JP2006098789A - Projecting apparatus, projecting method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily project an image of appropriate size and shape to any projection position while simplifying a complicated setting operation. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus is provided with a projection system including a micromirror element 27 and a projection lens 12 for projecting/displaying in accordance with an inputted image signal, a photographing system including a photographing lens 13 for photographing the projecting direction of the projection system and a CCD 39, and a control part 35 for extracting the positions of a plurality of point marks indicating the projection range from the image obtained by the photographing system and variably setting the projection range of the projection system in accordance with the extracted positions of the point marks. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a projection apparatus, a projection method, and a program having a photographing function capable of photographing projection contents.

Conventionally, the image sensor provided in the projector device recognizes the position and shape of the screen to be projected, and automatically corrects the image so that the projected image fits within the screen, which is necessary when installing the projector device. A technology that can reduce the trouble of complicated setting is considered. (For example, Non-Patent Document 1)
Separately from this, in the material presentation device that outputs the image of the material shot using the electric zoom lens to the display means, the zoom position of the camera is set to the optimal position according to the material having various sizes and shapes In order to simplify the operation, the camera monitors the contrast level of the image at the periphery of the image taken on the stage to determine the presence or absence of the document, and the entire document is displayed on the display screen based on the determination result A technique is considered in which the zoom position of the lens is automatically set so as to fit. (For example, Patent Document 1)
[Search on August 25, 2004] <URL: http: // www. nevt. co. jp / pjs / newfeature / a_sqshot. html> JP 2002-271678 A

  However, since the content described in Non-Patent Document 1 has a restriction that a dedicated screen SC with an outer frame as shown in FIG. 10 must be used, for example, a wall of a general room, It is not possible to arbitrarily project to a position desired by the user, for example, by projecting using a part of a long white board.

  The technique described in Patent Document 1 is a so-called document camera connected to a projector device, and controls the zoom angle of the camera on the side that captures the material placed on the stage to be optimally positioned. It does not adjust the position or size of the projected image.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to easily project an image of an appropriate size and shape by simplifying a complicated setting operation without selecting a projection position. It is an object of the present invention to provide a projection apparatus, a projection method, and a program that can perform the above-described process.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a projection unit that performs projection display according to an input image signal, an imaging unit that captures the projection direction of the projection unit, and a projection range from the image obtained by the imaging unit are indicated. An extraction means for extracting the position of a plurality of point marks, and a projection control means for variably setting the projection range of the projection means corresponding to the position of the point mark obtained by the extraction means. To do.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the projection unit has a zoom function of changing a projection angle of view, and the projection control unit is configured to capture the projection direction with the photographing unit. A white image is projected by maximizing the projection angle of view of the projection means.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the extraction means extracts the position of the point mark by the retroreflecting material from the brightness value from the image obtained by the photographing means. And

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the projection unit has an automatic trapezoidal correction function for a projected image, and the extraction unit is configured to select four points from the image obtained by the photographing unit. The position of the point mark is extracted, and the projection control unit automatically corrects the projection range of the projection unit according to the position of the four point marks obtained by the extraction unit.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the point mark is a member that can be attached to an arbitrary position of the whiteboard.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the point mark is a mark written with a pen at an arbitrary position on the whiteboard.

  The invention according to claim 7 is a projection step for performing projection display according to an input image signal, a photographing step for photographing the projection direction of the projection step, and indicating a projection range from the image obtained in the photographing step. An extraction process for extracting the position of a plurality of point marks, and a projection control process for variably setting the projection range in the projection process corresponding to the position of the point mark obtained in the extraction process. To do.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program executed by a computer incorporated in the projection apparatus, the projection means for performing projection display according to the input image signal, and the photographing means for photographing the projection direction of the projection means. Extraction means for extracting the position of a plurality of point marks indicating the projection range from the image obtained by the photographing means, and the projection range of the projection means corresponding to the position of the point mark obtained by the extraction means And a projection control means for variably setting the computer.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the projection range is set from the position when the user temporarily attaches a plurality of point marks having optical characteristics that are easily recognized by the apparatus to an arbitrary position. Therefore, it is possible to easily project an image having an appropriate size and shape by selecting a projection position and simplifying a complicated setting operation.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, since the photographing is performed in a state in which the projection range is projected and displayed with white light, the projection range is set more accurately. be able to.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the point mark is more reliably used by using the retroreflecting material that totally reflects incident light in the arrival direction. Can be extracted.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, it is possible to reliably execute automatic trapezoidal correction in consideration of the relative positional relationship between the projection position and the installation position of the apparatus. it can.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the point mark can be attached to an arbitrary position of the whiteboard and used as a screen easily.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the point mark can be written at an arbitrary position on the whiteboard and used as a screen easily.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the projection range is set from the position when the user temporarily attaches a plurality of point marks having optical characteristics that are easily recognized by the apparatus to an arbitrary position. Therefore, it is possible to easily project an image having an appropriate size and shape by selecting a projection position and simplifying a complicated setting operation.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the projection range is set from the position when the user temporarily attaches a plurality of point marks having optical characteristics that are easily recognized by the apparatus to an arbitrary position. Therefore, it is possible to easily project an image having an appropriate size and shape by selecting a projection position and simplifying a complicated setting operation.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a projector apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows the external configuration of the projector apparatus 10 according to the embodiment, and mainly shows the configuration of the front and top surfaces of the housing. As shown in the figure, a projection lens 12 and a photographing lens 13 are embedded on the right side of a part of the front surface of the rectangular parallelepiped main body casing 11. An Ir receiver 14 is disposed on the front and left end sides of the main casing 11.

  The projection lens 12 is for projecting a light image formed by a spatial light modulation element such as a micromirror element, which will be described later, onto an object such as a screen, and here, a focus position and a zoom position (projection angle of view). Is arbitrarily variable.

  The photographing lens 13 is for photographing an image projected and displayed by the projection lens 12. The photographing lens 13 can also change the focus position and the zoom position, and in particular, the zoom position is the zoom of the projection lens 12. It is controlled in conjunction with the position, and is controlled so as to always have an imaging range corresponding to the size of the image projected from the projection lens 12.

  The Ir receiver 14 receives an infrared light (Ir) signal on which a key operation signal from a remote controller of the projector device 10 (not shown) is superimposed.

A key switch unit 15 and a speaker 16 are disposed on the upper surface of the main body casing 11.
The key switch unit 15 includes various key switches for instructing power on / off of the apparatus, input switching, automatic focusing, automatic keystone correction, and the like.

  The speaker 16 emits a sound of the input audio signal and a beep sound during operation.

Although not shown, an input / output connector section, an Ir receiving section similar to the Ir receiving section 14 and an AC adapter connecting section are disposed on the back surface of the main casing 11.
The input / output connector section includes, for example, a USB terminal for connection with an external device such as a personal computer, an RGB mini D-SUB terminal for video input, an S terminal, an RCA terminal, and a stereo mini terminal for audio input. Become.

  The AC adapter connection unit connects a cable from an AC adapter (not shown) serving as a power source.

Next, the functional configuration of the electronic circuit of the projector apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
In the figure, image signals of various standards input from the input / output connector unit 21 are unified into image signals of a predetermined format by the image conversion unit 23 via the input / output interface (I / F) 22 and the system bus SB. Later, it is sent to the projection encoder 24.

  The projection encoder 24 develops and stores the transmitted image signal in the video RAM 25, generates a video signal from the stored contents of the video RAM 25, and outputs the video signal to the projection drive unit 26.

  The projection driving unit 26 appropriately speeds up the time division by multiplying the frame rate, for example, 120 [frames / second], the number of color component divisions, and the number of display gradations as appropriate according to the transmitted image signal. For example, the micro-mirror element 27 which is a spatial light modulation element (SOM) is driven to display.

A light source lamp 29 disposed in the reflector 28 with respect to the micromirror element 27.
The high-intensity white light emitted from the light source is appropriately colored to the primary color via the color wheel 30 and irradiated through the integrator 31 and the mirror 32 to form an optical image with the reflected light. Thus, it is projected and displayed on a screen (not shown).

  However, both the lighting drive of the light source lamp 29 and the motor (M) 33 that rotationally drives the color wheel 30 operate based on the supply voltage value from the projection light processing unit 34.

  The control unit 35 controls all the operations of the above circuits. The control unit 35 includes a CPU, a non-volatile memory storing an operation program executed by the CPU including a projection operation and a photographing operation described later, a work memory, and the like.

  The control unit 35 is also connected with a process circuit 36, an image recording unit 37, and an audio processing unit 38 via a system bus SB.

  The process circuit 36 receives an output of a CCD 39 as an image pickup device that photoelectrically converts a light image that is behind the photographing optical axis of the photographing lens 13 and is formed by the photographing lens 13, and receives an analog value image from the CCD 39. The signal is digitized, and color process processing including pixel interpolation processing and γ correction processing is performed, and then a digital luminance signal Y and color difference signals Cb and Cr are generated and sent to the image conversion unit 23 via the system bus SB. Output.

  The image conversion unit 23 compresses the luminance and color difference signals by a process such as ADCT or Huffman coding, and writes the obtained image data into an image recording unit 37 that is mounted as a recording medium of the projector device 10. The image recording unit 37 is composed of, for example, a flash memory, and stores image data obtained by photographing.

  The sound processing unit 38 includes a sound source circuit such as a PCM sound source, converts the sound data given during the projection operation into an analog signal, drives the speaker 16 to emit a loud sound, or generates a beep sound if necessary.

  Each key operation signal in the key switch unit 15 is directly input to the control unit 35, and a signal from the Ir receiving unit 40 is also directly input. The Ir receiving unit 40 includes the Ir receiving unit 14 and an Ir receiving unit provided on the back side of the main body casing 11, converts the infrared light reception signal into a code signal, and sends the code signal to the control unit 35.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
Here, when a part of the whiteboard WB that is long in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 4, for example, approximately half of the left side is set as the projection range, the user can set the rectangular vertex indicating the projection range as shown in FIG. The description will be made assuming that the four point markers PM, PM,.

  Here, each point marker PM is a substantially disk-shaped member having a diameter of about 1 [cm], for example, in which a capsule lens type (high brightness type) retroreflective sheet on the front side and a magnet sheet on the back side are integrally formed. And can be attached or removed at any position on the surface of the whiteboard WB by the magnetic force. In FIG. 5, the size is slightly exaggerated.

  In this way, while designating the projection range on the whiteboard WB, the projector device 10 is installed so that the optical axis of the projection lens 12 is almost directed in the direction of the projection range designated by the whiteboard WB, and the power is turned on and the like are adjusted. In this state, the user operates an “AFK” key that instructs automatic focusing and automatic keystone correction of the key switch unit 15 or a remote controller (not shown).

  FIG. 3 shows a specific processing content of a part of the operation program executed by the control unit 35 in response to the operation of the “AFK” key.

  At the beginning, the control unit 35 waits for the operation of the key (step S01), and projects so that the zoom angle (projection angle of view) of the projection lens 12 becomes maximum when it is determined that the operation has been performed. The zoom lens in the optical system is set to move to the widest angle side (step S02), and at the same time, the micromirror element 27 drives the image display so that each primary color component has full gradation, and thereby the light from the light source lamp 29 is emitted. It is set so that it is totally reflected and a white color image is projected from the projection lens 12 (step S03).

  Thus, by setting the angle of view of the projection system to the maximum, each point marker PM, PM,... Attached to the whiteboard WB to be projected is surely within the projection range.

In this state, the photographic lens 13 is zoomed in conjunction with the zoom angle of the projection lens 12, and then the contrast type automatic focusing process is executed (step S04).
Since the contrast type automatic focusing process itself is a very general technique, a detailed description thereof is omitted. However, since white light is irradiated over the entire projection range as described above, the point markers PM and PM are used. ,..., All the incident light is reflected to the projector device 10 side.

  Therefore, in the image obtained by the photographing system, the luminance value differs greatly between the portion with and without the point markers PM, PM,..., And the obtained contrast becomes large. The distance to PM, PM,... Can be detected.

  After the automatic focusing process, an automatic exposure (AE) process is then performed to obtain an optimum exposure value at the focal length (step S05), and then photographing is performed (step S06).

  The center coordinate positions of the four point markers PM, PM,..., Which are images having a higher luminance value than the surroundings, are detected from the captured image data thus obtained (step S07).

  FIG. 6 exemplifies a light projection range PA when projection light is irradiated from the projector device 10 on the lower left side toward the whiteboard WB serving as a projection target screen. In this case, it is considered that an image photographed using the photographing lens 13 that controls the zoom angle and the like in conjunction with the projection lens 12 has the contents as shown in FIG.

  In the photographed image IM shown in FIG. 7, the projection angle PA is equal to the zoom angle, the projection (photographing) direction, and the like of the projection system including the projection lens 12 and the photographing system including the photographing lens 13. The white board WB having an accurate rectangle and having point markers PM, PM,...

  In FIG. 7, the entire whiteboard WB protrudes from the captured image IM (= the angle of view of the photographic lens 13), but this is shown for convenience in order to facilitate understanding. As a matter of course, the image is captured only within the range indicated by the captured image IM.

  However, in this captured image IM, the positions of four point markers PM, PM,... With particularly high luminance values are extracted from the contrast difference, and their respective center coordinate positions are calculated. The extraction method is well known in the art and will not be described in detail.

  When the center coordinate positions of the four point markers PM, PM,... Are calculated from the captured image IM, an operation for automatic trapezoidal (AKS) correction is executed based on the contents (step S08).

  A method for this automatic trapezoidal correction is also well known in the art and will not be described in detail. However, a microscopic image is mainly set so that each vertex of the rectangular shape of the projected image coincides with the center position coordinates of the point markers PM, PM,. An image to be displayed and driven by the mirror element 27 is deformed and reduced in two-dimensional directions.

  While adjusting the zoom angle of the projection lens 12 appropriately in accordance with the calculation result, the setting for automatic trapezoidal correction is performed by setting the image to be displayed and driven by the micromirror element 27 for deformation correction (step S09). ).

  FIG. 8 exemplifies the light projection range PA corrected by the above processing and the respective point markers PM, PM,..., And each vertex of the rectangular light projection range PA accurately matches the light projection range PA. You can see that

  After the automatic trapezoidal correction process is completed, the control unit 35 shifts from the projection state of the white image so far to the projection state of the image signal input through the input / output connector unit 21 (step S10). Then, the process for the “AFK” key operation of the key switch unit 15 or a remote controller (not shown) is terminated, and the process returns to the process from step S01 again.

  The user of the projector apparatus 10 removes the point markers PM, PM,... Attached to the whiteboard WB when the light projection state shown in FIG. An accurate rectangular light projection range PA that fits in the place where PM, PM,... Is attached, and an arbitrary image can be projected and displayed in the range.

  As described above, when the user temporarily attaches point markers PM, PM,... Having optical characteristics that are easily recognized by the projector device 10 to an arbitrary position of the projection target, the projection range is determined from the position. Therefore, it is possible to easily project an image having an appropriate size and shape by simplifying a complicated setting operation without selecting a projection position.

  In particular, the setting process of the light projection range PA including the automatic trapezoidal correction does not project the image signal input from the input / output connector unit 21, but shoots in a state in which only white light with the highest luminance is projected and displayed. Thus, the projection range can be set more accurately.

  Furthermore, by using a retroreflecting material that totally reflects incident light in the direction of arrival as the point markers PM, PM,..., It is possible to extract the attachment positions of the point markers PM, PM,. it can.

  In the above embodiment, it has been described that the user of the projector apparatus 10 indicates the four points that are the vertices of the rectangle with the point markers PM, PM,..., But at least shows a pair of diagonal corners of the rectangle. If two points are designated, the vertical and horizontal distortion correction processing by automatic trapezoidal correction cannot be performed, but a new light projection range PA including the two points can be obtained.

  Furthermore, if 3 points out of 4 vertices of the rectangle are indicated by the point markers PM, PM,..., Theoretically, another point is estimated and calculated with automatic trapezoidal correction as described above. A new light projection range PA can be obtained.

  Further, the point markers PM, PM,... Use a retroreflecting material. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to distinguish the surroundings from the captured image by detecting a contrast difference or the like. Even optical members that can be used, such as those that have a specific color component ratio that is not normally used, or graphic patterns that have a pre-specified shape and pattern (such as a square marker with a checkered pattern on one side) Good.

  Further, a round mark such as the point marker PM or a predetermined shape may be written on the whiteboard WB with a black pen.

  Of course, the screen to be projected is not limited to the whiteboard WB, but may be a wall or the like, and the color, pattern, or the like of the target surface is not limited.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  Further, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiment, at least one of the problems described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and described in the column of the effect of the invention. In a case where at least one of the obtained effects can be obtained, a configuration in which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a projector apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the functional circuit structure of the apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing processing contents including automatic setting of a projection range corresponding to an operation of an AFK key according to the embodiment. The figure which illustrates the shape of the whiteboard used as the projection object which concerns on the same embodiment. The figure which illustrates the whiteboard which concerns on the same embodiment, and the point marker stuck so that the projection range may be designated. The figure which illustrates the light projection range before the automatic trapezoid correction | amendment which concerns on the same embodiment. The figure which illustrates the picked-up image of the light projection range which concerns on the same embodiment. The figure which illustrates the light projection range after the automatic trapezoid correction | amendment which concerns on the same embodiment. The figure which illustrates the projection state of the input image which concerns on the same embodiment. The figure which illustrates the screen with an exclusive outer frame used with the conventional projector apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Projector apparatus, 11 ... Main body casing, 12 ... Projection lens, 13 ... Shooting lens, 14 ... Ir receiving part, 15 ... Switch part, 16 ... Speaker, 21 ... Input / output connector part, 22 ... Input / output interface (I / F), 23 ... Image conversion unit, 24 ... Projection encoder, 25 ... Video RAM, 26 ... Projection drive unit, 27 ... Micromirror element (SOM), 28 ... Reflector, 29 ... Light source lamp, 30 ... Color wheel, 31 ... Integrator, 32 ... Mirror, 33 ... Motor (M), 34 ... Projection light processing unit, 35 ... Control unit, 36 ... Process circuit, 37 ... Image recording unit, 38 ... Audio processing unit, 39 ... CCD, 40 ... Ir reception Part, IM ... taken image, PM ... point marker, SB ... system bus, SC ... screen, WB ... white board.

Claims (8)

Projection means for performing projection display according to the input image signal;
Photographing means for photographing the projection direction of the projection means;
Extraction means for extracting the position of a plurality of point marks indicating the projection range from the image obtained by the photographing means;
A projection apparatus comprising: a projection control unit that variably sets a projection range of the projection unit corresponding to the position of the point mark obtained by the extraction unit. The projection means has a zoom function to change the projection angle of view,
The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the projection control unit projects a white image by maximizing a projection angle of view of the projection unit when photographing in the projection direction by the photographing unit.   2. The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extracting unit extracts the position of the point mark by the retroreflecting material from the image obtained by the photographing unit based on the luminance value thereof. The projection means has an automatic trapezoidal correction function for projected images,
The extraction means extracts the positions of the four point marks from the image obtained by the photographing means,
The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the projection control unit automatically corrects the trapezoid of the projection range of the projection unit according to the positions of the four point marks obtained by the extraction unit.   The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the point mark is a member that can be attached to an arbitrary position of the whiteboard.   2. The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the point mark is a mark written with a pen at an arbitrary position on the whiteboard. A projection process for performing projection display according to an input image signal;
An imaging process for imaging the projection direction of this projection process;
An extraction step for extracting the positions of a plurality of point marks indicating the projection range from the image obtained in this photographing step;
A projection control step of variably setting a projection range in the projection step corresponding to the position of the point mark obtained in the extraction step. A program executed by a computer incorporated in the projection apparatus,
Projection means for performing projection display according to an input image signal;
Photographing means for photographing the projection direction of the projection means;
Extraction means for extracting the position of a plurality of point marks indicating the projection range from the image obtained by the photographing means;
A program causing a computer to execute projection control means for variably setting a projection range of the projection means corresponding to the position of the point mark obtained by the extraction means.

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