Patent ID: 8866884

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: an image input unit that inputs a two-dimensional image signal; a depth information output unit that inputs or generates depth information of image areas constituting the two-dimensional image signal; an image conversion unit that receives the image signal and the depth information from the image input unit and the depth information output unit, and generates and outputs a left eye image and a right eye image for realizing binocular stereoscopic vision; and an image output unit that outputs the left eye image and the right eye image, which are output from the image conversion unit, wherein the image conversion unit: extracts a spatial feature value of the input image signal, performs an image conversion process including an emphasis process applying the feature value and the depth information with respect to the input image signal, thereby generating at least one of the left eye image and the right eye image, extracts a luminance differential signal of the input image signal, sets the luminance differential signal as the feature value, generates a corrected differential signal by performing gain control based on depth information in units of image areas with respect to the differential signal, generates at least two signals which are obtained by adding the corrected differential signal to the input image signal and subtracting the corrected differential signal from the input image signal, respectively, and generates a pair of the at least two signals as a pair of the left eye image and the right eye image; wherein the image conversion unit comprises: a phase control signal generation part that generates a differential signal for an input signal; a non-linear conversion part that performs a non-linear conversion process with respect to the differential signal generated by the phase control signal generation part; an image synthesizing part that adds output of the non-linear conversion part to the input signal or subtracting the output of the non-linear conversion part from the input signal; and processing paths through which an image conversion process by image conversion modules including the phase control signal generation part, the non-linear conversion part and the image synthesizing part is repeated, and wherein the image conversion unit selects and synthesizes output of each image conversion module constituting the processing path according to the depth information which is output from the depth information output unit, thereby generating the left eye image or the right eye image.