JP2006113229A - Projector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress deterioration in picture quality of a display image caused owing to characteristics of respective physical pixels of an electrooptical device. <P>SOLUTION: A projector has solid-state light sources L11 to L15, L21 to L25, L31 to L35, and L41 to L45 which are provided by region obtained by dividing an image formation region of the electrooptical modulating device (liquid crystal device 11) to illuminate, a light source turn-on control section 1 which performs turn-on control over the solid-state light sources for writing image data to the respective regions, and a picture quality deterioration improvement section 2 which displaying some M (M: a natural number) display pixels of a display image displayed on a display surface by using N (N: a natural number, where N>M) physical pixels of the electrooptical modulating device 11 by moving an optical image corresponding to the electrooptical modulating device 11 on the display surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a projector.

  A transmission type light modulation image forming means or a reflection type light modulation image forming hand as an electro-optic modulation device uses a panel in which a liquid crystal material is sandwiched between glass substrates (hereinafter abbreviated as LCD), a silicon substrate There are those in which a liquid crystal material is laminated (hereinafter abbreviated as LCOS), and those that drive a fine reflector formed on a silicon substrate (hereinafter abbreviated as DMD).

  Since these electro-optic modulators require very fine processing, it is inevitable that a defect occurs in each pixel (referred to as a physical pixel) of the electro-optic modulator. In addition, the types of defects vary from those that vary in response characteristics to those that do not respond at all to input signals.

  Problems such as variations in the characteristics of each physical pixel of the electro-optic modulation device are caused by uneven display on the display image displayed on the display surface, bright spots that are always on, and dark spots that are always off. Appears as image quality degradation. In particular, image quality degradation with a high spatial frequency, that is, image quality degradation localized in a small area on the display image is easily visible as a characteristic of the human eye, and becomes a serious problem in the quality of the display image.

  As a method of dealing with such a problem, there is a method of selecting a product although it is a passive method. That is, it is a method in which a defect having a certain level or more is regarded as a defective product. However, this method is not preferable from the viewpoint of environmental impact because it causes a decrease in productivity and generates a large amount of defective products.

Further, as another method of dealing with the above-described problem, there is an active method of adding some correction (for example, see Patent Documents 1 to 5).
Of these Patent Documents 1 to 5, the methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are all based on the same concept, and the image quality at a pixel at a certain position and a certain color. When there is a deterioration, the pixel value in the vicinity thereof is controlled to make it difficult to see the pixel whose image quality has deteriorated.

  Further, the methods disclosed in Patent Document 4 and Patent Document 5 are similar to each other, and a signal for driving the electro-optic modulation device so as to correct the image quality deteriorated portion on the display image. Is to process. This makes it difficult to see the part where the image quality has deteriorated essentially.

JP 2001-109423 A JP 2001-356730 A JP 2002-189440 JP 2002-366109 A JP 2003-316330 A

  However, the methods described in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3 only make it difficult to see a portion where the image quality has deteriorated. For this reason, for example, when observing close to the display surface, there is a problem that a portion where the image quality is deteriorated can be seen. In addition, there is a problem that this method itself does not function effectively when the spatial resolution of the electro-optic modulation device is not high.

  On the other hand, the methods described in Patent Document 4 and Patent Document 5 are very effective in principle, and it is possible to make the portion where the image quality deteriorates essentially invisible. However, there is a problem that very precise control on the electric circuit is necessary to execute this. There is also a problem that the electro-optic modulation device does not function in the case of a complete short circuit or complete disconnection. As an extreme example, it is completely ineffective when the reflector of the DMD element is missing or fixed.

  Patent Document 5 is based on the idea that the number of pixels of a display image (referred to as display pixels) displayed on the display surface is apparently increased rather than the number of physical pixels of the electro-optic modulation device. Conventionally, one display pixel of a display image and one physical pixel of an electro-optic modulation device are generally associated one-to-one physically or through a projection optical system. However, this patent document 5 displays a plurality of display pixels with one physical pixel.

  This Patent Document 5 attempts to increase the apparent resolution by adopting such a method. According to this, it is considered that the apparent resolution can be improved. However, in this Patent Document 5, it is not possible to suppress deterioration in the image quality of a display image that occurs due to the characteristics of each physical pixel in the electro-optic modulation device.

  In addition, a projector using an electro-optic modulation device having a hold-type display mode such as a liquid crystal device along with image quality deterioration of a display image caused by the characteristics of each physical pixel in such an electro-optic modulation device When displaying an image, there is also a problem that a blurred image is displayed with a tail due to the characteristics of this type of electro-optic modulator. Therefore, it is also required to suppress the blurred image display with the tail.

  The present invention enables high-quality image display by suppressing deterioration in the display image quality caused by the characteristics of each physical pixel in the electro-optic modulation device, and blurry image display with tailing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a projector that can prevent the occurrence of the problem.

  (1) The projector of the present invention is a solid-state light source provided so as to be able to illuminate each area obtained by dividing the image forming area of the electro-optic modulation device into a plurality of areas, and writing image data in each area. Based on the light source lighting control unit that controls lighting of the solid-state light source, and an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device is moved on the display surface, there is an M of a display image displayed on the display surface. And an image quality deterioration improving unit that displays N (M is a natural number) display pixels using N (N is a natural number, N> M) physical pixels of the electro-optic modulation device.

  As described above, the M display pixels of the display image are displayed using N (N> M) physical pixels of the electro-optic modulation device, thereby causing the characteristics of each physical pixel in the electro-optic modulation device. The image quality degradation of the display image that occurs in this manner (image quality degradation due to defects such as the physical pixels of the electro-optic modulation device being constantly turned off or constantly turned on) can be dispersed in the time average.

  This can be realized by changing the correspondence between the physical pixels of the electro-optic modulator and the display pixels of the display image by moving the optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulator on the display surface. For example, when M of the M display pixels is M = 1, one pixel constituting the display image is displayed by N (two or more) pixels of the electro-optic modulation device, so that the electro-optic It is possible to disperse the image quality degradation due to defects such as the constant off of the physical pixels of the modulation device and the constant lighting in the time average. As a result, on the display image, the dark spots that are always turned off and the bright spots that are always turned on are hardly visible, and high-quality image display is possible.

  Further, lighting control is performed on the solid-state light source corresponding to each area so that the areas obtained by dividing the image forming area of the electro-optic modulation device into a plurality of areas can be illuminated in a predetermined order. The display state of the entire screen (one frame) is not held until the next frame, and it is possible to suppress a blurred image display with a tail. Note that each area obtained by dividing the image forming area of the electro-optic modulation device into a plurality of parts means that the image forming area of the electro-optic modulation apparatus is divided into, for example, a plurality along the horizontal scanning line. This is an area obtained by classification.

  In addition, by using a solid light source as a light source, instantaneous lighting and instantaneous extinction are possible, and illumination with less luminance unevenness and color unevenness at the start of lighting is possible. In addition, the fact that instant lighting and instantaneous extinguishing are possible makes it possible to perform lighting control with high accuracy and at any timing, thereby enabling fine and highly precise lighting control.

(2) In the projector according to (1), the image quality deterioration improvement unit outputs a movement control information to the optical image movement control unit, and each area is predetermined for the light source lighting control unit. Based on the image control unit having a function of outputting lighting control information that enables illumination in the order and a function of performing control of writing image data to the electro-optic modulation device, and movement control information from the image control unit, It is preferable that an optical image movement control unit capable of moving an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device to a position that is an integral multiple of the display pixel.
By configuring the image quality degradation improving unit in such a configuration, the projector described in (1) can be realized.

(3) In the projector according to (2), when the image control unit performs writing control of image data to the electro-optic modulation device, the display image is converted into an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device. It is preferable to enable writing control in which the same movement amount is moved in the direction opposite to the movement direction.
As a result, even if the position of the image light corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device changes on the display surface, the display image does not change its position on the display surface, and the user viewing the display screen feels uncomfortable. There is no.

(4) In the projector according to any one of (1) to (3), the image control unit enters an illumination state when illuminating the regions in a predetermined order with respect to the light source lighting control unit. It is preferable to perform the lighting control so that the light-off time exists for a certain period of time between the regions.
In this way, by providing the light-off time for a certain period between the areas that are in the illumination state in the predetermined order, it is possible to provide a time that is not visually recognized by the viewer on the display surface. You can do something.

(5) In the projector according to (4), it is preferable that the image control unit outputs movement control information to the optical image movement control unit using the turn-off time.
As described above, since the optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulator is moved using the turn-off time provided between the regions, the movement of the optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulator is displayed on the display surface. This can be done without being viewed by the viewer.

(6) In the projectors of (1) to (5), M of the M display images is preferably 1.
This is to display one pixel constituting the display image by N (two or more) pixels of the electro-optic modulation device. As a result, as described above, when a certain physical pixel of the electro-optic modulation device has a defect such as a constant light extinction or a constant lighting, for example, the dark spot due to the constant light extinction or the bright spot due to the constant lighting is dispersed. Therefore, these dark spots and bright spots are hardly visible on the display image.

  (7) The projector of the present invention includes a light source capable of illuminating the electro-optic modulation device, a light source lighting control unit that performs lighting control on the light source, and scrolling light from the light source on the electro-optic modulation device. , An optical scanning device capable of illuminating each region obtained by dividing the image forming region of the electro-optic modulator into a plurality of regions, an optical scanning device controller having a function of controlling the optical scanning device, and the electric By moving an optical image corresponding to the optical modulation device on the display surface, a certain M (M is a natural number) display pixels of the display image displayed on the display surface are changed to N of the electro-optical modulation device. And an image quality deterioration improving section that displays using physical pixels (N is a natural number, N> M).

  Also by this, like the projector of (1), image quality degradation of the display image caused by the characteristics of each physical pixel in the electro-optic modulation device can be suppressed, and high-quality image display is possible. Further, by performing optical scanning control that scrolls light from the light source so that each region is sequentially illuminated so that a plurality of regions can be illuminated in a predetermined order, one screen (one frame) The entire display state is not held until the next frame, and it is possible to suppress a blurred image display with a tail.

(8) In the projector according to (7), the optical scanning device includes a light transmission / shielding unit capable of intermittently transmitting / shielding light from the light source for each time, and light from the light source. It is preferable to have an optical scanning optical system capable of sequentially scanning corresponding to each region.
Thus, a plurality of areas can be illuminated for each area by light from one light source.

(9) In the projector according to (8), the image quality deterioration improvement unit has a function of outputting movement control information to the optical image movement control unit, and the light transmission / output to the optical scanning device control unit. A function of outputting light transmission / light shielding part control information for controlling the light shielding part and a light scanning optical system control information for controlling the light scanning optical system, and a function for controlling writing of image data to the electro-optic modulator. And an optical image movement control unit capable of moving an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device to a position that is an integral multiple of the display pixel based on movement control information from the image control unit. It is preferable to have.
By configuring the image quality degradation improving unit in such a configuration, the projector described in (7) can be realized.

(10) In the projector according to (9), the image control unit outputs the optical scanning optical system control information and the optical image movement control unit using a light blocking time of the light by the light transmitting / blocking unit. It is preferable to output movement control information for.
Thereby, switching of illumination for each region and movement of the optical image can be performed without being visually recognized on the display surface.
The projector described in (7) preferably has the characteristics described in (3) and (6).
In any one of the projectors (1) to (7), the image control unit acquires a correction parameter corresponding to the display position of each display pixel associated with the N physical pixels, and acquires the acquired correction. It is also possible to further have a function of correcting the pixel value of the display pixel associated with the N physical pixels based on the parameter. In this case, it is preferable that the correction parameter is obtained based on a characteristic value representing a characteristic of each physical pixel set in each physical pixel of the electro-optic modulation device.

  (11) The projector of the present invention is a solid-state light source provided so as to be able to illuminate each area obtained by dividing the image forming area of the electro-optic modulation device into a plurality of areas, and for writing image data in each area. A light source lighting control unit that controls lighting of the solid-state light source, and an optical image movement control unit that moves an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device on a display surface, and the pixel of the electro-optic modulation device A projector capable of displaying a display image having a number of pixels larger than the number on the display screen, wherein the light source lighting control unit is provided on the electro-optic modulation device in addition to a plurality of regions on the electro-optic modulation device. Lighting control that enables illumination of at least one region that is continuous with the plurality of regions is possible, and the optical image movement control unit transmits an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device to at least the electro-optic modulation device. Characterized by movable only in the vertical direction can be displayed the number of pixels in the perpendicular direction.

  This is because, in the projector described in (1), it is possible to sequentially illuminate a plurality of regions on the electro-optic modulator for each region, and an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulator on the display surface. According to the present invention, an image with a large number of pixels (high resolution) is displayed on the display surface by using an electro-optic modulation device with a small number of pixels. Can do.

  (12) The projector according to the present invention includes a light source capable of illuminating the electro-optic modulator, a light source lighting control unit that performs lighting control on the light source, and scrolling light from the light source on the electro-optic modulator. , An optical scanning device capable of illuminating each region obtained by dividing the image forming region of the electro-optic modulator into a plurality of regions, an optical scanning device controller having a function of controlling the optical scanning device, and the electric An optical image movement control unit that moves an optical image corresponding to the optical modulator on the display surface, and a display image having a larger number of pixels than the number of pixels of the electro-optical modulator can be displayed on the display screen. In the projector, the optical scanning device controller can illuminate at least one region continuous with the plurality of regions on the electro-optic modulator in addition to the plurality of regions on the electro-optic modulator. To then allow the light scanning control, the optical image movement control section, at least, characterized by a movable only in the vertical direction can be displayed the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the electro-optic modulator.

  This is because, in the projector described in (6), it is possible to sequentially illuminate a plurality of regions on the electro-optic modulator for each region, and an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulator on the display surface. This also makes it possible to display an image with a large number of pixels (high resolution) on the display surface using an electro-optic modulation device with a small number of pixels. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the following embodiment, an example in which a liquid crystal display panel (referred to as a liquid crystal device) is used as an electro-optic modulation device will be described.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an optical system of a projector according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 1A is a side view and FIG. 1B is a plan view. In FIG. 1, illustration of components that are not necessary for the description of the first embodiment is omitted.

  The projector according to the first embodiment includes a liquid crystal device 11 as an electro-optic modulation device, and a plurality of projectors serving as a backlight of the liquid crystal device 11 (in the first embodiment, as shown in a broken line frame in FIG. Solid light sources (light emitting diodes, etc.) L11 to L15, L21 to L25, L31 to L35, L41 to L45, and these solid light sources L11 to L15, L21 to L25, L31 L35, L41 to L45 and the liquid crystal device 11 are provided for diffusing light from the respective solid light sources L11 to L15, L21 to L25, L31 to L35, and L41 to L45 on the liquid crystal device 11 with uniform luminance. Rod integrators 201, 202, 203, and 204, and a projection lens 13 provided on the exit side of the liquid crystal device 11.

  The solid light sources L11 to L15, L21 to L25, L31 to L35, and L41 to L45 were obtained by dividing the panel surface as an image forming area of the liquid crystal device 11 into four along horizontal scanning lines. Each region A1, A2, A3, A4 is provided for each region so as to illuminate. That is, the solid light sources L11 to L15 are provided corresponding to the area A4 of the liquid crystal device 11, the solid light sources L21 to L25 are provided corresponding to the area A3 of the liquid crystal device 11, and the solid light sources L31 to L35 are liquid crystals. The solid light sources L <b> 41 to L <b> 45 are provided corresponding to the area A <b> 1 of the liquid crystal device 11.

  Rod integrators 201, 202, 203, and 204 are interposed between the solid light sources L11 to L15, L21 to L25, L31 to L35, and L41 to L45 and the regions A1, A2, A3, and A4 of the liquid crystal device 11. .

  Further, on the incident side of each of the rod integrators 201, 202, 203, and 204, condensing lenses 211 to 215 and 221 to 225 corresponding to the solid light sources L11 to L15, L21 to L25, L31 to L35, and L41 to L45, 231 to 235 and 241 to 245 (condensing lenses 221 to 225 and 231 to 235 and 241 to 245 are not shown) are provided. In addition, one condenser lens 24 is provided on the exit side of each rod integrator 201, 202, 203, 204.

  Thereby, the light from the solid light sources L11 to L15 is incident on the rod integrator 201 by the corresponding condenser lenses 211 to 215, passes through the rod integrator 201, and then enters the region A4 of the liquid crystal device 11 by the condenser lens 24. Irradiated.

  Similarly, light from the solid light sources L21 to L25 passes through the corresponding condensing lenses 221 to 225, the rod integrator 202, and the condensing lens 24, and then is irradiated to the area A3 of the liquid crystal device 11 to thereby emit the solid light sources L31 to L31. The light from L35 is irradiated to the area A2 of the liquid crystal device 11 after passing through the corresponding condenser lenses 231 to 235, the rod integrator 203, and the condenser lens 24, and the lights from the solid light sources L41 to L45 are respectively After passing through the corresponding condenser lenses 241 to 245, the rod integrator 204, and the condenser lens 24, the region A 1 of the liquid crystal device 11 is irradiated.

  The rod integrators 201, 202, 203, and 204 are made of, for example, a glass plate having a rectangular cross section or a hollow one whose inner surface is covered with a reflective curtain.

  In the present invention, an optical image corresponding to an electro-optic modulation device displayed on a display surface such as a screen (hereinafter referred to as an optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11) is an integral multiple of display pixels constituting the display image. The optical image movement control unit 21 (see FIG. 2) is movable to the position.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of the image display control unit 10 of the projector according to the first embodiment. The image display control unit 10 is generated due to the light source lighting control unit 1 that controls the lighting of the solid light sources L11 to L15, L21 to L25, L31 to L35, and L41 to L45, and the characteristics of each physical pixel in the liquid crystal device 11. And an image quality deterioration improvement unit 2 that improves image quality deterioration of the display image to be displayed.

  The image quality degradation improvement unit 2 has respective image quality degradation improvement functions corresponding to “image quality degradation improvement method (part 1)” and “image quality degradation improvement method (part 2)” described below. An image quality degradation improvement function corresponding to “Improvement Method (Part 1)” will be described. The image quality improvement unit 2 takes time to degrade the image quality of the display image caused by the characteristics of each physical pixel in the liquid crystal device 11 (image quality degradation due to defects such as the physical pixels of the electro-optic modulation device being constantly turned off or constantly turned on). It has a function of improving image quality by dispersing in the average.

The image quality deterioration improvement unit 2 includes an image control unit 20 and an optical image movement control unit 21.
The image control unit 20 has a function of outputting movement control information to the optical image movement control unit 21, and lighting that enables the light source lighting control unit 1 to illuminate each of the areas A, B, C, and D in a predetermined order. It has a function of outputting control information and a function of controlling writing of image data to the liquid crystal device 11.
The image control unit 20 can move the display image by the same movement amount in the direction opposite to the movement direction of the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 when performing the writing control of the image data to the liquid crystal device 11. Write control is performed. In addition, when the image control unit 20 illuminates each of the areas A, B, C, and D in a predetermined order with respect to the light source lighting control unit 1, the turn-off time for a certain period of time between the areas that are in the illumination state Perform lighting control as it exists.

  Further, the optical image movement control unit 21 has a function of enabling the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 to be moved to a position that is an integral multiple of the display pixel based on the movement control information from the image control unit 20. . As a method of moving the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11, the liquid crystal device 11 can be moved in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction, and the liquid crystal device 11 is moved by a predetermined amount in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction. And a method of changing the angle of the projection optical system (such as the projection lens 13).

  In the first embodiment and the second and third embodiments described below, the optical image movement control unit 21 moves the liquid crystal device 11 in the vertical direction (arrow yy ′ direction) and the diagram as shown in FIG. An example in which movement in the horizontal direction (arrow xx ′ direction) is enabled as shown in FIG.

  Next, the operation of the image quality deterioration improvement unit 2 will be described. First, two methods for image quality improvement processing will be described. One of these two methods is called “image quality degradation improving method (part 1)”, and the other is called “image quality degradation improving method (part 2)”. In the following “image quality degradation improvement method (part 1)” and “image quality degradation improvement method (part 2)”, a general example is used only for image quality improvement processing without explaining lighting control of the light source. I will explain.

First, the “image quality degradation improving method (part 1)” will be described.
First, the image control unit 20 outputs movement control information for moving the liquid crystal device 11 by a predetermined pixel to the optical image movement control unit 21. In addition, the image control unit 20 performs writing control on the liquid crystal device 11 such that the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 can be moved by the same movement amount in the direction opposite to the movement direction.
As described above, the optical image movement control unit 21 moves the liquid crystal device 11 by a predetermined pixel (an integer multiple of the display pixel), and the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 has the same movement amount in the direction opposite to the movement direction. The image control unit 20 performs writing control so that only the movement is possible. As a result, the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 moves by a predetermined number of pixels on the display surface, but the position of the display image does not change on the surface.

  Conventionally, one display pixel of a display image and one pixel (referred to as a physical pixel) of the liquid crystal device 11 are generally associated one-to-one with each other or through a projection optical system. It is. Therefore, the characteristics of one physical pixel are displayed as the characteristics of one display pixel.

  On the other hand, according to the “image quality degradation improving method (part 1)”, one display pixel of a display image is displayed using a plurality of physical pixels of the liquid crystal device 11. Therefore, in one certain display pixel, the characteristics of a plurality of physical pixels corresponding to the display pixel are averaged.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation of displaying a certain display pixel by a plurality of physical pixels. In the drawing, small squares indicated by thin lines schematically indicate physical pixels projected on the display surface, and small squares indicated by thick lines schematically indicate display pixels. The example of FIG. 3 shows an example in which a display image composed of 5 × 5 display pixels is displayed using 6 × 6 physical pixels of the liquid crystal device 11.

  As can be seen from FIG. 3, the position of the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 (indicated by reference numeral 11 ′ in FIG. 3) is set by the optical image movement control unit 21 in FIGS. However, for the display pixels displayed on each physical pixel, the liquid crystal device 11 performs write control such that the image control unit 20 cancels the movement of the optical image 11 ′ corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11. To do. As a result, the position of the display image does not change on the display surface.

  That is, in the example of FIG. 3, the position of the optical image 11 ′ corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 projected on the display surface is 1 from the position of FIG. 3B is moved to the position shown in FIG. 3B, but each display pixel of the display image moves by one pixel in the right direction in the drawing.

  Next, the position of the optical image 11 ′ corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 is moved by one pixel from the position shown in FIG. 3B upward in the figure (in the direction of the arrow b in the figure), and the position shown in FIG. However, each display pixel of the display image moves by one pixel downward in the figure. Further, the position of the optical image 11 ′ corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 is moved by one pixel from the position shown in FIG. 3C in the right direction (arrow c direction shown in the figure) to the position shown in FIG. However, each display pixel of the display image moves by one pixel in the left direction in the figure.

  As described above, the optical image 11 ′ corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 moves on the display surface by the movement control of the optical image movement control unit 21, but the image control unit 20 applies the liquid crystal device 11 to the display image. Since the movement control is performed to cancel the movement of the corresponding optical image 11 ′, the position of the display image on the surface does not change.

  In the example of FIG. 3, the optical image 11 ′ corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 is moved one pixel leftward from the position shown in FIG. 3A to the position shown in FIG. 3C is moved to the position shown in FIG. 3C and further moved in the order of moving one pixel rightward to the position shown in FIG. 3D. Therefore, one display pixel in the display image is a liquid crystal device. 11 four physical pixels are displayed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example in which one display pixel is displayed by 16 physical pixels. In FIG. 4, the 16 physical pixels to which the arrows in FIG. 4 are attached move in the order of the arrows, thereby displaying one display pixel.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a line luminance distribution on a broken line arrow K passing through a physical pixel when a certain physical pixel has a problem of constantly turning off as a characteristic.
As can be seen from FIG. 5, if the physical pixel at the position Q1 has a problem that is always extinguished as shown in FIG. 5A, the line luminance distribution on the broken line arrow K passing through the position Q1. as shown in FIG. 5 (B), the luminance corresponding to the normal physical pixel luminance corresponding to V _i, and the position Q1 is zero. For this reason, the display pixel corresponding to the position Q1 becomes a dark spot and is visually recognized on the display surface.

  However, as shown in FIG. 4, by using 16 physical pixels and improving the image quality deterioration by displaying one display pixel in which the 16 physical pixels are in order, the position of FIG. The dark spots of the display pixels corresponding to Q1 are distributed 1/16. This is shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the luminance distribution on the broken line arrow K passing through the position Q1 when a certain display pixel (display pixel corresponding to the position Q1) is displayed by 16 physical pixels.
As can be seen from FIG. 6A, the display pixel corresponding to the position Q1 is displayed by moving the 16 physical pixels in the order shown by the arrows (thick arrows). The darkness of the pixels is distributed to 16 physical pixels as shown in FIG. That is, the influence of one dark spot included in 16 physical pixels that display a certain display pixel is reduced to 1/16 in terms of time average.

Thus, the display pixel at the position Q1 to be displayed in the physical pixels have troubles at all times off, by being made image degradation improved as described above, when the normal luminance and V _i, V _i 1/16, that is, with respect to the normal brightness V _i, merely darkened about 6%, in the user side to see the display surface, is improved until no little visible dark point. As a result, it is possible to perform high-quality image display that is hardly affected by light extinction at all times.

  In the above, an example has been described in which a display pixel corresponding to a physical pixel has a dark spot when a certain physical pixel has a problem of being constantly turned off. In addition, the influence of smaller image quality degradation is not spatially dispersed as a time average, but can be made difficult to visually recognize.

  As described above, according to the “image quality degradation improving method (part 1)”, a certain display pixel is displayed by a plurality of physical pixels, and the characteristic difference of the liquid crystal device 11 is temporally averaged. Is done. For example, as described above, the physical pixels of the liquid crystal device 11 have a problem such as being constantly lit or constantly extinguished, so that even when image quality deterioration such as an extreme dark spot or bright spot appears on the display image, these The dark spot and the bright spot are averaged over time, and it is possible to improve until the spot becomes almost invisible.

Next, the “image quality degradation improving method (part 2)” will be described.
“Image quality degradation improving method (2)” performs image correction using a correction parameter corresponding to the display position of each display pixel associated with a plurality of physical pixels, and the function of performing this image correction is as follows. The image control unit 20 shown in FIG. In this case, the image control unit 20 further has a function of acquiring correction parameters and a function of correcting pixel values of display pixels associated with a plurality of physical pixels based on the acquired correction parameters. Deterioration improvement method (part 1) ".

Hereinafter, a specific example of pixel value correction of display pixels performed by the image control unit 20 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an example in which a single display image is displayed by 16 physical pixels, which is the same as FIG. FIG. 7 shows an example of characteristic values set for each physical pixel.

  The characteristic value shown in FIG. 7 represents the characteristic of each physical pixel of the liquid crystal device 11 and is set based on the influence on the luminance of the display image. A characteristic value of 0.0 indicates that the physical pixel is normal.

  A characteristic value indicated by a negative value indicates that the physical pixel is darker than normal (the luminance is low), and that the characteristic value is -1.0 is a complete dark spot. And A characteristic value indicated by a positive value indicates that the physical pixel is brighter than normal (higher in luminance), and that the characteristic value is 1.0 indicates a complete bright spot. To do.

In the example of FIG. 7, physical pixels that are dark spots on the display image are indicated by thick squares, and physical pixels that are bright spots on the display image are indicated by dashed squares.
A correction parameter is obtained based on this characteristic value. This correction parameter can be obtained by a first-order approximation as follows. Here, the luminance desired to be displayed in a certain display pixel is V _i . However, the actually displayed brightness v _i is
v _i = V _i (1.0−n _i ) (1)
Suppose that

In equation (1), n _i is a characteristic value indicating the degree to which the display becomes dark in this case, the characteristic value is represented by a negative, its absolute value and n _i. Thus, for example, when _ni is 1.0, this indicates a complete dark spot. Therefore, in order for other physical pixels to compensate for this darkness, it is assumed that N (N is a natural number and N> 2) physical pixels are displaying one display pixel.
Only need to display brightly.

If there are one or more other defects on the dark spot side among the N physical pixels in the equation (2), the characteristic value of the defect on the dark spot side is expressed by n _{j as} follows. In approximation,
Correction is required.

Similarly, if there is a defect on the bright spot side in the N physical pixels in the equation (3), the degree of darkness is as follows:
It can be expressed as

In this equation (4), p _i is a characteristic value indicating the degree to which the display becomes brighter. In this case, the characteristic value is expressed as positive, and its absolute value is p _i . Thus, when _pi is 1.0, this indicates a perfect bright spot. Further, it is assumed that the maximum value of brightness is normalized to 1.0. Therefore, in order for other physical elements to compensate for this brightness, the brightness of each of the N physical pixels is
Only need to display to darken.

If there are one or more other defects on the bright spot side among the N physical pixels in the equation (5), the characteristic value of the defect on the bright spot side is expressed by p _j . In approximation,
Correction is required. Therefore, from equations (3) and (6),
It will be necessary to correct this. The value obtained by the equation (7) is the correction amount of the pixel value of the display pixel, and the correction amount is stored in the correction parameter storage unit 25 as a correction parameter.

FIG. 7 schematically shows a situation in which n _i and p _i are given as characteristic values for each physical pixel. When the value indicating the characteristic value is negative, the absolute value is It is assumed that n _i in each of the above equations represents a characteristic value and the value represents p _i in each of the above equations.

  By performing the calculation of equation (7) along the arrow shown in FIG. 7, the correction amount of the pixel value for a certain display pixel can be obtained. The calculation of equation (7) can be performed in advance if the correspondence between the display pixel and the physical pixel is determined, and the correction amount for the display pixel at each display position is stored in the correction parameter storage unit 25 as a correction parameter. I can leave.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for comparing the respective image quality degradation improvement results in the “image quality degradation improvement method (part 1)” and “image quality degradation improvement method (part 2)”. Note that FIG. 8 shows the image quality when the above-described image quality deterioration improving process is performed in an example in which one display pixel of a display image is displayed by 16 physical pixels as shown in FIGS. This shows the result of deterioration improvement. However, in FIG. 8, in order to simplify the description, the existence of physical pixels that become bright spots on the display image shown in FIG. 7 is not considered, but only physical pixels that become dark spots on the display image are considered. And

FIG. 8A shows the case of “Image quality degradation improving method (1)”. In the “image quality degradation improving method (part 1)”, a physical pixel (7 in FIG. 8) that is a dark spot in a series of display sequences in which one display pixel is displayed while sequentially moving 16 physical pixels. th physical pixels) than have been made displayed in normal brightness V _i. Therefore, the influence of the dark spot by one physical pixel is reduced to 1/16.

On the other hand, FIG. 8B illustrates the image quality deterioration improvement result when the image correction process in the “image quality deterioration improving method (part 2)” is performed. In the case of the “image quality degradation improving method (part 2)”, the image correction unit 26 performs image correction using correction parameters corresponding to the display positions of the display pixels associated with the 16 physical pixels. Thus, as can be seen from FIG. 8 (B), the display pixels displayed by the physical pixels other than dark points, to normal brightness V _i, pixels as to increase the brightness of only the ratio of 1/15 The value is corrected.

  By performing such image correction, for example, when display in a series of display sequences with 16 physical pixels as shown in FIG. 7 is performed, all 16 physical pixels are normal in time average. It can be equivalent to displaying the value.

  As described above, also in the “image quality degradation improving method (part 2)”, the characteristic difference of the liquid crystal device 11 is averaged over time. For example, as described above, the physical pixels of the liquid crystal device 11 have a problem such as being constantly lit or constantly extinguished, so that even when image quality deterioration such as an extreme dark spot or bright spot appears on the display image, these The dark spot and the bright spot are averaged over time, and it is possible to improve until the spot becomes almost invisible.

In the “image quality degradation improving method (part 2)”, the image control unit 20 performs image correction using correction parameters corresponding to the display positions of the display pixels associated with a plurality of physical pixels. , display pixels displayed by the physical pixels other than dark points, compared normal brightness V _i, the correction of the pixel value that would increase only brightness predetermined ratio is made. By performing such image correction, when a display in a series of display sequences with a plurality of physical pixels is performed, a pixel value equivalent to that when a plurality of physical pixels display all normal values in time average Can be displayed.

  In the description of “Image quality degradation improvement method (2)”, a case has been described in which a display pixel corresponding to a physical pixel becomes a dark spot due to a problem that the physical pixel is always turned off. It can be improved in the same way. Furthermore, not the extreme image quality degradation such as dark spots and bright spots, but the influence of smaller image quality degradation is also spatially dispersed as a time average, making it difficult to visually recognize.

  The “image quality degradation improving method (part 1)” or “image quality degradation improving method (part 2)” described above is applied to the projector of the present invention. In addition, in each embodiment of the present invention, the movement control of the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 is performed by controlling the movement of the liquid crystal device 11 in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction by the optical image movement control unit 21. It is assumed that movement control of the optical image corresponding to 11 is performed. It should be noted that the image display is combined with the control for illuminating each area A1, A2, A3, A4 of the liquid crystal device 11 for each area and the image quality deterioration improvement control by moving the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11. This is called control.

  FIG. 9 is a time chart illustrating image display control of the projector according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the movement control of the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11, that is, the movement control of the liquid crystal device 11, is moved by one pixel for each frame.

As an example, after the writing of the first frame is finished, the liquid crystal device 11 is moved upward by one pixel. After the writing of the second frame is finished, the liquid crystal device 11 is further moved upward by one pixel, and then After the writing of the third frame, the liquid crystal device 11 is moved by one pixel in the left direction, and after the writing of the fourth frame is completed, the liquid crystal device 11 is further moved by one pixel in the left direction. Such movement control is possible. In order to perform such movement control, a predetermined margin is provided for the number of vertical × horizontal pixels in the liquid crystal device 11 with respect to the number of vertical × horizontal pixels of the display screen on a display surface such as a screen. To.
In FIG. 9, for simplification of description, an operation of moving one pixel at a time in the vertical direction in each frame is performed. In FIG. 9, the area illuminated by the light source is shown in gray.

As shown in FIG. 9A, first, writing to the area A1 of the liquid crystal device 11 is performed, then writing to the area A2 is performed, and subsequently writing to the area A3 is performed, and this area A3 is performed. Assume that the solid-state light sources L41 to L45 corresponding to the area A1 are turned on at the write timing to the. When writing to this area A3, writing is started from a position p1 shifted downward by one pixel from the original writing position p0 to the area A3.
Next, writing to the area A4 is performed, and the solid light sources L31 to L35 corresponding to the area A2 are turned on at the timing of writing to the area A4. Note that the image control unit 20 controls the writing of image data in each of the areas A1, A2, A3, and A4. Further, the lighting control of the solid light source is performed by the image control unit 20 giving lighting control information to the light source lighting control unit 1.

  Thus far, writing for one frame (referred to as the first frame) is completed. After the writing to the first frame is completed, the optical image movement control unit 21 moves the liquid crystal device 11 upward by one pixel at a predetermined timing. In this state, writing to the area A1 of the liquid crystal device 11 is performed. Writing to the area A1 starts from a position p1 shifted downward by one pixel from the original writing position p0 to the area A1. . The movement control of the liquid crystal device 11 by the optical image movement control unit 21 is performed based on movement control information from the image control unit 2 as shown in FIG.

  Then, the solid light sources L21 to L25 corresponding to the area A3 are turned on at the timing of writing to the area A1. Subsequently, writing to the area A2 is performed, and the solid light sources L11 to L15 corresponding to the area A4 are turned on at the timing of writing to the area A2. Next, writing to the area A3 is performed.

  Then, the solid state light sources L41 to L45 corresponding to the area A1 are turned on at the writing timing to the area A3. When writing to this area A3, writing is started from a position p1 shifted downward by one pixel from the original writing position p0 to the area A3. Next, writing to the area A4 is performed, and the solid light sources L31 to L35 corresponding to the area A2 are turned on at the writing timing to the area A4.

  Thereby, the writing of the second frame is completed. After the writing to the second frame is completed, the optical image movement control unit 21 moves the liquid crystal device 11 further upward by one pixel at a predetermined timing. In this state, as in the second frame, writing to the area A1 is performed, but when writing to the area A1, the writing position p0 to the original area A1 is shifted down by two pixels. Writing starts from position p2. Thereafter, writing and lighting control similar to those in the second frame are performed.

  FIG. 9B shows a display state on a display surface such as a screen. The regions A1, A2, A3, and A4 are sequentially illuminated to be in the display state. FIG. 9C shows the on / off states of the solid light sources L41 to L45, L31 to L35, L21 to L25, and L11 to L15 corresponding to the regions A1 to A4. Note that the image control unit 20 performs the lighting control so as to provide a light-off time for a certain fixed time between the areas in the lighting state in a predetermined order when performing the lighting control for each solid-state light source.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 9C, a slight time Δt is provided between the lighting timings in the respective regions A1, A2, A3, and A4. During this Δt time, as shown in FIG. 9D, movement control information for the optical image movement control unit 21 is output from the image control unit 20, so that the optical image movement control unit 21 causes the liquid crystal device 11 to operate. Move by a predetermined number of pixels.

  As described above, since the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 is moved using the turn-off time of Δt provided between the regions, the movement of the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 is changed to the display surface. This can be done without being viewed by the viewer.

  As can be seen from FIG. 9, the solid light sources L41 to L45, L31 to L35, L21 to L25, and L11 to L15 corresponding to the regions A1, A2, A3, and A4 are turned on for a predetermined time in order, In addition, although there is a slight time Δt between the lighting timings in each of the areas A1, A2, A3, and A4, since the viewer views with the brightness integrated, each viewer receives each frame. It looks as if the whole is illuminated.

  By performing the image display control described with reference to FIG. 9, as described in the above “image quality degradation improvement method (part 1)” or “image quality degradation improvement method (part 2)”, a single display pixel includes a plurality of display pixels. It is displayed with physical pixels. This is because the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 is moved on the display surface such as a screen based on the lighting control of the light source lighting control unit 1, so that the physical pixels of the liquid crystal device 11 and the display pixels of the display image are displayed. The response changes with time.

  As a result, image quality deterioration of the display image caused by the characteristics of each physical pixel in the liquid crystal device 11 can be suppressed, and high-quality image display is possible. Specifically, for example, when a certain physical pixel of the liquid crystal device 11 has a defect such as a constant light extinction or a constant lighting, it is possible to disperse a dark spot due to the constant light extinction or a bright spot due to the constant lighting. That is, since the characteristic differences of the liquid crystal device 11 are averaged over time, these dark spots and bright spots are hardly visible on the display image.

  When the movement control of the liquid crystal device 11 by the optical image movement control unit 21 is performed, as described in “Image quality degradation improvement method (Part 1)” or “Image quality degradation improvement method (Part 2)”, the liquid crystal device 11 includes The corresponding optical image 11 moves on the display surface by the movement control of the optical image movement control unit 21, but for the display image, the image control unit 20 cancels the movement of the optical image 11 corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11. Therefore, the position of the display image does not change on the surface.

  Further, by performing the image display control as described with reference to FIG. 9, it is possible to prevent a blurred image with a tail. That is, since lighting control is performed so that each of the areas A1, A2, A3, and A4 is sequentially illuminated, the entire display state of one screen (one frame) is not maintained until the next frame, and CRT and Similar impulse display control is possible. Also, by writing to a certain area and turning on the light source for that area by shifting for a predetermined time, the light source in that area can be turned on after the liquid crystal in that area is in a stable response state. Image display is possible.

  Further, in the first embodiment, by using a solid light source as a light source, it is possible to turn on / off instantaneously and to perform illumination with less luminance unevenness and color unevenness. In addition, the fact that instant lighting and instantaneous extinguishing are possible enables lighting control with high accuracy and free timing, and thus it is possible to easily realize fine lighting control as shown in FIG. .

  In the first embodiment, for the sake of simplification of explanation, an example in which one liquid crystal device is provided is shown. However, each of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) liquid crystal devices is provided. Needless to say, this can also be implemented in the case of the three-plate type.

  FIG. 10 is a plan view schematically showing an optical system when the projector according to the first embodiment is of a three-plate type. As shown in FIG. 10, liquid crystal devices 11R, 11G, and 11B for red, green, and blue are provided so as to surround the three surfaces of the cross dichroic prism 31.

  Corresponding to these liquid crystal devices 11R, 11G, and 11B, rod integrators 201, 202, 203, and 204 for the regions A1, A2, A3, and A4 of the respective liquid crystal devices 11R, 11G, and 11B (FIG. 10 is a plan view). Therefore, only the rod integrator 201 is shown), and as solid light sources for each color, red solid light sources L11R to L15R, L21R to L25R, L31R to L35R, L41R to L45R, and green solid light sources L11G to L15G, L21G to L25G, L31G to L35G, L41G to L45G, and blue solid light sources L11B to L15B, L21B to L25B, L31B to L35B, and L41B to L45B are provided.

  Since FIG. 10 is a plan view, only solid light sources L11R to L15R, solid light sources L11G to L15G, and solid light sources L11B to L15B are shown. In addition, as in FIG. 1, the corresponding condensing lenses 211 to 215 and the condensing lens 24 and the projection lens 13 are provided corresponding to the liquid crystal devices 11R, 11G, and 11B, respectively, and are omitted in FIG. However, a deflection plate 32 and the like are also provided.

  Also in such a three-plate projector, the lighting control as described in FIG. 9 and the movement control of the liquid crystal devices 11R, 11G, and 11B for each color are performed for the solid-state light sources for the respective colors (R, G, and B). Can be done.

  In the first embodiment, the rod integrator is used to make the light from each individual light source uniform. However, a diffusion plate or a holographic diffuser may be used instead of the rod integrator. Moreover, you may make it combine both.

In the first embodiment, the solid-state light source corresponding to one region of the liquid crystal device 11 is configured by five solid-state light sources arranged in a row in the horizontal direction, but is not limited thereto. Instead, an arbitrary number of solid-state light sources can be arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions according to the size and shape of each region.
Further, if there is a rod-shaped solid light source capable of emitting light in a two-dimensional direction, it is possible to provide the necessary number of rod-shaped solid light sources as light sources in each region.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, a solid light source is used as the light source, and the solid light source is arranged corresponding to each of the regions A1, A2, A3, and A4 of the liquid crystal device 11, but in the second embodiment, as the light source, By using a discharge lamp or the like generally used in a normal projector or the like and scrolling light from the light source on the liquid crystal device 11, each of the areas A1, A2, A3 and A4 is illuminated for each area. An example will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a side view schematically showing an optical system of a projector according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The projector according to the second embodiment is provided between the light source 51 and the liquid crystal device 11, the liquid crystal device 11 as an electro-optic modulation device, a light source 51 such as a discharge lamp serving as a backlight of the liquid crystal device 11. Integrator lens 52, condenser lens 53, light scanning device 54 that enables illumination of each region A 1, A 2, A 3, A 4 by scrolling light from light source 51 on liquid crystal device 11, field The lens 55 and the projection lens 13 provided on the exit side of the liquid crystal device 11 are provided.

  The optical scanning device 54 includes a light transmission / shielding section (referred to as a light transmission / shielding plate 61) capable of intermittently transmitting / shielding light from the light source 51 for each time period, and the light from the light source 51 in each region A1, A1. An optical scanning optical system (referred to as a scanning lens 62) capable of sequentially scanning A2, A3 and A4 is provided. The light transmission / shielding plate 61 and the scanning lens 62 of the optical scanning device 54 are driven and controlled by an optical scanning device control unit 3 (see FIG. 13) not shown in FIG.

  Also in the second embodiment, the liquid crystal device 11 has the vertical direction (arrow yy ′ direction in FIG. 11) and the horizontal direction (arrow xx ′ in FIG. 1B used in the description of the first embodiment). It is assumed that the liquid crystal device is a movable liquid crystal device that can move to a position that is an integral multiple of the display pixel in the direction).

  The light transmission / light shielding plate 61 includes a rotating shaft 611 that can be rotated by a stepping motor (not shown) or the like and a disk 612 attached to the rotating shaft 611. The disk 612 is installed at a position where the light from the light source 51 is collected by the condenser lens 53, and as shown in the broken line frame in the drawing, the light transmissive portion 612a that transmits the light from the light source 51 and the light A light shielding portion 612b that shields light is provided. The light transmission / light shielding plate 61 is driven by the optical scanning device control unit 3 based on the light transmission / light shielding unit control information given from the image control unit 20.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining light transmission / light shielding due to rotation of the light transmission / light-shielding plate 61. The light transmission time Ta and light transmitted through the light from the light source 51 by rotation of the light transmission / light-shielding plate 61 are illustrated. A light shielding time Tb for light shielding is obtained. The light blocking time Tb is very short compared to the light transmission time Ta.

  Further, the scanning lens 62 is rotatable as indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 11, and can be set at, for example, four stages of P1, P2, P3, and P4 as shown in FIG. ing. The setting of the scanning lens 62 to P1, P2, P3, and P4 is performed by the optical scanning device control unit 3 based on the optical scanning optical system control information given from the image control unit 20.

  When the scanning lens 62 is set at the position P1, the light from the light source 51 is applied to the area A1 of the liquid crystal device 11, and when the scanning lens 62 is set at the position P2, The light from the light source 51 is applied to the area A <b> 2 of the liquid crystal device 11. When the scanning lens 62 is set at the position P3, the light from the light source 51 is applied to the area A3 of the liquid crystal device 11, and when the scanning lens 62 is set at the position P4, the light source. It is assumed that the light from 51 is applied to the area A4 of the liquid crystal device 11.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of an image display control unit (referred to as an image display control unit 10 ′) of the projector according to the second embodiment. The image display control unit 10 ′ of the projector according to the second embodiment includes the light source lighting control unit 1 and the image quality deterioration improvement unit 2 shown in the image display control unit 10 (see FIG. 2) of the projector according to the first embodiment. An optical scanning device controller 3 is further provided.
The optical scanning device control unit 3 controls the optical scanning device 54 (the light transmission / light shielding plate 61 and the scanning lens 62) based on control information from the image control unit 20. In other words, the optical scanning device control unit 3 performs drive control of the light transmission / light shielding plate 61 based on the light transmission / light shielding unit control information given from the image control unit 20, and the scanning lens based on the light scanning optical system control information. 62 rotation control is performed.

Similar to the first embodiment, the image quality deterioration improvement unit 2 includes an image control unit 20 and an optical image movement control unit 21. The image control unit 20 is implemented in addition to the function of outputting movement control information to the optical image movement control unit 21 and the function of controlling the writing of image data to the liquid crystal device 11 as in the first embodiment. The mode 2 has a function of outputting the light transmission / shielding unit control information and the optical scanning optical system control information to the optical scanning device control unit 3. Also in the second embodiment, the image control unit 20 performs the writing control so that the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 can be moved by the same movement amount in the direction opposite to the movement direction.
In addition, the light source lighting control unit 1 controls the lighting of the light source 51. However, unlike the first embodiment, the light source lighting control unit 1 does not require lighting / extinguishing control with respect to the light source 51 at a predetermined timing.

  Note that the writing to each of the areas A1 to A4 and the illumination timing for each of the areas A1 to A4 in the second embodiment can be performed at the same timing as in FIG. 9 used in the description of the first embodiment. In the case of the second embodiment, the illumination for each of the areas A1 to A4 is performed by setting the scanning lens 62 to the positions of P1, P2, P3, and P4 so that the light from the light source 51 is transmitted to each of the areas A1, A2, A3. The point to which A4 is irradiated is different from the first embodiment.

  Further, the rotation control of the scanning lens 62 by the optical scanning device control unit 3 and the movement control of the liquid crystal device 11 by the optical image movement control unit 21 are performed while the light transmission / shielding plate 61 blocks light, that is, This is performed during the light shielding time Tb. Thereby, when switching the illumination for each region and moving the optical image, the switching of the illumination for each region and the movement of the optical image can be performed without being viewed by the viewer on the display surface.

  Also in the second embodiment, a certain display pixel is displayed by a plurality of physical pixels, and the characteristic difference of the liquid crystal device 11 is averaged over time. For example, as described above, the physical pixels of the liquid crystal device 11 have a problem such as being constantly lit or constantly extinguished, so that even when image quality deterioration such as an extreme dark spot or bright spot appears on the display image, these The dark spot and the bright spot are averaged over time, and it is possible to improve until the spot becomes almost invisible. Further, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent a blurred image with a tail.

In the second embodiment, for simplicity of explanation, an example in which the number of liquid crystal devices 11 is one is shown. However, as described in the first embodiment, R (red), G (green), B Needless to say, this can also be implemented in the case of a three-plate type in which each (blue) liquid crystal device is provided.
FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing an optical system when the projector according to the second embodiment is of a three-plate type. 14A is a plan view and FIG. 14B is a side view.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the three-plate projector includes a light source 51, an integrator lens 52, a condenser lens 53, an optical scanning device 54 (having a light transmission / shielding plate 61 and a scanning lens 62). The color separation optical system 57 that separates the light output from the field lens 55 and the optical scanning device 54 into three color lights of R, G, and B, and the three color lights separated by the color separation optical system 57, respectively. The corresponding liquid crystal devices 11R, 11G, and 11B, the cross dichroic prism 31 that modulates the color light modulated by the liquid crystal devices 11R, 11G, and 11B, and the projection that is synthesized by the cross dichroic prism 31 and projects the light onto a display surface such as a screen And a lens 13.

As the color separation optical system 57, an equal optical path optical system having the same optical path length from the light source to each of the liquid crystal devices 11R, 11G, and 11B is used. The color separation optical system 57 includes dichroic mirrors 570, 571, 572 for separating color light, mirrors 573, 574, 575, 576 for reflecting color light, relay lenses 577, 578, field lenses 579R, 579G, 579B. It has the composition which has.
Also in the three-plate projector as shown in FIG. 14, it is possible to perform the same image display control as described in the projector of FIG.

[Embodiment 3]
In the third embodiment, the plurality of regions on the liquid crystal device 11 described in the first and second embodiments can be sequentially illuminated for each region, and the liquid crystal device 11 is displayed on a display surface such as a screen. The liquid crystal device with a small number of pixels can project an image with a large number of pixels (high resolution) onto the display surface by utilizing the fact that the movement control of the optical image corresponding to the above can be performed.

  For example, when the number of pixels of the liquid crystal device 11 is 540 pixels × 1440 pixels, consider using this liquid crystal device 11 to display a projection image of 1080 pixels × 1440 pixels on a display surface such as a screen.

  Here, in order to simplify the description, the liquid crystal device 11 having 540 pixels × 1440 pixels is divided into two regions A1 (from the first line to the 270th line) and region A2 (from the 271st line to the 540th line). For example, the case where it can illuminate with the solid light source provided corresponding to four area | regions A1, A2, A3, and A4 as demonstrated in Embodiment 1 is demonstrated.

  Similarly to the above-described first embodiment, the liquid crystal device 11 is movable and is optically moved by the optical image movement control unit 21 in at least the number of displayable pixels in the vertical direction of the liquid crystal device 11 (in this example, 540 pixels) or more.

  FIG. 15 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the projector according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15A, first, the area A1 is illuminated and writing to the area A2 is performed. Then, writing to the area A1 is performed, and the area A2 that has already been written is illuminated.

  Here, the liquid crystal device 11 is moved downward by 540 pixels, and with the movement of 540 pixels, the area A1 that has already been written is illuminated and writing to the area A2 is performed. Then, writing to the area A1 is performed, and the area A2 that has already been written is illuminated.

  Here, the liquid crystal device 11 is moved upward by 540 pixels, and with the movement of 540 pixels, the area A1 that has already been written is illuminated and writing to the area A2 is performed.

By repeating the above operation, as shown in FIG. 15B, the liquid crystal device 11 of 540 pixels × 1440 pixels is used in the third embodiment, and larger (high resolution) image data ( 1080 pixels × 1440 pixels) can be displayed on a display surface such as a screen.
The example shown in the third embodiment is an example, and the number of pixels of the liquid crystal device 11 and the number of regions that can be displayed by the light source are not limited to the above example.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, in the first to third embodiments, the method of moving the optical image corresponding to the liquid crystal device 11 has been described with an example in which the liquid crystal device 11 is moved in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction. However, the method is not limited thereto. A method as shown in FIG. 16 can also be employed.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram schematically illustrating some examples of the optical image movement method performed by the optical image movement control unit 21. As an optical image movement method performed by the optical image movement control unit 21, for example, as shown in FIG. 16A, a method of shifting the projection optical system 41 in the vertical and horizontal directions (however, in FIG. 16A, , Only an example of moving in the upward direction is shown), or as shown in FIG. 16B, a method of inserting the optical component 42 into the optical path, and further, as shown in FIG. Various methods such as a method of changing the direction of illumination light are conceivable. In addition, any of them can be applied to the present invention.

In the first and second embodiments, the panel surface of the liquid crystal device 11 is divided into four regions. However, the number of regions is not limited to four.
In the first to third embodiments, the case where a liquid crystal device is used as the electro-optic modulation device has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a projector using an electro-optic modulation device other than the liquid crystal device.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an optical system of a projector according to a first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of an image display control unit of the projector according to the first embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the operation | movement which displays a certain display pixel with a some physical pixel. The figure which shows typically the example which displays one display pixel with a display image with 16 physical pixels. The figure which shows the example of line | wire luminance distribution on the broken-line arrow line which passes along this physical pixel in case a certain physical pixel has the malfunction of always turning off. The figure for demonstrating the luminance distribution on the broken-line arrow at the time of displaying one certain display pixel by 16 physical pixels. The figure which shows typically the example which displays a certain display pixel with 16 physical pixels. The figure for comparing each image display control result in "Image quality degradation improvement method (the 1)" and "Image quality degradation improvement method (the 2)". 4 is a time chart for explaining image display control of the projector according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing an optical system when the projector according to Embodiment 1 is a three-plate type. FIG. 6 is a side view schematically showing an optical system of a projector according to a second embodiment of the invention. The figure explaining light transmission and light-shielding by a light transmission and light-shielding plate rotating. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of an image display control unit of a projector according to a second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an optical system when a projector according to a second embodiment is a three-plate type. 10 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the projector according to the third embodiment. The figure which shows the specific example of the optical image moving method typically.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Light source lighting control part, 2 ... Image quality degradation improvement part, 3 ... Optical scanning device control part, 10, 10 '... Image display control part, 11 ... Liquid crystal device, 11'. ..Optical image corresponding to liquid crystal device, 20... Image control unit, 21... Optical image movement control unit, L11 to L15, L21 to L25, L31 to L35, L41 to 145. , A2, A3, A4 ... area, 51 ... light source, 54 ... optical scanning device, 61 ... light transmission / shield plate, 62 ... scanning lens

Claims (12)

A solid-state light source provided so as to be able to illuminate each area obtained by dividing the image forming area of the electro-optic modulator into a plurality of areas;
A light source lighting control unit that controls lighting of the solid-state light source based on the writing of image data to each of the regions;
By moving an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulator on the display surface, a certain M (M is a natural number) display pixels of the display image displayed on the display surface are converted into the electro-optic modulator. An image quality deterioration improvement unit that displays using N (N is a natural number and N> M) physical pixels,
A projector comprising: The projector according to claim 1, wherein
The image quality degradation improvement unit
A function of outputting movement control information to the optical image movement control unit, a function of outputting lighting control information enabling the respective regions to be illuminated in a predetermined order to the light source lighting control unit, and the electro-optic modulation device An image control unit having a function of controlling the writing of image data to
Based on movement control information from the image control unit, an optical image movement control unit capable of moving an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device to a position that is an integral multiple of the display pixels;
A projector comprising: The projector according to claim 2,
The image control unit performs writing to move the display image by the same amount of movement in a direction opposite to a moving direction of an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulator when performing writing control of image data to the electro-optic modulator. A projector characterized by enabling control. The projector according to claim 2 or 3,
When the image control unit performs lighting control information for enabling illumination of the respective regions in a predetermined order to the light source lighting control unit, there is an extinguishing time for a certain period between the illuminated regions. A projector characterized by performing such lighting control. The projector according to claim 4, wherein
The projector, wherein the image control unit outputs movement control information to the optical image movement control unit using the turn-off time. In the projector according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A projector characterized in that M of the M display images is 1. A light source capable of illuminating the electro-optic modulator,
A light source lighting control unit that performs lighting control on the light source;
An optical scanning device capable of illuminating each region obtained by dividing the image forming region of the electro-optic modulator by dividing the light from the light source on the electro-optic modulator, and
An optical scanning device controller having a function of controlling the optical scanning device;
By moving an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulator on the display surface, a certain M (M is a natural number) display pixels of the display image displayed on the display surface are converted into the electro-optic modulator. An image quality deterioration improvement unit that displays using N (N is a natural number and N> M) physical pixels,
A projector comprising: The projector according to claim 7, wherein
The optical scanning device includes a light transmitting / shielding unit capable of intermittently transmitting / shielding light from the light source for each time, and light capable of sequentially scanning the light from the light source corresponding to each region. A projector having a scanning optical system. The projector according to claim 8, wherein
The image quality degradation improvement unit
Function for outputting movement control information to the optical image movement control unit, light transmission / light shielding unit control information for controlling the light transmission / light shielding unit to the optical scanning device control unit, and the optical scanning optical system An image control unit having a function of outputting optical scanning optical system control information for controlling the image data, a function of controlling writing of image data to the electro-optic modulator, and
Based on movement control information from the image control unit, an optical image movement control unit capable of moving an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device to a position that is an integral multiple of the display pixels;
A projector comprising: The projector according to claim 9, wherein
The image control unit performs output of the optical scanning optical system control information and output of movement control information to the optical image movement control unit using a light shielding time of the light transmission / shielding unit. projector. Lighting control of the solid-state light source based on the solid-state light source provided so as to be able to illuminate each area obtained by dividing the image forming area of the electro-optic modulation device into a plurality of areas, and the writing of the image data to the respective areas A light source lighting control unit, and an optical image movement control unit that moves an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device on a display surface, and displays a larger number of pixels than the number of pixels of the electro-optic modulation device A projector capable of displaying an image on the display screen,
The light source lighting control unit enables lighting control that enables illumination of at least one region continuous with the plurality of regions on the electro-optic modulator in addition to the plurality of regions on the electro-optic modulator. The optical image movement control unit can move an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device in the vertical direction at least by the number of displayable pixels in the vertical direction of the electro-optic modulation device. A light source capable of illuminating the electro-optic modulation device, a light source lighting control unit that performs lighting control on the light source, and scrolling light from the light source on the electro-optic modulation device, thereby forming an image of the electro-optic modulation device An optical scanning device capable of illuminating each region obtained by dividing the region into a plurality of regions, an optical scanning device controller having a function of controlling the optical scanning device, and an optical image corresponding to the electro-optic modulation device An optical image movement control unit that moves on a display surface, and capable of displaying a display image having a larger number of pixels than the number of pixels of the electro-optic modulation device on the display screen,
The optical scanning device control unit enables optical scanning control that enables illumination of at least one region continuous with the plurality of regions on the electro-optic modulation device in addition to the plurality of regions on the electro-optic modulation device. The optical image movement control unit is capable of moving in the vertical direction at least by the number of displayable pixels in the vertical direction of the electro-optic modulation device.