JP2003029204A - Laser pointer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser pointer capable of surely preventing laser light from being projected by mistake, and establishing safety sufficiently. SOLUTION: The laser pointer is provided with a laser emitting element 10, a human body detection sensor 12 for sensing heat generation of a human body in the direction of the laser light projection, and an infrared sensor 13 for receiving the reflected light of the projected infrared. When the human body detection sensor 12 detects the presence of the human body or the infrared sensor 13 does not receive the light, the pointer stops driving the laser emitting element 10 to halt the projection of the laser light.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used by a presenter to clearly indicate a point (pointing point) on a screen when giving a presentation such as a lecture while projecting an image on the screen by a projector such as a liquid crystal projector. Regarding laser pointer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a presentation such as a lecture is given using a liquid crystal projector or the like, a laser pointer which projects a laser beam to clearly indicate a point on a screen is often used. Such a laser pointer has a drawback that it may be dangerous due to, for example, erroneous projection of laser light, which may enter the eyes of the audience. Therefore, as a safety measure for avoiding such a danger, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-4228, the laser light projection is automatically turned on / off in accordance with the brightness of an object (screen or the like) to which the laser light is projected. It has been proposed that laser light is projected only when the light exceeds a certain threshold and is bright. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-321530 discloses a technique of detecting a vertical or horizontal angle and projecting a laser beam only when the angle is within a predetermined range.

[0003]

The safety measures described in the above publications cannot be a fundamental measure because the laser beam is projected if a case where the device does not operate properly occurs. That is, in the former publication, depending on the lighting conditions of the venue, there may be a place where the brightness exceeds the threshold value other than the screen, and the laser beam may be projected if there is an audience there. There is. Further, in the latter publication, an audience or the like may exist within the projection angle of the laser light depending on the venue, such as stair seats or second-floor seats. There is a risk that Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a laser pointer capable of reliably preventing erroneous projection of laser light and establishing sufficient safety.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a laser pointer for projecting a laser beam onto a screen to clearly indicate a pointing point, the laser beam projecting means and the projection direction of the laser beam from the laser beam projecting means. Human body detection sensor for detecting the heat generation of the human body in, and an infrared sensor for projecting infrared rays in the projection direction of the laser light from the laser light projection means, and receiving reflected light of the projected infrared rays, and a human body detection sensor or infrared rays And a laser light control means for restricting the projection of the laser light from the laser light projection means when receiving the detection signal from the sensor.

In the present invention, when a person is present in the laser beam projection direction, it is detected by the human body detection sensor and the laser beam projection is restricted. As the human body detection sensor, one that detects infrared rays emitted from the human body is preferably used. In addition, the infrared sensor projects infrared light in the projection direction of the laser light, the projection of the laser light is maintained while receiving the reflected light, and the projection of the laser light is restricted when the reception of the reflected light is interrupted. When the reception of the reflected light is interrupted, it means that the projection target of the laser light is far away. The regulation of the laser light projection in this case is to stop the projection of the laser light or reduce the intensity of the laser light to a harmless extent. According to the present invention, when a person exists relatively close to the projection direction of the laser light, the projection of the laser light is stopped by the detection signal of the human body detection sensor, and when a person exists relatively far, infrared rays are emitted. The projection of the laser light is regulated by the detection signal of the sensor. From these facts, when the laser pointer is pointed at a person, the projection of the laser light is stopped, and the danger of projecting the laser light to the human eye is reliably avoided. The light emitted from the human body detection sensor and the infrared sensor may be emitted from the laser pointer itself, or may be emitted from another light source installed near the screen or the like.

According to the present invention, as means for suppressing camera shake, a photographing means for photographing a contour of a screen or a visible image projected on the screen and a designated point by a laser beam within the contour, and a light projecting means from the laser light projecting means. And a camera shake correction optical system for optically correcting the camera shake of the laser light, the laser light control means detects the relative position of the contour and the pointing point imaged by the imaging means, and the detected value is detected. A configuration for operating the image stabilization optical system based on the above is included.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a usage pattern of a laser pointer 1 according to an embodiment.
Laser pointer 1 on the screen 2 where the image is projected
A laser beam is projected toward, and the pointing point which is the projection point of the laser beam is clearly displayed on the screen 2. Laser pointer 1
As shown in FIG. 2, a laser light emitting element (laser light projecting means) 10 for projecting laser light, and this laser light emitting element 10
The camera includes a camera shake correction optical system 11 that corrects the projection direction of laser light projected from the camera, a human body detection sensor 12, an infrared sensor 13, and a CCD camera (imaging unit) 14.

The human body sensor 12 senses the heat generated by the human body in the direction in which the laser light is projected. Specifically, the human body sensor 12 receives infrared rays in an amount corresponding to the temperature difference between the surface of the human body, which is a heat source, and the background. It is for detecting whether or not it is a human body. Incidentally, most infrared rays in the vicinity of 10 μm are emitted from the human body, and the human body detection sensor 12 senses infrared rays having such a wavelength.

The infrared sensor 13 includes a light projecting section 13a for projecting infrared rays in the projection direction of laser light, and the light projecting section 13a.
And a light receiving section 13b for receiving the reflected light of the infrared light projected from the light receiving section 13b. The infrared light projected and received by the infrared sensor 13 has a wavelength of, for example, about 800 to 900 nm, which is significantly different from the infrared light detected by the human body detection sensor 12.

The CCD camera 14 captures the outline of the screen 2 or a visible image projected on the screen 2. The image stabilization optical system 11 includes two reflection mirrors 1.
This is a generally known galvanometer mirror type in which 1a is appropriately tilted to adjust the optical path. The image stabilization optical system is not limited to the galvanometer mirror type, and may be any type. For example, a prism type in which two prisms 11b shown in FIG. 3 are combined may be adopted.

Human sensor 12 and infrared sensor 1
The detection signal of the light receiving unit 13b of No. 3 is supplied to the control unit (laser light control means) 15, and the image data of the CCD camera 14 is also supplied to the control unit 15. Then, the control unit 15
The laser light emitting element 10 and the camera shake correction optical system 11 are controlled as follows.

When the human body detecting sensor 12 is turned on, that is, when the heat of the human body is sensed while the laser light is being projected from the laser light emitting element 10, the controller 15 causes the laser light emitting element 1 to operate.
The drive of 0 is stopped, and the laser light projection is stopped. Also,
When the light receiving unit 13b of the infrared sensor 13 does not receive the reflected light, the control unit 15 stops driving the laser light emitting element 10,
Laser light projection stops. Further, the control unit 15 controls the CC
The relative position between the screen 2 captured by the D camera 14 or the visible image projected on the screen 2 and the point by the laser light is detected, an appropriate point position is calculated based on the detected value, and the image stabilization is performed. The data is output to the image stabilization optical system 11. Each lens 11a of the camera shake correction optical system 11 operates so as to appropriately tilt at an angle suitable for the camera shake correction data.

According to the laser pointer 1 of the present embodiment, when a person is present in the laser beam projection direction, it is detected by the human body detection sensor 12 and the laser beam projection is stopped. Further, the infrared sensor 13 projects infrared rays from the light projecting unit 13a in the projection direction of the laser light, and while the light receiving unit 13b receives the reflected light, the projection of the laser light is held and the reception of the reflected light is interrupted. Laser light projection stops. The case where the reception of the reflected light is interrupted is the case where the projection target of the laser light is far away, and it may be considered, for example, when the laser light is directed to the audience at the lecture. As described above, the human body sensor 12 has a thickness of 10 μm.
Detects infrared rays in the vicinity, while the infrared sensor 13
Since infrared rays of about 0 to 900 nm are detected, malfunctions such as the infrared sensor 13 detecting a human body cannot occur.

Therefore, when a person is present relatively close to the projection direction of the laser light, the laser beam is stopped by the detection signal of the human body sensor 12, and when a person is present relatively far away, an infrared sensor. The laser light is stopped by the detection signal of 13. From these effects, when the laser pointer 1 is directed to a person, the projection of the laser light is stopped, and the danger of projecting the laser light to the human eye is reliably avoided.

Further, by properly operating the camera shake correction optical system 11 on the basis of the photographed data by the CCD camera 14, the camera shake of the laser pointer 1 is suppressed, and the point on the screen 2 is clearly indicated.

[0016]

As described above, according to the laser pointer of the present invention, the combination of the human body detecting sensor and the infrared sensor regulates the projection of the laser light onto the person, so that the erroneous projection of the laser light is ensured. The effect is that it can be prevented and sufficient safety is established.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a usage pattern of a laser pointer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually showing the structure of a laser pointer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another form of the image stabilizing optical system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Laser pointer 2 ... Screen 10 ... Laser light emitting element (laser light projection means) 11 ... Optical image stabilization system 12 ... Human sensor 13 ... Infrared sensor 14 ... CCD camera (imaging means) 15 ... Control unit (laser light control means)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Junichi Yokoyama             1-324 Uetakecho, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture             Fuji Photo Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akinori Hamana             1-324 Uetakecho, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture             Fuji Photo Optical Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A laser pointer for projecting a laser beam onto a screen to clearly indicate a pointing point, the laser beam projecting means, and a human body for sensing the heat generation of the human body in the projection direction of the laser beam from the laser beam projecting means. A sensing sensor, an infrared sensor that projects infrared light in the projection direction of the laser light from the laser light projection means, and receives reflected light of the projected infrared light, and a detection signal from the human body sensing sensor or the infrared sensor And a laser light control means for restricting the projection of the laser light from the laser light projection means when the laser pointer is received. 2. A photographing means for photographing the contour of the screen or a visible image projected on the screen and the designated point in the contour, and a camera shake of the laser light projected from the laser light projection means. And a hand-shake correction optical system that corrects automatically, the laser light control means detects the relative position between the contour imaged by the imaging means and the pointing point of the laser light, and based on the detected value. The laser pointer according to claim 1, wherein the optical image stabilization optical system is activated.