JP2006178116A - Projector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a projector enabling a user to recognize the key of an operation part even in the dark when a power source is not applied. <P>SOLUTION: The projector 1 projects a video of a video signal outputted from a PC (personal computer) 51, a DVD player 52 or a VTR 53 to a screen. When the AC power source of the projector 1 is not applied, a power source switching circuit 18 supplies power source voltage 5Vu set at 5V outputted from the USB terminal 51b of the PC 51 to an LED turn-on circuit 21. Then, a control part 17 transmits a signal for turning on an illuminating LED 23 for illuminating the key 22 of a key pad (operation part) to the LED turn-on circuit 21. The illuminating LED 23 is incorporated in the key 22 itself or provided around the key 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a projector that projects an image of a video signal output from a DVD player, a personal computer, or the like onto a screen.

  In recent years, a projector that projects an image of a video signal output from a DVD player or a personal computer on a large screen has attracted attention, and many projectors have been commercialized. A keypad with many keys such as cursor keys is provided on the top of the projector, and one of a DVD player or a personal computer connected to the projector can be selected by operating the keys on the keypad. Then, the video of the video signal output from the selected electronic device is projected on the screen.

Although not directly related to the present invention, in the following Patent Documents 1 and 2, a remote controller for controlling an electronic device is provided with a display unit composed of a lamp or the like. It is shown that the user is notified of the presence and type of the received response signal. In Patent Document 3 below, a comparatively large display element is provided on the remote controller of the optical disc playback apparatus, and an OSD (on-screen display) equivalent to the conventional display on the monitor screen is displayed on the display element. It is shown. In Patent Document 4 below, light of each color of R, G, and B that has passed through a color wheel is modulated by a light modulation element such as a mirror type light modulation element or a liquid crystal panel based on an externally input video signal, An apparatus configuration of a projector that projects an image by projecting modulated light of each color onto a screen by a projection lens is shown.
JP 63-228899 A (Claims, Fig. 1) JP-A-4-047765 (Claims, Fig. 3) JP 2002-343069 A (Summary, FIG. 6) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-057424 (paragraphs 0035 to 0036, FIG. 14)

  By the way, the projector is often placed in a dark room in order to clearly see the image projected on the screen. For this reason, there is a problem that the keys on the keypad (operation unit) cannot be recognized until the projector is turned on.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a projector capable of recognizing a key of an operation unit even in the dark when the power is not turned on. .

  In the first invention, any one of a plurality of signal sources connected to the outside and outputting a video signal is designated by operating a key of the operation unit, and a video of the designated signal source is projected onto the screen. In the projector, the illumination means for illuminating the key, the display means for displaying information on the signal source, the USB power supply voltage output from the USB terminal of the personal computer which is one of the signal sources, or the internal generated inside the apparatus A power supply means for supplying any of the power supply voltages to the illumination means and the display means, a detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a video signal of the signal source, a memory for storing designation information of the signal source designated by key operation, Is provided. When the apparatus is not turned on, the USB power supply voltage is supplied to the illumination means, the display means, and the detection means, so that the keys are illuminated by the illumination means and each signal source detected by the detection means is detected. Information indicating the presence / absence of a video signal is displayed on the display means, and when the power of the apparatus is turned on, the internal power supply voltage is supplied to the illumination means and the display means, whereby the illumination means illuminates the key and the memory The contents of the designation information stored in the display means are displayed on the display means.

  By doing so, the USB power supply voltage is supplied to the illumination means when the power of the projector is not turned on, and the keys of the operation unit are illuminated by the illumination means, so that the keys can be recognized even in the dark. . On the other hand, when the projector is turned on, the internal power supply voltage is supplied to the lighting means, and the load on the personal computer that supplies the USB power supply voltage is reduced. Therefore, the power consumption of the USB device connected to the personal computer is reduced. Restrictions are relaxed. Also, the display means displays the presence / absence of the video signal of each signal source when the projector is not turned on, and the contents of the signal source designation information designated by key operation when the projector is turned on Therefore, it is possible to easily know whether or not the signal source of the video signal to be viewed has already been designated, whether or not the signal source of the video signal to be viewed is operating, and the like. Accordingly, it is possible to save time and effort to operate a key to newly designate a signal source and to operate a key to project and confirm designation information of a signal source that has already been designated on the screen. Further, it is not necessary to go to the place where the signal source is installed in order to confirm whether or not the signal source is operating.

  In the second invention, one of a plurality of signal sources connected to the outside and outputting a video signal is designated by operating a key of the operation unit, and a video of the designated signal source is projected onto the screen. The projector includes an illuminating unit that illuminates the key, and a power supply unit that supplies the USB power supply voltage output from the USB controller, which is one of the signal sources, to the illuminating unit. Then, when the power of the apparatus is not turned on, the USB power supply voltage is supplied to the illumination unit to illuminate the key with the illumination unit.

  By doing so, the USB power supply voltage is supplied to the illumination means when the power of the projector is not turned on, and the keys of the operation unit are illuminated by the illumination means, so that the keys can be recognized even in the dark. .

  In an embodiment of the second invention, the power supply means supplies either the USB power supply voltage or the internal power supply voltage generated inside the apparatus to the illumination means, and when the apparatus is not turned on, The key is illuminated by the illumination means by supplying the USB power supply voltage to the illumination means, and when the apparatus is powered on, the key is illuminated by the illumination means by supplying the internal power supply voltage to the illumination means. As a result, the load on the USB controller is reduced as compared with the case where the USB power supply voltage is supplied to the illumination means when the apparatus is turned on. Therefore, the power consumption of the USB device connected to the USB controller is limited. Is alleviated.

  In the embodiment of the second invention, illumination by the illumination means is turned on / off when the apparatus is powered on. As a result, the illumination can be turned on / off in accordance with the brightness of the room, etc., so that the power consumption of the projector can be reduced.

  Further, in the second aspect of the invention, there is provided display means for displaying information relating to the signal source, and a memory for storing the designation information of the signal source designated by key operation, and the apparatus is turned on. The contents of the designation information stored in the memory are displayed on the display means. As a result, it is possible to know whether or not the signal source of the video signal to be viewed has already been designated by simply looking at the display means, so that the designation information of the already designated signal source is projected onto the screen for confirmation. This eliminates the need to operate keys.

  According to the present invention, since the key of the operation unit is illuminated using the USB power supply voltage when the power of the projector is not turned on, the key can be recognized even in the dark.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a projector according to the present invention. A PC (personal computer) 51, a DVD player 52, and a VTR (video tape recorder) 53 are connected to the projector 1, and the video of the video signal output from these is projected onto the screen. The PC 51 and the projector 1 are connected by a so-called M1 cable 54. One end of the M1 cable 54 is bifurcated, and the bifurcated cable is connected to the video signal output terminal 51a and the USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal 51b of the PC 51, and the other end of the M1 cable 54 is connected to the M1 connector. (Not shown) is connected to the input terminal 25 of the projector 1. Therefore, when the power of the PC 51 is turned on, DC5V (USB power supply voltage) is supplied to the projector 1 from the USB terminal 51b. This DC5V is hereinafter referred to as 5Vu. Note that the M1 cable 54 includes a USB signal line, but it is not a direct matter of the present invention, so the description thereof is omitted.

  The DVD player 52 and the projector 1 are connected by a cable 55 having one end connected to the video signal output terminal 52 a of the DVD player 52 and the other end connected to the input terminal 26 of the projector 1. The VTR 53 and the projector 1 are connected by a cable 56 having one end connected to the video signal output terminal 53 a of the VTR 53 and the other end connected to the input terminal 27 of the projector 1. Video signals output from the PC 51, the DVD player 52, and the VTR 53 are R, G, B signals, Y / C signals, composite signals, and the like. .

  Next, each part of the projector 1 will be described. The control unit 17 includes a CPU 17a, a memory 17b, and a peripheral circuit 17c, and controls each unit of the projector 1 when the CPU 17a executes a program stored in the memory 17b. The peripheral circuit 17c includes an input port, an output port, a signal conversion circuit, and the like, and relays signals between the CPU 17a and each unit of the projector 1. When the video signal detection circuit 11 receives the video signal detection instruction signal from the control unit 17, the video signal from the signal source specified by the specification information of the signal sources (PC 51, DVD player 52 and VTR 53) in the detection instruction signal. Is detected, that is, whether or not the signal source is outputting a video signal, and the detection result is sent to the control unit 17. The video signal detection circuit 11 is supplied with the power supply voltage 5Vu.

  The video signal processing unit 12 controls the light modulation element 13 by performing various kinds of signal processing on the video signal from the signal source designated by the signal source designation information of the video signal transmitted from the control unit 17. Data to be generated is stored in an internal frame memory. By controlling the light modulation element 13 with the data in the frame memory, red, green, and blue light output repeatedly from the spectroscope 14 is modulated by the light modulation element 13, and the modulated light of each color is transmitted. The image is projected onto the screen through the projection lens 15. In this way, the video of the video signal output from the designated signal source is displayed on the screen. The video signal processing unit 12, the light modulation element 13, the spectroscope 14, and the projection lens 15 described above are the same as those widely used conventionally.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of the projector 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the keypad 28 of the projector 1 provided in the portion indicated by the broken line in FIG. The keypad 28 includes six keys 22 (left cursor key 22a, right cursor key 22b, up cursor key 22c, down cursor key 22d, enter key 22e, menu key 22f) and three display LEDs 24 (PC_LED 24a, DVD_LED 24b, VTR_LED 24c). ). Each key 22 has a built-in illumination LED 23 (FIG. 1). When a current flows through the illumination LED 23, the key 22 is illuminated from the inside, and the key 22 can be easily recognized even in a dark place. The key 22 incorporating the LED 23 for illumination is like a commercially available switch with illumination. Instead of this, the boundary between the keypad panel 29 and the key 22 is made transparent, and each key 22 is illuminated by light such as one or a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes) or lamps provided on the lower surface of the keypad panel 29. May be illuminated.

  Each key 22 is operated in the same manner as a key such as a remote controller of the DVD player 52. Here, the operation of each key 22 will be briefly described. When the menu key 22f is pressed, a list of a plurality of operation menus is projected on the screen. In this state, by selecting one of the operation menus using the cursor keys 22a to 22d and the enter key 22e, and further selecting (specifying) an item in the menu using the cursor keys 22a to 22d and the enter key 22e. The projector 1 performs a predetermined operation. That is, an operation for causing the projector 1 to perform a predetermined operation with the keypad 28 can be performed. The illumination LED 23 corresponds to the illumination means of the present invention, and the display LED 24 corresponds to the display means of the present invention. From this, it can be said that the keypad 28 is also an operation unit and a display unit of the projector 1.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The six keys 22 (including the illumination LED 23) and the three display LEDs 24 described above are attached to the printed circuit board 19 provided on the lower surface of the keypad panel 29. In FIG. 1, only two keys 22, one illumination LED 23, and one display LED 24 are shown. The key detection circuit 20 encodes the signal of pressing the key 22 and sends it to the control unit 17. The LED lighting circuit 21 turns on / off the illumination LED 23 and the display LED 24 based on the signal received from the control unit 17.

  The power supply circuit 16 generates a power supply voltage such as DC5V (internal power supply voltage) or DC24V from the AC power supply and supplies it to each part of the projector 1. Hereinafter, DC5V is simply referred to as 5V. In the block diagram of FIG. 1, the CPU 17a of the control unit 17, the memory 17b, a part of the peripheral circuit 17c, the power switching circuit 18, the LED lighting circuit 21, and the video signal detection circuit 11 are connected to the PC 51 even when AC power is not turned on. If the power supply voltage 5Vu is supplied from the USB terminal 51b, the operation is performed, but the other parts do not operate unless the AC power is turned on. The power supply switching circuit 18 outputs one of the input power supply voltages 5 V and 5 Vu according to the control signal from the control unit 17 and supplies it to the LED lighting circuit 21. According to the control signal, when the AC power is not turned on, the power supply voltage 5Vu is output from the power supply switching circuit 18, and when the AC power is turned on, the power supply voltage 5V is output. In this way, even when the AC power is not turned on, the illumination LED 23 and the display LED 24 can be turned on.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention. A program corresponding to this flowchart is stored in the memory 17b, and when the CPU 17a executes the program, the process shown in the flowchart is performed. That is, the control part 17 performs the process of a flowchart. The processing shown in the flowchart is not executed when the AC power is not turned on and the power supply voltage 5Vu is not supplied from the USB terminal 51b of the PC 51. Also, execution is started when AC power is turned on or when power supply voltage 5Vu is supplied.

  First, the control unit 17 determines whether or not AC power is turned on (power is on) by checking whether or not the power supply voltage 5V is input to the peripheral circuit 17c (S1). When the power supply is off (S1: NO), that is, when only the power supply voltage 5Vu is supplied, the control unit 17 sets the power supply switching circuit 18 so as to output the power supply voltage 5Vu from (S2). Then, a signal for lighting all the illumination LEDs 23 is sent to the LED lighting circuit 21 (S3). As a result, the illumination LED 23 is turned on and the key 22 becomes bright, so that the key 22 can be recognized even in a dark place.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the PC 51 is outputting a video signal (S4). This determination is performed by sending a video signal detection instruction signal from the PC 51 to the video signal detection circuit 11, receiving the detection result (presence / absence of the video signal) from the video signal detection circuit 11, and examining the received detection result. When the PC 51 is outputting a video signal (S4: YES), the control unit 17 sends a signal for lighting the PC_LED 24a to the LED lighting circuit 21 (S5), and when the PC 51 is not outputting a video signal ( (S4: NO), a signal for turning off the PC_LED 24a is sent to the LED lighting circuit 21 (S6).

  Next, the control unit 17 determines whether or not the DVD player 52 is outputting a video signal (S7). When the DVD player 52 is outputting a video signal (S7: YES), the DVD_LED 24b is turned on. When the DVD player 52 does not output a video signal (S7: NO), a signal for turning off the DVD_LED 24b is sent to the LED lighting circuit 21 (S9). Next, the control unit 17 determines whether or not the VTR 53 is outputting a video signal (S10). When the VTR 53 is outputting a video signal (S10: YES), a signal for turning on the VTR_LED 24c is set to LED. The signal is sent to the lighting circuit 21 (S11). When the VTR 53 is not outputting a video signal (S10: NO), a signal for turning off the VTR_LED 24c is sent to the LED lighting circuit 21 (S12).

  Here, the determination as to whether the DVD player 52 or the VTR 53 outputs a video signal is performed in the same manner as the determination as to whether the PC 51 outputs a video signal. In this manner, the PC_LED 24a, the DVD_LED 24b, and the VTR_LED 24c are turned on or off according to whether the PC 51, the DVD player 52, and the VTR 53 are outputting video signals. Then, the control part 17 returns a process step to step S1.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S1 that the power supply is on (S1: YES), the control unit 17 sets the power supply switching circuit 18 so as to output the power supply voltage 5V (S13). As a result, the illumination LED 23 and the display LED 24 that were lit by the power supply voltage 5 Vu when the AC power is off are lit by the power supply voltage 5 V output from the power supply circuit 16, and are thus supplied from the USB terminal 51 b of the PC 51. The consumption of the power supply voltage 5Vu is reduced. Next, the control unit 17 determines whether or not an operation for turning off the illumination LED 23 with the keypad 28 is performed (S14). If the operation is performed (S14: YES), the illumination LED 23 is turned on. A signal to turn off is sent to the LED lighting circuit 21 (S15). Further, it is also determined whether or not an operation for lighting the illumination LED 23 is performed with the keypad 28 (S16). If the operation is performed (S16: YES), a signal for lighting the illumination LED 23 is sent to the LED lighting circuit. 21 (S17). By doing in this way, illumination LED23 can be turned on or off according to the brightness of a room, etc.

  Next, the control unit 17 determines whether or not an operation for designating a signal source (PC 51, DVD player 52 or VTR 53) of the video signal is performed on the keypad 28 (S18), and the operation is performed. (S18: YES), the signal source designation information is set in the video signal processing unit 12 (S19) and stored in the memory 17b (S20). When the signal source designation information is set in the video signal processing unit 12 in this way, the video signal processing unit 12 performs signal processing on the video signal output from the designated signal source. The image of the image signal is projected on the screen.

  Further, the control unit 17 turns on / off the display LED 24 in accordance with the signal source designation information stored in the memory 17b (S21). For example, if the designation information indicates PC 51, the PC_LED 24a is turned on and the DVD_LED 24b and the VTR_LED 24c are turned off. Even when the signal source designation information is not saved in the memory 17b in the immediately preceding step S20, the designation information saved in the previously executed step S20 remains in the memory 17b. And the control part 17 performs another process (process unrelated to this invention) based on the operation content etc. which were performed by the keypad 28 (S22), and returns a process step to step S1 after that.

  As described above, even when the power of the projector 1 is off, the illumination LED 23 is lit by the power supply voltage 5Vu supplied from the USB terminal 51b of the PC 51. Therefore, even if the projector 1 is placed in a dark place, the user can The key 22 on the keypad 28 can be recognized. When the projector 1 is turned off, the display LED 24, that is, the PC_LED 24a, the DVD_LED 24b, and the VTR_LED 24c, indicates whether or not the PC 51, the DVD player 52, and the VTR 53 are outputting video signals, and the projector 1 is turned on. Then, only the display LED 24 corresponding to the signal source designated by the designation operation of the signal source of the video signal is turned on. As a result, it is possible to easily know whether or not the signal source of the video signal to be viewed has already been specified, whether or not the signal source of the video signal to be viewed is operating, and so on. It is possible to save the trouble of operating the key 22 for newly designating and the operation of the key 22 for projecting and confirming the designation information of the already designated signal source on the screen. Further, it is not necessary to go to the place where the signal source is installed in order to confirm whether or not the signal source is operating.

  In the embodiment described above, the case where the PC 51 is a USB controller that outputs a power supply voltage 5Vu (USB power supply voltage) has been described. However, the present invention is implemented even when a USB controller that outputs a video signal other than the PC 51 is used. can do. In the above embodiment, the power supply voltage V5u is directly supplied to the video signal detection circuit 11, but the output of the power supply switching circuit 18 may be supplied as the power supply voltage.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the illumination LED 23 is shown as an example of the illumination means for illuminating the key 22. However, the illumination means may be anything that can be illuminated so that the key 22 can be recognized even in a dark place. A lighting device or the like may be used. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the display LED 24 is shown as an example of a display unit that displays information about the signal source. However, other display components may be used as the display unit.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the projector which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of a projector. It is a figure which shows the keypad of a projector. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Projector 11 Video signal detection circuit (detection means)
17 control unit 17b memory 18 power supply switching circuit (power supply means)
22, 22a-22f Key 23 LED for illumination (illumination means)
24 LED for display (display means)
24a PC_LED (display means)
24b DVD_LED (display means)
24c VTR_LED (display means)
28 Keypad (operation unit)
51 PC (personal computer, signal source)
51a Video signal output terminal of PC 51b USB terminal of PC 52 DVD player (signal source)
53 VTR (video tape recorder, signal source)

Claims (5)

In a projector that is connected to the outside and designates one of a plurality of signal sources that output a video signal by operating a key of an operation unit, and projects a video of a video signal of the designated signal source on a screen.
Illumination means for illuminating the key;
Display means for displaying information about the signal source;
A power supply means for supplying either the USB power supply voltage output from the USB terminal of the personal computer that is one of the signal sources or the internal power supply voltage generated inside the apparatus to the illumination means and the display means;
Detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a video signal of the signal source;
A memory for storing designation information of a signal source designated by the key operation,
When the device is not powered on, the USB power supply voltage is supplied to the illumination means, the display means, and the detection means, so that the illumination means illuminates the key and each of the detection means detected by the detection means. Information indicating the presence or absence of the video signal of the signal source is displayed on the display means,
When the apparatus is turned on, the internal power supply voltage is supplied to the illumination means and the display means, thereby illuminating the key with the illumination means and the contents of the designation information stored in the memory Is displayed on the display means. In a projector that is connected to the outside and designates one of a plurality of signal sources that output a video signal by operating a key of an operation unit, and projects a video of a video signal of the designated signal source on a screen.
Illumination means for illuminating the key;
Power supply means for supplying a USB power supply voltage output from a USB controller, which is one of the signal sources, to the illumination means,
A projector that illuminates the key with the illuminating means by supplying a USB power supply voltage to the illuminating means when the apparatus is not powered on. The projector according to claim 2,
The power supply means supplies either the USB power supply voltage or an internal power supply voltage generated inside the device to the illumination means,
When the device is not powered on, the illumination means illuminates the key by supplying a USB power supply voltage to the illumination means,
When the apparatus is turned on, the projector illuminates the key with the illumination means by supplying an internal power supply voltage to the illumination means. The projector according to claim 3, wherein
A projector characterized in that illumination by the illumination means is turned on / off when the apparatus is powered on. The projector according to claim 2,
Display means for displaying information about the signal source;
A memory for storing designation information of the signal source designated by the key operation,
A projector characterized in that, when the apparatus is powered on, the display means displays the contents of the designation information stored in the memory.

Images