JP2012194579A - Composite planetarium system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-functional composite planetarium system enabling various video production even though a beautiful realistic starry sky can be reproduced.SOLUTION: A plurality of bright star projection cylinders 31 installed in the middle of a dome screen 33 project bright stars, respectively. And, a plurality of video projectors 32a to 32n able to project videos are installed around so as to be oriented toward the center of the dome. Videos of stars darker than the above-mentioned bright stars are projected on almost the entire surface of the dome screen 33. For example, causing stars to shine or coloring them can obtain a beautiful star field.

Description

  The present invention relates to a composite planetarium apparatus that projects a starry sky on a dome-shaped screen.

In the conventional optical planetarium, an optical stellar projector that projects a star at the center of the dome screen is installed, and the starry sky is projected onto the dome screen.
An example of a conventional star projector is shown in FIG.
The stellar projector has a southern celestial sphere 5 that projects the southern sky and a northern celestial sphere 2 that projects the northern sky. There is a light source 7 at each center, and light emitted from the light source 7 enters a projection unit attached to each stellar sphere.

FIG. 13 shows the inside of the projection unit.
The light from the light source passes through condenser lenses 9a and 9b and a stellar original plate 10 in which a precise hole is formed so as to match the actual stellar arrangement, and the projection lens 11 projects the starry sky on the screen. The star fields projected by multiple projection units are projected together just on the dome screen, and projected as if they were one starry sky. This stellar projector can freely change the attitude angle by the diurnal motion axis 1 and the latitude conversion axis 3, thereby reproducing the starry sky at any place and time on the earth. The light-shielding hemisphere 6 is used to prevent a star from being projected below the horizon, and always blocks projection light below the horizontal position by a weight.

  Recently, the number of stars projected on the optical planetarium has increased dramatically, and by accurately reproducing even stars that are invisible to the naked eye, not only provide a real starry sky that is mistaken for the real starry sky, but also the audience In addition, a projector that can observe the starry sky projected with binoculars as if it were a starry sky in the real starry sky has appeared, and has provided a new use for the planetarium.

FIG. 14 shows the configuration of a digital planetarium that has been developed in recent years.
Around the dome screen 20, three projectors capable of projecting an image within a specific range in the dome are installed. Let them be 21a, 21b and 21c, respectively. By superimposing all of them, it is possible to cover almost the entire surface of the dome screen, and a projection range of where each projector 21a, 21b and 21c projects on the dome screen is assigned in advance. . Each projector projects video signals output from video computers 22a, 22b and 22c that can generate video in real time. Each video computer 22 a, 22 b and 22 c is connected to a host computer 23.
The host computer 23 calculates parameters (basic parameters) such as time, longitude, and latitude given by the operator's instruction input and a preset automatic sequence program, and transmits them to the respective video computers.
Each video computer calculates which star is to be projected on the screen based on the basic parameters, creates an image including a star image within its own projection range, and projects it with a projector. Thereby, the starry sky at the time and place commanded by the host computer is projected on the entire surface of the dome.
In the case of this digital planetarium, it is possible to freely project not only stars but also the moon, planets, any other celestial body, or any object in addition to the celestial body, using computer image generation.

FIG. 15 shows the structure of a composite planetarium in which a digital planetarium and an optical planetarium are combined.
The optical planetarium and the digital planetarium are provided side by side. The optical planetarium is installed at the center of the dome and mainly projects only stars. The projector installed in the same manner as the digital planetarium of FIG. 14 projects various astronomical phenomena other than stars, such as planets, the moon, or the ecliptic of the sun, the equator of the sky, coordinate lines, and other various objects. When parameters such as latitude, longitude, date and time set by the optical planetarium are matched with those of the digital planetarium, for example, a line or constellation picture connecting the stars of the constellation by the digital planetarium is displayed on the constellation projected by the optical planetarium. Projections can be made with matching positions.
Thus, the complex planetarium can satisfy both the beautiful and realistic starry sky projected by the optical planetarium and the wide range of functions of the digital planetarium.

However, the conventional technique has the following problems.
The optical planetarium of the prior art can project a sharp and realistic star image by directly enlarging and projecting a stellar original plate created by precision processing with a lens, but is it possible to project celestial bodies other than stars? In order to project a celestial body other than a star, it is necessary to attach a dedicated auxiliary projection device, but there is a problem in that the size and cost of the entire projector are increased by the amount of these auxiliary projectors. The digital planetarium easily solves the problems of optical stellar projectors. However, due to the processing power of computers that generate digital images and the resolution and contrast of projection liquid crystals and DMD panels, It is difficult to project a sharp stellar image like this, and there is a problem that particularly bright stars tend to enlarge, and the purpose of reproducing a realistic starry sky could not be achieved.

This will be described in detail.
For example, commercially available projectors currently use DMD elements or liquid crystal elements as image generation elements. However, in these projectors, even if the video is muted (black), the light of the image generation elements The amount of light cannot be completely reduced to zero due to scattering of light or light leakage of the optical system. The brightness ratio between the brightest state (all whites) and the darkest state (all blacks) is called the contrast ratio, but is usually about 1: 1000, and even the best performance is only about 1: 20000.
On the other hand, the brightness of a star is distinguished by the magnitude, but the brightest star in the whole sky is Sirius of the Great Virgo and is -1.5. The darkest star varies depending on the specifications of the projector. At this time, the ratio of the brightness of the brightest star to the darkest star is 2.51 ^{10 + 1.5} ≈40000.

For example, assume that a projector with a contrast ratio of 1: 10000 is used. On the screen of the projector, all images are divided into vertical pixels, and the image is completed by controlling the brightness of each pixel. An object such as a star is displayed by setting a single pixel or a plurality of adjacent pixels brightly.
The brightness that can be called dark in the actual night sky must be at a background level that displays the screen sufficiently dark by the projection of the planetarium. At this time, in order to display a 10th magnitude star, it is necessary to display the brightness of the 10th magnitude star at least 10 times as high as the background level of the projector. For the level, 10/10000 = 0.001.
On the other hand, in order to display the Sirius having the brightness of 40,000 times, the luminance is 40000/10000 with respect to the total white level, so that the brightness is 4 times. It is difficult to display this brightness with a projector having the above performance.

  In addition, the complex planetarium can satisfy both the beautiful starry sky of an optical planetarium and the function of a digital planetarium. However, in the optical planetarium, since a specific range of stars cannot be erased, the stars that should be hidden by the celestial bodies are also projected in an overlapping manner, which makes the production unnatural.

  A planetarium device in which an electronic projector and an optical projector cooperate is proposed (Patent Document 1). The purpose of this is to reduce the burden on the operator, to suppress the projection of unnatural images, and to provide a planetarium device with excellent presence and immersion, with an optical projector in the center of the dome screen. Multiple electronic projectors are arranged around each other, and from the star image projected from the optical projector, the part that overlaps the screen with the electronic image from the electronic projector is extracted, and the overlapping part is optical This suppresses the star image projected from the projector. Further, the optical projector has a general star projection means for projecting together stars having a predetermined grade or less and a high star projection means for individually projecting stars of a predetermined grade or more, and light from the general star projection means. Is shielded by a shutter, and light from the high-brightness star projection means is shielded by an on / off controlled shutter.

  This proposal prevents the projection of an unnatural image on the planetarium dome screen by suppressing the projection from the optical projector when the star image from the electronic projector and the star image from the optical projector overlap. I want to show the starry sky beautifully. In addition, a star of a certain grade or higher is projected from a general star projection means, and the light of the star image from the high brightness star projection means of the optical projector is shielded, and the projection of the star image from the electronic projector is projected. Does not give consideration to.

JP 2006-145614 A

Under such circumstances, there has conventionally been a problem that it is difficult to completely satisfy both the starry sky by the optical planetarium and the versatility of the digital video. The present invention has been made to solve the above problems.
An object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional complex planetarium system capable of reproducing various beautiful images while reproducing a beautiful and realistic starry sky.

In order to achieve the above object, claim 1 of the present invention comprises an optical stellar projector, a digital image device having an image generation device and a projector for image projection, and the optical stellar projector is the brightest bright star. Projecting an arbitrary star within a range from the predetermined brightness on the high brightness area side to the predetermined brightness on the high brightness area side, the digital video device projects an arbitrary star below the predetermined brightness on the high brightness area side and below the specified brightness. It is characterized by completing the starry sky.
If the “predetermined brightness on the high brightness area side” is, for example, a third magnitude star and the “predetermined amount of bright brightness” is equal to a second magnitude star, a star in the range of magnitude from the third magnitude star to the first magnitude star is a digital video device, The projection can be performed by either an optical stellar projector, and the projection of the stellar by the digital image device and the optical stellar projector can be mixed. If the grade of “predetermined luminous intensity on the high-brightness area” is lowered and the range of “bright luminous intensity” is increased, the number of stars in a wide range of brightness will increase, and a considerable number of stars will Projection is possible with projectors and video equipment
A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the first aspect of the invention, the bright star projected from the optical star projector is individually turned on / off or has a means for controlling the amount of light.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect, the optical stellar projector has a function of projecting a dark star, and the projection of the dark star projected from the optical stellar projector is performed. And a means for controlling ON / OFF or the amount of light independently of the bright star.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first, second, or third aspect, the bright star is projected by a bright star projection unit corresponding to an individual star.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the fourth aspect, the bright star projection unit is provided together with a faint star projection unit having a stellar original plate for projecting a dark star, and an optical fiber is attached to the optical fiber. It is constructed by guiding a light beam to one end of the light source and is characterized by increasing the brightness of a specific star.
Claim 6 of the present invention is mounted on an optical stellar projector in order to accurately maintain the positional relationship between the optical stellar projector and the digital video apparatus in the invention of claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. Positioning is performed by the reference mark projection means.

According to the first aspect, the star field can be completed by projecting only stars having a certain brightness or higher from the optical planetarium with the optical planetarium, and projecting other dark stars with the digital planetarium. Since the digital planetarium projects dark stars, the brightness range (dynamic range) that can be displayed for the performance of the digital planetarium can be reduced, and a beautiful star field can be realized without using a specially designed digital video projector.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the bright star projector projected by the optical planetarium is provided with an individual ON / OFF or dimmable function so that unnecessary bright stars are not projected. be able to.
According to claim 3, it is possible to project a dark star from an optical planetarium as necessary so that it can sufficiently withstand the use of binoculars and astronomical telescopes when observing only the starry sky slowly. The starry sky can be projected at a resolution that can be achieved.
According to claim 4, in order to project a bright star, it is possible to project the bright star with high brightness by using a dedicated projection unit assigned to the individual bright star, and at the same time, individual dimming And can be turned ON / OFF.
According to the fifth aspect, the bright star projection unit is configured by attaching an optical fiber and inputting a light source that illuminates one end of the optical fiber, and can project bright stars without using a dedicated lens.
With each configuration according to the present invention, it is possible to reproduce a beautiful starry sky where bright sharp first-class stars peculiar to an optical projector are present. When all stars are projected with an optical projector, even when magnified and observed with binoculars, fine stars can be faithfully reproduced.
In addition, the following effects can be performed.
-All stars can be blinked.
-Color all stars.
-The number of stars to be projected can be changed.
・ Can project star data of different wavelengths.
・ New star data (such as those with more stars) can be added without maintenance work.

It is the schematic which shows the external appearance of the composite planetarium system by this invention. It is a front view which shows embodiment of the structure of the brilliant projector of the planetarium system by this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the detail of a bright star projection cylinder. It is the figure which showed the whole night sky where a star is visible in the background where clouds exist in a form called a dome master. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the system which controls the bright star projector in this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the image of the cloud prepared by the dome master format. It is a figure for demonstrating the control content based on the overlapping state of a cloud and a star. It is sectional drawing which shows embodiment of the optical projector which can project both a bright star and a faint star. It is a figure which shows an example of the Hoshino pattern recorded on a star original plate. It is a figure which shows an example of the Hoshino pattern projected from a bright star projector. It is a figure which shows the example of the starry sky projected by both the faint star projection unit and the bright star projector. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the conventional stellar projector. It is a figure which shows the detail in a projection unit. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the conventional digital planetarium. It is a figure for demonstrating the prior art example of the composite type planetarium which combined the digital planetarium and the optical planetarium.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the external appearance of a composite planetarium system according to the present invention.
An optical bright star projector 31 is installed at the center of the dome screen. The optical brilliant projector 31 has a function of projecting, on a dome screen, a star that is brighter than a fixed luminosity, for example, a 2.0 mag star among the fixed stars. Bright stars are capable of diurnal motion and latitude conversion.
Around the dome screen 33, a plurality of video projectors 32 a to 32 n capable of projecting images are installed facing the center of the dome, and the images can be projected on almost the entire surface of the dome screen 33.

Based on commands from the computer 35, the video computers 34a, 34b, and 34c generate a starry sky image that includes a star that is darker than that projected by the bright star projector 31, that is, a star that is darker than a 2.1 magnitude star (hereinafter, a faint star). To do. This video is projected by the video projectors 32a, 32b and 32c.
The image of the starry sky in which the image of the bright star projected from the bright star projector 31 and the image of the faint star projected from the video projectors 32a, 32b and 32c, which are all-round video devices, are completed on the dome screen 33. Appears as

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an embodiment of the structure of the planetarium system bright star projector according to the present invention.
As for the stellar sphere, the south sky 42 and the north sky 41 are attached to opposite ends of the diurnal shaft 39 in opposite directions, and the diurnal shaft 39 is supported on the diurnal base 40 by the diurnal bearing 1. . The diurnal base 40 is placed on the latitude axis 3 orthogonal to the diurnal axis 39, and both ends of the latitude axis 3 are supported on the gantry fork 4 and can be driven to rotate. A diurnal gear 43a is fixed to the diurnal shaft 39, and a motor shaft gear 43b is engaged with the diurnal gear 43a. The diurnal shaft 39 is rotationally driven by a diurnal motor 44. A latitude axis gear 45a is fixed to the latitude axis 3, and a motor axis gear 45b is engaged with the latitude axis gear 45a. The latitude axis 3 is rotationally driven by a latitude axis motor 46. A diurnal rotary encoder 47 and a latitudinal rotary encoder 48 are attached to the diurnal axis 39 and the latitudinal axis 3, respectively. The angular position of the diurnal axis 39 is a diurnal sensor 49, and the angular position of the latitudinal axis 3 is a latitudinal axis sensor. 50 can be detected.

  A large number of bright star projection cylinders 51 are attached to a diurnal table 52 in the southern and northern star spheres 41 and 42, respectively. A light source lamp 54 is provided in the lamp house 53, and light emitted from the light source lamp 54 is collected by a condenser lens 55 and enters an optical fiber bundle 56. The optical fiber bundle 56 is branched into individual optical fibers 57 and guided to the respective bright star projection cylinders 51. The light emitted from the end of the optical fiber 57 forms a point image on the dome screen through the projection lens 58 in the bright star projection cylinder 51. Each bright star projection cylinder 51 is adjusted to an angle corresponding to an actual star, for example, a star such as Sirius or Rigel, and the amount of light projected is adjusted by an ND filter or a diaphragm. It is projected at a brightness equivalent to the brightness of a star.

FIG. 3 shows details of the bright star projection cylinder.
A shutter plate 62 that is opened and closed by a solenoid 61 driven by an electric signal is attached in the lens barrel 60, and light emitted from the optical fiber can be transmitted and shielded (on and off). The electric signal is supplied from, for example, the microcomputer 35 to each bright star projection cylinder through a power amplifier. With such a bright star projector, a star brighter than 2.0 grade can be projected at a predetermined position and arbitrarily and individually on and off.
In this embodiment, an example in which a plurality of bright star projection cylinders 51 share the same light source is shown. However, even if each has an individual light source and the light source itself is turned on / off without using a shutter mechanism, the same thing is done. Of course, the effect is obtained.

In planetariums, it is often done to reproduce the night sky in which something other than the stars appears, such as a night sky with clouds or a high mountain, not just the starry sky.
In FIG. 4, the entire night sky in which a star is seen in the background with some clouds floating is shown in a form called a dome master. An inscribed circle 71 with a zenith 70 at the center and a square screen is the horizon. Equivalent to an image taken with the fisheye lens facing the zenith. A range 72 outside the inscribed circle corresponds to a region below the horizon, and is a range that is actually invalid. When projecting such a scene, it is necessary to calculate the range in which the clouds are present and not to project stars within that range.

FIG. 5 shows a flow of the control system of the embodiment. FIG. 6 shows a cloud image prepared in the dome master format. When the microcomputer 35 projects together with the starry sky, the equatorial coordinates of each star to be projected are displayed on the current axis 39 and latitude axis 3 detected by the diurnal rotary encoder 47 and latitude rotary encoder 48 of the stellar sphere. The angle position is referred to and converted into horizon coordinates (steps (hereinafter referred to as “S”) 01, S02). To calculate the coordinates on the dome master from this horizon coordinate, for example, a dome master with a width and height of 1800PIXEL,
X coordinate = 900 + 10 × COS (azimuth angle) × (90−altitude)
Y coordinate = 900 + 10 × SIN (azimuth angle) × (90−altitude)
(S03). When the pixel of this image is included in the cloud range, it is determined that the star is overlapped with the cloud. Therefore, control for erasing the star may be performed (S04, S06). If not, the star is turned on (S05). For example, FIG. 7 shows such a situation. If the coordinates on the dome master of the star 74a are (Xa, Ya) and the coordinates on the dome master of the star 74b are (Xb, Yb), the clouds are overlapped. The shutter of the bright star projection cylinder of the star 74a that does not become open is projected, and that of the star 74b overlaps with the cloud, so it can be closed.

  Thereby, even in the reproduction of the night sky in which clouds exist, it is possible to reproduce only bright stars in a range without clouds. Also, since it is necessary to reproduce faint stars that are darker than 2.0 mag stars, it is necessary to add faint stars in addition to clouds to the image projected by the video projector. It is easy to erase the faint stars that overlap the clouds. In addition, the cloud does not necessarily completely block or transmit the light of the star, but may attenuate the light. Therefore, the bright star projection cylinder 31 has a diaphragm that can control the amount of transmitted light or a variable amount. Install the ND filter device. If the diaphragm or variable ND filter device is controlled by the microcomputer 35 in accordance with the density of the cloud image on the dome master, it is possible to reproduce the state in which the star light naturally attenuates when hidden by the cloud.

In this embodiment, the positional relationship between the bright star and the faint star needs to be accurately maintained. For this purpose, a reference mark means such as a laser is mounted on the stellar projector, and an arbitrary A microcomputer is used to measure the positional relationship between the brightness and azimuth of bright stars projected from a stellar projector and the image projected by a video projector. 35 may be mounted. The method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-337682 proposed by the present applicant is effective.
Further, in this embodiment, an example is described in which projection is performed on a bright star projection cylinder for a second star or higher and a video projector for a second star or lower on a 2.1 star, but a certain brightness range (for example, 2.5 to 1. It is also possible to project individual stars in the range of the fifth magnitude star) by determining individual stars with both a bright star projection cylinder and a video projector.

It may also be necessary to project faint stars from a stellar projector.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an optical projector that can project both bright stars and faint stars. The structure is substantially the same as that of a known optical planetarium star projector, and a plurality of low-light star projection units 81 are provided so as to surround a common light source 80 at the center. In this faint star projection unit 81, a condenser lens 86, a stellar original plate 87, and a projection lens 88 are mounted in the same manner as in a known optical planetarium projector. An image of the star original plate is connected to the dome screen through the lens 86, the star original plate 87, and the projection lens 88 to reproduce a starry sky similar to the night sky. However, each projection unit 81 is provided with a shutter, and can block projection light as necessary.
The stellar original plate is provided with holes corresponding to faint stars that are darker than second stars. An example of the Hoshino pattern recorded on the star original plate is shown in FIG. The lines shown here are shown for convenience of this explanation.

On the other hand, bright stars brighter than second magnitude stars are projected by the bright star projection cylinder 82. A light beam is introduced into the input end 84 of the optical fiber bundle by a daylighting lens from a daylighting device 83 provided in a part of the star projector. The optical fiber 85 is branched and guided to each bright star projection cylinder. The structure of the bright star projection tube is as shown in FIG. This bright star projector is assigned to each star brighter than the second magnitude star, and the star field pattern projected from the bright star projector is shown in FIG.
FIG. 11 shows the starry sky actually projected by both the faint star projection unit and the bright star projector. This is the starry sky that is actually projected.

  Each of the bright star projectors can individually control ON / OFF or the amount of light according to a command from a microcomputer or the like. Further, the faint star projection unit is also provided with a diaphragm mechanism or a shutter mechanism that can arbitrarily control the projection light, so that the projection of the faint star can be turned ON / OFF. As a result, while bright stars are always projected by the bright star projection cylinder, the faint stars can be projected by the video projector or by the faint star projection unit. In this embodiment, the example in which the low-light star projection unit and the bright star projection tube share the same light source is shown. However, both light sources are different from each other, and the low-light star projection unit is provided with a shutter. Of course, the same effect can be obtained by turning on / off the light source for faint stars.

In general, optical projectors have higher resolution than video projectors. For example, when you want to project only the starry sky precisely, low-light stars should be projected by the low-light star projection unit, and simultaneously with the clouds. When a complicated performance such as the above is desirable, it is desirable to close the shutter of the faint star projection unit and project the faint star with a video projector.
As a result, it is possible to realize a planetarium having functions that could only be realized by a conventional digital planetarium, such as erasing the starry sky in an arbitrary range while projecting a beautiful starry sky unique to an optical projector. .

  It is a planetarium device that projects the starry sky on a dome-shaped screen.

31 Optical bright star projector (brilliant projection cylinder)
32a to 32n Video projector 33 Dome screen 40 Daily base 41 Northern star star sphere 42 Southern star star sphere 43a, 43b, 45a, 45b Gear 44 Daily motor 46 Latitude motor 47, 48 Rotary encoder 49, 50 Sensor 51 Brightness Star projection cylinder 52 Diurnal table 53 Lamp house 54 Lamp 55, 86 Condenser lens 56 Optical fiber bundle 57, 85 Optical fan 58, 88 Projection lens 60 Lens barrel 61 Solenoid 62 Shutter plate 70 Zenith 71 Inscribed circle 73 Cloud 80 Common light source 81 Low-light star projection unit 82 Bright star projection tube 83 Daylighting device 87 Stellar original plate

Claims (6)

An optical stellar projector, a digital video device having a video generation device and a video projection projector,
The optical stellar projector projects any star within a range from the brightest bright star to a predetermined luminous intensity on the high brightness area side,
The digital video device projects an arbitrary star having a luminous intensity below a certain amount brighter than a predetermined luminous intensity on the high luminance area side,
A complex planetarium system characterized by completing a starry sky.   2. The complex planetarium system according to claim 1, further comprising means for individually turning on / off or controlling the light intensity of bright stars projected from the optical star projector.   The optical stellar projector also has a function of projecting a dark star, and means for controlling the ON / OFF or light amount of the dark star projected from the optical stellar projector independently of the bright star. The composite planetarium system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by comprising:   4. The complex planetarium system according to claim 1, wherein the bright star is projected by a bright star projection unit corresponding to an individual star.   The bright star projection unit is provided together with a faint star projection unit having a stellar original plate for projecting a dark star, and is configured by attaching an optical fiber and guiding a light beam to one end of the optical fiber. 5. The complex planetarium system according to claim 4, wherein the brightness is increased.   In order to accurately maintain the positional relationship between the optical stellar projector and the digital video apparatus, alignment is performed by reference mark projecting means mounted on the optical stellar projector. The composite planetarium system according to 4 or 5.

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