JP2006284893A - Image projection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the shortcoming that an observer feels discomfort as display of a projection image is hidden, when settings are changed or confirmed, since a video projector projects a menu screen on a screen, when projection conditions are set. <P>SOLUTION: An image projection device 10 has a signal receiving part 71 which receives input of an image signal; a selection branch part 73 which branches the inputted image signal; an image processing part 80 which processes the branched image signal; a display element 57 for projection and a display driving part 51, which are controlled with the output signal of the image processing part 80; a monitor image processing part 85 which processes the branched image signal; and a control part 69 which controls the operation of the device as a whole. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a projector device that projects an image based on image information such as a video signal.

Today, video projectors are widely used as image projection apparatuses for projecting personal computer screens and video images onto a screen.
This projector has a built-in high-intensity light source. The light from the light source is red, green, and blue using the red filter, green filter, and blue filter in sequence, and the red, green, and blue light is generally transmitted through a lens. Specifically, the light is condensed on a micromirror display element called DMD, and a color image is displayed on the screen by the amount of light reflected by the display element toward the projection port of the projector apparatus.

  In addition, according to this projector, various settings such as screen size, brightness, and color tone can be set according to the user's preference by operating a key switch provided in the top cover of the projector body or a remote controller. It is designed to project beautiful images.

  Adjustment settings such as brightness, hue, and contrast can be adjusted by operating the key switch on the main unit or the key switch of the remote controller, projecting the menu screen on the screen, and projecting and displaying various parameters. Setting operation can be performed while checking.

Note that the remote controller can be used to adjust and set the projector from a position away from the projector main body. There has been proposed an apparatus that can notify an abnormality or the like and can also display an alarm display at the time of abnormality (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-280088 A

  This video projector projects a computer screen or TV screen image onto a screen for viewing on a large screen or simultaneous viewing or confirmation of a screen by a large number of people. In this way, the display of the operation menu screen and various parameters are projected onto the screen, so when changing or checking the projection condition settings, the projected image display based on the video signal input to the projector is blocked, There was a drawback that would give discomfort to the viewer.

  The present invention eliminates such drawbacks and provides an image projection apparatus that enables setting and adjustment of a projector, which is an image projection apparatus, without projecting a menu screen or the like on a screen.

  The present invention includes a signal receiving unit (71) that receives an input of an image signal, a selection branching unit (73) that branches the input image signal, and an image processing unit (80) that processes the branched image signal. A projection display element (57) and a display drive unit (51) controlled by an output signal of the image processing unit (80), and a monitor image processing unit (85) for processing the branched image signal The image projection apparatus (10) includes a control unit (69) that controls the operation of the entire apparatus.

  The control unit (69) inputs menu screen information to the monitor image processing unit (85) at the time of image projection, and projects a monitor screen for displaying an image by an output signal of the monitor image processing unit (85). It is preferable to provide the main body.

  However, the menu screen display data is input to the monitor image processing unit (85) at the time of image projection, and the output signal of the monitor image processing unit (85) is output to a device having a monitor screen by wireless communication or wired communication. Control information may be received from a device having a screen by wireless communication or wired communication.

  In the present invention, the image signal received by the signal receiving unit is branched into the image processing unit and the monitor image processing unit to perform signal processing. Therefore, the image is projected by the signal processed by the image processing unit, and the monitor image processing unit An image can be displayed on the monitor screen by the signal processed in the above.

  The best mode according to the present invention includes a signal receiving unit 71 that receives an input of an image signal, a selection branching unit 73 that branches the input image signal, and an image processing unit that processes one of the branched image signals 80, a projection display element 57 and a display drive unit 51 controlled by the output signal of the image processing unit 80, a monitor image processing unit 85 for processing the other branched image signal, and the operation of the entire apparatus A control unit 69 that controls the image projection apparatus 10 that inputs menu screen display data to the monitor image processing unit 85.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first embodiment of the image projection apparatus according to the present invention has a projection lens 13 on the front surface of a rectangular parallelepiped main body casing 11, and a zoom ring 19 and a focus ring on the upper surface of the main body casing 11. 17, a main key and indicator 15, a speaker hole 25, a cover plate 21 with a sub key and a memory card slot provided therein, a monitor plate 23, and the like.

  The zoom ring 19 and the focus ring 17 are used when manually operating the zoom ratio and focus of an image to be projected and displayed.The main key and indicator 15 are turned on or off, initial setting, and A key switch for operating input switching and the like, and display means as an indicator such as an LED for displaying the operation state by turning on / off or lighting color.

  The speaker hole 25 has a built-in speaker 26 for generating sound during playback of a moving image, etc. Sub-keys (not shown) provided inside the cover are various types of details that cannot be set with the main key. The monitor plate 23 has a liquid crystal display screen of about 5 inches on the inside, and can monitor images projected on the screen 100 when the monitor plate 23 is set up. It is.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an input / output connector portion 29, an Ir receiving portion 27, and an AC adapter connecting portion 31 are disposed on the back surface of the main body casing 11, and on the lower surface of the main body casing 11, A fixed leg 33 is attached to both sides of the side, and an adjustment leg 35 capable of height adjustment is attached to the center of the front side.

  The input / output connector unit 29 is provided with, for example, a USB terminal for connection with a personal computer, a mini D-SUB terminal for image input, an S terminal, an RCA terminal, a stereo mini terminal for audio input, and the like. A plurality of signal output devices can be connected to the projector, and the Ir receiver 27 receives a key operation signal from a remote controller 91 (not shown).

  The AC adapter connection unit 31 receives a power supply from a power source by connecting a cable from an AC adapter (not shown) serving as a power source, and the adjustment leg portion 35 provided on the lower surface manually rotates the screw rotation position. Is adjusted so that the elevation angle of the main casing 11, that is, the projection light from the projector, is adjusted up and down so that an image can be projected at a predetermined position on the screen.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the functional configuration of the projector that is the image projection apparatus 10 includes a control unit 69, an input / output interface 65, an image conversion unit 67, a display encoder 81, a display drive unit 51, a monitor encoder 86, and the like. The image signals of various standards input from the input / output connector section 29 are image signals of a predetermined format suitable for display by the image conversion section 67 via the input / output interface 65 and the system bus (SB). After being converted and unified, they are sent to the display encoder 81 and the monitor encoder 86.

  The display encoder 81 develops and stores the transmitted image signal in the video RAM 83, generates a video signal from the stored contents of the video RAM 83, and outputs the video signal to the display drive unit 51.

  Similarly, the monitor encoder 86 develops and stores the transmitted image signal in the video RAM 87, generates a video signal from the stored contents of the video RAM 87, and outputs the video signal to the monitor display unit 89. Reference numeral 89 denotes an image displayed on a monitor screen such as a liquid crystal by this video signal.

  The display drive unit 51 to which a video signal is input from the display encoder 81 drives the display element 57, which is a spatial light modulation element (SOM), at an appropriate frame rate corresponding to the image signal sent. Yes, the light from the illumination optical system 41 including the light source lamp 43 is incident on the display element 57, thereby forming an optical image with the reflected light of the display element 57 and not shown via the projection lens 13 of the projection optical system 45. An image is projected and displayed on the screen 100.

  The illumination optical system 41 emits red light, green light, and blue light that has passed through a light wheel 43 such as an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp and an RGB filter on the circumference, and a light guide rod or color wheel filter. The projection optical system 45 is a lens group in which a plurality of lenses are combined, and the zoom position and the focus position can be adjusted and moved by the lens motor 47.

  In addition, the image compression / decompression unit 61 compresses the luminance signal and the color difference signal of the image signal by processing such as ADTC and Huffman coding, and sequentially writes the data into a memory card 63 that is a detachable recording medium, In the mode, the image data recorded in the memory card 63 is read out, and individual image data constituting a series of moving images is expanded in units of one frame and sent to the display encoder 81 and the monitor encoder 86 via the image conversion unit 67. A moving image or the like can be displayed based on the image data stored in the memory card 63.

  The control unit 69 controls the operation of each circuit in the projector. The control unit 69 includes a ROM that stores operation programs such as a CPU and various settings fixedly, and a RAM that is used as a work memory. Yes.

  Further, the operation signal of the key / indicator section 68 constituted by the main key and indicator 15 of the main body and the main body subkey provided inside the cover is directly sent to the control section 69, and the key operation signal from the remote controller 91 is transmitted. The code signal received by the Ir receiver 27 and demodulated by the Ir processor 28 is sent to the controller 69.

  An audio processing unit 66 is connected to the control unit 69 via a system bus (SB). The audio processing unit 66 includes a sound source circuit such as a PCM sound source, and converts the audio data into analog data in the projection mode and the playback mode. The loudspeaker 26 can be driven to emit loud sounds.

  In the image projection apparatus 10, when the power is turned on, first, the light source lamp 43 of the illumination optical system 41 is turned on, and the projection optical system 45 is adjusted to match the distance to the screen and the size of the screen. Zoom adjustment and focus adjustment are performed.

  When a signal for selecting the projection mode is input to the control unit 69 from the main unit key or the remote controller 91, the control unit 69 is input via the input / output interface 65 which is the signal receiving unit 71 as shown in FIG. The predetermined branching unit 73 selects a predetermined image signal from among the image signals input from the output connector unit 29. The image signal selected by the selection branching unit 73 is used as the image processing unit 80 or the monitor image processing unit 85. Is sent to the image converter 67, and the image converter 67 changes the image signal into a predetermined format and outputs it to the display encoder 81 and the monitor encoder 86.

  The monitor encoder 86 develops the image data in the video RAM 87 based on the image signal whose format has been converted by the image converter 67, and outputs the RGB signal to the monitor based on the decompressed image data to display the image on the monitor screen. The display encoder 81 also outputs RGB signals to the display element drive unit 55 of the display drive unit 51 based on the image data developed in the video RAM 83, and the display element control unit 53 of the display drive unit 51 controls the image under the control of the control unit 69. The driving of the display element driving unit 55 based on the signal is controlled.

  Accordingly, an image based on the input image signal can be projected on the screen 100, and an image based on the same image signal can be displayed on the monitor display unit 89 which is a monitor screen such as a liquid crystal display.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 69 of the projector determines whether or not the menu operation is performed even in the projection mode (S100). When the menu operation is selected, the projection state The various data and parameters can be confirmed and the setting can be changed.

  When the menu operation is selected, the projected image is stored in the memory of the image conversion unit 67 (S101), and the stored image data for one screen is sent to the monitor encoder 86 and the display encoder 81, and the stored data Is displayed on the monitor display unit 89, and an image based on the stored data is projected to display an image (S105) based on the stored data in which the projected image on the monitor screen and the screen 100 is a still image. .

  Further, the display data of the menu screen is read (S110), the display data is output to the monitor encoder 86 (S115), and the image data of the menu screen based on the menu screen display data is developed on the video RAM 87 by the monitor encoder 86 and is displayed on the monitor screen. Causes the menu screen to be displayed.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6, only a still image is projected on the screen 100, and the monitor screen of the monitor display unit 89 provided in the projector body is superimposed on the still image as shown in FIG. The menu screen will be displayed.

  The image data stored in the memory is transmitted to the monitor encoder 86 and the display encoder 81 at a frame rate of 30 times per second, and the menu screen display data is transmitted to the monitor encoder 86 immediately after the stored image data is transmitted to the monitor encoder 86. Then, the data is developed on the video RAM 87 of the monitor encoder 86, the menu screen is overwritten on the previously developed image data, and the data on which the menu screen is overwritten is output to the monitor.

  In this way, the menu screen is displayed on the monitor screen, and it is possible to check the status of the image projection device 10 and to adjust the settings using the menu screen, and whether or not the menu selection has been switched by operating the cursor key or the selection key. When the menu selection is switched, new menu screen display data is read (S110) and output to the monitor encoder 86 (S115).

  When the zoom or focus is changed, the lens motor 47 of the projection optical system 45 is driven and controlled. When the adjustment of the contrast or hue is changed, the display encoder 81 is controlled based on the changed parameters. The image data is corrected and transmitted, and the contrast and hue of the image projected on the screen 100 are changed.

  When the menu operation is ended by determining whether or not the menu operation is ended (S125), the image signal input to the image conversion unit 67 via the input / output connector unit 29 which is the signal receiving unit 71 is obtained. An input image display that performs a projection based on an image signal input to the projector by causing the display encoder 81 to send a luminance signal and a color difference signal created based on the changed parameters to a predetermined format in the image conversion unit 67 It returns to (S130).

  Note that the end of the menu operation is ended not only when the end operation is input, but also when a state in which no operation input is performed after the menu screen is displayed has passed for a certain period of time.

  In addition, when the hue adjustment is performed, a control signal is transmitted to the display encoder 81 or the display element control unit 53 in addition to the case of changing the parameter for forming the color difference signal formed by the image conversion unit 67, and the display encoder 81 In some cases, the RGB signal output to the display drive unit 51 is multiplied by a coefficient to adjust the intensity of the R, G, and B signals.

  In this embodiment, the menu screen display is displayed only on the monitor screen in this way, and the menu is not displayed on the screen 100 on which the image based on the input image signal is projected. Only viewers can check on the monitor screen without causing discomfort to other viewers, and the adjustment of contrast and hue can be adjusted by observing the entire projected still image. It is possible to correctly grasp the degree and state of the.

  In particular, by comparing the image on the monitor screen with the image projected on the screen 100, the change in hue due to the ground color of the screen 100 can be compared with the image on the monitor screen with a stable hue such as liquid crystal for easy adjustment. It can be.

  As another embodiment, when a menu operation is selected, the projection image is saved (S101) and the saved image data is sent to the display encoder 81 or the monitor encoder 86 (S105). Instead, the menu image display data is read (S110), output to the monitor encoder 86 (S115), and the image data is stored in the video RAM 87 so that the menu screen is overwritten for each field of the image data input by the monitor encoder 86. May be deployed.

  In this case, the image projected on the screen 100 is an image based on the image signal input to the projector, and the moving image projected on the screen 100 is projected and displayed without interruption, and input to the projector on the monitor screen. The menu screen is displayed on the moving image screen based on the image signal to be displayed, and confirmation and adjustment can be performed on the menu screen without being noticed by a person who is watching the screen 100.

  When the menu operation is selected, the image signal input from the signal receiving unit 71 to the projector is input to the image conversion unit 67 for the display encoder by the selection branching unit 73 to display the image signal in a predetermined format. In some cases, the data is sent to the encoder 81, and the menu screen display data is sent to the monitor encoder 86 so that only the menu screen is displayed on the monitor screen so that the menu operation or the setting state can be confirmed.

  Furthermore, as another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the image signal from the monitor encoder 86 is transmitted to the remote controller 91, and as shown in FIG. Display may be performed.

  In this case, although the communication means between the remote controller 91 and the projector main body can use wired communication by wired cord or wireless communication such as infrared communication, only the menu screen information is transmitted from the monitor encoder 86 to the remote controller 91 by wired, wireless, infrared or the like. 5 or by sending the still image data to the remote controller 91 and storing it in the remote controller 91 by the processing shown in FIG. 5, and displaying the menu screen on the still image display as shown in FIG. When screen operation is enabled, the monitor encoder 86 sends image data obtained by superimposing the menu screen to the video data based on the image signal input to the projector to the remote controller 91, and the menu is displayed on the monitor screen of the remote controller 91. A screen may be displayed.

  As described above, in the image projection apparatus 10 that uses the monitor screen of the remote controller 91, as shown in FIG. 10, a projector body in which the monitor plate 23 provided with the monitor display unit 89 is omitted can be provided.

  Further, the remote controller 91 is not limited to the controller 91 dedicated to the projector. As shown in FIG. 11, the remote controller 91 communicates image information and control information by wireless communication with the projector using a portable information terminal 93 such as a PDA. Menu screen operation may be performed.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12, a personal computer 95 may be used as the controller 91, and the computer screen may be used as a monitor screen.
In this case, the personal computer 95 and the projector are connected by a USB terminal provided in the input / output connector unit 29 to perform wired communication, and the image data from the monitor encoder 86 is transmitted via the signal input / output unit. The data is transmitted to an external computer 95 such as a personal computer 95, and control signals are communicated between the control unit 69 and the external computer 95 via the signal transmission / reception unit 72.

  As described above, the image signal from the monitor encoder 86 is an image signal in which a menu screen is superimposed on still image data, or an image signal in which a menu screen is superimposed on a moving image screen based on input image data. In some cases, the display image data includes only the menu screen.

  Note that the projector and the external computer 95 are controlled by connecting the USB cable 96 and the image RGB cable 97 as shown in FIG. Signal communication is performed using the USB cable 96, and the image signal from the monitor encoder 86 may be sent from the projector to the external computer 95 using the RGB cable 97, USB cable, or the like.

As described above, since the projector that is the image projection apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment uses the monitor screen such as the monitor display unit 89 in addition to the display element 57 that is a spatial light modulation element (SOM), the menu screen is displayed on the screen. The menu screen can be operated without projecting to 100, and the monitor screen is used separately from the spatial light modulation element. Therefore, the image information stored in the memory card 63 and the input / output connector 29 When the image signal input from the projector is projected onto the screen 100, the settings can be confirmed and changed on the menu screen without projecting the menu screen onto the screen 100, and input from the input / output connector section 29. The input state of other image signals can also be confirmed on the monitor screen.
In addition, this invention is not limited to the above embodiment, A change and improvement are possible freely in the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention.

1 is a top perspective view showing an example of an image projection apparatus according to the present invention. The bottom perspective view showing an example of the image projection device concerning the present invention. 1 is a functional block schematic diagram illustrating an example of an image projection apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a control block diagram illustrating an example of an image projection apparatus according to the present invention. The flowchart figure which shows an example of the menu display process of the image projector which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows an example of the display state of the image projector which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows an example of the monitor screen of the image projector which concerns on this invention. FIG. 5 is a control block diagram showing another embodiment of the image projection apparatus according to the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the monitor screen in the other Example of the image projector concerning this invention. The upper surface perspective view in the other Example of the image projector concerning this invention. The figure which shows the example of the other monitor screen in the other Example of the image projector which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows an example of the display state in the other Example of the image projector which concerns on this invention. FIG. 6 is a control block diagram showing another embodiment of the image projection apparatus according to the present invention. The figure which shows the other example of a connection with the monitor screen in the other Example of the image projector which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Projector 11 Main body casing 13 Projection lens 15 Main key and indicator 17 Focus ring 19 Zoom ring 21 Cover plate 23 Monitor plate 25 Speaker hole 26 Speaker 27 Ir receiving part 28 Ir processing part 29 Input / output connector part 31 AC adapter connection part 33 Fixed leg part 35 Adjusting leg part 41 Illumination optical system 43 Light source lamp 45 Projection optical system 47 Lens motor 51 Display drive part 53 Display element control part 55 Display element drive part 57 Display element 61 Image compression / expansion part 63 Memory card 65 Input / output interface 67 Image Conversion Unit 68 Key Indicator Unit 69 Control Unit 71 Signal Reception Unit 72 Signal Transmission / Reception Unit 73 Selection Branching Unit 80 Image Processing Unit 81 Display Encoder 83 Video RAM
85 Monitor image processing unit 86 Monitor encoder 87 Video RAM 89 Monitor display unit 91 Remote controller 93 Personal digital assistant 95 Personal computer 96 USB cable 97 RGB cable 100 Screen

Claims (5)

A signal receiving unit for receiving an input of an image signal;
A selective branching unit for branching the input image signal;
An image processing unit for processing one of the branched image signals;
A projection display element and a display driving unit controlled by an output signal of the image processing unit;
A monitor image processing unit for processing the other branched image signal;
An image projection apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls operation of the entire apparatus.   The image projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit inputs menu screen display data to the monitor image processing unit during image projection.   The image projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the projection apparatus main body has a monitor screen that displays an image according to an output signal of the monitor image processing unit.   The output signal of the monitor image processing unit is output to a device having a monitor screen by wireless communication, and control information is received from the device having the monitor screen by wireless communication. Image projection device.   The output signal of the monitor image processing unit is output to a device having a monitor screen by wired communication, and control information is received from the device having the monitor screen by wired communication. Image projection device.

Images