JP2008131536A - Projector, and test pattern for controlling attitude of projector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To adjust a projection angle in a projector in simple configuration. <P>SOLUTION: First of all, a test pattern is projected on a screen S. Here, the test pattern is defined to "comprise a plurality of partial graphics each of which is shaped closer to a standard graphic when it is distorted by an inclination in the direction of projection by an image forming optical system 2 in accordance with the inclination in the projection direction". When the test pattern is projected on the screen S, a user then inputs identification information for identifying a partial graphic that is shaped most closely to the standard graphic. The projector then accepts the input of the identification information and determines a correction amount on the basis of the input. On the basis of the determined correction amount, the projector then adjusts a projection direction by the image forming optical system 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a projector and a test pattern for attitude control of the projector.

  The wide-angle projector has an advantage that the projector and the projection surface (screen) can be brought close to each other. For this reason, a relatively large projected image can be obtained even in a narrow space such as a home or a conference room.

  On the other hand, in wide-angle projection lenses, it is known that image distortion varies greatly due to a slight shift in projection angle. For this reason, the adjustment operation of the projection angle in the wide-angle projector tends to be complicated.

  For this reason, as shown in the following patent document, a technique for automatically detecting a distortion correction amount and adjusting a projection angle has been proposed.

However, such a technique has a problem that the structure of the projector is complicated and tends to be expensive.
JP-A-5-328370 JP 2006-25244 A JP 2002-51279 A JP 2002-215114 A JP 2003-46907 A JP 2003-198995 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation. The main object of the present invention is to provide a projector capable of adjusting the projection angle with a simple configuration. Another object of the present invention is to provide a test pattern that can be used in such a projector.

The projector according to claim 1 comprises:
(1) Projection means for projecting a test pattern onto a screen, wherein the test pattern is a partial figure that has a shape close to a standard figure when distorted by the inclination of the projection direction by the projection means. There are several corresponding to the inclination;
(2) An input means for receiving an input of identification information for identifying the partial graphic that is closest to the standard graphic when the test pattern is projected on the screen;
(3) Determination means for determining a correction amount based on the input of the identification information;
(4) Adjustment means for adjusting the direction of projection by the projection means based on the determined correction amount.

The projector attitude control method according to claim 2 includes the following steps:
(1) A step of projecting a test pattern onto a screen, wherein the test pattern is a partial figure that has a shape close to a standard figure when distorted by the inclination of the projection direction by the projection means. There are several corresponding to
(2) receiving an input of identification information for identifying the partial graphic having a shape closest to the standard graphic when the test pattern is projected on the screen;
(3) determining a correction amount based on the input of the identification information;
(4) Adjusting the direction of projection by the projection means based on the determined correction amount.

  The invention according to claim 3 is a test pattern for controlling the direction of projection by the projection means provided in the projector. This test pattern includes a plurality of partial figures corresponding to the inclination in the projection direction, which are similar to the standard figure when distorted by the inclination in the projection direction in the projection means.

  The test pattern according to claim 4 further includes identification information for identifying the partial graphic in the one according to claim 3.

  The test pattern according to claim 5 is the test pattern according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the partial figure is composed of a straight line or a curve, and has four sides constituting a substantially quadrilateral shape. Yes.

  A test pattern according to a sixth aspect is the one according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, wherein the partial figure has an intersection of line segments.

  The test pattern according to claim 7 is the test pattern according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein each of the partial figures is projected at least when the projection direction is tilted in four directions of right and left and up and down. It has a shape corresponding to.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the projector according to the first aspect, the projector further includes a projection direction adjusting unit configured to adjust the projection direction of the projection unit in at least four directions of left and right and up and down. Is.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a projector capable of adjusting the projection angle with a simple configuration. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a test pattern that can be used for such a projector.

(Configuration of the embodiment)
A projector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The projector according to the present embodiment includes a housing 1, an imaging optical system (projection unit) 2, an input unit 3, an image generation unit 4 (see FIG. 3), and an adjustment unit 5 as main components. (See FIG. 1).

  The casing 1 is a part that becomes a main body of the projector, and is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape in the illustrated example. An imaging optical system 2 and an image generation unit 4 are housed inside the housing 1.

  The imaging optical system 2 is composed of a wide-angle projection lens. The imaging optical system 2 can project an image formed by the light beam sent from the image generation unit 4 onto the screen S. In addition, the imaging optical system 2 of the present embodiment is configured so that an image of a test pattern sent from the image generation unit 4 can be projected on the screen S. The configuration of the test pattern will be described later. The imaging optical system 2 projects an image in a direction above the optical axis 21.

  The input means 3 is, for example, a push button attached to the surface of the housing 1. The input means 3 accepts input of identification information for identifying a partial graphic that has a shape closest to a standard graphic (described later) when a test pattern is projected onto the screen S. The identification information input from the input unit 3 is sent to the image generation unit 4. In short, the input unit 3 may be any unit that can input identification information. For example, the input unit 3 may transmit identification information to the image generation unit 4 via radio.

  In this embodiment, the image generation unit 4 exhibits a function of generating an image to be projected and a function of determining the correction amount of the adjusting means according to the input identification information.

  Specifically, the image generation unit 4 includes a CPU 41, a ROM 42, a RAM 43, a frame memory 44, a video signal input unit 45, an image processing unit 46, an optical element drive unit 47, and a lamp control circuit 48. , A lamp 49, an illumination optical system 410, and a light modulation element 411 (see FIG. 3).

  Based on the computer program recorded in the ROM 42 or RAM 43, the CPU 41 performs “a process for determining the correction amount based on the input identification information”. That is, in the present embodiment, the CPU 41 corresponds to the determination unit in the present invention.

  Specifically, in the present embodiment, the ROM 42 is provided with a correction amount determination table as shown in FIG. The CPU 41 can determine the correction amount with reference to this table. Here, the correction amount determination table is obtained by theoretically or experimentally determining a correction amount corresponding to the identification information and recording the correction amount. For example, the inclination of the projection direction when a certain partial figure appears as a standard figure can be obtained, and the correction amount of the projection direction can be determined therefrom. The correction amount shown in the right column of FIG. 4 is merely an example. In this example, α is a value on the X axis (that is, a movement amount in the horizontal direction) in a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system, and β is a value on the Y axis (that is, a movement amount in the vertical direction) in this coordinate system. ). Of course, it is also possible to specify a value in polar coordinates. Details of the partial figure will be described later.

  Further, the CPU 41 operates the adjusting unit 5 based on the determined correction amount.

  In addition to the correction amount determination table described above, the ROM 42 stores an image of the test pattern 8 shown in FIG. Here, the test pattern is provided with a plurality of partial figures corresponding to the inclination in the projection direction, which have a shape close to a standard figure when distorted by the inclination in the projection direction by the imaging optical system 2.

  Specifically, in the present embodiment, nine partial figures 81 to 89 are provided, and identification information from 1 to 9 is assigned to each as corresponding identification information. Identification information is also projected together with the test pattern 8. That is, the projected image is obtained by adding identification information to the test pattern. For this purpose, such an image may be recorded in the ROM 42 in advance.

  Here, the standard figure in the test pattern 8 is a square in the example of FIG. However, the partial figure 85 remains a standard figure.

  Each partial figure in the test pattern 8 is formed of a straight line or a curve, and has four sides constituting a substantially quadrilateral shape.

  Furthermore, the partial figure has a shape corresponding to each projection direction when the projection direction is tilted in at least four directions of left and right and up and down. In other words, when the projection direction is deviated, the partial graphic at the position corresponding to the deviated direction approaches the standard graphic.

Specifically, for example, the partial figure 81 has a shape when a standard figure is projected in a state where the projection direction is inclined to the upper left in FIG. Hereinafter, the relationship between a partial figure and a projection direction is shown.
Partial figure 82: State figure 83 inclined upward in FIG. 5: State figure 84 inclined in the upper right direction in FIG. 5: State figure 85 inclined in the left direction in FIG. 5: State part figure 86 not inclined in FIG. : State partial graphic 87 tilted to the right in FIG. 5: state partial graphic 88 tilted to the lower left in FIG. 5: state partial graphic tilted downward in FIG. 5: state tilted to the lower right in FIG.

  The other configuration of the image generation unit 4 may be basically the same as that of the conventional projector, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The adjustment unit 5 includes a motor control unit 51, a vertical adjustment unit 52, and a horizontal adjustment unit 53 (FIG. 3). The motor control unit 51 can control the projection angle in the vertical direction by driving a motor provided in the vertical adjustment means 52 by a predetermined angle. Further, the motor control unit 51 can control the projection angle in the horizontal direction by driving a motor provided in the horizontal adjustment means 53 by a predetermined angle.

  However, in this embodiment, the vertical adjustment means 52 and the horizontal adjustment means 53 are mounted using the same mechanical configuration (see FIG. 1). Such a configuration can use, for example, a mechanism (for example, see JP-A-2005-188555) that rotates the casing in an arbitrary direction using a spherical pedestal. Of course, the vertical and horizontal adjusting means may be other mechanisms (for example, using a leg whose height can be adjusted as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-195871).

(Operation of the embodiment)
Next, the operation of the projector according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(Step SA-1)
First, a user installs a projector on an installation surface such as a table upper surface in the same manner as a normal projector. At this time, the projection direction of the projector is set as the direction of the screen S.

  Next, the test pattern 8 is projected onto the surface of the screen S by the imaging optical system 2. Then, the test pattern 8 is projected in a distorted shape corresponding to the projection angle shift amount (see FIG. 5B).

At this time, a part of the partial graphic (the partial graphic 88 in the example of FIG. 5B) included in the test pattern 8 is projected in a shape close to the standard graphic according to the amount of deviation of the projection angle. For example, the partial figure 81 approaches a standard figure (that is, a square without distortion) when the optical axis 21 (that is, the casing 1) of the imaging optical system 2 is tilted to the lower right in FIG. Other partial figures approach standard figures in the following situations.
Partial figure 82: State figure 83 inclined downward in FIG. 5: State figure 84 inclined in the lower left direction in FIG. 5: State figure 85 inclined in the right direction in FIG. 5: State part figure 86 without inclination in FIG. : State partial graphic 87 tilted to the left in FIG. 5: state partial graphic tilted to the upper right in FIG. 5: state partial graphic tilted upward in FIG. 5: state tilted to the upper left in FIG.

(Step SA-2)
Next, when the user projects the test pattern 8 onto the screen S, the identification information (partial graphic 88 in the example of FIG. 5B) that is closest to the standard graphic is identified. In the example of FIG. 5B, the circle 8) is input using the input means 3. Thereby, the projector of this embodiment can receive the input of identification information. That is, the system side waits until the identification information is input, and if there is an input, proceeds to the next step.

(Step SA-3)
Next, the CPU 41 in the image generation unit 4 determines the correction amount of the projection angle based on the correction amount set in advance corresponding to the identification information. Further, the CPU 41 sends a control signal to the motor control unit 51 of the adjusting unit 5 based on the determined correction amount.

(Step SA-4)
Next, the motor control unit 51 of the adjusting unit 5 drives the vertical adjusting unit 52 and the horizontal adjusting unit 53 based on a control signal from the CPU 41. As a result, the adjustment unit 5 can adjust the direction of projection (projection angle) by the imaging optical system 2 based on the correction amount determined by the CPU 41. Thereby, the projection direction can be adjusted to the correct direction.
(Step SA-5)
Next, the operator confirms the test pattern projected in the adjusted projection direction, and thereafter performs input for determining the projection direction using the input unit 3. Thereby, it can determine, after confirming a projection direction. If the decision is not input (or if a re-input instruction is input), the projector of this embodiment returns to (step SA-2) again and waits for the input of the identification number.

  In the projector according to this embodiment, the user who sees the projected test pattern can adjust the projection angle simply by inputting the identification number for identifying the partial graphic that is close to the standard graphic. There is an advantage that the work is easy.

Further, in the projector according to the present embodiment, it is possible to determine a correction amount using previously recorded data based on the input identification information, and adjust the projection angle based on the correction amount. For this reason, compared with the prior art which calculates a correction amount automatically, there exists an advantage that a structure is simple and it can hold down manufacturing cost low.
The projector of this embodiment is particularly effective when the wide-angle imaging optical system 2 is used. This is because when a wide-angle projection lens is used, image distortion due to a shift in the projection angle is more conspicuous. According to the projector of the present embodiment, even when the projection lens has a wide angle, as described above, it is possible to adjust the deviation of the projection angle by a simple adjustment operation and reduce image distortion.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to an above-described Example, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, a various change can be added.

  In the embodiment, the correction amount of the projection angle is determined by selecting the partial graphic closest to the standard graphic. This can be said to be a method mainly focusing on the side shape of the standard figure. However, for example, when the angle at the intersection provided by the partial figure (the angle formed by the two straight lines constituting the intersection) is closest to a standard angle (for example, a right angle), by selecting the intersection, the correction amount of the projection angle can be reduced. It can also be determined. The method in this case is almost the same as described above. However, in this case, it is preferable to add identification information for identifying the intersection to the test pattern.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the test pattern image is projected with identification information. However, the identification information may be anything as long as it can select a partial graphic close to the standard graphic. It is not essential to be projected together. For example, the buttons constituting the input unit 3 may be the same as the arrangement of the partial graphic (for example, the arrangement of 3 rows and 3 columns in this embodiment), and the button corresponding to the partial graphic close to the standard graphic may be pressed. In this case, the identification information is position information of a partial graphic (how many rows and columns where the partial graphic is located).

1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a projector according to an embodiment of the present invention when viewed from the side. It is a schematic perspective view of the projector of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the main elements in the projector of FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the table which determines the corrected amount. FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram showing an image of a test pattern. FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a test pattern actually projected. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement in the projector of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

S screen 1 housing 2 imaging optical system (projection means)
3 Input means 4 Image generation unit 41 CPU (determination means)
5 Adjustment means 51 Motor controller 52 Vertical adjustment means 53 Horizontal adjustment means 8 Test pattern

Claims (8)

A projector characterized by comprising:
(1) Projection means for projecting a test pattern onto a screen, wherein the test pattern is a partial figure that has a shape close to a standard figure when distorted by the inclination of the projection direction by the projection means. There are several corresponding to the inclination;
(2) An input means for receiving an input of identification information for identifying the partial graphic that is closest to the standard graphic when the test pattern is projected on the screen;
(3) Determination means for determining a correction amount based on the input of the identification information;
(4) Adjustment means for adjusting the direction of projection by the projection means based on the determined correction amount. A projector attitude control method comprising the following steps:
(1) A step of projecting a test pattern onto a screen, wherein the test pattern is a partial figure that has a shape close to a standard figure when distorted by the inclination of the projection direction by the projection means. There are several corresponding to
(2) receiving an input of identification information for identifying the partial graphic having a shape closest to the standard graphic when the test pattern is projected on the screen;
(3) determining a correction amount based on the input of the identification information;
(4) Adjusting the direction of projection by the projection means based on the determined correction amount. A test pattern for controlling the direction of projection by a projection means provided in a projector,
A test for controlling the attitude of a projector, comprising a plurality of partial figures corresponding to the inclination in the projection direction, each having a shape close to a standard figure when distorted by the inclination in the projection direction in the projection means. pattern.   The test pattern according to claim 3, further comprising identification information for identifying the partial graphic.   5. The test pattern according to claim 3, wherein the partial graphic includes a straight line or a curved line and includes four sides that substantially form a quadrilateral shape. 6.   The test pattern according to claim 3, wherein the partial graphic has intersections of line segments.   The said partial figure is a shape corresponding to each projection direction at least when the projection direction inclines in four directions of right and left and up and down, It is any one of Claims 3-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. Test pattern.   The projector according to claim 1, further comprising a projection direction adjusting unit configured to adjust a projection direction of the projection unit in at least four directions of left and right and up and down.

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