Technical Field
[0001]
The present invention relates to an image display
apparatus, an image display system, an image display method,
and a computer program, which are used for display of a
stereoscopic image using shutter glasses, and alternately
switch and display a plurality of images on the screen in a
very short cycle, in particular, an image display apparatus,
an image display system, an image display method, and a
computer program, which notify an observer who is wearing
shutter glasses of information related to the internal state
of the shutter glasses such as the remaining battery
capacity of the shutter glasses that are battery-driven.
Background Art
[0002]
A stereoscopic image which appears stereoscopically to
an observer can be presented by displaying images with
disparity to the left and right eyes. An example of schemes
for presenting a stereoscopic image is to have the observer
wear glasses having special optical characteristics, and
present views with disparity to both eyes. For example, a
time-division stereoscopic image display system is made up
of a combination of a display apparatus that displays a
plurality of mutually different images by time division, and
shutter glasses that are worn by the observer of the images.
2
The display apparatus displays a left-eye image L and a
right-eye image R alternately on the screen in a very short
cycle and, at the same time, separately provides the images
to the left eye and the right eye in synchronism with the
cycles of the left-eye image L and right-eye image R. On
the other hand, in the shutter glasses being worn by the
observer, while the left-eye image L is displayed, the lefteye
part of the shutter glasses passes light and the righteye
part blocks light, and while the right-eye image R is
displayed, the right-eye part of the shutter glasses passes
light and the left-eye part blocks light (see, for example,
PTLs 1 to 3) .
[0003]
In the time-division stereoscopic image display system,
when displaying the left-eye image L and the right-eye image
R by time division, it is necessary to separate the left-eye
image L and the right-eye image R so as to avoid crosstalk.
Normally, the display apparatus notifies the shutter glasses
of the open/close timing of shutters.
[0004]
Also, considering such cases as when a stereoscopic
image is viewed at a desired location in a room where the
display apparatus is placed, and when a plurality of viewers
view the same stereoscopic image together, shutter glasses
are preferably cordless, in other words, battery-driven. Of
3
course, even in the case of shutter glasses attached with a
cord, it is convenient if the shutter glasses are batterydriven.
Here, when the apparatus is of a battery-driven
type, the operation time of the shutter glasses is limited
by the battery capacity. Also, when the remaining battery
capacity becomes equal to or less than a given level, an
operation such as replacement or charging of the battery
becomes necessary.
[0005]
Many of battery-driven equipment are provided with an
LED indicator or the like that provides notification or
warning of the battery's remaining capacity or the like.
However, in the case of shutter glasses, each time the user
is to check whether or not the state of the battery has
changed while viewing a stereoscopic image, the user needs
to remove the shutter glasses from the head and observe the
display of the LED indicator, resulting in a lack of
convenience for the user. Also, if the user keeps viewing
the stereoscopic image while wearing the shutter glasses
even through the remaining capacity of the battery has
dropped significantly, a signal notifying the open/close
timing of the shutters cannot be received from the display
apparatus, which makes it impossible to turn the left and
right shutters on/off in accordance with switching of images,
or the shutters cannot be turned on/off due to a drop in
4
driving electric power. As a result, a stereoscopic image
cannot be displayed. While wearing the shutter glasses, the
user is unable to discern whether such a situation is due to
exhaustion of the battery or malfunction on the display
apparatus side (for example, failure of a transmitter that
transmits the notification signal).
Citation List
Patent Literature
[0006]
PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application
Publication No. 9-138384
PTL 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application
Publication No. 2000-36969
PTL 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application
Publication No. 2003-45343
Summary of Invention
Technical Problem
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to provide
superior image display apparatus, image display system,
image display method, and computer program, which are used
for display of a stereoscopic image using shutter glasses,
and can suitably switch and display a plurality of images on
the screen alternately in a very short cycle.
[0008]
5
A further object of the present invention is to provide
superior image display apparatus, image display system,
image display method, and computer program, which can
suitably notify an observer who is wearing shutter glasses
of information related to the internal state of the shutter
glasses such as the remaining battery capacity of the
shutter glasses that are battery-driven.
Solution to Problem
[0009]
The present application has been made in view of the
above-mentioned problems, and the invention as defined in
Claim 1 is an image display apparatus including:
a display section that switches and displays a
plurality of images that are different from each other by
time division;
a communication section that communicates with shutter
glasses driven by a battery; and
a control section that controls an apparatus operation,
in which the communication section transmits
information related to open/close timing of shutters to the
shutter glasses, and receives state information of the
battery from the shutter glasses, and
the control section displays a warning in the plurality
of images on the display section, upon detecting a decrease
in remaining capacity of the battery on a basis of the
6
received state information of the battery.
[0010]
According to the invention as defined in Claim 2 of the
present application, the communication section of the image
display apparatus as defined in Claim 1 is configured to be
capable of communicating with a plurality of pairs of
shutter glasses, and to display visual information in the
plurality of images on the display section, the visual
information representing a state of the battery for each of
the pairs of shutter glasses.
[0011]
According to the invention as defined in Claim 3 of the
present application, the communication section of the image
display apparatus as defined in Claim 1 is configured to be
capable of capable of communicating with a plurality of
pairs of shutter glasses, and to display the plurality of
images including display of the warning on the display
section, only with respect to some of observers wearing
those pairs of shutter glasses for which a decrease in
remaining capacity of the battery has been detected among
the plurality of pairs of shutter glasses.
[0012]
According to the invention as defined in Claim 4 of the
present application, upon detecting a decrease in remaining
capacity of the battery in any one of the plurality of pairs
7
of shutter glasses, the image display apparatus as defined
in Claim 3 is configured to insert a frame including display
of the warning into each of the plurality of images, thereby
displaying the warning to some corresponding observers.
Also, with respect to other pairs of shutter glasses for
which a decrease in remaining capacity of the battery is not
detected, the image display apparatus is configured to
transmit information related to open/close timing of the
shutters which instructs that all of the shutters be kept in
a closed state during the display period of this warning.
Therefore, since the frame including display of the warning
is blocked from the eyes of irrelevant observers, the
warning is displayed only with respect to some of observers
who are wearing shutter glasses for which a decrease in
remaining capacity of the battery has been detected.
[0013]
Also, the invention as defined in Claim 5 of the
present application is an image display system including:
shutter glasses each having a shutter mechanism
provided in a lens, the shutter glasses being driven by a
battery; and
a display apparatus that switches and displays a
plurality of images that are different from each other by
time division,
in which the display apparatus transmits information
. 8
related to open/close timing of shutters according to
switching of the plurality of images, to the shutter glasses,
the shutter glasses perform an opening/closing
operation of the shutters on a basis of the information
related to open/close timing of the shutters received from
the display apparatus, and transmit state information of the
battery to the display apparatus, and
the display apparatus displays a warning in the
plurality of images on the display section, upon detecting a
decrease in remaining capacity of the battery on a basis of
the state information of the battery received from the
shutter glasses.
[0014]
It should be noted that the term "system" as used
herein refers to a logical aggregation of a plurality of
apparatuses (or functional modules for implementing specific
functions), and it does not particularly matter whether the
apparatuses or functional modules are located within a
single casing.
[0015]
Also, the invention as defined in Claim 6 of the
present application is an image display method which
displays an image on a display apparatus including a display
section and a communication section, including:
a time-division image displaying step of switching and
9
displaying a plurality of images that are different from
each other by time division, by the display section;
a shutter controlling step of transmitting information
related to open/close timing of shutters to shutter glasses
driven by a battery, from the communication section; and
a controlling step of performing control so as to
display a warning in the plurality of images on the display
section, upon detecting a decrease in remaining capacity of
the battery on a basis of state information of the battery
which is received from the shutter glasses by the
communication section.
[0016]
Also, the invention as defined in Claim 7 of the
present application is a computer program which is described
in a computer-readable format so as to execute, on a
computer, processing for displaying an image on a display
apparatus including a display section and a communication
section, the computer program causing the computer to
function as:
time-division image displaying means for switching and
displaying a plurality of images that are different from
each other by time division, by the display section;
shutter controlling means for transmitting information
related to open/close timing of shutters to shutter glasses
driven by a battery, from the communication section; and
10
controlling means for performing control so as to
display a warning in the plurality of images on the display
section, upon detecting a decrease in remaining capacity of
the battery on a basis of state information of the battery
which is received from the shutter glasses by the
communication section.
[0017] The computer program according to Claim 7 of the I
present application defines a computer program that is i
described in a computer-readable format so as to implement
predetermined processing on a computer. In other words, by
installing the computer program according to Claim 7 of the
present application to the computer, synergistic operation
is exerted on the computer, making it possible to obtain the
same operational effect as that of the image display
apparatus according to Claim 1 of the present application.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
[0018]
According to the present invention, it is possible to
provide superior image display apparatus, image display
system, image display method, and computer program, which
can suitably notify an observer who is wearing shutter
glasses of information related to the internal state of the
shutter glasses such as the remaining battery capacity of
the shutter glasses that are battery-driven.
11
[0019]
According to the present invention, it is possible to
provide superior image display apparatus, image display
system, image display method, and computer program, which
can suitably notify an observer who is wearing shutter
glasses of information related to the remaining battery
capacity or the like of the shutter glasses that are
battery-driven, through display of a stereoscopic image.
[0020]
Also, according to the invention as defined in each of
Claims 2 to 4 of the present application, it is possible to
provide superior image display apparatus, image display
system, image display method, and computer program, which
can suitably notify each of a plurality of observers wearing
shutter glasses of information related to the remaining
battery capacity or the like of the shutter glasses that are
battery-driven, through display of a stereoscopic image.
[0021]
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description of embodiments of the present invention and the
accompanying drawings.
Brief Description of Drawings
[0022]
[Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the
12
configuration of a stereoscopic image display system 1 to
which the present invention can be applied.
[Fig. 2] Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining a mechanism
for separately presenting a left-eye image and a right-eye
image to an observer in the time-division stereoscopic image
display system 1.
[Fig. 3] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the control
operation of shutter glasses 20 in an L sub-frame period.
[Fig. 4] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the control
operation of the shutter glasses 20 in an R sub-frame period.
[Fig. 5] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a
communication sequence in which a display apparatus 10
acquires state information of a battery 22 from the shutter
glasses 20.
[Fig. 6] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure in
which the shutter glasses 20 transmit information related to
the state of the battery 22 to the display apparatus 10.
[Fig. 7] Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure in
which the display apparatus 10 receives state information of
the battery 22 from the battery 20.
[Fig. 8] Fig. 8 is flowchart showing a procedure
performed on the display apparatus 10 side on the basis of
state information of the battery 22 acquired from the
shutter glasses 20.
[Fig. 9] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating visual
13
information related to voltage levels of a battery.
[Fig. 10] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which
when a plurality of pairs of shutter glasses are connected
to the display apparatus 10, battery icons for- individual
pairs of shutter glasses are displayed on the screen of a
display section 11.
[Fig. 11] Fig, 11 is a diagram showing an operation of
controlling the open/close timing for each pair of shutter
glasses so that a battery icon is displayed only to an
observer wearing shutter glasses whose battery is exhausted.
[Fig. 12] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a
communication sequence performed for the display apparatus
10 to acquire state information of the battery 22 from a
plurality of pairs of shutter glasses 20-1, 20-2, and so on,
and display a battery icon to a required observer in
accordance with a decrease in the remaining capacity of the
battery 22 in any one of the pairs of shutter glasses.
[Fig. 13] Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure
for controlling the open/close timing of shutters on the
shutter glasses 20 side in accordance with a response frame
from the display apparatus 10, in the communication sequence
shown in Fig. 12.
Description of Embodiments
[0023]
Hereinbelow, embodiments of the present invention will
14
be described in detail with reference to the drawings,
throughout which like parts are referred to by like
references, and in which:
[0024]
Fig. 1 schematically shows the configuration of a timedivision
stereoscopic image display system 1 to which the
present invention can be applied. The time-division
stereoscopic image display system 1 shown in the drawing
includes a display apparatus 10, and shutter glasses 20 that
are worn by an observer. The display apparatus 10 switches
and displays a plurality of mutually different images such
as a left-eye image and a right-eye image by time division.
On the other hand, the shutter glasses 20 operate shutters
provided in left and right lenses so as to open and close in
synchronism with switching of images by the display
apparatus 10, thereby separating the left-eye image and the
right-eye image.
[0025]
The display apparatus 10 includes a display section 11
that performs image display, a communication section 12 that
performs data communication with the shutter glasses 20, and
a control section 13 that controls the overall operation of
the display apparatus 10.
[0026]
The shutter glasses 20 include a shutter glass function
15
section 21, a battery 22 as a main power supply, a battery
monitoring section 23 that monitors the state of the battery
22 such as the remaining capacity, a communication section
24 that performs data communication with the display
apparatus 10, and a control section 25 that controls the
overall operation of the shutter glasses 20.
[0027]
For the shutter glasses 20 to accurately operate the
shutters so as to open and close in synchronism with
switching of images on the display apparatus 10 side, it is
necessary to notify the shutter glasses 20 of the open/close
timing of the shutters from the display apparatus 10.
[0028]
Data communication between the display apparatus 10 and
the shutter glasses 20, including notification of the
open/close timing of the shutters, is performed between
their respective communication section 12 and communication
section 24. The present embodiment assumes that the shutter
glasses 20 are cordless, and a radio technology is applied
to this data communication.
[0029]
Here, infrared communication can be given as an example
of radio communication means between the display apparatus
10 and the shutter glasses 20. According to infrared
communication, every time images are switched by time
16
division, notification of the open/close timing of the
shutters from the display apparatus 10 to the shutter
glasses 20 can be performed with relatively low power
consumption. However, there are such problems that the
location where the observer wearing the shutter glasses 20
should be present is limited due to the directivity of
infrared rays, and adequate services are not provided using
data communication due to the one-way communication.
[0030]
Also, a wireless network such as IEEE802.15.4 can be
given as another example of the radio communication means
for connecting between the display apparatus 10 and the
shutter glasses 20. A wireless network provides two-way
communication, and also enables data communication from the
shutter glasses 20 to the display apparatus 10, thereby
expanding the range of services that can be provided by the
system 1.
[0031]
A wireless network requires high power consumption in
comparison to infrared communication. For this reason, if
notification of the open/close timing of the shutters is
performed successively from the display apparatus 10 to the
shutter glasses 20, the battery-driven shutter glasses 20
side must constantly wait for reception, which places an
excessive burden on the battery 22. On the other hand, by
17
establishing synchronization of the clock frequency and
coincidence of the value of a counter used for
opening/closing of the shutters between the shutter glasses
20 and the display apparatus 10 by means of two-way
communication, thereafter, notification of the open/close
timing and parameters from the display apparatus 10 to the
shutter glasses 20 only needs to be performed intermittently.
That is, there is no need for the shutter glasses 20 to
constantly wait for reception even during the period in
which a stereoscopic image is being displayed, which makes
it possible to reduce power consumption. An image display
system using a wireless network is disclosed in, for example,
the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-
276948 which has already been assigned to the present
applicant.
[0032]
The following description is given assuming that a
wireless network such as IEEE802.15.4 is employed as the
radio communication means between the display apparatus 10
and the shutter glasses 20. While in the system
configuration example shown in Fig. 1 the display apparatus
10 and the shutter glasses 20 perform one-to-one
communication, it is also possible for the communication
section 12 of the display apparatus 10 to act as an access
point so as to contain a plurality of pairs of shutter
18
glasses each acting as a terminal station.
[0033]
Subsequently, with reference to Fig. 2, a description
will be given of a mechanism for separately presenting the
left-eye image and the right-eye image to the observer in
the time-division stereoscopic image display system 1. It
should be noted, however, that a liquid crystal display 100
is used here as the display section 11 of the display
apparatus 10.
[0034]
The liquid crystal display 100 includes a liquid
crystal display panel 101, a backlight 102, an image signal
processing section 103, a shutter control section 104 that
controls the open/close timing of the shutter mechanism of
the shutter glasses 200, a timing control section 105, a
backlight control section 106, a data driver 107, and a gate
driver 108.
[0035]
The liquid crystal display panel 101 has a plurality of
pixels arrayed in matrix as a whole, and modulates light
emitted from the backlight 102 on the basis of an image
voltage supplied from the data driver 107, in accordance
with a driving signal supplied from the gate driver 108,
thereby performing image display based on an input image
signal Din- In the present embodiment, the liquid crystal
19
display panel 11 alternately displays a right-eye image R
based on a right-eye image signal DR and a left-eye image L
based on a left-eye image signal DL by time division, within
a predetermined cycle such as a 1-frame period.
[0036]
The image signal processing section 103 controls the
write order (that is, the display order) of the right-eye
image signal DR and the left-eye image signal DL to the
liquid crystal display panel 101 on the basis of the input
image signal Din, thereby generating an image signal for the
liquid crystal display panel 11. In the present embodiment,
from the input image signal Din, the image signal processing
section 103 generates an image signal Dl in which the lefteye
image signal DL and the right-eye image signal DR are
arranged alternately within a 1-frame period. Hereinafter,
of the 1-frame period, the display period of the left-eye
image L and the display period of the right-eye image R will
be referred to as "L sub-frame period" and "R sub-frame
period", respectively.
[0037]
The timing control section 105 controls the drive
timing of each of the gate driver 108 and the data driver
107, and supplies the image signal Dl supplied from the
image signal processing section 103 to the data driver 107.
[0038]
20
The gate driver 108 sequentially drives each of pixels
in the liquid crystal display panel 101 along a gate line,
in accordance with timing control by the timing control
section 105. Also, the data driver 107 supplies an image
voltage based on the image signal Dl supplied from the
timing control section 105, to each of the pixels in the
liquid crystal display panel 101. Specifically, D/A
conversion is applied to the image signal Dl to generate an
analog image signal corresponding to the image voltage, and
the analog image signal is outputted to each of the pixels.
[0039]
The shutter control section 104 performs notification
of the open/close timing of the left and right shutter
mechanisms and parameters, on the basis of the output timing
of the right-eye image signal DR and left-eye image signal DL
by the image signal processing section 103, in a
predetermined cycle through the communication section 12.
[0040]
The shutter glasses 20 have a left-eye lens 21L and a
right-eye lens 21R. The left-eye lens 21L and the right-eye
lens 21R are each provided with a light-blocking shutter
(not shown) for blocking the opening from light. The lightblocking
shutter is formed by, for example, a liquid crystal
shutter. Inside the shutter glasses 20, the enable state of
the light-blocking function in the light-blocking shutter
21
(that is, the closed state), and the disable state (that is,
the open state) are controlled in accordance with the
received shutter open/close timing and parameters.
[0041]
Fig. 3 shows the control operation of the shutter
glasses 20 in the L sub-frame period. As shown in the
drawing, in the L sub-frame period, the shutter of the lefteye
lens 21L is set to the open state, and the shutter of
the right-eye lens 21R is set to the closed state, so that
display light LL based on the left-eye image L passes
through only the left-eye lens 21L. Also, Fig. 4 shows the
co'ntrol operation of the shutter glasses 20 in the R subframe
period. As shown in the drawing, in the R sub-frame
period, the shutter of the right-eye lens 21R is set to the
open state, and the shutter of the left-eye lens 21L is set
to the closed state, so that display light RR based on the
right-eye image R passes through only the right-eye lens 21R.
[0042]
In the present embodiment, a wireless network capable
of two-way communication such as IEEE802.15.4 is applied to
the radio communication between the communication section 12
on the display apparatus 10 side and the communication
section 24 on the shutter glasses 20 side. Therefore, the
negotiation for establishing synchronization of the clock
frequency and coincidence of the value of a counter used for
22
opening/closing the shutters between the display apparatus
10 and the shutter glasses 20 can be performed by two-way
communication. Further, internal information of the shutter
glasses 20 and other data can be transmitted to the display
apparatus 10 to provide services to the observer through the
display screen.
[0043]
For example, since the shutter glasses 20 use the
battery 22 as a main power supply, its operation time is
limited by the capacity of the battery 22 and, also, a
decrease in remaining capacity necessitates an operation
such as replacement or heavy electric of the battery.
Accordingly, the shutter glasses 20 transmit internal
information such as the remaining capacity of the battery 22
to the display apparatus 10, and on the display apparatus 10
side, notification or warning of the remaining capacity is
displayed on the screen by the display section 11. Of
course, this notification or warning can be presented as a
time-division stereoscopic image. In such a case, the
observer can check a state such as exhaustion of the battery
22 while keeping wearing the shutter glasses 20, that is,
while viewing the stereoscopic image.
[0044]
In the following, a description will be given of an
operation procedure for displaying the state of the battery
23
22 of the shutter glasses 20 by the display apparatus 10.
[0045]
Fig. 5 shows an example of a communication sequence in
which the display apparatus 10 acquires state information of
the battery 22 from the shutter glasses 20.
[0046]
On the shutter glasses 20 side, when the shutter
glasses 20 activate upon insertion of the battery 22,
monitoring of the state of the battery 22 is started, and
when the state information is acquired, the display
apparatus 10 is notified of the state information. On the
other hand, upon receiving a frame from the shutter glasses
20, the display apparatus 10 returns a response frame.
[0047]
Thereafter, the shutter glasses 20 continuously monitor
the state of the battery 22, and periodically (for example,
every several seconds) transmit a frame including state
information of the battery 22 to the display apparatus 10.
Then, the display apparatus 10 returns a response frame with
every reception of a frame from the shutter glasses 20.
[0048]
Fig. 6 shows, in the form of a flowchart, a procedure
in which the shutter glasses 20 transmit information related
to the state of the battery 22 to the display apparatus 10.
The procedure shown in the drawing is implemented under
24
centralized control by the control section 25, for example.
[0049]
When the battery 22 is inserted in the shutter glasses
20 to activate the shutter glasses 20 (step S61), the
battery monitoring section 23 acquires the state of the
battery 22 (step S62), and the control section 25
periodically transmits the acquired state information to the
display apparatus 10 via the communication section 24 (step
S63) .
[0050]
The state information of the battery 22 here refers to
the output terminal voltage of the battery 22, the remaining
capacity of the battery 22 at the present time based on the
result of continuous monitoring of the output terminal
voltage, or the like. It is also possible to transmit the
output terminal voltage of the battery 22 to the display
apparatus 10 as it is via the communication section 24, and
monitor the state of the battery 22 such as the remaining
capacity on the display apparatus 10 side.
[0051]
Fig. 7 shows, in the form of a flowchart, a procedure
in which the display apparatus 10 receives state information
of the battery 22 from the shutter glasses 20. The
procedure shown in the drawing is implemented under
centralized control by the control section 13, for example.
25
It should be noted, however, that as the state information
of the battery 22, information related to the output
terminal voltage of the battery 22 is sent from the shutter
glasses 20.
[0052]
Upon receiving a frame from the shutter glasses 20 by
the communication section 12, the control section 13
analyzes the payload, and checks whether or not the payload
describes state information of the battery 22 (step S71) .
Here, if the received frame is related to information other
than state information of the battery 22 (No in step S71),
the control section 13 exits this routine, and activates
another corresponding processing.
[0053]
•Also, if the received frame includes state information
of the battery 22 (Yes in step S71), the control section 13
reads information related to the output terminal voltage of
the battery 22 from the frame, and stores the information
into, for example, a local memory (not shown) (step S72).
[0054]
Fig. 8 shows, in the form of a flowchart, a procedure
performed on the display apparatus 10 side on the basis of
state information of the battery 22 which is acquired from
the shutter glasses 20. The procedure shown in the drawing
is implemented under centralized control by the control
26
section 13, for example. Assumed here as processing based
on state information of the battery 22 is presentation of
visual information related to the voltage level on the
screen of the display section 11.
[0055]
Upon reading information related to the output terminal
voltage of the battery 22 stored in the local memory (not
shown), the control section 13 first checks whether or not
this voltage value is equal to or higher than a specified
voltage (step S81). Here, if the output terminal voltage of
the battery 22 is equal to or higher than the specified
voltage (Yes in step S81), the control section 13 executes
processing for displaying visual information indicating that
the output terminal voltage of the battery 22 is equal to or
higher than the specified voltage (step S86).
[0056]
Also, when the output terminal voltage of the battery
22 is below the specified voltage (No in step S81), the
control section 13 subsequently checks whether or not this
voltage value is equal to or higher than Level 2 (step S82).
Here, if the output terminal voltage of the battery 22 is
equal to or higher than Level 2 (Yes in step S82), the
control section 13 executes processing for displaying visual
information indicating that the output terminal voltage of
the battery 22 is equal to or higher than Level 2 (step S86).
27
[0057]
Also, when the output terminal voltage of the battery
22 is below Level 2 (No in step S82), the control section 13
subsequently checks whether or not this voltage value is
equal to or higher than Level 3 (step S83) . Here, if the
output terminal voltage of the battery 22 is equal to or
higher than Level 3 (Yes in step S83) , the control section
13 executes processing for displaying visual information
indicating that the output terminal voltage of the battery
22 is below Level 2 but is equal to or higher than Level 3
(step S86).
[0058]
Also, when the output terminal voltage of the battery
22 is below Level 3 (No in step S83), the control section 13
judges that the output terminal voltage of the battery 22 is
below a specified voltage and replacement or charging of the
battery is required (step S84), and executes processing for
displaying a warning display on the screen of the display
section 11 (step S85).
[0059]
The visual information related to the voltage level
which is displayed on the screen in the display section 11
is, for example, a battery icon intuitively expressing the
output terminal voltage level or the remaining capacity.
Fig. 9 illustrates battery icons that are displayed when the
28
output terminal voltage of the battery 22 is equal to or
higher than a specified voltage, is below the specified
voltage but equal to or higher than Level 2, is below Level
2 but equal to or higher than Level 3, and is below a
specified voltage and replacement or charging of the batteryis
required, respectively. The illustrated battery icons
each express the output terminal voltage of the battery 22
as the remaining capacity. Also, if the display color is
changed for each battery icon in accordance with the degree
of warning in the order of, for example, green, yellow, and
red, this further facilitates visual identification of the
voltage level.
[0060]
It should be noted that the procedure shown in Fig. 8
is based on the assumption that the remaining capacity of
the battery 22 can be estimated from its output terminal
voltage, and is merely an example. It should be understood
that the procedure is changed as appropriate in accordance
with the kind or characteristics of the battery 22.
[0061]
In the case where a wireless network such as
IEEE802.15.4 is employed as the radio communication means
between the display apparatus 10 and the shutter glasses 20,
it is possible for the communication section 12 of the
display apparatus 10 to act as an access point so as to
29
contain a plurality of pairs of shutter glasses each acting
as a terminal station (described above). Fig. 10 shows a
state in which when a plurality of pairs of shutter glasses
are connected to the display apparatus 10, battery icons for
the individual shutter glasses are displayed on the screen
of the display section 11.
[0062]
Here, in the case where a plurality of battery icons
are displayed simultaneously as shown in Fig. 10, for
example, by attaching identification information such as a
user name for each of the battery icons, each observer
wearing shutter glasses is able to discern which battery
icon is the observer's own battery icon. However, the
discerning process is cumbersome, and for an observer whose
own battery is not exhausted, display of a battery icon is
unnecessary, and also hinders viewing of an image.
Accordingly, the mechanism of time-division image display
may be exploited to control the open/close timing for each
pair of shutter glasses so that a (warning) battery icon is
displayed only for an observer who is wearing shutter
glasses whose battery is exhausted.
[0063]
Fig. 11(a) shows the normal open/close timing control
of the shutter glasses 20. In the display section 11 of the
display apparatus 10, the left-eye image and the right-eye
30
image are alternately switched and displayed in a very short
frame cycle. On the other hand, the shutter glasses 20 side
is controlled by means of notification of the open/close
timing and parameters from the display apparatus 10 side, so
that the left-eye shutter opens and the right-eye shutter
closes in synchronism with the display period of the lefteye
image, and the right-eye shutter opens and the left-eye
shutter closes in synchronism with the display period of the
right-eye image.
[0064]
Also, Fig. 11(b) shows the open/close timing control of
the shutter glasses 20 when displaying a battery icon to an
observer who is wearing the shutter glasses 20 whose battery
22 is exhausted. In the display section 11 of the display
apparatus 10, the left-eye image and the right-eye image are
alternately switched and displayed in a very short frame
cycle. Then, the display apparatus 10 receives state
information of the battery 22 from each of pairs of shutter
glasses 20 contained in the communication range, and upon
detecting a decrease in the remaining capacity of the
battery 22 in any one of the pairs of shutter glasses 20,
the display apparatus 10 inserts a pair of left-eye image
and right-eye image including a battery icon within a frame,
at a predetermined interval. Then, with respect to the
shutter glasses 20 for which a decrease in the remaining
31
capacity of the battery 20 has been detected, the display
apparatus 10 controls the open/close timing in the normal
manner so that the right-eye shutter opens and the left-eye
shutter closes in synchronism with the display period of the
right-eye image. As a result, since the shutter glasses 20
perform the shutter opening/closing operation in the normal
manner even during the period in which a left-eye image and
a right-eye image including a battery icon are displayed
within a frame, the battery icon is visible to an observer
who is wearing the shutter glasses 20 for which the
remaining capacity of the battery 22 has,decreased.
[0065]
Also, Fig. 11(c) shows the open/close timing control of
the shutter glasses 20 with which, when displaying a battery
icon as mentioned above, the battery icon is made invisible
to an observer who is wearing the shutter glasses 20 whose
battery 22 is not exhausted, in other words, an observer for
whom a warning display is irrelevant. As described above,
upon detecting a decrease in the remaining capacity of the
battery 22 in any one of the pairs of shutter glasses 20
contained in the communication range, the display apparatus
10 inserts a pair of left-eye image and right-eye image
including a battery icon within a frame at a predetermined
interval. Also, for the other pairs of shutter glasses 20
whose battery 22 is not exhausted, the display apparatus 10
32
controls the open/close timing so as to keep both the left
and right shutters closed during the period in which a lefteye
image and a right-eye image including a battery icon are
displayed within a frame. As a result, since the shutter
glasses 20 for which the remaining capacity of the battery
22 has not decreased block both the left-eye image and the
right-eye image including the battery icon, the battery icon
becomes invisible to the observer.
[0066]
Fig. 12 shows an example of a communication sequence
performed for the display apparatus 10 to acquire state
information of the battery 22 from a plurality of pairs of
shutter glasses 20-1, 20-2, and so on, and display a battery
icon to a required observer in accordance with a decrease in
the remaining capacity of the battery 22 in any one of the
pairs of shutter glasses. It should be noted, however, that
in the example shown in the drawing, the number of pairs of
shutter glasses that communicate with the display apparatus
10 is three.
[0067]
Each of the pairs of shutter glasses 20-1 and so on
monitors the state of the battery 22, and periodically
transmits a frame including the state information to the
display apparatus 10.
[0068]
33
The display apparatus 10 analyzes the state information
of the battery 22 received from each of the pairs of shutter
glasses 20-1 and so on. Then, when the open/close timing of
the shutters and parameters in each of the pairs of shutter
glasses 20-1 and so on are determined on the basis of the
analysis results, that is, the remaining capacity of the
battery 22 in each pair of shutter glasses, the open/close
timing of the shutters and parameters are notified by means
of a response frame to each of the pairs of shutter glasses
20-1 and so on. It should be noted that while in the
example shown in the drawing the display apparatus 10
returns a response frame by means of broadcast transmission,
the display apparatus 10 may return a response frame to each
of the pairs of shutter glasses 20-1 and so on in a one-toone
manner.
[0069]
Here, when the display apparatus 10 detects a decrease
in the remaining capacity of the battery 22 only in the
shutter glasses 20-1, the display apparatus 10 inserts a
pair of left-eye image and right-eye image including a
battery icon within a frame, at a predetermined interval.
Also, with respect to the shutter glasses 20-1 for which the
battery icon should be displayed, the display apparatus 10
determines the open/close timing and parameters in the
normal manner so as to make the battery icon visible. On
34
the other hand, with respect to each of the pairs of shutter
glasses 20-2 and 20-3 for which the remaining capacity of
the battery 22 has not decreased and the battery icon should
not be displayed, the display apparatus 10 determines the
open/close timing and parameters so as to keep both the left
and right shutters closed during the period in which a lefteye
image and a right-eye image including a battery icon are
displayed within a frame. Then, by means of a response
frame, the display apparatus 10 notifies each of the pairs
of shutter glasses 20-1 and so on of the open/close timing
and parameters for each of the pairs of shutter glasses 20-1
and so on.
[0070]
The shutter glasses 20-1 perform the shutter
opening/closing operation in the normal manner even during
the period in which a left-eye image and a right-eye image
including a battery icon are displayed within a frame.
Therefore, the battery icon is visible to the observer who
is wearing the shutter glasses 20-1.
[0071]
Each of the pairs of shutter glasses 20-2 and 20-3
keeps both the left and right shutters closed during the
period in which a left-eye image and a right-eye image
including a battery icon are displayed within a frame.
Therefore, since each of the pairs of shutter glasses 20-2
35
and 20-3 blocks both the left-eye image and the right-eye
image including the battery icon, the battery icon becomes
invisible to the observer.
[0072]
Fig. 13 shows, in the form of a flowchart, a procedure
for controlling the open/close timing of the shutters on the
shutter glasses 20 side in accordance with a response frame
from the display apparatus 10, in the communication sequence
shown in Fig. 12. The procedure shown in the drawing is
implemented under centralized control by the control section
25, for example.
[0073]
The control section 25 analyzes the response frame from
the display apparatus 10, and checks whether or not a
decrease in the remaining capacity of the battery 22 has
been detected in any one of the pairs of shutter glasses 20
connected to the display apparatus 10 (step S1301) .
[0074]
Upon successfully confirming that the remaining
capacity of the battery 22 has not decreased in all of the
pairs of shutter glasses 20 connected to the display
apparatus 10 (No in step S1301), as shown in Fig. 11(a), the
control section 25 performs control in the normal manner so
that the left-eye shutter opens and the right-eye shutter
closes in synchronism with the display period of the left-
36
eye image, and the right-eye shutter opens and the left-eye
shutter closes in synchronism with the display period of the
right-eye image (step S1303).
[0075]
On the other hand, upon finding that the remaining
capacity of the battery 22 has decreased in any one of the
pairs of shutter glasses 20 connected to the display
apparatus 10 (Yes in step S1301), the control section 25
further checks whether the remaining capacity of the battery
22 of its own has decreased or the remaining capacity of the
battery 22 has decreased not in the shutter glasses 20 of
its own but in another pair of shutter glasses 20 (step
S1302).
[0076]
Then, when it is found that the remaining capacity of
the battery 22 of its own has decreased, as shown in Fig.
11 (b), the control section 25 controls the open/close timing
in the normal manner so that the right-eye shutter opens and
the left-eye shutter closes in synchronism with the display
period of the right-eye image (step S1304). As a result,
the shutter glasses 20 perform the shutter opening/closing
operation in the normal manner even during the period in
which a left-eye image and a right-eye image including a
battery icon are displayed within a frame, so the battery
icon is visible to the observer.
37
[0077]
Also, when it is found that the remaining capacity of
the battery 22 has decreased not in the shutter glasses 20
of its own but in another pair of shutter glasses 20, as
shown in Fig. 11(c), the control section 25 operates the
left and right shutters to open and close so as to keep both
the left and right shutters closed during the period in
which a left-eye image and a right-eye image including a
battery icon are displayed within a frame (step S1305). As
a result, the shutter glasses 20 block both the left-eye
image and the right-eye image including the battery icon, so
the battery icon becomes invisible to the observer.
Industrial Applicability
[0078]
The present invention has been described above in
detail with reference to specific embodiments. However, it
is obvious that a person skilled in the art can make various
modifications to and substitutions for the embodiments
without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0079]
While in this specification the description is mainly
focused on the embodiments that use a liquid crystal display
as the display apparatus that displays a plurality of
mutually different images by time division, the scope of the
present invention is not limited to this. For example,
38
other than conventional CRT (Cathod Ray Tube) displays,
plasma display panels (PDPs), or electro-luminescence (EL)
panels can be used as well.
[0080]
While in this specification the description is mainly
focused on the embodiments that employ, for example, a
wireless network such as IEEE802.15.4 as the communication
means for connecting between the shutter glasses and the
display apparatus, the scope of the present invention is not
limited to this. It is also possible to employ other
wireless communication technologies or wire communication
technologies as long as two-way communication is possible
between the shutter glasses and the display apparatus.
[0081]
The series of processing according to the embodiments
described in this specification can be executed by either of
hardware and software. If the processing is to be
implemented by software, a computer program describing the
procedure of the processing in the software in a computerreadable
format may be installed and executed on a
predetermined computer. Also, this computer program can be
previously embedded in a product such as a liquid crystal
display.
[0082]
In short, the present invention has been disclosed by
39
way of illustration, and the descriptions in this
specification should not be construed restrictively. The
scope of the present invention should be determined with
reference to the claims.
Reference Signs List
[0083]
I time-division stereoscopic image display system
10 display apparatus
II display section
12 communication section
13 control section
20 shutter glasses
21 shutter glass function section
21L leLft-eye lens, 21R right-eye lens
22 battery
23 battery monitoring section
24 communication section
25 control section
100 liquid crystal display
101 liquid crystal display panel
102 backlight
103 image signal processing section
104 shutter control section
105 timing control section
106 backlight control section
40
107 data driver
108 gate driver
In so far as the embodiments of the invention described
above are implemented, at least in part, using softwarecontrolled
data processing apparatus, it will be appreciated
that a computer program providing such software control and
a transmission, storage or other medium by which such a
computer program is provided are envisaged as aspects of the
present invention.
41

CLAIMS
[Claim 1]
An image display apparatus comprising:
a display section that switches and displays a
plurality of images that are different from each other by
time division;
a communication section that communicates with shutter
glasses driven by a battery; and
a control section that controls an apparatus operation,
wherein the communication section transmits information
related to open/close timing of shutters to the shutter
glasses, and receives state information of the battery from
the shutter glasses, and
the control section displays a warning in the plurality
of images on the display section, upon detecting a decrease
in remaining capacity of the battery on a basis of the
received state information of the battery.
[Claim 2]
The image display apparatus according to Claim 1,
wherein:
the communication section is capable of communicating
with a plurality of pairs of shutter glasses; and
the control section displays visual information in the
plurality of images on the display section, the visual
information representing a state of the battery for each of
42
the pairs of shutter glasses.
[Claim 3]
The image display apparatus according to Claim 1,
wherein:
the communication section is capable of communicating
with a plurality of pairs of shutter glasses; and
the control section displays the plurality of images
including display of the warning on the display section,
only with respect to an observer wearing the shutter glasses
for which a decrease in remaining capacity of the battery
has been detected among the plurality of pairs of shutter
glasses.
[Claim 4]
The image display apparatus according to Claim 3,
wherein
upon detecting a decrease in remaining capacity of the
battery in any one of the plurality of pairs of shutter
glasses with which the communication section communicates,
the control section
inserts a frame including display of the warning
into each of the plurality of images, and
transmits information related to open/close timing
of the shutters from the communication section to other
pairs of shutter glasses for which a decrease in remaining
capacity of the battery is not detected, the information
43
instructing that all of the shutters be kept in a closed
state during a period in which the frame including display
of the warning is displayed.
[Claim 5]
An image display system comprising:
shutter glasses each having a shutter mechanism
provided in a lens, the shutter glasses being driven by a
battery; and
a display apparatus that switches and displays a
plurality of images that are different from each other by
time division,
wherein the display apparatus transmits information
related to open/close timing of shutters according to
switching of the plurality of images, to the shutter glasses,
the shutter glasses perform an opening/closing
operation of the shutters on a basis of the information
related to open/close timing of the shutters received from
the display apparatus, and transmit state information of the
battery to the display apparatus, and
the display apparatus displays a warning in the
plurality of images on the display section, upon detecting a
decrease in remaining capacity of the battery on a basis of
the state information of the battery received from the
shutter glasses.
[Claim 6]
44
An image display method which displays an image on a
display apparatus including a display section and a
communication section, comprising:
a time-division image displaying step of switching and
displaying a plurality of images that are different from
each other by time division, by the display section;
a shutter controlling step of transmitting information
related to open/close timing of shutters to shutter glasses
driven by a battery, from the communication section; and
a controlling step of performing control so as to
display a warning in the plurality of images on the display
section, upon detecting a decrease in remaining capacity of
the battery on a basis of state information of the battery
which is received from the shutter glasses by the
communication section.
[Claim 7]
A computer program which is described in a computerreadable
format so as to execute, on a computer, processing
for displaying an image on a display apparatus including a
display section and a communication section, the computer
program causing the computer to function as:
time-division image displaying means for switching and
displaying a plurality of images that are different from
each other by time division, by the display section;
shutter controlling means for transmitting information
45
related to open/close timing of shutters to shutter glasses
driven by a battery, from the communication section; and
controlling means for performing control so as to
display a warning in the plurality of images on the display
section, upon detecting a decrease in remaining capacity of
the battery on a basis of state information of the battery
which is received from the shutter glasses by the
communication section.
Dated this 23/11/2011 / I ^ /
[HRISHIKE6H PJA^/^HAUpHURY]
OF REMFRY i SAGAR
ATTORNEY FOR THE APPLICANTS
46