JP2008015324A - Projector unit and projector system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a projector unit which is free from wasteful components, is excellent in economic efficiency and portability, and is satisfactory in operability. <P>SOLUTION: A projector unit 2 is attached to the part of the light 11 of a mobile phone 1 with an attaching means such as a hook-and loop fastener. The projector unit 2 includes an LCD display part 21, a projection optical system 22, and a control circuit 23. Based on an externally input image signals, the LCD display part 21 is controlled by a control circuit 23. Thereby, light from the light 11 is modulated, and the modulated light is imaged on a projecting face 24 via the projection optical system 22. A mirror 25 that extracts part of the modulated light is disposed between the projection optical system 22 and the LCD display part 21. This extracted light is detected by an RGB sensor 26. When not in use, the projector unit 2 is detached. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a projector unit and a projector system capable of projecting a projector using an external artificial light source such as a mobile phone, a laser pointer, and a flashlight.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an image projection apparatus (projector) that synthesizes image light using a light modulation device such as a liquid crystal light valve and enlarges and projects the synthesized image light onto a screen through a projection optical system including a projection lens. Yes.
Patent Document 1 proposes a projector that is reduced in size by using an LED or a laser instead of a conventional lamp light source.
Patent Document 2 proposes a mobile device in which a projector is integrally mounted on a mobile phone, that is, for the purpose of viewing display information by a large number of people anytime and anywhere without selecting an installation location.

JP 2003-295315 A JP 2001-24926 A http://www.toshiba-tie.co.jp/hardware/dp/shrui.html

However, in the conventional technology as described above, a mobile phone becomes large because a projector is mounted, and the portability of the mobile phone itself may be impaired.
In other words, when the projector function is not used, the bulkiness of the casing due to the integral projector reduces the compactness and portability of the mobile phone.

  The present invention focuses on the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use projector unit and projector system that are free of parts, economical, and portable.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a projector unit that uses an external artificial light source, the color information detecting means for detecting color information, and the projection based on the output of the color information detecting means. An image generation unit that generates an image to be a target and a projection optical system that projects the image generated by the image generation unit.
For example, a mobile phone device with a camera has been commercialized, but the size of the image sensor and lens is limited, and the size of the mobile phone device cannot be increased. Therefore, it is difficult to photograph a subject in a dark place. Therefore, as a general method, an LED is arranged on the same plane as the camera so that the subject can be photographed even in a dark place and the photographing is assisted. In the present invention, this LED is shared, and a projector unit as an external unit is interposed to enable image projection.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the projector unit according to the first aspect, the light from the external artificial light source is laser light or LED light.
In combination with the projector unit, for example, compared with a combination with a UHP lamp, for example, the color reproduction range is expanded, temporary lighting / extinguishing, and long life are achieved.
In addition, a small battery can be applied to the portable device to be mounted, and the portable device is small and light.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the projector unit according to the first aspect, the image generating means is any one of a mirror modulation device, a reflective liquid crystal panel, and a transmissive liquid crystal panel.
As an image generation means, a mirror modulation device such as DMD (Digital Micromirror Device), a reflective liquid crystal panel, a transmissive liquid crystal panel, etc., which are generally widespread in terms of high resolution, high light output, and small size. Use it.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the projector unit according to the first aspect, the external artificial light source is a laser light source, and the image generating means has a scanning means for scanning the laser light. To do.
The projector unit is not limited to a projector unit including an image generating unit and a projection optical system, and the projector unit may include a scanning unit that scans a beam-shaped laser beam.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the projector unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the mounting means on the external artificial light source side includes any one of a planar fastener, a magnet, and a suction cup. It is characterized by being.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the projector system, the projector unit according to any one of the first to fifth aspects is attached to a portable device including the external artificial light source.
By using the projector unit as described above in combination with a portable device described later, a projector system having excellent portability can be realized.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the projector system according to the sixth aspect, the portable device is any one of an information terminal device having a communication function, a flashlight, and a laser pointer.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, for example, since the projector unit can be attached to and detached from the auxiliary light source of a mobile phone, the projector unit may be carried as necessary, and is excellent in portability.
In addition, the economic efficiency is improved by sharing the auxiliary light source of the mobile phone and the light source of the projector. Further, the present invention is not limited to the type of mobile device or the model of the mobile device, and can be used for a general purpose in a mobile device provided with a light emitter.
In addition, since the projector unit is detachable, the functions unique to the portable device can be used when not attached, which is convenient.
In addition, since color information detection means (RGB sensor) for detecting color information is provided, it is possible to perform white balance adjustment based on the color information, and it is stable regardless of the type of light source of the portable device. Projection is possible.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the light emitting means of the portable device is composed of at least one of a laser and an LED, color reproduction is achieved in combination with a projector unit, for example, in comparison with a combination with a UHP lamp. It is possible to expand the range, temporarily turn on / off, and extend the life of the light emitting means of the portable device. In addition, a small battery can be applied to the portable device to be mounted, and the portable device is small and light.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the image generating means is one of a mirror modulation device such as a DMD (digital micromirror device), a reflective liquid crystal panel, and a transmissive liquid crystal panel. The following features of a projector equipped with these as disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Toshiba Information Equipment Co., Ltd. HP) can be used as they are.
-DMD: Light, small size, high light output, high contrast * Projection method using DMD is sometimes called DLP (Digital Light Processing)-Reflective type: High resolution, high light output, high contrast-Transmission type: Small size Light, high resolution, high light output

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the projector unit can be attached to and detached from a portable device such as a laser pointer, for example, the projector unit only needs to be carried as necessary, and the portability is excellent. In addition, since the laser scanning type can obtain a beam having higher directivity than LED light, an optical system with high light utilization efficiency can be realized.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a portable projector can be easily realized, can be stably mounted, and can be prevented from being unintentionally detached.

  According to the sixth and seventh aspects of the invention, a portable projector system can be realized with a general-purpose and inexpensive portable device. Further, with respect to the mobile phone, the auxiliary light source already provided and the light source of the projector can be shared to improve the economy.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the projector unit 2 according to the present embodiment includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) display unit 21, a projection optical system (projection optical system) 22, and a control circuit 23. As an external artificial light source, The light 11 of the mobile phone device 1 to which the projector unit 2 is attached is used.
The LCD display unit 21 is controlled by the control circuit 23 based on an image signal input from the outside, whereby the light from the light 11 is modulated, and the modulated light is formed as an image on the projection surface 24 via the projection optical system 22. The

For capturing the image signal, the projector unit 2 is provided with a USB terminal (not shown) to read the USB memory signal. Alternatively, information may be taken from the mobile phone device 1.
In addition, a mirror 25 for extracting a part of the modulated light is disposed between the projection optical system 22 and the LCD display unit 21, and this extracted light is detected by an RGB sensor 26 as color information detecting means. Yes.
The white balance of the LCD display unit 21 is adjusted by the output signal of the RGB sensor 26.
A projector system 3 is configured by mounting the projector unit 2 on the mobile phone device 1.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the camera and the light-equipped mobile phone device 1 as the mounting target of the projector unit 2. Here, the cellular phone device 1 is a portable device and an information terminal device. The light 11 has a structure that continuously illuminates a subject using a light emitting diode (LED) that emits light with high luminance. Reference numeral 13 denotes a camera that has an image sensor such as a CCD and an optical lens and can capture a moving image in addition to a still image.
Reference numeral 14 denotes a display (display means) such as a liquid crystal provided in a rectangular shape for displaying operation information, character information, or an image captured by the camera 13. Reference numeral 15 denotes an input key (button) group for specifying and selecting a telephone number, characters, and image data, and includes an illumination switch (switch means) 27 for turning on / off the light (illuminating means) 11. Yes.
Reference numeral 16 denotes an antenna for wirelessly transmitting and receiving audio data and image data, reference numeral 17 denotes an audio output hole such as a speaker of the mobile phone device, and reference numeral 18 denotes an audio input hole such as a microphone. .

The casing of the cellular phone device 1 is generally a vertically long box shape, or a folded shape that opens in use and double folds in standby, but FIG. 2 shows a box shape. In the case of a box shape, the display 14 is disposed above the center of the front surface. In the case of a folded shape, the display 14 is disposed on one of the inner surfaces to be folded, and the input key group 15 is disposed on the other side.
Above the display 14, the camera 13 and the light 11 are provided side by side so as to be in the vicinity. In the present embodiment, the camera 13 and the light 11 are provided close to each other in order to prevent an unnatural shadow from being generated on the subject when the light is emitted.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of the light 11 of FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 31 denotes a circuit board for an electronic circuit, which is usually the main circuit board of the mobile phone device 1. Reference numeral 32 denotes a light emitting diode (illuminating means) that illuminates the subject by emitting light with high luminance, and white is used as the emission color.
In the present embodiment, the white light emitting diode 32 is installed directly on the circuit board 31 and the legal line AX1 of the light emitting diode 32 is perpendicular to the circuit board 31.
Reference numeral 33 denotes a light distribution lens having a convex lens shape for condensing light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 while diffusing to about 60 degrees toward the subject (decreasing the radiation angle and increasing the amount of straight traveling light). Is shown. The light distribution lens 33 is aligned with the subject line side of the light emitting diode 32 so that the light emitted while diffusing from the light emitting diode 32 is gathered within the imaging range of the camera 13 and the center of the light emitting diode 32 is aligned with the subject line AX1. Provided on the front side.

As the lens form of the light distribution lens 33, a lens having an arbitrary shape such as a Fresnel lens or a cylindrical lens can be used.
Reference numeral 34 denotes a transparent cover provided at the opening of the casing 28 of the mobile phone device 1 in order to protect internal components such as the light distribution lens 33 and the light emitting diode 32. The transparent cover 34 is disposed outside the light distribution lens 33 so that all the light emitted from the light emitting diode 32 and directed to the subject is transmitted. The transparent cover 34 is fitted into the opening of the housing 28 or fixed with an adhesive. Further, AX1 indicates a white gland of white light emitted from the light emitting diode 32.
In addition, although LED which emits white light was used as LED, the structure which emits white using LED which light-emits different color, for example, LED which light-emits R, G, B (Red light, Green light, Blue light) simultaneously. It is good.
Alternatively, a laser may be used instead of the LED. Or R and B may be lasers, G may be LEDs, and lasers and LEDs may be mixed.

The LCD display unit 21 and the projection optical system 22 of the projector unit will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, the LCD display unit 21 is called a pixel switching element, and the projection optical system 21 is called a projection lens. White light emitted from the LED 32 in the mobile phone device 1 is incident on the rod lens 211 for making the illuminance uniform. The rod lens 211 is hollow on the inside, has a different opening diameter from the incident side to the emission side, has a circular or quadrangular opening shape, and the surface of the inner hollow portion is reflectively coated.
The light emitted from the LED 32 has an illuminance distribution in which the luminance of the central portion of the LED 32 is high and the luminance of the peripheral portion is low when reaching the incident end face of the rod lens 211, but internal reflection is performed by the rod lens 211. Repeatedly, the illuminance is made uniform at the time of emission from the emission end face.

Subsequently, the light enters the pixel switching element 220. As the pixel switching element, a TN liquid crystal 215 using a thin film transistor is sandwiched between substrates 213 and 216. On the outer surface, an incident side polarizing plate 212 and an output side polarizing plate 217 are provided so that their transmission axes are orthogonal to each other.
For example, incident s-polarized light is converted into p-polarized light and emitted in the off state, while light is blocked in the on state.
By arranging a liquid crystal pixel and an RGB three-color color filter 214 corresponding to the liquid crystal pixel in front of the TN liquid crystal 215, a plurality of color display pixels each including the three RGB pixels are provided. It consists of a liquid crystal panel with a color filter.

  The light modulated by the color display pixels is projected onto a screen via a projection lens 221 described later. The color filter 214 is a so-called single plate that is formed of, for example, a dielectric multilayer film and uses a non-absorbing color filter that transmits color light in a specific wavelength band and reflects color light in other wavelength bands. Since a color separation optical system and a color synthesis optical system are not required, the number of parts can be greatly reduced and the apparatus configuration can be simplified.

The light transmitted through the pixel switching element 220 is projected on a screen by a projection lens 221 as a projection optical system.
In the projector unit 2 according to the present embodiment, since both the rod lens 211 and the pixel switching element 220 have a flat plate shape, the size, thickness, and weight can be reduced.

In FIG. 4, between the projection lens 221 and the pixel switching element 220, as shown in FIG. 1, a reflection mirror 25 that extracts a part of the light is arranged, and the extracted light is detected by the RGB sensor 26 from the reflection mirror 25. It may be configured to.
The RGB sensor 26 is used for so-called white balance control. The RGB sensor 26 outputs a signal corresponding to the intensity of each color component, and controls the modulation degree of each pixel based on the output signal corresponding to the intensity of each color component. An extremely small value of about 1% or less is sufficient for the reflectivity of the reflection mirror 25, so that there is almost no influence on the luminance reduction of the light beam finally emitted from the projection lens.
In order to control the white balance, it is necessary to project a white screen. However, this may be performed manually when the user feels necessary, or automatically at predetermined time intervals. You may do it. Even if the reflection mirror 25 is not provided, the configuration may be such that the reflection mirror 25 is not provided when stray light or the like can be incident on the RGB sensor 26 to such an extent that each color component ratio can be sufficiently detected.

For example, the RGB sensor 25 to be mounted may be one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-236470. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the color sensor 700 includes three filters 701, 702, and 703 that mainly transmit R (red), G (green), and B (blue) light. , 703, light sensing means 704, 705, 706 such as photodiode elements are individually provided.
Thereby, the intensity | strength (it is each called X, Y, Z) of the light which permeate | transmits them can be measured separately. As illustrated, for example, the light sensing means 704, 705, 706 are realized in a monolithic configuration on the silicon wafer 707. The silicon wafer 707 is electrically connected to the support substrate 708 by a method such as bonding means 709.

Further, the silicon wafer 707, the support substrate 708, and the bonding means 709 are surrounded by a molding material 710 and packaged in the same manner as a normal integrated circuit.
FIG. 12 shows examples of the intensity of light transmitted through the filters 701, 702, and 703 as X, Y, and Z for the RGB sensor 700 shown in FIG. As illustrated, the filters 701, 702, and 703 do not transmit monochromatic light, but transmit light with a certain wavelength width.

A method for attaching the projector unit 2 to the cellular phone device 1 will be described. As a mounting method, a planar fastener or the like may be used. As a surface fastener, Kuraray's Magic Tape (registered trademark) is well known.
As shown in FIG. 5, a recess 29 is formed in the housing of the projector unit 2, and a magic tape (registered trademark) 30 </ b> A for attaching to the mobile phone device side is affixed to the recess 29. Yes. This magic tape (registered trademark) 30A is formed in a rectangular frame shape having an outer shape substantially equal to the inner diameter of the recess 29, and is fixed in the recess 29 by a double-sided tape or an adhesive.
Further, the inner diameter of the square frame-shaped magic tape (registered trademark) 30 </ b> A is substantially the same as the opening diameter of the transparent cover 34 of the light 11 of the mobile phone device 1.

As shown in FIG. 6, the periphery of the transparent cover 34 of the cellular phone device 1 having the light 11 is a rectangular frame shape to which the Velcro tape (registered trademark) 30A is coupled and is almost the same size as the Velcro tape (registered trademark) 30A. The velcro tape (registered trademark) 30B is attached.
The magic tape (registered trademark) 30B is positioned so as not to cover the transparent cover 34 of the light 11 of the mobile phone device 1 having a light function, and is attached with a double-sided tape or an adhesive.
The mounting method is not limited to Velcro (registered trademark), and may be, for example, a magnet (adsorption structure by magnetic force) or a suction cup (adsorption structure by negative pressure), and light incident on the projector unit 2 The projector unit 2 may be detachable without being kicked by the projector, and the projector unit 2 may not be peeled off due to vibration during carrying.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, as the planar light source, a semiconductor laser, an organic EL element, an inorganic EL element, or the like can be used in addition to the LED.
Although general examples have been given as optical parts used for uniform illumination means, polarization conversion means, and the like, they may be appropriately selected in addition to those described in the above embodiment as long as they have the functions described above. Absent.
You may project using a curved mirror etc. instead of a projection lens.
Further, the mounting target of the projector unit 2 is not limited to the mobile phone device 1 and may be other mobile devices. For example, flashlights using LEDs have recently become widespread, but an equivalent function can be obtained by interposing the projector unit 2 in the projection direction, and in this case as well, a similar projector system can be configured.

A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and unless otherwise specified, description of the configuration and functions already described is omitted, and only the main part will be described (the same applies to other embodiments below).
The projector unit system is not limited to the one using the above-described transmissive liquid crystal panel, and may be one using a reflective liquid crystal panel, for example.
In the projector unit according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the rod lens 411 for equalizing the illuminance of white light emitted from the LED and the polarization conversion of the light incident from the rod lens 411 are performed. The polarizers 412 are sequentially disposed and are incident on a polarization beam splitter (PBS) 413.

Only the S wave component of the light incident on the PBS 413 is reflected by the joint surface, and is incident on the reflective liquid crystal display element 414. The reflective liquid crystal display element 414 spatially modulates incident light in accordance with a video signal and converts the incident light into a polarization plane component orthogonal to the polarization plane of the incident light and reflects it. In this embodiment, high-speed switching is performed. LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon) elements that can be used are used.
The reflected light modulated based on the video signal and converted to P-polarized light passes through the S-polarized reflection surface and enters the projection lens 415. In this manner, the light given the video information is enlarged and projected on the screen via the projection lens 415.

A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The projector unit system is not limited to the one using the above-mentioned liquid crystal panel. For example, the DLP system (DLP: Digital Light Processing, a projection type video display developed by Texas Instruments Inc., USA) has become popular in recent years. Method).
In the DLP system, for example, the direction of each mirror of a display element in which millions of small mirrors (DMD, digital micromirror device) having a size of 13 μm are spread is controlled based on a video signal, and light from a light source is transmitted. The reflected image is projected onto the screen.
As shown in FIG. 8, the projector unit according to this embodiment includes a rod lens 511, a color filter 512, a condenser lens 513, a reflection mirror 514, a DMD 515, and a projection lens 516.

The color filter 512 separates white light from the white LED into red, green, and blue primary color lights in a time-sharing manner. The condenser lens 513 collects the light that has passed through the color filter 512 on the incident surface of the DMD 515 via the reflection mirror 514. The DMD 515 is an optical semiconductor device in which very small mirrors corresponding to the number of pixels are laid, and the light from the light source is reflected and reflected on each mirror whose inclination is controlled based on the video signal, thereby condensing on the incident surface. Each primary color light of the emitted light is modulated and synthesized corresponding to the video signal.
The projection lens 516 enlarges and projects the light combined by the DMD 515 onto the screen.

A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.
The mounting target of the projector unit 2 is not limited to the cellular phone device 1 and may be other portable devices. For example, a laser pointer may be used. The laser pointer is used to indicate a figure or a graph projected on a screen by an overhead projector (OHP) or the like when conducting research presentations at conferences, conferences, various presentations, or the like.
In general, as shown in FIG. 9, the laser pointer 6 is a pencil type case in which a battery 611 serving as a power source and a laser 612 serving as a light source are integrally accommodated. Reference numeral 613 denotes a collimating lens that converts divergent light from the laser 612 into parallel light, and reference numeral 614 denotes a protective filter. The switch 615 can be turned on / off by turning it on / off.

In the projector system according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the light from the laser pointer 6 enters the galvanometer mirror 616 that is a scanning unit. The galvano mirror 616 is controlled by a control circuit (not shown) and is rotated in two substantially perpendicular directions. Thereby, the laser beam can be scanned within a predetermined plane. That is, the light is deflected and reflected at various angles by the galvanometer mirror 616.
The laser beam deflected by the galvanometer mirror 616 is emitted by the projection lens 617 to the projection surface side at an emission angle larger than the incident angle. As a result, a large projection screen can be obtained in a state where the projection distance between the projection lens 617 and the projection surface is shortened.

Instead of the biaxial galvanometer mirror 616 shown in FIG. 10, two uniaxial galvanometer mirrors may be arranged with their rotation directions orthogonal to each other.
Depending on the image to be projected, the laser beam may not be projected. In this case, the galvanometer mirror is controlled so as to guide the beam in a direction different from the projection plane instead of turning on / off the light source of the laser beam. Also good.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a projector system according to a first embodiment. It is a general | schematic front view of the mobile telephone apparatus as a portable apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the light of a mobile telephone apparatus. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows a LCD display part and a projection optical system. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the mounting structure by the side of a projector unit. It is a perspective view which shows the mounting structure by the side of a mobile telephone apparatus. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the projector unit which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the projector unit which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a partially broken perspective view of a laser pointer as an external artificial light source used in a projector system according to a fourth embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the projector unit which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the RGB sensor which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a graph which shows the intensity | strength of the light in the RGB sensor shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cellular phone apparatus as portable apparatus 2 Projector unit 6 Laser pointer as external artificial light source 11 Light as external artificial light source 22 Projection optical system 26 RGB sensors 30A and 30B as color information detecting means 515 Surface fastener as mounting means 515 DMD as image generation means

Claims (7)

  A projector unit that uses an external artificial light source, color information detection means for detecting color information, image generation means for generating an image to be projected based on an output of the color information detection means, and the image generation means And a projection optical system for projecting an image generated by the projector unit. The projector unit according to claim 1, wherein
The projector unit, wherein the light from the external artificial light source is laser light or LED light. The projector unit according to claim 1, wherein
The projector unit characterized in that the image generation means is any one of a mirror modulation device, a reflective liquid crystal panel, and a transmissive liquid crystal panel. The projector unit according to claim 1, wherein
The projector unit according to claim 1, wherein the external artificial light source is a laser light source, and the image generating means includes a scanning means for scanning the laser light. In the projector unit in any one of Claims 1-4,
A projector unit comprising: a surface fastener, a magnet, or a suction cup as means for mounting on the external artificial light source side.   6. A projector system comprising the projector unit according to claim 1 attached to a portable device including the external artificial light source. The projector system according to claim 6, wherein
A projector system, wherein the portable device is one of an information terminal device having a communication function, a flashlight, and a laser pointer.

Images