JP2014106377A - Planetarium device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a planetarium device capable of reproducing a natural starlit sky by an inexpensive and small-sized device.SOLUTION: A planetarium device includes: a sidereal original plate 2 formed with a plurality of holes corresponding to arrangement of fixed stars; and a scan-type light source device 3 having a light source part for emitting a laser beam, and a scan part for scanning the laser beam emitted from the light source part against the sidereal original plate 2. The planetarium device further includes: a sidereal projector 1 for projecting an image of the fixed stars on a projection surface A, by the laser beam having passed through the hole of the sidereal original plate 2; and a video projector 5 for projecting an image of non-fixed star elements being the elements constituting a starlit sky and the elements other than the fixed stars, on the projection surface A. In regard to an area on the sidereal original plate 2 corresponding to a video area of the non-fixed star elements on the projection surface A, a control device 6 for controlling the light source part of the sidereal projector 2 is further provided so that an output of the laser beam which scans the area is stopped or reduced.

Description

  The present invention relates to a planetarium apparatus using a scanning light source.

Various inventions have been proposed so far regarding planetarium devices that reproduce a starry sky on a screen.
For example, in Patent Document 1, in a starry star projector in a planetarium that projects a starry sky by a star projection sphere including a plurality of projection units, an emitted light beam from a light source placed outside the star projection sphere is transmitted through a hollow rotating shaft. The light is refracted or reflected by an optical unit consisting of a lens with a negative refractive power or a reflecting mirror with a convex surface, which is guided near the center of the star projection sphere and placed near the center of the star projection sphere. There is disclosed a stellar projector configured such that each ray direction of light coincides with an optical axis of a plurality of projection units so as to uniformly illuminate a star field projection plane. Further, it is disclosed that a dimming element capable of varying the optical density is arranged in the optical path from the light source to change the projected light intensity of the star, and that the dimming element is a liquid crystal element, a movable shutter, or a DMD element. Has been.

Japanese Patent No. 4002772

  In the invention of Patent Document 1 described above, natural starry sky reproduction can be realized, but each part (liquid crystal element, movable shutter, or DMD element) needs to be inserted into the optical path, so that the product size of the planetarium becomes large. Also, the whole system becomes expensive.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a planetarium device capable of reproducing a natural starry sky with an inexpensive and small-sized device.

  The planetarium apparatus according to the present invention scans a stellar original plate with a stellar original plate in which a plurality of holes corresponding to the arrangement of the stellar are formed, a light source unit that outputs laser light, and a laser beam output from the light source unit. A stellar projector that projects a stellar image onto the projection surface by laser light that has passed through a hole in the stellar original plate and a non-stellar element that is a component of the starry sky that is a non-stellar element An image projector for projecting the image onto the projection surface, and for the region on the star original plate corresponding to the image region of the non-stellar element on the projection surface, the stellar so as to stop or reduce the output of the laser beam that scans the region Control means for controlling the light source unit of the projector is provided.

That is, in the planetarium apparatus according to the present invention, the light source for the stellar original plate is a scanning light source, and the laser light output is stopped when scanning the region on the stellar original plate corresponding to the image region of the non-stellar element on the projection plane. Or can be reduced.
As a result, it is possible to avoid an overlap between the image of the non-stellar element and the image of the star on the projection surface, and it is possible to realize natural starry reproduction with an inexpensive and small device.

Further, in the planetarium apparatus according to the present invention, the stellar original plate is rotated with the axis passing through the center of the surface in the normal direction as the rotation axis, and the image projector is changed with the rotation of the stellar original plate. The image of the element is projected onto the projection plane, and the control means stops or reduces the output of the laser beam that scans the area on the stellar original plate corresponding to the image area of the non-stellar element after the change on the projection plane. In this way, the light source unit of the star projector may be controlled.
As a result, even if the image of the non-stellar element and the image of the stellar change on the projection plane as the stellar master rotates, these overlaps can be avoided, and the change in the starry sky over time can be avoided. It can be reproduced naturally.

In this case, a reflection part of the laser beam is provided on a part of the outer periphery of the stellar original plate, the star projector further includes a detection unit for detecting the reflected light of the laser beam by the reflection unit, and the image projector is a stellar projector. It is good also as a structure which projects the image | video of the non-stellar element changed according to the rotation angle of the stellar original plate specified based on the detection result of the reflected light by a detection part on a projection surface.
This makes it possible to specify the rotation angle of the star original plate with a simple mechanism and reflect the rotation of the star original plate on the image of the non-star element.

Further, in the planetarium apparatus according to the present invention, a reflection part of the laser beam is provided on a part of the outer periphery of the stellar original plate, and the stellar projector further includes a detection part for detecting the reflected light of the laser beam by the reflection part, Has a reflection pattern with a shape that can identify the type of stellar original plate, and the image projector displays images of non-stellar elements according to the type of stellar original plate that is identified based on the detection result of reflected light by the detection unit. It is good also as a structure projected on a projection surface.
Thereby, in the planetarium apparatus in which the star original plate can be replaced, it is possible to switch the image of the non-star element according to the type of the star original plate, and it is possible to change the production content for each star original plate.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the planetarium apparatus which can reproduce a natural starry sky with an inexpensive and small apparatus.

It is a figure which shows the example of a schematic structure of the planetarium apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the scanning light source device provided in the star projector of the planetarium apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image projector of the planetarium apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of an expansion of a planetarium apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of the pattern of the reflection part of a star original plate.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a schematic configuration of a planetarium apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The planetarium apparatus shown in the figure is a stellar projector 1 that projects a star image on a projection plane A (eg, a screen). This is an apparatus provided integrally with a video projector 5 to project, a stellar projector 1 and a control device 6 for controlling the video projector 5. The projection range by the stellar projector 1 and the projection range by the video projector 5 are adjusted so as to overlap each other. For example, the function of the control device 6 may be provided in an external device (such as a personal computer).
Here, the images of non-stellar elements include images of clouds and airplanes in addition to images of celestial bodies such as the moon and planets. Moreover, you may include the image | video of the line which connects the stars which comprise a constellation, description of a constellation, etc.

A stellar projector 1 includes a stellar original plate 2 in which a plurality of holes corresponding to the arrangement of stellar are formed, a light source unit that outputs laser light, and scanning that scans the stellar original plate 2 with laser light output from the light source unit. And a lens 4 for enlarging and projecting a stellar image reproduced by the laser beam that has passed through the stellar original plate 2 onto the projection plane A.
Here, the hole formed in the stellar original plate 2 is smaller than the spot diameter of the laser beam, and by expressing each star with the laser beam that has passed through this hole, it is possible to reproduce the starry sky with high definition. It becomes.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the scanning light source device 3 provided in the star projector 1 of the planetarium device of FIG.
The illustrated scanning light source device 3 is mainly configured by a laser light source 11, a lens 12, a scanning mirror 13, and various drive / control units 14 to 18.

The laser light source 11 is a laser diode (LD) that outputs a monochromatic component laser beam having a specific wavelength (white laser beam in this example), and is supplied from the laser driver 18 under the control of the laser control unit 17. Drive by current.
Here, the laser light source 11 outputs a laser beam when a current equal to or greater than the oscillation threshold current is supplied from the laser driver 18, and the laser light having a larger light amount (luminance) as the supplied current value increases. Output. Further, the laser light source stops the output of the laser beam when a current less than the oscillation threshold current is supplied.
Laser light output from the laser light source 11 is incident on the scanning mirror 13 via the lens 12.

  The scanning mirror 13 is driven and scanned by the scanning mirror driver 14 to which a driving signal is input from the scanning mirror control unit 15, reflects the laser light incident thereon according to the deflection angle of the mirror surface, and projects it onto the stellar original plate 2. . The scanning mirror 13 has a two-dimensional degree of freedom corresponding to the horizontal scanning direction (X) and the vertical scanning direction (Y) of the stellar original plate 2, and performs line sequential scanning corresponding to the two-dimensional displacement. I do. This line-sequential scanning scans the stellar original plate 1 by repeating the laser spot p in one direction on a stellar original plate 2 and returning the laser spot p in the opposite direction on the next horizontal scan line. It is done continuously in the area. In this example, the scanning mirror 13 is a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) type scanning mirror that is advantageous in terms of downsizing, low power consumption, and high processing speed.

The laser control unit 17 causes the laser driver 18 to supply a drive current corresponding to the target light amount from the laser driver 18 to output the laser light from the laser light source 11.
The scanning mirror control unit 15 outputs a drive signal to the scanning mirror driver 17 to drive and scan the scanning mirror 13.
As will be described later, the control processing unit 16 performs control to hide a stellar image in a positional relationship overlapping with a non-stellar element projected on the projection plane A based on a control signal input from the control device 6. Do.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the video projector 5 of the planetarium apparatus of FIG.
The illustrated image projector 5 is a laser projector mainly composed of laser light sources 21a to 21c, various optical elements 22 to 24, a scanning mirror 25, and various drive / control units 26 to 30.

Each of the laser light sources 21 a to 21 c is a laser diode (LD) that outputs laser beams having different color components, and is independent of each other by a drive current individually supplied from the laser driver 30 under the control of the laser control unit 29. Then drive.
Here, each of the laser light sources 21a to 21c outputs a laser beam when a current equal to or higher than the oscillation threshold current is supplied from the laser driver 30, and the amount of light (luminance) increases as the supplied current value increases. Outputs laser light. Further, each of the laser light sources 21a to 21c stops outputting laser light when a current less than the oscillation threshold current is supplied.
As a result, the monochromatic component laser light having a specific wavelength, such as the blue component (B) from the laser light source 21a, the green component (G) from the laser light source 21b, and the red component (R) from the laser light source 21c, is driven by the drive current. It is emitted with the light quantity according to.

The dichroic mirrors 22 and 23 are mirror elements that reflect only the laser light of a specific wavelength and transmit the other, and synthesize the laser light of each color component emitted from the laser light sources 21a to 21c. Specifically, the B and G laser beams emitted from the laser light sources 21a and 21b are combined by the dichroic mirror 22 on the upstream side of the optical path and then emitted to the dichroic mirror 23 on the downstream side of the optical path. The emitted combined light is further combined with the R laser light emitted from the laser light source 21c in the dichroic mirror 23, and is emitted as the final combined light of the target color.
As described above, the dichroic mirrors 22 and 23 form an optical unit that synthesizes laser beams of R, G, and B color components, and the synthesized laser light (color synthesized light) passes through the lens 24. Incident on the scanning mirror 25.

  The scanning mirror 25 is driven and scanned by the scanning mirror driver 26 to which a driving signal is input from the scanning mirror control unit 27, reflects the laser beam incident on the scanning mirror 25 according to the deflection angle of the mirror surface, and projects it onto the projection surface A. . The scanning mirror 25 has a two-dimensional degree of freedom corresponding to the horizontal scanning direction (X) and the vertical scanning direction (Y) of the projection surface A, and performs line sequential scanning corresponding to the two-dimensional displacement. I do. In this line sequential scanning, a laser spot p is advanced in one direction on a certain horizontal scanning line on the projection plane A, and the laser spot p is returned in the reverse direction on the next horizontal scanning line. It is done continuously. In this example, the scanning mirror 25 is a MEMS scanning mirror that is advantageous in terms of downsizing, low power consumption, and high processing speed.

  The video processing unit 28 transfers the video data to the laser control unit 29 at a predetermined time interval based on the video signal input from the control device 6, whereby the laser control unit 29 receives the pixel information at the predetermined scanning position. Get. In this video data transfer process, the video processing unit 28 outputs video data in the order corresponding to the information on the horizontal scanning position and the vertical scanning position input as horizontal / vertical synchronization signals (HSNC, VSNC) from the scanning mirror control unit 29. Is transferred to the laser controller 28.

The control device 6 stores video signal data containing the image of the non-stellar element in the memory, and outputs the video signal to the video projector 5.
Thereby, the image of the non-stellar element is projected from the image projector 5 onto the projection surface A, and the image of the star projected from the star projector 1 is combined on the projection surface A. Therefore, on the projection plane A, not only a star but also a starry sky including other celestial bodies such as the moon and planets is reproduced. It is also possible to add information such as clouds, airplanes, or constellations.

  Moreover, the control apparatus 6 specifies the area | region on the star original plate 2 corresponding to the image | video of a non-stellar element based on the data of a video signal. The star reproduced by the laser beam passing through the hole in the region on the star original plate 2 overlaps with the image of the non-stellar element on the projection plane A. Therefore, the control device 6 outputs a control signal representing the identified area (the area on the stellar original plate 2 corresponding to the image of the non-stellar element) to the stellar projector 1, and the stellar corresponding to the hole in the area is output. Hide the image.

The stellar projector 1 performs control to hide a stellar image in a positional relationship overlapping with a non-stellar element projected on the projection plane A based on a control signal input from the control device 6.
That is, the laser light during a period in which the control processing unit 16 scans the laser control unit 17 in a region instructed not to be displayed by the control signal (region on the stellar original plate 2 corresponding to the image of the non-stellar element). Gives a stop signal to stop the output of. The timing at which the laser control unit 17 is instructed to stop the laser beam includes the region instructed not to be displayed by the control data, and the horizontal scanning position input from the scanning mirror control unit 15 as horizontal / vertical synchronization signals (HSNC, VSNC). And determined based on the information of the vertical scanning position. That is, a laser beam stop signal is given to the laser control unit 17 in a period in which the scanning position specified from the information on the horizontal scanning position and the vertical scanning position is included in the area instructed not to be displayed by the control data.
The laser control unit 17 supplies a current less than the oscillation threshold current from the laser driver 18 to the laser light source 11 during a period in which the laser light stop signal is received.

As a result, the laser beam output is stopped during the period of scanning the area designated as non-displayed by the control data (the area on the stellar original plate 2 corresponding to the image of the non-stellar element), and the holes in the area are blocked. The corresponding star image is not projected on the projection plane A and is not displayed.
Therefore, it is possible to avoid the overlap between the image of the non-stellar element and the image of the star on the projection plane A, and it is possible to reproduce a more natural starry sky. That is, for example, when the moon image is projected onto the projection plane A as the image of the non-stellar element, the moon image can be prevented from overlapping with the star image, and a more natural starry sky can be reproduced. it can.

  Note that the output of the laser beam may be reduced instead of stopping the output of the laser beam during the period of scanning the region on the star original plate 2 corresponding to the image of the non-stellar element. Thereby, for example, when a thin cloud image is projected onto the projection plane A as an image of a non-stellar element, the brightness of the image of the star on the projection plane A can be suppressed, and the star passes through the thin cloud. You can reproduce what you see.

FIG. 4 shows an example of expansion of the planetarium apparatus.
In the stellar projector 1 of the planetarium apparatus according to this expansion example, the stellar original plate 2 is configured to be rotatable with an axis passing through the center of the surface in the normal direction as a rotation axis. Further, a reflection part (for example, a mirror) that reflects the laser light from the scanning light source device 3 is provided on a part of the outer peripheral portion of the star original plate 2.
The rotation of the stellar original plate 2 can be realized by various mechanisms. For example, the stellar original plate 2 is rotatably supported by the outer peripheral portion thereof, and the driving force of the motor is applied to the outer peripheral portion to rotate the star original plate 2. This can be realized by configuration.

In addition, the stellar projector 1 is provided with a light detection unit 7 that detects laser light (reflected light) reflected by the reflection unit of the stellar original plate 2. In this example, the photodetection unit 7 is realized by using a photodiode (PD), but other elements may be used.
The control device 6 specifies the rotation angle of the stellar original plate 2 based on the detection result of the reflected light by the light detection unit 7, changes the image of the non-stellar element according to the specified rotation angle of the stellar original plate 2, and the result Are output to the video projector 5. That is, as the stellar image on the projection plane A changes (rotates) due to the rotation of the stellar original plate 2, a video signal having a content added to the image of the non-stellar element is output to the video projector 5.
Thereby, the image of the non-stellar element projected on the projection surface A can be changed with the change of the star image on the projection surface A due to the rotation of the star original plate 2. Therefore, the change of the starry sky with the passage of time can be reproduced in a natural manner.

Moreover, in the planetarium apparatus of this example, the rotation angle of the stellar original plate 2 is specified by specifying the position of the reflection portion of the stellar original plate 2 at that time from the detection position of the reflected light in the surface region of the stellar original plate 2. That is, the rotation angle of the stellar original plate 2 is specified from the relationship between the reference position and the detected position of the reflected light, with the state where the reflecting portion of the stellar original plate 2 is located at a predetermined position. This method is an example, and the rotation angle of the stellar original plate 2 may be specified by another method.
For example, as shown to Fig.5 (a), the reflection part which has a specific reflection pattern is provided in several places of the outer peripheral part of the stellar original board 2. FIG. In the example of FIG. 5A, the reflection portions of the two-line reflection pattern and the reflection portions of the three-line reflection pattern are alternately arranged at intervals of 90 °. Here, it is preferable that the reflection pattern of the reflection portion has a different shape for each arrangement location. Then, the light detection unit 7 recognizes the shape of the reflected light from each reflection unit, and identifies the position of each reflection unit of the stellar original plate 2 at that time based on the recognition result, whereby the rotation angle of the stellar original plate 2 Should be specified.
Further, for example, a driving amount of a motor serving as a driving source for rotation of the stellar original plate 2 may be detected, and the rotation angle of the stellar original plate 2 may be specified based on the detection result.

Here, when the image of the non-stellar element projected on the projection plane A is changed in accordance with the change of the image of the star on the projection plane A due to the rotation of the stellar original plate 2, the non-stellar element on the projection plane A is changed. The positional relationship between the image and the star image changes.
Therefore, the region where the image of the stellar is not displayed is changed corresponding to the image of the non-stellar element after the change. That is, the control device 6 sets the non-display area designated by the control signal to the stellar projector 1 as the area on the stellar original plate 2 corresponding to the image of the non-stellar element after the change.
Thereby, the output of the laser beam is stopped during the period of scanning the area on the stellar original plate 2 corresponding to the image of the non-stellar element after the change, and the stellar image corresponding to the hole in the area is projected onto the projection plane. It is not displayed without being projected onto A. Therefore, even if the image of the non-stellar element and the image of the stellar on the projection plane A change, it is possible to avoid these overlaps and to more naturally reproduce the change of the starry sky over time. Become.

Further, as another example of expansion of the planetarium device, there is a configuration in which the stellar original plate can be replaced.
In this case, a reflecting portion (for example, a mirror) that reflects the laser light from the scanning light source device 3 is provided on a part of the outer peripheral portion of the stellar original plate 2, and the shape of the reflection pattern is changed to the type of the stellar original plate 2. The shape is identifiable. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the stellar original plate 2 is provided with a reflecting portion having a reflection pattern having a shape representing a code value indicating the type of the stellar original plate 2. In the example of FIG. 5B, a reflection part having a reflection pattern in which numerical values are surrounded by a circle is provided. Then, the light detection unit 7 recognizes the shape of the reflected light from each reflection unit, and identifies the type of the star original plate 2 based on the recognition result. The control device 6 stores, in a memory, a plurality of video signal data containing the image of the non-stellar element in association with the type of the stellar original plate 2, and the video signal corresponding to the identified type of the stellar original plate 2 Is output to the video projector 5.
Thereby, the image | video of the non-constant element projected from the image projector 5 can be switched according to the kind of the stellar original plate 2, and it becomes possible to change the production content for each stellar original plate.

  In addition, although the expansion example which rotates the stellar original plate 2 and the expansion example which replaces the stellar original plate 2 were demonstrated separately, it is good also as a structure which combined these. In this case, the reflecting portion of the star original plate 2 can be used in combination for the purpose of specifying the rotation angle of the star original plate 2 and the application of specifying the type of the star original plate 2. In addition, you may provide separately the reflection part for specification of the rotation angle of the star original plate 2, and the reflection part for specification of the type of the star original plate 2 separately.

Here, the control device 6 of this example is realized by a computer having hardware resources such as a microprocessor and a memory. That is, by executing a program for outputting the video signal and the control signal as described above to the star projector 1 and the video projector 5 by the microprocessor, the function of the control means according to the present invention is performed on the computer of the control device 6. Realize.
In addition, it is not limited to the aspect which implement | achieves the function of the control means which concerns on this invention by such software structure, You may implement | achieve with a dedicated hardware module.

In the above description, the control device 6 is provided separately from the star projector 1 and the video projector 5, and the control device 6 controls the star projector 1 and the video projector 5 in an integrated manner. The control device 6 may be provided in either the stellar projector 1 or the video projector 5.
In the above description, a light source scanning laser projector is used as the video projector 5, but an apparatus that projects an image on a projection surface by another method may be used as the video projector 5.

  The present invention can be used for a planetarium apparatus that reproduces a starry sky on a projection plane.

  1: Stellar projector, 2: Stellar original plate, 3: Scanning light source device, 4: Lens, 5: Video projector, 6: Control device, 7: Light detector, A: Projection plane

Claims (4)

A stellar original plate in which a plurality of holes corresponding to the arrangement of the stellar are formed, a light source unit that outputs laser light, and a scanning unit that scans the stellar original plate with laser light output from the light source unit. A stellar projector for projecting an image of a stellar onto a projection surface by laser light that has passed through a hole in the stellar original plate;
An image projector that projects an image of a non-stellar element that is an element other than a star and is an element constituting a starry sky,
Control means for controlling the light source unit of the stellar projector so as to stop or reduce the output of the laser light that scans the area of the stellar original plate corresponding to the image area of the non-stellar element on the projection plane. Prepared,
A planetarium device characterized by that. The stellar original plate is rotated with the axis passing through the center of the surface in the normal direction as the rotation axis,
The image projector projects an image of a non-stellar element that has been changed along with the rotation of the stellar original plate onto the projection plane,
The control means is configured to stop or reduce the output of laser light for scanning the area on the star original plate corresponding to the image area of the non-stellar element after the change on the projection plane. Control the light source
The planetarium apparatus according to claim 1, wherein A reflection part of laser light is provided on a part of the outer periphery of the star original plate,
The stellar projector further includes a detection unit that detects reflected light of the laser beam from the reflection unit,
The image projector projects an image of a non-stellar element, which is changed according to a rotation angle of the stellar original plate specified based on a detection result of reflected light by a detection unit of the stellar projector, on the projection plane.
The planetarium apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: A reflection part of laser light is provided on a part of the outer periphery of the star original plate,
The stellar projector further includes a detection unit that detects reflected light of the laser beam from the reflection unit,
The reflection part has a reflection pattern of a shape that can identify the type of the star original plate,
The image projector projects an image of a non-stellar element according to the type of the star original plate identified based on a detection result of reflected light by the detection unit onto the projection plane;
The planetarium apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

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