Television – Camera – system and detail – With plural image scanning devices
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-01
2004-07-13
Garber, Wendy R. (Department: 2612)
Television
Camera, system and detail
With plural image scanning devices
C348S047000, C348S053000, C352S057000, C359S476000, C396S325000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06762794
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pick-up apparatus for stereoscope for picking up parallax images for stereoscopic viewing. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image pick-up apparatus for picking up, without user intervention, parallax images that satisfy binocular fusion conditions and an image pick-up apparatus that lets a user know whether the binocular fusion conditions are satisfied.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some known stereoscopic image pick-up apparatuses capture parallax images from a plurality of view points using a plurality of cameras. In such a stereoscopic image pick-up apparatus, a plurality of cameras are mounted on tripod heads, and a user manually adjusts a spacing and a convergence angle between camera axes, based on his or her operational experience, depending on a scene to be captured, and image-captures the scene while actually observing the stereoscopic view on a monitor.
Such an experience-based operation is not efficient, and no good result is expected when there is no one available who has a good knowledge of picking up stereoscopic images.
Head-mounted displays and eyeglass-type displays have been developed today, and these displays let an image for the right eye to be selectively presented on the right eye and an image for the left eye to be selectively presented on the left eye. A stereoscopic image producing a depth perception is thus observed. A liquid-crystal display is combined with a lenticular sheet having a predetermined pitch or a mask with apertures and non-apertures formed in a predetermined pattern to impart a directivity to a light ray from the liquid-crystal display, and by making the directivity match the pattern of the image presented on the liquid-crystal display, the observer watches the image for the right eye on the right eye and the image for the left eye on the left eye. The observer thus enjoys the image presenting depth.
Conventionally, the image presented is typically acquired through a binocular-type camera having two lens sets. An apparatus, disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 8-27499 (telescopic television image pick-up apparatus), does not require two lens sets. This apparatus includes two liquid-crystal shutters, a total reflection mirror and a half mirror and picks up alternately left and right parallax images through a single lens set.
Regardless of the above binocular system or the system picking up alternately left and right images in a time division manner, the adjustment of a parallax between left and right images, namely, the adjustment of convergence is required during image-capturing. The convergence adjustment is typically manually performed.
The above binocular-type camera employs two lens sets, one for forming the image for the right eye and the other for forming the image for the left eye, and the user feels fatigue when observing a stereoscopic image or cannot to attain image fusion at all, if performance differences due to manufacturing error (for example, in magnification, deviation in optical axis, tint, brightness, distortion, field tilt and the like) are present between the two lenses. To make the two lens sets match in performance, the accuracy of components needs to be heightened. Adjustment is further required if the improved accuracy of components is still not sufficient enough. To compensate for performance difference, special means is used, for example, images are electronically corrected. When a zoom lens is used, the zoom variator operations of the left and right lens sets must be interlocked in a state with these performances factored in. This arrangement is costly and time consuming to manufacture, and is inadequate for mass production.
To observe the images picked up by the binocular-type camera, two monitors are typically required. The use of the two monitors is not practical. To record the two images, a special recording device is needed to synchronize the one image to the other. Without using it, the conversion of two image signals into one image signal is contemplated. To covert the two image signals into one image signal, however, a special converter is required to alternately display and record the left and right parallax images. Compared with a single lens camera, the binocular-type camera itself is bulky. The entire system of the image pick-up apparatus, in need of the above-described special devices, fails to achieve widespread commercial acceptance among users because of its bulkier, costlier and less mobile design.
The time-division camera proposed in the above-cited Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 8-27499 combines the optical paths for left and right parallax images at a half mirror into one optical path to guide images to a single lens. When images are transmitted through or reflected from the half mirror before entering the lens, the quantity of light is reduced to half or smaller. The arrangement disclosed in the above-cited Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 8-27499 theoretically presents a difference between the lengths of the optical paths of the left and right parallax images, suffering a magnification difference between the left and right images. This becomes a cause of the fatigue of the user when he or she observes the images picked-up, and as a result, the user cannot observe the images fused and cannot observe them in a stereoscopic view.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image pick-up apparatus through which a user or viewer easily learns during image-picking up whether a main subject falls within a range of image fusion.
The object of the present invention is achieved by the image pick-up apparatus for capturing images for stereoscopic viewing, which comprises image pick-up means for picking up left and right parallax images of a main subject respectively for the left and right eyes, display means for displaying the left and right parallax images, picked up by the image pick-up means, line-of-sight detection means for detecting the lines of sight of the left and right eyes, looking the respective images displayed by the display means, and determining means for determining, based on the output of the line-of-sight detection means, whether the main subject falls within an image-fusible range. The apparatus detects the lines of sight of an observer who observes the display means on which the left parallax image and right parallax image are presented, and, instead of the observer, determines, based on the lines of sight, whether the subject falls within the image-fusible range.
In a preferred embodiment of the preset invention, the determination result provided by the determining means is reported to the user.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an image-fusible range is defined by the inter-pupillary distance and the distance of distinct vision of a user.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the image date of the parallax images is stored in a memory in response to the output of the determining means.
Since the detected lines of sight of the user are the ones that look toward the display parallax images, the data about the lines of sight need to be converted into those in the coordinate systems of the image pick-up means. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the line-of-sight detection means further comprises converting means for converting the left and right lines of sight of a user into left and right direction vectors that are respectively expressed in left and right coordinate systems of the image pick-up means, and coordinates calculator means for calculating the coordinate values of the crossing point of the left and rightdirection vectors in the world coordinate system.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the image-fusible range is expressed according to a farthest position and a nearest position from the view point of the user in the direction of depth. In a preferred embodiment, the farthest position of the image-fusib
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Garber Wendy R.
Morgan & Finnegan L.L.P.
Villecco John M
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