.

[0035] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the process of creating a stereoscopic image by the effect control device of the present embodiment. With reference mainly to FIGS. 4 and 8, the creation process of the stereoscopic image by the production control device 2 will be described. In response to an instruction from the main control board 1A, the acquisition unit 11 acquires image data serving as a material for the stereoscopic image from the external storage device 3. At this time, the external storage device 3 outputs the image data to the production control device 2 in response to a read request from the acquisition unit 11. The acquisition unit 11 outputs the image data to the decoding area 21 of the storage unit 20. The image data may be in a compressed state according to a standard such as H.265. In that case, the acquisition unit 11 expands the compressed image and then outputs it to the decoding area 21.

[0036] More specifically, the acquisition unit 11 acquires, from the external storage device 3, image data (first image information) of the right-eye target image (first image) TR including the RGB value of each pixel of the right-eye target image TR and the α value indicating the transparency (first transparency) of each pixel of the right-eye target image TR. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 11 acquires, from the external storage device 3, image data (second image information) of the left-eye target image (second image) TL including the RGB value of each pixel of the left-eye target image TL and the α value indicating the transparency (second transparency) of each pixel of the left-eye target image TL. The acquisition unit 11 also acquires image data (third image information) of the common image K including the RGB value of each pixel of the common image K common to the right eye and the left eye and the α value indicating the transparency (third transparency) of each pixel of the common image K.

[0037] The acquisition unit 11 that has acquired the data outputs the image data of the right-eye target image TR, the image data of the left-eye target image TL, and the image data of the common image K to the decoding area 21. Note that only the necessary data of the image data of the right-eye target image TR, the image data of the left-eye target image TL, and the image data of the common image K need to be held in the decoding area 21 in accordance with the timing of the processing of the drawing unit 12 described later. The decoding area 21 can be used while writing in the order of the image data of the common image K, the image data of the right-eye target image TR, and the image data of the left-eye target image TL. Thereby, the memory capacity required for the decoding area 21 can be minimized.

[0038] When a plurality of materials are included in the image data of the common image K, the drawing unit 12 writes each material image Ka, Kb into the frame buffer 25 as shown in FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b), for example, and creates the common image K shown in FIG. 8(c). Alternatively, the drawing unit 12 creates the common image K shown in FIG. 8(c) using the image data of the common image K written in the decoding area 21 in a state where the material images Ka, Kb are combined from the beginning, and writes it into the frame buffer 25.

[0039] Next, the drawing unit 12 acquires the image data of the right-eye target image TR shown in FIG. 8(d) from the decoding area 21. Then, the drawing unit 12 performs α-blending processing using the RGB values and α values of each pixel included in the image data of the right-eye target image TR and the RGB values and α values acquired from the frame buffer 25. Next, the writing mask unit 13 selects only the sub-pixels not masked by the mask MR from the right-eye target image TR for which the drawing unit 12 has performed α-blending processing, and acquires the right-eye selection image TR1 shown in FIG. 8(e). The writing mask unit 13 writes (overwrites) the right-eye selection image TR1 onto the common image K on the frame buffer 25, and creates the intermediate image K1 shown in FIG. 8(f).

[0040] Furthermore, the drawing unit 12 acquires the image data of the left-eye target image TL shown in FIG. 8(g) from the decoding area 21. Then, the drawing unit 12 performs α-blending processing using the RGB values and α values of each pixel of the image data of the left-eye target image TL, the RGB values of each pixel in the frame buffer 25 after α-blending processing, and the α value acquired from the transparency information storage unit 24A. Using the α value acquired from the transparency information storage unit 24A instead of the updated result of the α-blending processing of the right-eye target image TR, the correct result of the α-blending processing can be obtained. Note that when the effect control device 2 of the present embodiment performs α - blending processing using the α - value in the frame buffer 25, it overwrites the α - value of the α - blending processing result in the frame buffer 25. On the other hand, when the effect control device 2 performs α - blending processing using the α - value acquired from the transparency information storage unit 24A, it overwrites the α - value of the α - blending processing result in the transparency information storage unit 24A.

[0041] The write mask unit 13 selects only the sub - pixels that are not masked by the mask ML from the left - eye target image TL for which the drawing unit 12 has performed α - blending processing, and acquires the left - eye selection image TL1. The write mask unit 13 writes the left - eye selection image TL1 into the frame buffer 25 to create the stereoscopic image R shown in Fig. 8(i). For the common image K in Fig. 8(c), the left - eye selection image TL1 and the right - eye selection image TR1 may be written at once to create the stereoscopic image R shown in Fig. 8(i). The transfer unit 19 transfers the created stereoscopic image R in Fig. 8(g) from the frame buffer 25 to the display device 4 for display on the display device 4.

[0042] As described above, in the stereoscopic image creation process by the effect control device 2 of the present embodiment, as storage areas, there may be a frame buffer 25 that continuously stores the drawing results from the first common image K to the final stereoscopic image R, a decoding area 21, and a transparency information storage unit 24A. Also, in the stereoscopic image creation process by the effect control device 2 of the present embodiment, the process of synthesizing after drawing the completed right - eye target image and left - eye target image is unnecessary. This is because the masked right - eye selection image and left - eye selection image can be directly synthesized into the common image K. Furthermore, in the effect control device 2 of the present embodiment, since the transparency information 24 stores only the α - value among the image data composed of the α - value and RGB values, a capacity about 1 / 4 of the data amount of planar images such as the common image K, the right - eye image c shown in Fig. 3, and the left - eye image d is sufficient. That is, when the data of one pixel consists of an 8 - bit α - value, an 8 - bit luminance value of R, an 8 - bit luminance value of G, and an 8 - bit luminance value of B, the data amount of only the α - value is 8 / 32 = 1 / 4. In addition, when the data of one pixel consists of a 2-bit α value, a 10-bit luminance value of R, a 10-bit luminance value of G, and a 10-bit luminance value of B, the data amount of only the α value is 2 / 32 = 1 / 16. When one pixel consists of an 8-bit α value, a 5-bit luminance value of R, a 6-bit luminance value of G, and a 5-bit luminance value of B, if it is only the α value, the data amount is 8 / 24 = 1 / 3. In any case, the transparency information 24 has a data amount smaller than the data amount of the planar image, and the transparency information storage unit 24A may have a capacity smaller than the storage capacity for storing the above planar image. And in the effect control device 2 of the present embodiment, for creating a stereoscopic image, it is sufficient to have the transparency information storage unit 24A in addition to the memory area for creating a planar image. Therefore, the stereoscopic image creation process by the effect control device 2 of the present embodiment can be processed with a smaller storage area compared to the conventional stereoscopic image creation process that requires a memory area for creating two planar images corresponding to the right-eye image c and the left-eye image d. As described above, the stereoscopic image creation process by the effect control device 2 of the present embodiment can reduce the calculation resources and the amount of calculation compared to the conventional stereoscopic image creation process. Moreover, for the α blending process of the image data of the left-eye target image TL and the right-eye target image TR, instead of the α value updated by the α blending process of one target image, the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A is used. Therefore, the result of the α blending process of one image data does not affect the α blending process of the other image data, and a correct result of the α blending process can be obtained. In the above description, the effect control device 2 processes the right-eye target image first, but it may also process the left-eye target image first. And the effect control device 2 may perform the drawing process on each target image at an arbitrary timing.

[0043] The creation of the right-eye selection image TR1 and the left-eye selection image TL1 by the drawing unit 12 and the writing mask unit 13, that is, the α-blending process and the mask process, will be described in detail below. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the RGB values and α values of the pixels of the stereoscopic target image. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an image to which the α-blending process and the mask process are applied to the target image of FIG. 9. As described above, the α-blending process and the mask process can be executed in any order.

[0044] With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the α-blending process and the mask process when writing the target image to the frame buffer will be described. As shown in FIG. 9(a), the image data of the right-eye target image TR includes the α value aXX and the RGB values (RXX, GXX, BXX) of each pixel. As shown in FIG. 9(b), the image data of the left-eye target image TL includes the α value bYY and the RGB values (RYY, GYY, BYY) of each pixel.

[0045] When the image processing unit 10 applies the α value of the common image K and the right-eye mask MR to the image data of the right-eye target image TR, the right-eye selection image TR1 after the α-blending process shown in FIG. 10(a) is obtained. More specifically, the image processing unit 10 compositely applies the RGB values (RZZ, BZZ, GZZ) and the α value cZZ of the common image K on the frame buffer 25 to the RGB values (RXX, GXX, BXX) and the α value aXX of the right-eye target image TR shown in FIG. 9(a). Then, the image processing unit 10 applies the right-eye mask MR shown in FIG. 6(b). Alternatively, the image processing unit 10 applies the right-eye mask MR shown in FIG. 6(b) to the RGB values (RXX, GXX, BXX) of the right-eye target image TR shown in FIG. 9(a). Then, the image processing unit 10 compositely applies the RGB values and the α value of the common image K on the frame buffer 25 to the RGB values and the α value (aXX) of the pixels not masked by the mask MR. As a result of any processing, for the pixels not masked by the mask MR, as shown in Fig. 10(a), new RGB values (RXX’, GXX’, BXX’) and an α value (aXX’) of the right-eye selection image TR1 are obtained.

[0046] Also, when the image processing unit 10 applies the α value of the common image to the image data of the left-eye target image TL together with the left-eye mask ML, the left-eye selection image TL1 after the α blending process shown in Fig. 10(b) is obtained. More specifically, the image processing unit 10 synthesizes and applies the RGB values of the common image K on the frame buffer 25 and the α value cZZ (Fig. 7(b)) stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A to the RGB values (RYY, GYY, BYY) and the α value bYY of the left-eye target image TL shown in Fig. 9(b). Then, the image processing unit 10 applies the right-eye mask MR shown in Fig. 6(b). Alternatively, the image processing unit 10 applies the right-eye mask MR shown in Fig. 6(b) to the RGB values (RYY, GYY, BYY) of the left-eye target image TL shown in Fig. 9(b). Then, for the RGB values and the α value (aXX) of the pixels not masked by the mask MR, the image processing unit 10 synthesizes and applies the RGB values of the common image K on the frame buffer 25 and the α value cZZ (Fig. 7(b)) stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A. As a result of any processing, for the pixels not masked by the mask ML, as shown in Fig. 10(b), new RGB values (RYY’, GYY’, BYY’) and an α value (bYY’) of the left-eye selection image TL1 are obtained. The writing mask unit 13 creates a stereoscopic image R by writing the right-eye selection image TR1 shown in Fig. 10(a) and the left-eye selection image TL1 shown in Fig. 10(b) into the common image K.

[0047] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an image obtained by applying an α blending process and a masking process to the target image of Fig. 9. Referring to FIGS. 9 and 11, the mask process and the α - blending process when writing the target image into the frame buffer 25 will be described. This is the process when the mask information is different from the process described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, and other processes are the same as the processes described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. In the case of FIG. 11 as well, the α - blending process and the mask process can be in any execution order. Here, the case where the mask process is performed after the α - blending process will be described.

[0048] The effect control device 2 synthesizes and applies the RGB values (RXX, GXX, BXX) and the α - value aXX of the right - eye target image TR shown in FIG. 9(a) to the RGB values and the α - value of the common image K on the frame buffer 25, and applies the right - eye mask MR shown in FIG. 6(c). As a result, new RGB values (RXX’, GXX’, BXX’) and an α - value (aXX’) are obtained for the sub - pixels not masked by the mask MR as shown in FIG. 11(a). Also, the effect control device 2 synthesizes and applies the RGB values (RXX, GXX, BXX) and the α - value bXX of the left - eye target image TL shown in FIG. 9(b) to the RGB values of the common image K on the frame buffer 25 and the α - value cZZ (FIG. 7(b)) stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A, and applies the left - eye mask ML shown in FIG. 6(c). As a result, new RGB values (RYY’, GYY’, BYY’) and an α - value (bXX’) are obtained for the sub - pixels not masked by the mask ML as shown in FIG. 11(b). The writing mask unit 13 creates a stereoscopic image R by writing the right - eye selection image TR1 shown in FIG. 11(a) and the left - eye selection image TL1 shown in FIG. 11(b) into the common image K.

[0049] The left - eye target image TL and the right - eye target image TR may be the same image. In this case, the created stereoscopic image R is not an image that obtains a stereoscopic effect due to parallax. Even in the gaming machine 10 using the display device 4 equipped with the lenticular lens 250, the performance is not always performed by a stereoscopic display. By making the target image TL for the left eye and the target image TR for the right eye the same image, it is possible to visually recognize it as a normal planar image even through the lenticular lens 250 or the parallax barrier.

[0050] Note that the effect control device 2 of the present embodiment can create a stereoscopic image including a plurality of target images with different parallax (depth). In that case, for example, the effect control device 2 writes the first target image TR for the right eye drawn with reference to the α value of the common image stored in the frame buffer 25 into the frame buffer 25 and updates the α value of the pixel. For subsequent target images TR for the right eye, the effect control device 2 repeats the drawing (α blending process) with reference to the updated α value and the writing into the frame buffer 25 to update the α value of the pixel. Next, to write the target image TL for the left eye, the first target image TL for the left eye drawn using the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A is written into the frame buffer 25, and the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A is further updated. For subsequent target images TL for the left eye, the effect control device 2 repeats the drawing with reference to the updated α value and the writing into the frame buffer 25, and also updates the α value on the transparency information storage unit 24A with the α value after the α blending process.

[0051] Also, in the present embodiment, it is described that in the α blending process of the target image for the right eye performed first, the α value of the common image K on the frame buffer 25 is used, and in the α blending process of the target image for the left eye performed next, the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A is used. Not limited to this, for example, in the α - blending process of the target image for the right eye performed first, the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A may be used, and then in the α - blending process of the target image for the left eye, the α value of the common image K on the frame buffer 25 may be used. Since the α value on the frame buffer 25 is not updated even when performing the α - blending process of the target image for the right eye first using the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A, the α value of the common image K on the frame buffer 25 may be used in the subsequent blending process of the target image for the left eye. As described above, when the effect control device 2 performs the α - blending process using the α value of the frame buffer 25, it overwrites the α value of the frame buffer 25 with the α value of the α - blending process result. When performing the α - blending process using the α value acquired from the transparency information storage unit 24A, it overwrites the α value of the transparency information storage unit 24A with the α value of the α - blending process result. Therefore, even when performing the α - blending process of the target image for the right eye first using the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A, the resulting α value is not written to the frame buffer 25. The subsequent α - blending process of the target image for the left eye can be correctly performed using the α value on the frame buffer 25.

[0052] In the above, the case of creating a stereoscopic image using the target image TR for the right eye and the target image TL for the left eye has been described. Not limited to this, three or more target images may be written to the common image K. As a result, a stereoscopic image R that can be viewed in a plurality of modes (stereoscopic images) by being viewed from different angles through a parallax barrier or a lenticular lens is created. Here, a process of creating a stereoscopic image that enables two - way viewing with three target images will be described. The same can be considered even when the number of target images increases to four or more. Similar to the case of the above - mentioned target image TR for the right eye and target image TL for the left eye, the images constituting the stereoscopic image may be the same image. For example, assume that a stereoscopic image R is created such that a stereoscopic image (viewing mode) by the target image A and the target image B and a stereoscopic image (viewing mode) by the target image B and the target image C can be viewed.

[0053] For the basic processes such as the drawing of the common image K, the acquisition of the image data of the target images A, B, and C from the external storage device 3, the expansion to the decoding area 21, the α - blending process and masking of each image, they are the same as those for the right - eye target image TR and the left - eye target image TL. Therefore, detailed descriptions are omitted. The acquisition unit 11 acquires the image information of the target image A, the target image B, and the target image C from the external storage device 3. The drawing unit 12 performs an α - blending process based on the RGB values and α values of the target image A, and the RGB values and α values of the common image K on the frame buffer 25, and draws the target image A. The drawing unit 12 copies the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A to the frame buffer 25. The drawing unit 12 performs an α - blending process based on the RGB values and α values of the target image B, and the RGB values and α values of the common image K on the frame buffer 25, and draws the target image B. The drawing unit 12 copies the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A to the frame buffer 25 again. The drawing unit 12 performs a blending process based on the RGB values and α values of the target image C, and the RGB values and α values of the common image K on the frame buffer 25, and draws the target image C. The transparency information storage unit 24 stores only the α values of each pixel of the common image K in the same way as when using the right - eye target image TR and the left - eye target image TL.

[0054] The α - blending processes for the target images A, B, and C may all be performed using the α values of each pixel of the common image K stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A. In that case, instead of copying the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A to the frame buffer 25, the α value stored in the frame buffer 25 is copied to the transparency information storage unit 24A as described later. The mask information 23 stored in the mask information storage unit 23A stores masks for the same number of target images as in the case of the right - eye target image TR and the left - eye target image TL. However, since the number of target images is different, the number of masks is increased compared to the case of the right - eye target image TR and the left - eye target image TL. The mask information 23 is configured according to the patterns of the parallax barrier or lenticular lens described in FIG. 2. As an example, when the display device 4 is viewed from a certain angle, the mask information 23 extracts the sub-pixels of the target image A, the target image B, and the target image C so that a stereoscopic image (viewing mode) formed by the target image A and the target image B can be viewed, and when the display device 4 is viewed from another angle, a stereoscopic image (viewing mode) formed by the target image B and the target image C can be viewed. The writing mask unit 13 applies the mask information 23 for the target image A, the target image B, and the target image C respectively to obtain a selected target image A1, a selected target image B1, and a selected target image C1. Then, the writing mask unit 13 writes the selected target image A1, the selected target image B1, and the selected target image C1 into the frame buffer 25. Thereby, a stereoscopic image R with different viewing modes according to the viewing angle is created.

[0055] Although the α value on the frame buffer 25 is updated by the drawing and writing of the first target image A using the α value on the frame buffer 25, if the drawing and writing of the subsequent target image B are performed using the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A, the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A will be updated and the α value of the original common image K will be lost. On the other hand, by copying and using the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A to the frame buffer 25, the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A will not be updated by the drawing and writing of the target images B and C. The drawing and writing of the target images B and C can be performed correctly. In addition, when drawing the target images A, B, and C, if all are performed using the α values stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A, the α values stored in the frame buffer 25 are copied to the transparency information storage unit 24A. When performing α blending processing using the α values stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A, the α values stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A are updated, but the α values in the frame buffer 25 are not changed. Therefore, the drawing of the target image A is initially performed using the α values stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A, but for the drawing of subsequent target images, the α values stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A from the frame buffer 25 are used. Similarly, when creating a stereoscopic image using two target images, i.e., the right-eye target image TR and the left-eye target image TL, all the α values stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A can be used. Similarly, the drawing of the right-eye target image TR is initially performed using the α values stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A, but for the drawing of the left-eye target image TL, the α values stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A from the frame buffer 25 are used.

[0056] The case of writing four target images, namely target images A, B, C, and D, to the common image K will be described. For example, it is assumed that a stereoscopic image R is created in which a stereoscopic image formed by target image A and target image B, a stereoscopic image formed by target image B and target image C, and a stereoscopic image formed by target image C and target image D can be visually recognized. Here, the differences from the case of writing the above-mentioned target images A, B, and C will be described. The acquisition unit 11 acquires the image information of the target image D from the external storage device 3 in addition to the target images A, B, and C. The drawing unit 12 performs blending processing based on the RGB values and α values of the target image D, and the RGB values and α values of the common image K on the frame buffer 25 in addition to the drawing of the target images A, B, and C, and draws the target image C. The α blending processing of the target images A, B, C, and D may be performed using the α values stored in the frame buffer 25. The α blending process for target images A, B, C, and D may be performed using the α values stored in the transparency information storage unit 24.

[0057] The mask information 23 is configured according to the patterns of the parallax barrier and the lenticular lens. As an example, when viewing the display device 4 from the left side, the stereoscopic images (viewing modes) formed by target images A and B can be seen. When viewing the display device 4 from the front side, the stereoscopic images (viewing modes) formed by target images B and C can be seen. When viewing the display device 4 from the right side, the stereoscopic images (viewing modes) formed by target images C and D can be seen. Sub-pixels of target images A, B, C, and D are extracted accordingly. The writing mask unit 13 applies the mask information 23 for each of the target images A, B, C, and D to obtain the selected target images A1, B1, C1, and D1. Then, the writing mask unit 13 writes the selected target images A1, B1, C1, and D1 into the frame buffer 25. Thereby, a stereoscopic image R with different views depending on the viewing angle is created. For example, target images A and B, and target images C and D can be made the same image as target image D respectively. In that case, when viewing the display device 4 from the left side, a planar image (viewing mode) formed by target images A and B can be seen. Also, when viewing the display device 4 from the right side, a planar image (viewing mode) formed by target images C and D can be seen. Furthermore, when viewing the display device 4 from the front side, a stereoscopic image (viewing mode) formed by target images B and C can be seen. Note that target images B and C do not necessarily have the relationship of the right-eye target image TR and the left-eye target image TL for stereoscopic viewing. In this case, when viewing the display device 4 from the front side, the two images will seem to be mixed. By adopting the configuration as described above, by visually recognizing the display device 4 while moving the line of sight from the left side to the right side, a three-dimensional image or a planar image in which the visual recognition mode changes from the target image A to the target image D can be displayed on the display device 4.

[0058] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the creation process of a three-dimensional image in the effect control device. With reference to FIG. 12, the processing in the effect control device 2 will be described. The processing described below is performed by the image processing circuit 112 based on an instruction from the overall control CPU 110. By the overall control CPU 110 controlling the image processing circuit 112, each processing unit included in the image processing unit 10 is realized. Therefore, it can be said that the control shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 is executed by the control program of the overall control CPU 110. Alternatively, the overall control CPU 110 itself may execute the image processing by the image processing circuit 112 and output the three-dimensional image created from the image processing circuit 112 to the display device 4.

[0059] In step S101, the acquisition unit 11 acquires the RGB values of the common image K included in the image data of the common image K and stores them in the decoding area 21. In step S102, the acquisition unit 11 acquires the α value of the common image K included in the image data of the common image K and stores it in the decoding area 21. In step S103, the drawing unit 12 acquires the RGB value and the α value of the common image K from the decoding area 21 and draws the common image K on the frame buffer 25. At the same time, only the α value of the common image K is stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A as the transparency information 24.

[0060] In step S104, the acquisition unit 11 acquires the RGB value and the α value of the right-eye target image TR included in the image data of the right-eye target image TR and stores them in the decoding area 21. In step S105, the drawing unit 12 acquires the RGB values and the α value of the target image TR for the right eye from the decoding area 21, and performs α blending processing using the RGB values and the α value of the target image TR for the right eye and the RGB values and the α value of the common image K acquired from the frame buffer 25. In step S106, the writing mask unit 13 writes the result of the α blending process to the frame buffer 25. At this time, the writing mask unit 13 causes the target image for the right eye to be written only to the sub-pixels (for example, only to R and B) in the frame buffer 25 where the target image for the right eye should be stored. For this purpose, the writing mask unit 13 writes the selected image TR1 for the right eye obtained by performing mask processing on the target image TR for the right eye that has undergone the α blending process to the frame buffer 25.

[0061] In step S107, the acquisition unit 11 acquires the RGB values and the α value of the target image TL for the left eye and stores them in the decoding area 21. In step S108, the drawing unit 12 acquires the RGB values and the α value of the target image TL for the left eye from the decoding area 21, and performs α blending processing using the RGB values and the α value of the target image TL for the left eye, the RGB value of the common image K acquired from the frame buffer 25, and the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A.

[0062] In step S109, the writing mask unit 13 writes the result of the α blending process to the frame buffer 25. At this time, the writing mask unit 13 causes the target image for the left eye to be written only to the sub-pixels (for example, only to G) in the frame buffer 25 where the target image for the left eye should be stored. For this purpose, the writing mask unit 13 writes the selected image TL1 for the left eye obtained by performing mask processing on the target image TL for the left eye that has undergone the α blending process using the mask ML to the frame buffer 25. In step S110, the transfer unit 19 reads the stereoscopic image in which the sub-pixels for the right eye and the sub-pixels for the left eye that have undergone the α blending process are written from the frame buffer 25 and transfers it to the display device 4. In the above processing, the α - blending process and the masking process may be performed in any order. The right - eye selection image TR1 and the left - eye selection image TL1 may be written at once. Also, the drawing of the right - eye target image and the left - eye target image may be performed in either order. For the target image to be drawn first, the transparency of the common image K in the frame buffer 25 can be used, and for the target image to be drawn later, the transparency stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A can be used. On the other hand, for the target image to be drawn first, the transparency stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A can be used, and for the target image to be drawn later, the transparency of the common image K in the frame buffer 25 can be used.

[0063] Also, when writing three or more target images to the common image K to create a stereoscopic image that can be viewed in multiple ways according to the angle, some different processing is performed. That is, in step S103, after drawing the common image K and storing only the α value of the common image K as the transparency information 24 in the transparency information storage unit 24A, the drawing unit 12 performs an α - blending process based on the RGB value and α value of the target image A, and the RGB value and α value of the common image K on the frame buffer 25, and draws the target image A. The drawing unit 12 copies the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A to the frame buffer 25. The drawing unit 12 performs an α - blending process based on the RGB value and α value of the target image B, and the RGB value and α value of the common image K on the frame buffer 25, and draws the target image B. The drawing unit 12 copies the α value stored in the transparency information storage unit 24A to the frame buffer 25 again. The drawing unit 12 performs a blending process based on the RGB value and α value of the target image C, and the RGB value and α value of the common image K on the frame buffer 25, and draws the target image C. The write mask unit 13 applies the mask information 23 for the target images A, B, and C respectively to obtain the selected target images A1, B1, and C1. Then, the write mask unit 13 writes the selected target images A1, B1, and C1 into the frame buffer 25. The mask information 23 extracts the sub-pixels of the target images A, B, and C so that when the display device 4 is viewed from a certain angle, a stereoscopic image formed by the target images A and B is visible, and when the display device 4 is viewed from another angle, a stereoscopic image formed by the target images B and C is visible. The transfer unit 19 reads the stereoscopic image in which the sub-pixels of the target images A, B, and C are written from the frame buffer 25 and transfers it to the display device 4.

[0064] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus. In FIG. 13, the information processing apparatus 300 includes a control circuit 301, a storage device 302, and an input / output I / F 304. And each component is connected by a bus 310. The control circuit 301 controls the entire information processing apparatus 300. And in FIG. 4, the control circuit 301 functions as, for example, the image processing unit 10. The storage device 302 stores various information. In FIG. 4, the storage device 302 functions as, for example, the storage unit 20. The input / output I / F 304 is connected to the external storage device 3 and reads data from the external storage device 3 in response to a command from the control circuit 301. The display device 4 displays an image in response to a command from the control circuit 301.

[0065] As described above, the effect control device 2 of the present embodiment has a function (mask function) of writing a rendering result only to specified sub-pixels according to the write mask setting of different sub-pixels (for example, R, G, B) for each pixel. In addition to the frame buffer 25 for writing the rendering result, the rendering control device 2 designates a buffer (transparency information storage unit 24A) that stores only the transparency information 24 of the common image and uses it in the α-blending process during rendering execution. When rendering an image to be displayed on the autostereoscopic 3D display, the rendering control device 2 first renders a common image that is not the object of stereoscopic viewing. Using the mask function, the rendering control device 2 writes the right-eye target image to only the sub-pixels that store the right-eye target image corresponding to the object of stereoscopic viewing in the autostereoscopic 3D display for the common image. Also, when writing the right-eye target image, the rendering control device 2 performs α-blending processing using the α value held in the frame buffer. Furthermore, the rendering control device 2 performs the same processing on the left-eye target image and writes the RGB values after α-blending processing after rendering the right-eye image.

[0066] When creating a stereoscopic image, since the image temporarily stored in the memory is only the common image, the rendering control device 2 can create a stereoscopic image in the same memory area as when creating a planar image. Furthermore, the rendering control device 2 creates a stereoscopic image by directly writing the target image subjected to α-blending processing and mask processing to the common image K. Therefore, generation of the right-eye image obtained by writing the right-eye target image to the common image and the left-eye image obtained by writing the left-eye target image to the common image, and the compositing process of the right-eye image and the left-eye image do not require a large memory area. Therefore, the rendering control device 2 can significantly reduce the computational resources and processing man-hours for creating a stereoscopic image. This embodiment is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various configurations or embodiments can be adopted without departing from the gist of this embodiment.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0067] 1 Main control device, 1A Main control board, 2 Effect control device, 2A Effect control board, 3 External memory device, 4 Display device, 10 Image processing unit, 11 Acquisition unit, 12 Drawing unit, 13 Mask unit, 19 Transfer unit, 20 Memory unit, 21 Decoding area, 23 Mask information, 23A Mask information storage unit, 24 Transparency information, 24A Transparency information storage unit, 25 Frame buffer, 100 Gaming machine, 201 Control circuit, 202 Memory device, 203 Loading device, 210 Bus

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus, which creates an image by writing a first image and a second image as target images to a predetermined image, an acquisition unit that acquires first image information including color information and a first transmittance of each pixel included in the first image, and second image information including color information and a second transmittance of each pixel included in the second image, a drawing unit that draws the first image to be written to a first sub-pixel in a pixel of the predetermined image based on the first image information, and draws the second image to be written to a second sub-pixel in a pixel of the predetermined image based on the second image information, first selection information for selecting sub-pixels of the first image to be written to the first sub-pixel, second selection information for selecting sub-pixels of the second image to be written to the second sub-pixel, a writing mask unit that writes, to the predetermined image, the sub-pixels selected based on the first selection information and the second selection information, which are drawn by the drawing unit; An image processing apparatus characterized by comprising the above.

2. In the image processing apparatus according to Claim 1, comprising a transmittance information storage unit that stores the transmittance of each pixel included in the predetermined image, the drawing unit performs α-blending processing based on the color information and the first transmittance of the first image and the color information and transmittance of each pixel included in the predetermined image in the drawing of the first image, and performs α-blending processing based on the color information and the second transmittance of the second image and the color information of each pixel included in the predetermined image and the transmittance stored in the transmittance information storage unit in the drawing of the second image. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

3. In the image processing apparatus according to Claim 1, comprising a frame buffer that holds the color information and transmittance of each pixel included in the predetermined image, and a transmittance information storage unit that stores the transmittance of each pixel included in the predetermined image, creates an image by writing the target image to the predetermined image held in the frame buffer, the drawing unit stores the transmittance of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer in the transmittance information storage unit, and performs α-blending processing based on the color information and the first transmittance of the first image and the color information of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer and the transmittance of the predetermined image stored in the transmittance information storage unit in the drawing of the first image. ​ Store the transparency of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer in the transparency information storage unit. In the drawing of the second image, perform α-blending processing based on the color information and the second transparency of the second image, the color information of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer, and the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

4. In the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, A frame buffer that holds the color information and transparency of each pixel included in the predetermined image, A transparency information storage unit that stores the transparency of each pixel included in the predetermined image, and Create an image by writing the target image to the predetermined image held in the frame buffer. The drawing unit Stores the transparency of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer in the transparency information storage unit. In the drawing of the first image, perform α-blending processing based on the color information and the first transparency of the first image, the color information of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer, and the transparency. Stores the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit in the frame buffer. In the drawing of the second image, perform α-blending processing based on the color information and the second transparency of the second image, the color information of the predetermined image stored in the frame buffer, and the transparency. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

5. In the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, After the execution of the α-blending process by the drawing unit on the first image or the second image, the writing mask unit selects the sub-pixel to be written to the first sub-pixel or the second sub-pixel based on the first selection information or the second selection information. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

6. In the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, The drawing unit performs α-blending processing on the sub-pixels of the first image or the second image selected by the writing mask unit based on the first selection information or the second selection information. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

7. In the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, The first selection information and the second selection information respectively correspond to sub-pixels visible to the left and right eyes in a naked-eye 3D display. An image processing apparatus characterized by this.

8. In the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, There are a plurality of the first images and the second images respectively, There are a plurality of the first image information and the second image information respectively, The drawing unit, In the drawing of a plurality of the first images, a first α blending process is performed based on the color information and the first transparency of the first of the first images and the color information and the transparency of each pixel included in the predetermined image, and the color information and the first transparency of the second of the first images and the color information and the transparency of the image obtained as a result of the first α blending process, and a second α blending process is performed, In the drawing of a plurality of the second images, a third α blending process is performed based on the color information and the first transparency of the first of the second images and the color information and the transparency of each pixel included in the predetermined image, and the color information and the second transparency of the second of the second images and the color information and the transparency of the image obtained as a result of the third α blending process, and a fourth α blending process is performed, An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

9. An image processing apparatus, An image is created by writing a first image, a second image, and a third image as target images to a predetermined image, and the image is visually recognized in different modes according to the combination of the target images to be visually recognized, An acquisition unit that acquires first image information including the color information and the first transparency of each pixel included in the first image, second image information including the color information and the second transparency of each pixel included in the second image, and third image information including the color information and the third transparency of each pixel included in the third image, Based on the first image information, the first image to be written to the first sub-pixel in the pixel of the predetermined image is drawn, based on the second image information, the second image to be written to the second sub-pixel in the pixel of the predetermined image is drawn, and based on the third image information, the third image to be written to the third sub-pixel in the pixel of the predetermined image is drawn, a drawing unit, First selection information for selecting a sub-pixel of the first image to be written to the first sub-pixel, Second selection information for selecting a sub-pixel of the second image to be written to the second sub-pixel, Third selection information for selecting a sub-pixel of the third image to be written to the third sub-pixel, A writing mask unit that writes the sub-pixels drawn by the drawing unit and selected based on the first selection information, the second selection information, and the third selection information to the predetermined image, An image processing apparatus characterized by comprising the above.

10. In the image processing apparatus according to Claim 9 It includes a transparency information storage unit that stores the transparency of each pixel included in the predetermined image. The drawing unit In the drawing of the first image, performs α-blending processing based on the color information and the first transparency of the first image, and the color information and transparency of each pixel included in the predetermined image. In the drawing of the second image, performs α-blending processing based on the color information and the second transparency of the second image, and the color information of the predetermined image and the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit. In the drawing of the third image, performs α-blending processing based on the color information and the third transparency of the third image, and the color information of the predetermined image and the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

11. In the image processing apparatus according to claim 10, It includes a frame buffer that holds the color information and transparency of each pixel included in the predetermined image. An image is created by writing the target image to the predetermined image held in the frame buffer. The drawing unit Stores the transparency of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer in the transparency information storage unit. In the drawing of the first image, performs α-blending processing based on the color information and the first transparency of the first image, and the color information and transparency of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer. Stores the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit in the frame buffer. In the drawing of the second image, performs α-blending processing based on the color information and the second transparency of the second image, and the color information and transparency of the predetermined image stored in the frame buffer. Stores the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit in the frame buffer. In the drawing of the third image, performs α-blending processing based on the color information and the third transparency of the third image, and the color information and transparency of the predetermined image stored in the frame buffer. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

12. In the image processing apparatus according to claim 9 It includes a transparency information storage unit that stores the transparency of each pixel included in the predetermined image. The drawing unit In the drawing of the first image, an α-blending process is performed based on the color information and the first transparency of the first image, the color information of the predetermined image, and the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit. In the drawing of the second image, an α-blending process is performed based on the color information and the second transparency of the second image, the color information of the predetermined image, and the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit. In the drawing of the third image, an α-blending process is performed based on the color information and the third transparency of the third image, the color information of the predetermined image, and the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

13. In the image processing apparatus according to claim 12, A frame buffer for holding the color information and transparency of each pixel included in the predetermined image is provided. An image is created by writing the target image to the predetermined image held in the frame buffer. The drawing unit Stores the transparency of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer in the transparency information storage unit. In the drawing of the first image, an α-blending process is performed based on the color information and the first transparency of the first image, the color information of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer, and the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit. Stores the transparency of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer in the transparency information storage unit. In the drawing of the second image, an α-blending process is performed based on the color information and the second transparency of the second image, the color information of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer, and the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit. Stores the transparency of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer in the transparency information storage unit. In the drawing of the third image, an α-blending process is performed based on the color information and the third transparency of the third image, the color information of the predetermined image held in the frame buffer, and the transparency of the predetermined image stored in the transparency information storage unit. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

14. In the image processing apparatus according to claim 9, The image is created by further writing a fourth image as the target image to the predetermined image. The acquisition unit further acquires fourth image information including color information and a fourth transmittance of each pixel included in the fourth image. The drawing unit further draws the fourth image to be written in the fourth sub-pixels of the pixels of the predetermined image based on the fourth image information. It further includes fourth selection information for selecting sub-pixels of the fourth image to be written in the fourth sub-pixels. The writing mask unit writes the sub-pixels drawn by the drawing unit and selected based on the fourth selection information into the predetermined image. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

15. In the image processing apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 14 An image processing apparatus characterized by including the same image as the target image.

16. A control method for an image processing apparatus that creates a stereoscopic image, The stereoscopic image is created by writing a first image and a second image as target images for stereoscopic viewing in a predetermined image. It acquires first image information including color information and a first transmittance of each pixel included in the first image, and second image information including color information and a second transmittance of each pixel included in the second image. Based on the first image information, it draws the first image to be written in the first sub-pixels of the pixels of the predetermined image, and based on the second image information, it draws the second image to be written in the second sub-pixels of the pixels of the predetermined image. Based on the first selection information, it selects sub-pixels to be written in the first sub-pixels from the first image. Based on the second selection information, it selects sub-pixels to be written in the second sub-pixels from the second image. It writes the drawn sub-pixels selected based on the first selection information and the second selection information into the predetermined image. A control method characterized by the above.

17. A program for causing a processor to execute a control method for an image processing apparatus, The image processing apparatus creates a stereoscopic image. The stereoscopic image is created by writing a first image and a second image as target images for stereoscopic viewing in a predetermined image. The processor acquires first image information including color information and a first transmittance of each pixel included in the first image, and second image information including color information and a second transmittance of each pixel included in the second image. Based on the first image information, it draws the first image to be written in the first sub-pixels of the pixels of the predetermined image, and based on the second image information, it draws the second image to be written in the second sub-pixels of the pixels of the predetermined image. Based on the first selection information, select a sub-pixel to be written to the first sub-pixel from the first image, Based on the second selection information, select a sub-pixel to be written to the second sub-pixel from the second image, Write the drawn sub-pixels selected based on the first selection information and the second selection information to the predetermined image, A program characterized by the above.

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