JP2010250194A - Projector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a projector that can easily be introduced as for household use. <P>SOLUTION: The projector 10 for projecting an image includes a storage section 50 for storing a presentation image showing starlit sky; and an image processing section 34 that obtains a rotation angle, based on time measurement information obtained by a time measurement part 80, makes the presentation image rotate by the obtained rotation angle, has a position detecting part 36 and an illuminance detecting part 22, and changes the presentation image, based on the detection of a position specified by a user and the detection of surrounding brightness. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a projection apparatus.

  Conventionally, a planetarium system that projects a star image on a dome screen using a projection device is known. (For example, patent document 1). However, this system is a planetarium-only system and is not a system that can be easily enjoyed at home. In addition, home projectors are becoming popular, but there has been no proposal of how to use them other than projecting images such as DVDs and PCs.

JP 2008-225294 A

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a projection apparatus that can be easily introduced for home use.

  (1) The present invention is a projection device that projects an effect image, a storage unit that stores the effect image, and an image processing unit that performs a process of changing the effect image to be projected based on timing information of a timing unit; It is characterized by including.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the projection apparatus which projects the effect image which changes with time can be provided.

  (2) The projection apparatus according to the present invention further includes an operation unit for inputting operation information, and the image processing unit performs a process of changing the effect image to be projected based on the operation information. Good.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the projection apparatus which projects the effect image which changes with the operation information input by the user can be provided.

  (3) Further, the projection device according to the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures the projected effect image, and a position detection unit that detects a designated position indicated by the user from the effect image captured by the imaging unit. The image processing unit may add additional information related to the detected designated position to the effect image.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the projection apparatus which projects the effect image to which the additional information relevant to the position designated by the user was added can be provided.

  (4) The projection device according to the present invention further includes an illuminance detection unit that detects ambient brightness, and the image processing unit performs a process of changing the effect image based on the detected brightness. Also good.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the projection apparatus which projects the effect image which changes with ambient brightness can be provided.

  (5) Further, the projection apparatus according to the present invention is supplied from a storage medium reading unit that reads the effect image from an information storage medium storing the effect image, an interface unit that can be connected to the external Internet, and an external device. And at least one input image signal receiving unit for receiving the input image signal, receiving the effect image from at least one of the storage medium reading unit, the interface unit, or the input image signal receiving unit, and the storage unit You may make it memorize.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the projection apparatus according to the present embodiment. The figure which shows an example of an effect image. The figure for demonstrating projection of an effect image. The figure for demonstrating additional information. The figure for demonstrating the change of the effect image based on illumination intensity. The figure for demonstrating a modification.

  Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described. In addition, this embodiment demonstrated below does not unduly limit the content of this invention described in the claim. In addition, all the configurations described in the present embodiment are not necessarily essential configuration requirements of the present invention.

1. Functional Block FIG. 1 is an example of a functional block diagram of a projection apparatus according to this embodiment. Note that the projection apparatus of the present embodiment may have a configuration in which some of the components (each unit) in FIG. 1 are omitted.

  The projection apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes an input image signal receiving unit 90, a communication unit 94, an operation unit 70, a timing unit 80, a storage unit 50, an imaging unit 20, an illuminance detection unit 22, a control unit 30, and a projection optical system 40. The power supply unit 60 is included. Note that the projection apparatus 10 may include a storage medium reading unit that reads image information stored in an information storage medium such as a DVD. The storage medium reading unit can be realized by a DVD player or the like. Further, the storage medium reading unit may read the effect image and additional information stored in the information storage medium.

  The input image signal receiving unit 90 includes an image signal input terminal, a communication device, and the like, and receives an input image signal 92 supplied from an external input image supply device (for example, a DVD player or a PC).

  The communication unit 94 (interface unit) performs various controls for communicating with an external information processing apparatus (server or the like) via a network such as the Internet, and functions as various processors or This can be realized by hardware such as a communication ASIC or a program.

  The operation unit 70 is for a user to input operation data (operation information), and the function can be realized by a button provided on the projection apparatus main body, a button provided on a remote control of the projection apparatus, a pointing device, a touch panel, or the like. The operation unit 70 also functions as an operation information input unit for inputting operation information for designating a date and a region related to the effect image to be projected, and operation information for setting a language and a time zone. May be.

  The storage unit 50 is a work area of the control unit 30. The storage unit 50 stores effect images and additional information. The effect image and additional information may be received from at least one of the storage medium reading unit, the communication unit 94, and the input image signal receiving unit 90, and the received effect image and additional information may be stored in the storage unit 50.

  The imaging unit 20 is configured by a CCD image sensor or the like, captures a projected image, and outputs image data to the control unit 30.

  The illuminance detection unit 22 is provided in the casing of the projection device 10, detects the brightness (illuminance) around the projection device 10, and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 30.

  The control unit 30 performs various processes of the projection apparatus 10 and may be realized by hardware such as a CPU and a DSP and a program for executing various processes of the projection apparatus 10. The control unit 30 includes a display control unit 32 that controls an image displayed on the display unit 44 and a position detection 36.

  The position detection unit 36 uses the captured image captured by the imaging unit 20 and the projection image (effect image) stored in the storage unit 50 to analyze the designated position of the user projected on the captured effect image. . As an analysis method, a generally known image analysis method can be used. For example, by subtracting the projection image stored in the storage unit 50 from the captured image captured by the imaging unit 20, the changed portion of the image is analyzed, and the designated position is specified.

  The display control unit 32 outputs the input image signal from the input image signal receiving unit 90 and the image signal of the effect image processed by the image processing unit 34 to the display unit 44. The display control unit 32 includes an image processing unit 34.

  The image processing unit 34 performs processing for changing the effect image to be projected and image synthesis processing based on the timing information of the timing unit 80. When the projection device 10 does not include the timekeeping unit 80, the image processing unit 34 performs a process of changing the effect image based on timekeeping information received from an external information processing device (such as a server) via the network. It may be.

  Further, the image processing unit 34 may perform processing for changing the effect image to be projected based on the operation information from the operation unit 70. For example, processing for changing the effect image to be projected may be performed based on operation information for designating the date and time or region, and operation information for setting the language or time zone.

  Further, the image processing unit 34 may perform a process of adding additional information related to the designated position detected by the position detection unit 36 to the effect image.

  Further, the image processing unit 34 may perform processing for changing the effect image to be projected based on the brightness (illuminance) detected by the illuminance detection unit 30.

  The projection optical system 40 includes a light source 42 such as a lamp unit, a display unit 44, and a projection lens 46. The projection optical system 40 projects and displays an image on a screen surface 210 etc. outside the projection apparatus 10. 44 functions as a projection unit that projects the image displayed on the screen 210 onto the screen 210.

  The display unit 44 is realized by a liquid crystal panel, a light valve, a DMD (Digital Micromirror device), or the like, and is configured to display an image controlled by the display control unit 32. DMD is a trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated.

  The light source 42 irradiates the display unit 44 with light, and performs a lighting operation using light source driving power generated by the ballast unit 64. The display unit 44 includes a plurality of pixels (not shown) formed in a matrix, and modulates the light emitted from the light source 42 for each pixel based on the image signal 36 input from the display control unit 32. An optical image corresponding to the image signal is formed. The optical image formed by the display unit 44 is projected onto the screen surface 210 and the like by the projection lens 46.

  The power supply unit 60 receives a commercial power supply such as AC 100 V and generates a DC power supply voltage necessary for various operations of the projection apparatus 10, and a ballast unit 64 that drives the light source 42 of the projection optical system 40. including.

  The main power supply unit 62 includes a rectifier circuit that converts commercial power into direct current by full-wave rectification, a power factor correction (PFC) circuit that suppresses harmonic current and improves the power factor, and a power factor correction circuit. A DC-DC conversion circuit or the like that converts the output to a predetermined voltage by a transformer (transformer) may be generated, and operating power for operating the control unit 60 may be generated from a commercial power supply.

  The ballast unit 64 is connected to a power factor correction circuit provided on the primary side (commercial power supply) of the transformer, and is stepped down by a step-down chopper that steps down the output voltage from the power factor improvement circuit and the step-down chopper. An inverter for converting a direct current into an alternating current rectangular wave current (light source driving power) and an igniter for urging the light source lamp to start by performing dielectric breakdown between the electrodes of the light source lamp are provided.

2. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating an example of the effect image of the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, an image representing the starry sky is projected as the effect image IM. In the effect image IM shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, stars (constant stars) and constellation lines are shown, but only stars may be shown.

  Here, the starry sky shown in the effect image IM is a starry sky similar to the starry sky that appears in reality, and changes with the passage of time. That is, the image processing unit 34 according to the present embodiment rotates the effect image IM counterclockwise around the position where the north star PS is represented, based on the timing information of the timing unit 80 that counts the current date and time. It is carried out.

  For example, an effect image IM (reference effect image IM) representing a starry sky at a predetermined reference date and time is stored in the storage unit 50, and the rotation angle θ is calculated from the current date and time (time information of the time measuring unit 80) and the reference date and time. An effect image IM representing the current starry sky is generated by performing a process of obtaining and rotating the effect image IM as a reference by the rotation angle θ. Note that after the effect image IM representing the current starry sky is generated, the effect image IM may be rotated by a predetermined angle every predetermined time. The effect image IM shown in FIG. 2 (A) is an image representing the starry sky seen at 18:00 on January 1st, and the effect image IM shown in FIG. 2 (B) is a starry sky visible at 20:00 on the same day. It is an image to represent.

  In the present embodiment, it is also possible to specify an area where the user is present and project an effect image IM representing the starry sky in the specified area. In this case, a plurality of effect images IM representing the starry sky at the reference date and time of each region are stored in the storage unit 50 in advance, or a plurality of effect images IM representing the starry sky at the reference date of each region are stored via the Internet. You may get it. Then, the effect image IM corresponding to the specified area may be read from the storage unit 50, and the read effect image IM may be rotated at a rotation angle based on the current date and time. Here, the effect image IM shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B is an image representing the starry sky seen in the north sky of Tokyo. The region where the user is located can be specified based on the language setting information entered by the user or the time zone setting information, and therefore represents the starry sky on the reference date of the region via the Internet based on the setting information. When the plurality of effect images IM are automatically acquired, the user can save time and effort for acquiring the effect images one by one, and convenience is improved.

  In addition to the starry sky, planets, meteor showers, and comets may also appear. Planets, meteor showers, comets, and the like may be acquired as included in the effect image IM, or may be acquired as additional effect images IM1. When acquiring separately as an additional effect image IM1, the effect image IM (starry sky image) is set as the main effect image, and the effect image IM1 (image of the planet or the like) is set as the sub-effect image, and each is stored in a separate storage area. . This is to facilitate image processing because the movement of each image is different. The stored effect image IM and effect image IM1 are processed by the image processing unit 34 and synthesized. This makes it possible to faithfully reproduce meteor showers that suddenly appear at specific times.

  Further, the effect image IM to be projected may be changed based on operation information for designating the date and time and the area. That is, the effect image IM representing the date and time input by the user and the starry sky in the area may be projected. In this case, the effect image IM corresponding to the area input by the user may be read from the storage unit 50, and the read effect image IM may be rotated at a rotation angle based on the input date and time.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, a mirror MR is provided in the vicinity of the projection lens of the projection apparatus 10 to project an effect image representing the starry sky on the ceiling CL. As shown in FIG. 3B, the effect image IM may be projected onto the ceiling CL by directing a rotatable projection lens upward. In addition to the first projection lens that projects the input image, a second projection lens that faces upward may be provided, and the effect image IM may be projected onto the ceiling CL from the second projection lens.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the starry sky is projected by projecting the effect image representing the starry sky on the ceiling and changing the effect image to be projected based on the current date and time or the input date and time or region. The planetarium to be reproduced can be enjoyed at home using a projection device, and a projection device having a purpose other than projecting an image such as a DVD or a PC can be provided.

  In the present embodiment, a designated position (designated position indicated by the user) in the projected effect image is detected, and an effect image including additional information related to the detected specified position is generated.

  For example, the position on the effect image of the irradiation point of the laser light emitted from the pointing device (laser pointer) held by the user is detected from the image picked up by the image pickup unit 20, and the region including the detected position is detected. The related additional information is displayed superimposed on the effect image and projected.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, since the position of the irradiation point on the projected effect image IM is the position LP, the constellation name stored in association with the area AR including the position LP is used as additional information AI on the effect image IM. It is superimposed and displayed. That is, the constellation name of each constellation is stored in the storage unit 50 in association with an area including each of the plurality of constellations represented in the effect image IM.

  In this way, the user can confirm the constellation name of the instructed constellation on the effect image by specifying the constellation on the projected effect image using the pointing device. The instruction on the effect image may be performed by operating a button of the operation unit 70, or may be performed using another pointing device such as a mouse. Further, as additional information, a constellation line, a constellation picture, a Bayer code, a star name, a nebula, a star cluster, a meridian, a brightness grade, and the like may be displayed.

  In the present embodiment, the brightness (illuminance) around the projection apparatus 10 is detected by the illuminance detection unit 22, and the effect image is changed based on the detected illuminance.

  For example, when the detected illuminance is high, an effect image IM in which many stars are represented as shown in FIG. 2A is projected, and when the detected illuminance is low, it is shown in FIG. Such an effect image IM with few represented stars is projected. In this case, when the effect image showing from the dark star to the bright star and the effect image showing only the bright star are stored in the storage unit 50, and the detected illuminance is less than the predetermined threshold value In this case, the effect image IM represented from a dark star to a bright star is projected, and if the detected illuminance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the effect image IM representing only the bright star is projected. That's fine.

  In this way, it is possible to reproduce the actual phenomenon that when the surroundings are dark, it is possible to see from dark stars to bright stars, and when the surroundings are bright, only bright stars are visible.

  The effect image IM may be projected during mute when an input image such as a DVD is not projected. Further, the effect image IM may be projected when the user performs an operation for switching to the mode for projecting the effect image.

3. Modifications The application of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the case where only the effect image is projected has been described, but the effect image and an input image such as a DVD may be combined and projected. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the reduced input image IN may be projected on the effect image IM so that the effect image is displayed around the input image IN.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the effect image is rotated based on the timing information of the timing unit has been described. However, a plurality of effect images that have been rotated at different angles are stored in advance in the storage unit, and the timing of the timing unit is measured. Based on the information, one effect image may be selected and projected out of the plurality of stored effect images every predetermined time.

  Further, the effect image to be projected is not limited to the image representing the starry sky, and may be any image as long as it changes with time. For example, an image of moon phases, an image of the sunrise from the sun, a sunset image, a midnight image, an aurora image, and the like may be projected. Further, a weather image captured by a weather satellite may be projected. In this case, a weather image may be acquired from an external server via a network every predetermined time based on the time information of the time measuring unit, and the acquired weather image may be projected every predetermined time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Projection apparatus, 20 Imaging part, 22 Illuminance detection part, 30 Control part, 32 Display control part, 34 Image processing part, 36 Position detection part, 40 Projection optical system, 42 Light source, 44 Display part, 46 Projection lens, 50 Memory | storage Unit, 60 power supply unit, 62 main power supply unit, 64 ballast unit, 70 operation unit, 80 timing unit, 90 input image signal receiving unit, 94 communication unit (interface unit)

Claims (5)

A projection device for projecting an effect image,
A storage unit for storing the effect image;
An image processing unit that performs a process of changing the effect image to be projected based on the timing information of the timing unit;
A projection apparatus comprising: It has an operation unit for inputting operation information,
The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit performs a process of changing the effect image to be projected based on the operation information. An imaging unit for imaging the projected effect image;
A position detection unit that detects a designated position indicated by the user from the effect image captured by the imaging unit;
The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit adds additional information related to the detected designated position to the effect image. Equipped with an illuminance detector that detects ambient brightness,
The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit performs a process of changing the effect image based on the detected brightness. A storage medium reading unit for reading the effect image from an information storage medium storing the effect image;
An interface that can be connected to the external Internet;
An input image signal receiving unit for receiving an input image signal supplied from an external device, and at least one;
5. The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the effect image is received from at least one of the storage medium reading unit, the interface unit, or the input image signal reception unit, and stored in the storage unit. 6. .

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