JP2012008584A - Image display device, notification method and position judgement device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to reduce the burden of image processing and allow a user to view an optimal 3D video more easily.
A personal computer includes an LCD and a camera that captures an image in a direction facing the LCD. The CPU 111 executes the position adjustment program 112c to detect the position of the 3D glasses in the image captured by the camera 21 during the reproduction of the 3D video content, and the detected position and a predetermined optimum position ( The relative relationship with the reference position is determined, and a message corresponding to the relative relationship is displayed on the LCD 17.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a video display device such as a personal computer or a television device capable of displaying a three-dimensional (3D) video, a notification method, and a position determination device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a stereoscopic image display device that displays a more natural stereoscopic image (3D) by displaying a parallax image corresponding to the inclination of glasses is known (Patent Document 1). The stereoscopic image display device described in Patent Literature 1 detects the inclination of the glasses, and generates and displays a parallax image according to the detection result. Accordingly, even when the viewer tilts his / her head, it is possible to display a more appropriate stereoscopic image by displaying an appropriate parallax image corresponding to the movement.

JP 2006-084963 A

  As described above, in the conventional technique, a natural stereoscopic image is displayed by detecting the inclination of the glasses and generating a parallax image corresponding to the inclination. For this reason, even when a long moving image such as a movie is displayed, image processing is performed to continuously detect the inclination of the glasses and generate a parallax image corresponding to the inclination while displaying the video. Had to do. That is, in order to show a natural stereoscopic image to the user, a large image processing burden is required. For this reason, there has been a demand for a video display device that can lighten the burden of image processing and allows a user to more easily view optimal 3D video.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and provides a video display device, a notification method, and a position determination device that allow a user to view an optimal 3D video more easily and with a light image processing burden. The purpose is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is preliminarily determined by a display, a detection unit that detects a position of a user from an image obtained by photographing a direction facing the display, and a position detected by the detection unit. Determination means for determining a relative relationship with the reference position, and notification means for notifying the user of movement according to the relative relationship.

  According to the present invention, the burden of image processing is light, and the user can view the optimal 3D video more easily.

The perspective view in the state where the display unit of the personal computer in this embodiment was opened. The block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the personal computer in this embodiment. The flowchart which shows the 3D glasses registration process in this embodiment. The figure which shows the condition which performs 3D glasses registration processing in this embodiment. The figure which shows only the part applicable to 3D glasses in the image image | photographed with the camera in this embodiment. The flowchart which shows the position adjustment process in this embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the image | photographed image containing 3D glasses in this embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the message display in this embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the structure of the video display apparatus in this embodiment is demonstrated. The video display device is realized by, for example, a notebook personal computer 10. It can be realized not only by the personal computer 10 but also by other video display devices such as a television device.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the notebook personal computer 10 with the display unit opened. The computer 10 includes a computer main body 11 and a display unit 12. The display unit 12 incorporates a display device composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 17, and the display screen of the LCD 17 is positioned substantially at the center of the display unit 12. Speakers (tweeters) 20 are disposed on both sides of the LCD 17.

  The display unit 12 is attached to the computer main body 11 so as to be rotatable between an open position and a closed position. A keyboard 13, a power button 14 for turning on / off the power, a touch pad 15, an audio / video (AV) operation panel 16, an AV controller 17, a volume control dial 18, and a speaker 19 are arranged on the upper surface of the computer main body 11. Has been. Further, the display unit 12 is provided with a camera 21 capable of photographing a color image on the upper side when it is in the open position. The camera 21 captures an image in a direction facing the display unit 12 and can capture a range including at least the face of the user who is viewing the video displayed on the personal computer 10. In other words, 3D glasses worn by the user to view 3D (3D) video content displayed on the display unit 12 can be taken.

  Next, the system configuration of the personal computer 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The computer 10 includes a CPU 111, a north bridge 114, a main memory 115, a graphics processing unit (GPU) 116, a south bridge 117, a BIOS-ROM 120, a hard disk drive (HDD) 121, an optical disk drive (ODD) 122, a sound controller 123, and a TV. A tuner 124, a video processor 125, an embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 140, a power supply circuit 141, and the like are provided.

  The CPU 111 is a processor provided to control the operation of the computer 10, and is loaded from the HDD 121 to the main memory 115, an operating system (OS) 112 a, various application programs, and a BIOS (Basic that is stored in the BIOS-ROM 120. Execute Input Output System). The application program includes a video reproduction program 112b and a position adjustment program 112c.

  The video reproduction program 112b is an application that can reproduce and output 3D video content recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD) 121 or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). The position adjustment program 112c performs a position adjustment process for assisting the user so that the user can view the 3D image at the optimum position facing the display unit 12 (LCD 17) when the 3D image is reproduced and output by the image reproduction program 112b. Execute.

  The north bridge 114 is a bridge device that connects the local bus of the CPU 111 and the south bridge 117. The north bridge 114 also includes a memory controller that controls access to the main memory 115. The north bridge 114 also has a function of executing communication with the graphics processing unit (GPU) 116 via a PCI Express bus or the like.

  The graphics processing unit (GPU) 116 is a display controller that controls the LCD 17 used as a display monitor of the computer 10. The GPU 116 generates a video signal that forms a screen image to be displayed on the LCD 17 from display data written in the video memory (VRAM) 116A by the OS or an application program.

  The south bridge 117 includes a controller for controlling the HDD 121 and the optical disc drive (ODD) 122.

  The HDD 121 is a storage device that stores various programs and data. The HDD 121 stores, for example, an OS, various application programs, video content data, and the like. Also, the HDD 121 stores message data for the user displayed on the LCD 17 in the position adjustment processing by the position adjustment program 112c.

  An optical disc drive (ODD) 122 is a drive unit for driving a recording medium such as a DVD in which video content and the like are stored.

  The sound controller 123 is a sound source device, and executes processing for outputting sounds corresponding to various audio data from the speakers 19 and 20. The TV tuner 124 receives broadcast program data broadcast by a TV broadcast signal.

  Furthermore, a video processor 125 is connected to the south bridge 117. The video processor 125 is a dedicated engine that performs video streaming processing and recognition processing. The memory 125A is used as a working memory for the video processor 125.

  The embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 140 is an integrated controller for power management and a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard (KB) 13, the touch pad 15, and the AV operation panel 16. A one-chip microcomputer.

  The EC / KBC 140 has a function of powering on / off the computer 10 in accordance with the operation of the power button switch 14 by the user. The power-on / power-off control of the computer 10 is executed by the joint operation of the EC / KBC 140 and the power supply circuit 141. The power supply circuit 141 generates an operation power supply for each component using power from the battery 142 attached to the computer main body 11 or power from the AC adapter 143 connected to the computer main body 11 as an external power supply.

Next, the operation of the personal computer 10 in this embodiment will be described.
In the personal computer 10 according to the present embodiment, 3D video content using, for example, a time division display method can be reproduced and displayed. The 3D video content alternately displays a right-eye video and a left-eye video in order to recognize the video displayed on the LCD 17 as a stereoscopic image. The user can recognize the video displayed on the LCD 17 as a 3D video by wearing glasses for viewing the 3D video. Glasses for visually recognizing 3D images (hereinafter simply referred to as glasses) used in the present embodiment are, for example, liquid crystal shutter glasses. In the glasses, the right eye side and the left eye side are alternately switched between the transmissive state and the non-transmissive state in synchronization with the switching of the right-eye video and the left-eye video of the 3D video content. Thereby, the user can visually recognize the video for the right eye with the right eye and visually recognize the video for the left eye with the left eye to recognize the video as a three-dimensional image.

  When using the liquid crystal shutter glasses, the user can recognize the optimal 3D image by viewing the image from a position directly facing the vicinity of the center of the display. Therefore, if the video is viewed at a position shifted in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction from the position directly facing the vicinity of the center of the display, the original 3D video cannot be enjoyed.

  In the personal computer 10 according to the present embodiment, when the position adjustment program 112c detects the position where the user is viewing the image (the position of the glasses) and determines that the 3D image is not viewed at the correct position, A message for prompting the user to move to an optimal position can be output.

  In addition, the video display apparatus (personal computer 10) in this embodiment is not limited to what displays a 3D image | video by the time division display system using liquid-crystal shutter glasses.

In other words, any video display device may be used as long as it uses a method in which the quality of 3D video is deteriorated when glasses are worn and 3D video is deviated from the optimum position.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing 3D glasses registration processing in the present embodiment. In the 3D glasses registration process, in order to facilitate the process of detecting glasses used by the user from the image in the position adjustment process described later, and to set an optimum position (reference position) according to the environment in which the user views the 3D video It is processing of.

  When the position adjustment program 112c is started, the CPU 111 starts 3D glasses registration processing. The user wears glasses used for viewing 3D video content, moves to a position where the 3D video displayed on the LCD 17 can be seen in the best condition, and then instructs the user to take an image by operating the keyboard 13, for example.

  Usually, the position where the 3D image is viewed in the best state is a position facing the vicinity of the center of the LCD 17. However, the inclination angle of the display unit 12 when viewing 3D video, the environment of the place where the personal computer 10 is installed (room brightness, etc.), the performance of the glasses used by the user, and the display state desired by the user The optimum position may fluctuate due to a difference or the like. Therefore, the position where the user feels that the display state of the 3D video is optimal can be registered in the 3D glasses registration process.

  FIG. 4 shows a situation in which the 3D glasses registration process is executed. As shown in FIG. 4, the user wearing the 3D glasses 30 instructs to take an image at a position facing the display unit 12 of the personal computer 10.

  When CPU 111 is instructed to shoot an image, it drives camera 21 to shoot an image (step A1). The image captured by the camera 21 includes 3D glasses 30 worn by the user.

  The CPU 111 detects the shape (including color) of the 3D glasses 30 and the position in the image from the image captured by the camera 21 (step A2).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating only a portion corresponding to the 3D glasses 30 in an image photographed by the camera 21. Even if there are a plurality of types of 3D glasses 30 used by the user, the basic configuration is common, so that the shape and position can be detected using a known image processing technique.

  Further, the CPU 111 detects a position determined in advance with respect to the image area corresponding to the 3D glasses 30 as the position of the 3D glasses 30 (step A3). In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, for example, a predetermined area A including the center of the glasses is detected as a position in the image of the 3D glasses 30.

  The CPU 111 records data indicating the optimum position A detected from the image and the shape of the 3D glasses 30 as data used by the position adjustment process (step A4).

  The user instructs the end of the process if there is no problem with the position at the time when the photographing of the image is instructed as the optimum position. In response to an instruction from the user, the CPU 111 ends the 3D glasses registration process (step A5, Yes). It is also possible to reset the shape and the optimum position of the 3D glasses 30 by instructing to capture an image again in the same manner as described above (Step A5, No).

  In the 3D glasses registration process described above, the optimum position is set together with the shape of the 3D glasses. However, when the optimum position is set in advance by the position adjustment program 112c, the registration of the optimum position may be omitted. Is possible. Further, if the position of the 3D glasses 30 can be detected without registering the 3D glasses 30 for each user by the position adjustment process by the position adjustment program 112c described later, the 3D registration process can be omitted. Whether or not to execute the 3D registration process can be arbitrarily determined by the user.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the position adjustment process in the present embodiment. The position adjustment process is executed by the position adjustment program 112c as the video content is played back by the video playback program 112b.
When the reproduction of the video content is started by the video reproduction program 112b, the CPU 111 determines whether it is time to shoot an image in order to confirm the position of the 3D glasses 30. For example, it is assumed that photographing for confirming the position of the 3D glasses 30 is performed at regular intervals (for example, every few minutes).

  When the shooting time comes, the CPU 111 captures an image with the camera 21 (step B3). The camera 21 captures an image in a direction facing the display unit 12 (LCD 17).

  The CPU 111 detects the position of the 3D glasses 30 from the image captured by the camera 21 (step B4). Here, the 3D glasses 30 are recognized from the image based on the data indicating the shape of the 3D glasses 30 recorded in advance by the 3D glasses registration process, and the position of the 3D glasses 30 is determined. By using data registered in advance by the 3D glasses registration process, the detection accuracy for detecting the 3D glasses 30 from the image can be increased, and the processing time can be shortened. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the position of the 3D glasses 30 is a region within a predetermined range including the center of the glasses.

  The CPU 111 calculates a difference (distance) between the position of the 3D glasses 30 detected from the captured image and a preset optimum position (step B5), and this difference is larger than a predetermined reference value. Is determined.

  Here, when it is determined that the difference is not larger than the reference value (step B6, No), the CPU 111 determines that the user is viewing the 3D image at the optimal position, and does not display the message.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the difference is larger than the reference value (step B6, Yes), the CPU 111 causes the LCD 17 to display a message corresponding to the relative relationship between the current position of the 3D glasses 30 and the optimum position (reference position) ( Step B7).

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a captured image including the 3D glasses 30. A region B shown in FIG. 7 indicates an optimum position. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the region of the 3D glasses 30 is located on the left side with respect to the optimal position (region B). Therefore, it can be determined from the positional relationship between the optimal position (region B) and the 3D glasses 30 that the user moves to the left side and approaches the optimal position.

  The CPU 111 identifies a message corresponding to the relative relationship between the current position and the optimum position of the 3D glasses 30 and displays the message in a message window 17a set at the lower part of the display area of the LCD 17, for example, as shown in FIG. Here, for example, a message “You can enjoy the best 3D video by moving to the left” is displayed.

  Even if the user moves the position while viewing the 3D video content and deviates from the optimum position, the user can check the message displayed on the LCD 17 and return to the optimum position again.

  In the personal computer 10 (position adjustment program 112c), various messages according to the relative relationship between the current position and the optimum position of the 3D glasses 30 are prepared, and necessary messages are selected and displayed as appropriate. The For example, there are a message corresponding to each of an up / down / left / right direction (and further an oblique direction) with respect to an optimum position (reference position), a message according to a distance between the current position and the optimum position. The message corresponding to the distance may be selected, for example, by calculating an approximate distance that the user should move from the photographed image.

  In the above description, a message corresponding to the relative relationship between the current position and the optimum position is displayed. However, a message corresponding to the state of the 3D glasses 30 may be displayed. For example, the right and left tilt of the 3D glasses 30 is detected from the captured image, and a message corresponding to this tilt is displayed. For example, in the case of tilting more than a predetermined reference value, a message such as “You can enjoy the best 3D video when the glasses are leveled” is displayed. Note that the left and right tilt of the 3D glasses 30 can be detected by existing image processing.

  In this way, the personal computer 10 according to the present embodiment can guide the user how to align the position even if the optimum position is deviated during the reproduction of the 3D video content. . Thereby, the user does not need to adjust the position only by his / her own sense, and can easily move to the optimal position and enjoy the 3D video in a good state. In addition, the processing load on the 3D video content does not need to be adjusted according to the user's position, so the processing load can be reduced.

  In the above-described position adjustment process, a message is output while the 3D video content is being played back by the video playback program 112b. However, before the content is played back, the message is not displayed during playback of the 3D video content. Position adjustment processing may be executed. During the playback of the 3D video content, the message display is stopped. Thereby, it is possible to avoid the video from being hidden by the message window 17a during the reproduction of the 3D video content.

  In the above description, the shape of the glasses used by the user is recorded in advance by the 3D registration process. However, by using the characteristic 3D glasses 30 that can be easily detected in the position adjustment process. The 3D glasses registration process can be omitted. For example, an LED that lights up during use can be attached to the 3D glasses 30, and the 3D glasses 30 can be detected from the image based on the position and color of the LEDs. The number of LEDs attached to the 3D glasses 30 may be one, or two or more. For example, by providing two LEDs at both ends of the 3D glasses 30, it is possible to easily detect the right and left inclination of the 3D glasses 30.

  In addition to attaching the LED to the 3D glasses 30, the 3D glasses 30 may be configured with a characteristic shape and color that can easily detect the 3D glasses 30 by image processing.

  In the above description, when the position of the 3D glasses is more than the specified value from the optimum position, a message is displayed on the LCD 17 to alert the user, but the user is notified by another output form. Anyway. For example, the personal computer 10 is provided with a light emitting device such as an LED, and is turned on to call attention when the position of the 3D glasses deviates from the optimum position. Thereby, the display of the 3D video content displayed on the LCD 17 is not hindered. In addition, when the position of the 3D glasses deviates from the optimum position, a specific sound may be output to alert the user.

  In the above description, only the position of the 3D glasses 30 is detected from the image taken by the camera 21, but the position of the 3D glasses 30 is detected using another sensor and a message is output. You may do it. For example, the personal computer 10 is provided with a depth sensor, and the distance from the personal computer 10 (LCD 17) to the 3D glasses 30 is measured to determine whether or not the optimal position for viewing the 3D image is present. Then, a message corresponding to the determination result, for example, a message “Please watch the screen a little further from the screen” is displayed. Other types of sensors can be provided.

  In the above description, a case where one 3D glasses 30 is used, that is, a case where one user views 3D video content is described as an example. The present invention can also be applied when a user views 3D video content at the same time. In this case, for example, it is assumed that viewing by two people is instructed by a user operation.

In the processing of the position adjustment program 112c, the personal computer 10 makes the reference value for the difference between the current position and the optimum position larger than when one user views.

That is, when viewing 3D video content by two people, it is easier to deviate from the optimal position than by one person. Therefore, the allowable range that does not require message display is increased so that messages are not displayed frequently. To do. Alternatively, a message may be output to each 3D glasses 30 by calculating the difference between the current position and the optimum position for each of the plurality of 3D glasses 30.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine a component suitably in different embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Personal computer, 21 ... Camera, 112b ... Video reproduction application program, 112c ... Position adjustment program, 125 ... Video processor.

Claims (7)

Display,
Detecting means for detecting a position of the user from an image obtained by photographing a direction facing the display;
Discriminating means for discriminating a relative relationship between the position detected by the detecting means and a predetermined reference position;
A video display device comprising: notification means for notifying a user of movement according to the relative relationship. Further comprising video display means for displaying video on the display;
The video display device according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies the video while the video is being displayed.   The video display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notifying unit notifies using a light emitting device. The determining means determines whether or not a distance between the position detected by the detecting means and the reference position is larger than a reference distance;
The video display device according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies when the determination unit determines that the distance is greater than the reference distance.   The video display apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising reference distance setting means for setting the reference distance based on designation from a user. The computer processor determines the relative relationship between the position of the user detected in the image obtained by photographing the front of the display and a predetermined reference position,
A notification method for notifying a user of movement according to the determined relative relationship. A position determination device having a computing device provided with one or more processors,
The computing device is:
Determine the relative relationship between the position of the user detected in the image and a predetermined reference position;
It is configured to notify according to the determined relative relationship,
The position determination device, wherein the image includes the user positioned in a direction facing the display.

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