Patent Document ID: 5379369
Application ID: 07843065
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An apparatus for generating a stereoscopic image of an original object comprising: an image input section for picking up the image of the object and outputting two-dimensional image information indicating said picked-up image; a two-dimensional image information storing section for storing said two-dimensional image information outputted from said image input section; an input section for inputting information for designating the class of depth at each position in said image of the object which is based on said two-dimensional image information; a depth information generating section for dividing the depth at each position in said image of the object according to the class of depth information inputted from said input section and generating depth information indicating the depth at each pixel in said two-dimensional image information; a depth information along storing section for storing the depth information generated by said depth information generating section; a stereoscopic image information generating section for generating stereoscopic image information including stereoscopic image information for, according to a predetermined rule, displaying an image to be viewed from the visual point of the left eye and stereoscopic image information for displaying an image to be viewed from the visual point of the right eye, based on said two-dimensional image information stored in said two-dimensional image information storing section and said depth information stored in said depth information storing section; a stereoscopic image information storing section for storing said stereoscopic image information generated by said stereoscopic image information generating section; an image display section for reading and displaying the stereoscopic image information for the left eye and the stereoscopic image information for the right eye alternately from said stereoscopic image information stored in said stereoscopic image information storing section and performing a switching operation of alternately displaying said image for the left eye and said image for the right eye on a screen thereof at predetermined regular time intervals; shutter-provided glasses for viewing the image for the left eye and said image for the right eye displayed on said image display section; and a shutter control section, operating in synchronization with said switching operation performed by said image display section, for closing a right eye side shutter when said stereoscopic image for the left eye is displayed on the screen of said image display section and closing a left eye side shutter when said stereoscopic image for the right eye is displayed on the screen of said image display section.