JP2015169940A - Multi-projection system, information processor and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-projection system which eliminates overlapping of projection images of respective projectors, and can display one whole projection image using the projection images projected on a screen from the plurality of projectors.SOLUTION: A multi-projection system comprises: projection image detection means which detects a projection image region of each projector 101; and projection image overlapping detection means which detects the overlapping region where the projection image regions overlap with each other among the projection image regions of the respective projectors 101 detected by the projection image detection means. The projection image overlapping detection means makes the projection image region of the projector 101 with high priority contain the overlapping region among the projectors 101 of the projection image regions forming the overlapping region on the basis of the priority of the respective projectors 101, and determines the projection image regions of the respective projectors 101.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for displaying one whole projection image with projection images projected from a plurality of projectors onto a screen.

  In recent years, a projection system that displays a projected image on a screen using a projector has attracted attention. In recent years, there is also a multi-projection system that displays one whole projection image with projection images projected onto a screen from a plurality of projectors.

  In the case of a multi-projection system, since a plurality of projectors are used, there is a technical problem of how to adjust the plurality of projectors so that the entire projected image is correctly displayed.

  In response to this problem, for example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-277958) discloses that when a plurality of divided projection images are projected on a screen, the images at the boundary portions adjacent to each other are displayed. A technique for obtaining a high-definition screen without overlapping and gaps is disclosed.

  In Patent Document 1, a plurality of divided projection images are projected so as to partially overlap each other on a screen to form one display image, and the size of each divided projection image Adjusting means for adjusting the image, and the adjusting means has a function of cutting a peripheral portion of the original divided projection image, a function of converting the resolution of the original divided projection image, and a function of changing the pixel density of the original divided projection image The size of each divided projection image can be adjusted individually and arbitrarily.

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when the number of projectors used at the time of multi-projection projection increases, the adjustment processing of each projector becomes complicated. This is because in Patent Document 1, complicated processing such as peripheral cropping processing, resolution conversion processing, and pixel density change processing is performed for each divided projection image, so that when one divided projection image is readjusted, another divided projection is obtained. This is because deviation from the image occurs, and readjustment of other divided projection images becomes necessary. In addition, since the effect of readjustment also affects other divided projection images, the adjustment process becomes very complicated, and the adjustment process itself may not be completed.

  In Patent Document 1, an image dividing circuit that divides one image into a plurality of images and a plurality of projectors are connected to each projector by a cable or the like. For this reason, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when the number of projectors increases, the number of cables connecting the image dividing circuit and the projector increases, and the cable wiring becomes complicated. In Patent Document 1, each projector is connected to each projector via a cable I / F provided in the image dividing circuit. The cable I / F is an interface for connecting to a projector. For this reason, in the technique of Patent Document 1, the number of projectors that can be connected to the image dividing circuit is limited by the number of cable I / Fs provided in the image dividing circuit.

  An object of the present invention is to eliminate overlapping of the projection images of the projectors and display one whole projection image with projection images projected from a plurality of projectors onto a screen.

A multi-projection system according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
A multi-projection system for displaying one whole projection image with projection images projected on a screen from a plurality of projectors,
Projection image detection means for detecting the projection image area of each projector;
A projected image overlap detecting means for detecting an overlapping area in which the projected image areas overlap among the projected image areas of the projectors detected by the projected image detecting means,
The projected image overlap detection means includes
Based on the priority of each projector, among the projectors of the projected image area that forms the overlapping area, the projected image area of each projector is determined including the overlapping area in the projected image area of the projector with the higher priority. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the overlap of the projection images of the projectors and display one whole projection image with the projection images projected from the plurality of projectors onto the screen.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of a projection system. It is a 1st figure which shows the system configuration example of a multi-projection system. It is a 2nd figure which shows the system configuration example of a multi-projection system. It is a figure which shows the system configuration example of the multi-projection system of this embodiment. (A) shows the projected images 501 to 509 of each projector 101, and (B) shows one overall projected image 510. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing operation which determines the actual projection image area | region of the 1st projection image. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing operation which determines the actual projection image area | region of the 2nd projection image. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing operation which determines the actual projection image area | region of the 3rd projection image. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing operation which determines the actual projection image area | region of the 4th projection image. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing operation which determines the actual projection image area | region of the 5th projection image. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing operation which determines the actual projection image area | region of the 6th projection image. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing operation which determines the actual projection image area | region of the 7th projection image. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing operation which determines the actual projection image area | region of the 8th projection image 508, and the actual projection image area | region of the 9th projection image 509. FIG. It is a figure which shows the state by which the actual projection image area | regions 701-709 were allocated with respect to nine projectors 101. FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of data transfer operation in the multi-projection system shown in FIG. 4. It is a figure which shows the format structural example used for data transfer. It is a figure which shows the structural example of PC105 which comprises a multi-projection system. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the projector 101 which comprises a multi-projection system. 6 is a first diagram illustrating an example of processing operation of the PC 105. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing operation of the projector. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing operation of the projector. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing operation of the projector. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing operation of PC105. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing operation of the projector. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing operations of a PC and a projector. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing operation of the projector. It is a figure which shows the processing operation example of a multi-projection system. It is a figure which shows the processing operation example of a multi-projection system. It is a figure which shows the processing operation example of a multi-projection system. It is a figure which shows the processing operation example of a multi-projection system.

(Outline of multi-projection system according to one embodiment of the present invention)
First, a multi-projection system according to an aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 17, and 18. FIG. 4 illustrates a system configuration example of a multi-projection system according to an aspect of the present invention. FIG. 17 illustrates a configuration example of the PC 105 that is an example of an information processing device that configures the multi-projection system according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 18 illustrates a configuration example of the projector 101 included in the multi-projection system according to one aspect of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the multi-projection system according to one aspect of the present invention is a multi-projection system that displays one whole projection image with projection images projected from a plurality of projectors 101 onto a screen 103.

  In the multi-projection system according to one aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of projectors 101 are connected in a daisy chain, and the leading projector 101 is connected to a PC 105 that is an information processing apparatus that controls the multi-projection system. It is configured. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the complicated cable 106 from being routed.

  The multi-projection system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a projection image detection unit and a projection image overlap detection unit.

  The projection image detection means detects the projection image area of each projector 101. As the projection image detection means, the individual projection image position detection unit 910 shown in FIG. 17 functions.

  The projection image overlap detection means detects an overlap area where the projection image areas overlap among the projection image areas of the projectors 101 detected by the projection image detection means. As the projection image overlap detection means, the individual projection image overlap detection unit 911 shown in FIG. 17 functions.

  Based on the priority order of each projector 101, the projection image overlap detection means includes the overlap area in the projection image area of the projector 101 having a higher priority among the projector 101 of the projection image area that forms the overlap area. The projection image area of the projector 101 is determined.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a priority order is assigned to each projector 101 connected in a daisy chain. Then, the overlapping area is preferentially projected onto the projection image area of the projector 101 having a high priority, and the projection image is projected onto the screen 103 from each projector 101 without worrying about the overlapping of the projection image areas. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the projector 101 directly connected to the PC 105 as the information processing apparatus is set as the projector 101 having the first priority. Further, the projector 101 connected to the projector 101 having the first priority is set as the projector 101 having the second priority. Further, the projector 101 connected to the projector 101 having the second priority is set as the projector 101 having the third priority. Thus, the priority order of each projector 101 is assigned. Thereby, the projector 101 with the higher priority projects the overlapping area where the projected image areas overlap, and one overall projection image can be displayed as the projection image projected from the plurality of projectors 101 onto the screen 103. Hereinafter, a multi-projection system according to an aspect of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<System configuration example of multi-projection system>
First, a system configuration example of a multi-projection system will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a projection system used when configuring a multi-projection system. 2 to 4 show system configuration examples of the multi-projection system.

  The multi-projection system can be configured by including a plurality of projection systems shown in FIG.

  The projection system shown in FIG. 1 includes a projector 101, an imaging device 102, a screen 103, and a PC 105. A projection image projected from the projector 101 is displayed on the projection screen 104 of the screen 103. The PC 105 controls the projector 101 and projects an image from the projector 101 onto the projection screen 104 of the screen 103. In addition, the imaging device 102 is controlled, the projection image projected on the screen 103 is captured by the imaging device 102, and the captured image is read into the PC 105 to perform predetermined processing. In the projection system shown in FIG. 1, an imaging device 102 is connected to a projector 101. Further, the projector 101 is connected to the PC 105 via the cable 106 on a one-to-one basis.

  For example, the PC 105 causes the imaging device 102 to capture a projection image projected on the projection screen 104 of the screen 103. Then, the PC 105 detects which positions of the four corners of the projection image are relative to the reference position on the screen 103 based on the projection image captured by the imaging device 102, and performs the trapezoidal correction process of the projector 101. Etc.

  The multi-projection system is configured as shown in FIG. 2, for example, using the projection system shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a multi-projection system using a total of nine projectors 101 in three rows and three rows. In the case of the multi-projection system shown in FIG. 2, each PC 105 projects an image from each projector 101 onto the projection screen 104 of the screen 103. Then, the projection images of the projectors 101 are synthesized and one huge overall projection image is displayed on the screen 103. Thereby, a multi-projection image can be displayed on the screen 103.

  When the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is simply applied to the multi-projection system shown in FIG. 2, nine projectors 101 and nine PCs 105 are required. In this case, since the projector 101 and the PC 105 are connected one-to-one with the cable 106, the cable wiring becomes complicated.

  Moreover, as a similar multi-projection system, for example, there is a configuration as shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, one PC 105 is connected to the image dividing circuit 107, and the image dividing circuit 107 and each projector 101 are individually connected by a cable 106. In the case of the multi-projection system shown in FIG. 3, the PC 105 outputs one image displayed on the screen 103 to the image dividing circuit 107. The image dividing circuit 107 divides one image into nine, and projects an image from each projector 101 onto each projection screen 104 of the screen 103. Then, the projection images of the projectors 101 are synthesized and one huge overall projection image is displayed on the screen 103. Thereby, a multi-projection image can be displayed on the screen 103.

  Even in the configuration of the multi-projection system shown in FIG. 3, the image dividing circuit 107 and each projector 101 are connected one-to-many via the cable 106 as in the configuration shown in FIG. Become.

  For this reason, in the multi-projection system of the present embodiment, the projectors 101 are daisy chain connected as shown in FIG. Daisy chain connection is to connect in a daisy chain. In FIG. 4, the PC 105 that controls each projector 101 is connected to only one projector 101. Further, the projector 101 connected to the PC 105 is connected only to the next projector 101. The next projector 101 is further connected only to the next projector 101. As described above, all the projectors 101 constituting the multi-projection system of the present embodiment are daisy chain connected, and adjacent projectors 101 are sequentially connected by the cable 106. As a result, in the case of the configuration of the multi-projection system shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to avoid complicated cable wiring. In the case of the multi-projection system shown in FIG. 4, an image projected from each projector 101 onto each projection screen 104 of the screen 103 is output from the PC 105 to each projector 101. The image output from the PC 105 is output to each projector 101 to be output via each projector 101 connected in a daisy chain. Each projector 101 projects the image output from the PC 105 onto the projection screen 104 of the screen 103. Then, the projection images of the projectors 101 are combined to display one huge overall projection image on the screen 103. Thereby, a multi-projection image can be displayed on the screen 103.

<Example of processing operation when displaying multi-projection image>
Next, an example of a processing operation when displaying a multi-projection image on the screen 103 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a 3 × 3 multi-projection image. Reference numerals 501 to 509 shown in FIG. 5A indicate projection images of the projectors 101. The projected image 501 overlaps the projected image 502, the projected image 505, and the projected image 506 at the ends. Similarly, other projected images have portions that overlap with the projected images on the top, bottom, left, and right.

  The multi-projection system according to the present embodiment performs a predetermined process, which will be described later, on the overlapping portion of the projection images 501 to 509 of the projectors 101 shown in FIG. 5A, and produces one whole projection image shown in FIG. 510 is displayed on the screen 103. In the present embodiment, the first projection image of the first projector 101 is a first projection image 501. Further, the next projection image of the second projector 101 is set as a second projection image 502. Further, a projection image of the next third projector 101 is set as a third projection image 503. Similarly, the last projection image of the ninth projector 101 is referred to as a ninth projection image 509.

  First, as shown in FIG. 6A, processing is performed on an overlapping portion between the first projection image 501 and the second projection image 502. In this case, the first projected image 501 and the second projected image 502 attempt to project the image area 601 and the image area 602 on the screen 103 as effective image areas, respectively. However, an overlapping image region 603 exists. The overlapping image area 603 is an image area where the image area 601 and the image area 602 overlap. The effective image area is an area that becomes the entire projected image 510 in the projected image.

  In the present embodiment, the first projection image 501 is set to have a higher priority than the second projection image 502. In this case, the overlapping image region 603 is projected toward the first projection image 501 having a higher priority. Then, an actual projection image area (defined as an actual projection image area) of the first projection image 501 is a portion indicated by reference numeral 604 shown in FIG. This actual projection image area 604 becomes a part of the image area 601. As a result, the actual projection image area 604 is trimmed from the first projection image 501 to determine the actual projection image area 604.

  When the actual projection image area 604 of the first projection image 501 is determined, processing for determining the actual projection image area of the second projection image 502 is started. In this case, the second projected image 502 is obtained by trimming the actual projected image area from the image denoted by reference numeral 605 shown in FIG. The image 605 is obtained by masking the actual projection image area 604 of the first projection image 501 from the entire projection image 510 with empty data. An image 605 obtained by masking a part of the entire projection image 510 with empty data is divided into eight regions as indicated by reference numeral 606 shown in FIG.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7A, processing is performed on the overlapping portion of the second projection image 502 and the third projection image 503. In this case, the second projected image 502 and the third projected image 503 attempt to project an image area 607 and an image area 608 on the screen 103 as effective image areas, respectively. However, an overlapping image area 609 exists. An overlapping image area 609 is an image area where the image area 607 and the image area 608 overlap.

  In the present embodiment, the second projection image 502 is set to have a higher priority than the third projection image 503. In this case, the overlapping image area 609 is projected toward the second projection image 502 having a higher priority. Then, an actual projection image area (defined as an actual projection image area) of the second projection image 502 becomes a portion denoted by reference numeral 610 shown in FIG. The actual projection image area 610 is a part of the image area 607. Thus, the actual projection image area 610 is trimmed from the second projection image 502 to determine the actual projection image area 610. In the actual projection image area 610, as shown in FIG. 7B, a part of the image is trimmed in the preprocessing and becomes empty data.

  When the actual projection image area 610 of the second projection image 502 is determined, processing for determining the actual projection image area of the third projection image 503 is started. In this case, the third projection image 503 is obtained by trimming the actual projection image region from the image denoted by reference numeral 611 shown in FIG. The image 611 is obtained by masking the actual projection image area 610 of the second projection image 502 from the entire projection image 510 with empty data. An image 611 obtained by masking a part of the entire projection image 510 with empty data is divided into seven regions as indicated by reference numeral 612 shown in FIG.

  In the same manner, the processes shown in FIGS. 8 to 13 are performed. FIG. 8 shows a processing operation for determining the actual projection image area of the third projection image 503, and the image shown in FIG. 8B becomes the actual projection image area of the third projection image 503. FIG. 9 shows a processing operation for determining the actual projection image area of the fourth projection image 504, and the image shown in FIG. 9B becomes the actual projection image area of the fourth projection image 504. FIG. 10 shows a processing operation for determining the actual projection image area of the fifth projection image 505, and the image shown in FIG. 10B becomes the actual projection image area of the fifth projection image 505. 11 shows a processing operation for determining the actual projection image area of the sixth projection image 506, and the image shown in FIG. 11B becomes the actual projection image area of the sixth projection image 506. 12 shows the processing operation for determining the actual projection image area of the seventh projection image 507, and the image shown in FIG. 12B becomes the actual projection image area of the seventh projection image 507. FIG. 13 shows a processing operation for determining the actual projection image area of the eighth projection image 508 and the actual projection image area of the ninth projection image 509. The image shown in FIG. 13B is an actual projection image region of the eighth projection image 508, and the image shown in FIG. 13D is an actual projection image region of the ninth projection image 509.

  The multi-projection system according to the present embodiment performs the processes shown in FIGS. 6 to 13, and finally assigns actual projection image areas 701 to 709 to nine projectors 101 as shown in FIG. 14. become. Reference numeral 701 indicates an actual projection image area of the first projection image 501, reference numeral 702 indicates an actual projection image area of the second projection image 502, and reference numeral 703 indicates an actual projection image of the third projection image 503. Indicates the area. Reference numeral 704 indicates an actual projection image area of the fourth projection image 504, reference numeral 705 indicates an actual projection image area of the fifth projection image 505, and reference numeral 706 indicates an actual projection image area of the sixth projection image 506. A projected image area is shown. Reference numeral 707 indicates the actual projection image area of the seventh projection image 507, reference numeral 708 indicates the actual projection image area of the eighth projection image 508, and reference numeral 709 indicates the actual projection image area of the ninth projection image 509. A projected image area is shown.

  In the multi-projection system of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the overlap image area is distributed to the projection image area of the projector 101 having a high priority. Therefore, a multi-projection image can be displayed on the screen 103 without performing complicated processing on the overlapping image area.

<Example of data transfer operation in multi-projection system shown in FIG. 4>
Next, an example of data transfer operation in the multi-projection system shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the PC 105 and the plurality of projectors 101 connected in a daisy chain exchange commands and data as shown in FIG. 15.

  FIG. 15A shows a state in which a command is issued from the PC 105 and the command is transferred to each projector 101. The command from the PC 105 has a format as shown in FIG. The format shown in FIG. 16 includes S, destination device ID, own device ID, command / status, and data. S is a start code. The destination device ID is an ID indicating a command / status transmission destination device. The own device ID is the source device ID. The command / status is command or status information. The data is command or status incidental information. E is an end code. In the present embodiment, the projector 101 in which the ID number assigned to each projector 101 matches the ID number of the destination device ID in the command receives the command from the PC 105.

  15B, a command is transmitted from the PC 105 to the ID3 projector 101 in FIG. 15A, the ID3 projector 101 receives the command, and the ID3 projector 101 returns data and status to the PC 105. Shows the case. When the projector 101 with ID3 returns data to the PC 105, ID0 which is the ID number of the PC 105 is set as the destination device ID.

<Configuration example of PC 105 constituting the multi-projection system>
Next, a configuration example of the PC 105 configuring the multi-projection system illustrated in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The PC 105 of this embodiment includes an external device I / F unit 901, an external device transmission control unit 902, and an external device reception control unit 903. In addition, the projector includes a whole projection image transmission unit 904, a device command transmission unit 905, an individual projection image region transmission unit 906, an individual captured image reception unit 907, and a device status reception unit 908. In addition, an overall projection image storage unit 909, an individual projection image position detection unit 910, and an individual projection image overlap detection unit 911 are configured.

  The external device I / F unit 901 is externally connected to an external device. In the present embodiment, the external device I / F unit 901 is externally connected to the projector 101 with ID1. The cable connecting the devices has signal lines on the transmission side and the reception side, and performs full-duplex communication via the external device I / F unit 901.

  The external device transmission control unit 902 performs control to transmit commands and image data to the external device through the external device I / F unit 901. In the present embodiment, the external device transmission control unit 902 performs transmission control of data to the projectors 101 having ID1 to ID9.

  The external device reception control unit 903 performs control to receive data and status from the external device through the external device I / F unit 901. In the present embodiment, the external device reception control unit 903 performs reception control of data from the projectors 101 having ID1 to ID9.

  The whole projection image transmission unit 904 transmits the whole projection image stored in the whole projection image storage unit 909 to an external device. The whole projection image is an image projected on the screen 103.

  The device command transmission unit 905 transmits commands and data to an external device. Examples of the command include a lamp turn-on command, a turn-off command, an imaging start command, an imaging end command, and the like of the projector 101.

  The individual projection image area transmission unit 906 transmits the individual projection image area of each projector 101 to the external device. The individual projection image area specifies the area of the projection screen that each projector 101 projects onto the screen 103, and includes the addresses of the four corners of the projection screen area.

  The individual captured image reception unit 907 receives a captured image of each projector 101. In the present embodiment, first, the projector 101 with ID 1 projects a white image on the screen 103 in accordance with a command from the device command transmission unit 905. Thereafter, in response to a command from the device command transmission unit 905, the imaging device 102 captures a white image projection screen on the screen 103 and transmits the captured image to the PC 105. At this time, the captured image of the projector 101 with ID1 is transmitted, and the individual captured image reception unit 907 receives and stores the captured image. In the present embodiment, the above processing is performed by the projectors 101 having ID1 to ID9, and the individual captured image receiving unit 907 receives the captured images of the projectors 101 having ID1 to ID9.

  The device status receiving unit 908 receives the status. In the present embodiment, a command is transmitted from the device command transmission unit 905 to each projector 101. Each projector 101 receives the command, executes the content of the command, and then returns a completion status or an error status to the PC 105. The device status receiving unit 908 receives this status.

  The overall projection image storage unit 909 stores an overall projection image to be projected on the screen 103. The whole projection image transmission unit 904 reads out the whole projection image stored in the whole projection image storage unit 909 and transmits the whole projection image to each projector 101.

  The individual projection image position detection unit 910 detects the addresses of the four corners of the projection screen of each projector 101 based on the captured image of each projector 101 stored in the individual captured image reception unit 907. For example, a specific point on the screen 103 is used as a reference point, and a relative address from the reference point is detected. The reference point of the screen 103 is, for example, the vertex at the lower left corner of the screen 103 as the reference point. The reference point is fixed so that the reference point is always the same regardless of which projector 101 image is processed. By this processing, the addresses (x, y) at the four corners of the projection screen of each projector 101 are detected. The address is a two-dimensional coordinate, x is the horizontal direction of the screen 103, and y is the vertical direction of the screen 103.

  The individual projection image overlap detection unit 911 detects an overlapping area where the projection screens of the projectors 101 overlap based on the addresses of the four corners of the projection screens of the projectors 101 detected by the individual projection image position detection unit 910. As an overlapping region detection method, for example, an algorithm similar to the algorithm used when detecting the overlapping of windows (registered trademark) windows can be used.

<Configuration Example of Projector 101 Constructing Multi-Projection System>
Next, a configuration example of the projector 101 configuring the multi-projection system illustrated in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The projector 101 according to this embodiment includes a first external device I / F unit 1001, a second external device I / F unit 1002, an external device reception control unit 1003, an external device transmission control unit 1004, and an overall mask image transmission control unit 1005. Have and configure. In addition, it includes an overall projection image receiving unit 1006, an individual projection image region receiving unit 1007, a device command receiving unit 1008, and a device status transmitting unit 1009. The image forming apparatus control unit 1010, the entire projection image storage unit 1011, the individual projection image region storage unit 1012, the individual projection image trimming unit 1013, the projection unit 1014, and the entire projection image mask unit 1015 are configured. The imaging device control unit 1010 includes a captured image transmission unit 1016, a captured image storage unit 1017, and an imaging unit 1018.

  The first external device I / F unit 1001 is connected to the previous external device 1 to exchange data. The cable connecting the devices has signal lines on the transmission side and the reception side, and performs full-duplex communication via the first external device I / F unit 1001.

  The second external device I / F unit 1002 is connected to the subsequent external device 2 and exchanges data. The cable connecting the devices has a signal line between the transmission side and the reception side, and performs full-duplex communication via the second external device I / F unit 1002.

  The external device reception control unit 1003 performs control to receive data and status from the external device through the first external device I / F unit 1001. In the present embodiment, the external device reception control unit 1003 performs data reception control from the PC 105 or the projector 101.

  The external device transmission control unit 1004 performs control to transmit commands and data to the external device through the first external device I / F unit 1001. In the present embodiment, the external device transmission control unit 1004 controls transmission of data to the PC 105 or the projector 101.

  The whole mask image transmission control unit 1005 performs whole projection in which a part of the whole projection image is masked with empty data, such as an image indicated by reference numeral 605 shown in FIG. 6C and an image indicated by reference numeral 611 shown in FIG. The image is transmitted to the projector 101 at the subsequent stage via the second external device I / F unit 1002.

  The whole projection image receiving unit 1006 receives the whole projection image transmitted from the previous external device or the whole projection image obtained by masking a part of the whole projection image with the empty data. The projector 101 with ID1 directly connected to the PC 105 receives a complete whole projection image without a mask area from the PC 105. The other projectors 101 of ID2 to ID9 receive the whole projection image obtained by masking a part of the whole projection image with the empty data by the projector 101 in the previous stage.

  The individual projection image area receiving unit 1007 receives the individual projection image area of each projector 101 transmitted from the PC 105.

  The device command receiving unit 1008 receives commands and data transmitted from the PC 105.

  The device status transmission unit 1009 transmits a status. The projector 101 receives the command transmitted from the PC 105 by the device command receiving unit 1008 and executes the command by the projector 101. The device status transmission unit 1009 transmits to the PC 105 as a status whether the execution result of the command is an execution result OK or an execution result NG.

  The imaging device control unit 1010 controls the imaging device 102. The imaging device control unit 1010 only needs to be mounted on at least one projector 101 among the plurality of projectors 101. In the case of this embodiment, the projector 101 with ID1 connected to the imaging device 102 shown in FIG.

  The captured image transmission unit 1016 transmits the captured image stored in the captured image storage unit 1017 to the PC 105.

  The captured image storage unit 1017 stores the captured image captured by the imaging unit 1018.

  The imaging unit 1018 captures an image of the entire screen 103 including a white image projection screen. In this embodiment, it is only necessary to capture a captured image of a still image, not a captured image of a moving image.

  The whole projection image storage unit 1011 stores the whole projection image received by the whole projection image receiving unit 1006 and the whole projection image obtained by masking a part of the whole projection image with empty data. The whole projection image storage unit 1011 of the projector 101 with ID1 directly connected to the PC stores a complete whole projection image without a mask area. The other whole projection image storage unit 1011 of the projectors 101 having ID2 to ID9 stores the whole projection image obtained by masking a part of the whole projection image with the empty data by the projector 101 in the previous stage.

  The individual projection image area storage unit 1012 stores the individual projection image area received by the individual projection image area reception unit 1007. The addresses of the four corners of the projection screen included in the individual projection image area are different for each projector 101. Therefore, the individual projection image area of each projector 101 is stored in the individual projection image area storage unit 1012 while the positional relationship between the installation positions of the plurality of projectors 101 and the screen 103 does not change.

  The individual projection image trimming unit 1013 reads the individual projection image region stored in the individual projection image region storage unit 1012 and trims the whole projection image stored in the whole projection image storage unit 1011 with the individual projection image region. For example, the individual projection image area storage unit 1012 of the projector 101 with ID 1 stores an actual projection image area indicated by reference numeral 604 shown in FIG. For this reason, the individual projection image trimming unit 1013 trims the whole projection image stored in the whole projection image storage unit 1011 in the actual projection image area denoted by reference numeral 604 shown in FIG. As a result, the actual projection image area 604 projected from the projector 101 with ID1 is determined.

  The projection unit 1014 projects the projection image of the actual projection image area trimmed by the individual projection image trimming unit 1013 onto the screen 103. For example, the projection unit 1014 decomposes the projection image into RGB, displays each on the liquid crystal panel, transmits the RGB image with the projection light of the lamp, and synthesizes the transmitted RGB light through a special lens on the screen 103. Project to.

  The whole projection image mask unit 1015 reads the individual projection image area stored in the individual projection image area storage unit 1012 and masks the whole projection image stored in the whole projection image storage unit 1011. For example, the individual projection image area storage unit 1012 of the projector 101 with ID 1 stores an actual projection image area indicated by reference numeral 604 shown in FIG. Therefore, the whole projection image mask unit 1015 masks the whole projection image stored in the whole projection image storage unit 1011 with the actual projection image region indicated by reference numeral 604 shown in FIG. An image denoted by reference numeral 605 is generated. The whole mask image transmission control unit 1005 sends the whole projection image obtained by masking a part of the whole projection image to the empty data in the whole projection image mask unit 1015 to the projector 101 at the subsequent stage via the second external device I / F unit 1002. To do.

<Example of Processing Operations of PC 105 and Projector 101 Constructing Multi-Projection System>
Next, an example of processing operations of the PC 105 shown in FIG. 17 and the projector 101 shown in FIG. 18 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 19A shows a data flow when a command is transmitted from the PC 105 to the projector 101. Thick arrows indicate the data flow.

  As shown in FIG. 19A, the PC 105 transmits a command from the device command transmission unit 905 to each projector 101 that is an external device via the external device transmission control unit 902 and the external device I / F unit 901. For example, the command is transmitted in the format shown in FIG. By setting the ID number of the projector 101 that transmits the command to the destination device ID shown in FIG. 16, the command is transmitted to the projector 101 having the ID number set as the destination device ID. When each projector 101 receives a command from the PC 105, the projector 101 checks the ID number of the destination device ID in the command, and executes the command only when it matches the own ID number. Examples of the command include a command for turning on the projection of a white image, a command for turning off, a command for turning on imaging by the imaging unit 1018, and a command for turning off. Further, there are a command for capturing a captured image, a command for transmitting an individual projection image region, a command for turning on projection of the individual projection image region, a command for turning off, and the like.

  FIG. 20A shows a data flow when the projector 101 receives a command transmitted from the PC 105 in the process shown in FIG.

  When the projector 101 receives a command, the device command receiving unit 1008 receives the command via the first external device I / F unit 1001 and the external device reception control unit 1003 as shown in FIG. The device command receiving unit 1008 interprets the command and executes an instruction according to the command from the PC 105. For example, a command for projecting a specific image from the projection unit 1014 to the screen 103, a command for stopping the projection, a command for imaging the projection image projected on the screen 103 with the imaging unit 1018, a command for stopping the imaging, and the like are executed. .

  FIG. 20B shows a data flow when a result of executing a command by the projector 101 is returned as a status.

  In the case of a command for performing projection by the projection unit 1014, if projection is attempted and if the projection can be executed according to the command, a status indicating the completion of execution is sent to the PC 105 via the external device transmission control unit 1004 and the first external device I / F unit 1001 Reply to In the case of a command for performing imaging by the imaging unit 1018, if imaging can be attempted and executed according to the command, the captured image captured by the imaging unit 1018 is transmitted to the external device transmission control unit 1004 and the first external device I / F unit. A reply is sent to the PC 105 side via 1001.

  FIG. 19B shows a data flow when the PC 105 receives the status returned from the projector 101.

  As shown in FIG. 19B, the PC 105 receives the status at the device status receiving unit 908 via the external device I / F unit 901 and the external device reception control unit 903.

  FIG. 21A shows a data flow when each projector 101 receives a command or incidental data transmitted from the PC 105.

  The command and the incidental data transmitted from the PC 105 side are transmitted to the external device reception control unit 1003 via the first external device I / F unit 1001, and the external device reception control unit 1003 indicates a destination indicating the command transmission destination. The device ID is read and compared with its own device ID. If the device IDs are the same, the command is addressed to its own projector 101, so the command described with reference to FIG. If the device IDs are different, no command is sent to the projector 101, so no processing is performed. Further, the command transmitted from the PC 105 side is transmitted to the next projector 101 via the first external device I / F unit 1001 and the second external device I / F unit 1002. When the next projector 101 also receives a command, it performs the same process as described above.

  FIG. 21B shows a data flow when the status received from the projector 101 at the subsequent stage is returned to the PC 105 side. The flow of data when returning its own status has been described with reference to FIG. 20B. In the case of FIG. 21B, the status received from the projector 101 at the subsequent stage is returned to the PC 105 side.

  The status of the subsequent projector 101 received by the second external device I / F unit 1002 is transmitted to the previous projector 101 via the first external device I / F unit 1001. In the case of the projector 101 of ID1, the status of the subsequent projector 101 received by the second external device I / F unit 1002 is transmitted to the previous PC 105 via the first external device I / F unit 1001.

  The PC 105 and the plurality of projectors 101 according to the present embodiment can send and receive commands, incidental data, and statuses by performing the processes shown in FIGS. 19 to 21 described above.

  FIG. 22 shows a flow of data for transmitting a captured image captured by the imaging unit 1018 to the PC 105 side. FIG. 22 is performed by the projector 101 equipped with the imaging unit 1018. In the present embodiment, the imaging unit 1018 may be mounted on one projector 101 among the plurality of projectors 101.

  The PC 105 recognizes the projector 101 on which the image capturing unit 1018 is mounted in advance according to the setting of the operator. The PC 105 issues a command to the projector 101 on which the imaging unit 1018 is mounted. In response to a command from the PC 105, the imaging unit 1018 captures the projected image projected on the screen 103, sequentially transmits the captured image to the captured image storage unit 1017, and stores the captured image in the captured image storage unit 1017. The captured image transmission unit 1016 transmits the captured image stored in the captured image storage unit 1017 to the PC 105 via the external device transmission control unit 1004 and the first external device I / F unit 1001. In this case, the destination device ID in the format shown in FIG. 16 is set as the ID number of the PC 105, and the accompanying data is transmitted as a captured image. In this embodiment, since the ID number of the PC 105 is ID0, the destination device ID is set to ID0. Note that the external device transmission control unit 1004 can also compress and transmit the data in order to reduce the data size of the captured image.

  FIG. 23A shows a data flow when the PC 105 receives a captured image.

  The captured image input to the external device I / F unit 901 is sequentially input to the individual projection image position detection unit 910 via the external device reception control unit 903 and the individual captured image reception unit 907. The individual projection image position detection unit 910 performs decompression processing when the captured image is a compressed image, and detects the addresses of the four corners of the projection screen of each projector 101 based on the image data of the captured image. For example, a specific point on the screen 103 is used as a reference point, and a relative address from the reference point is detected. The reference point of the screen 103 is, for example, the vertex at the lower left corner of the screen 103 as the reference point. The reference point is fixed so that the reference point is always the same regardless of which projector 101 image is processed. By this processing, the addresses (x, y) at the four corners of the projection screen of each projector 101 are detected. The address is a two-dimensional coordinate, x is the horizontal direction of the screen 103, and y is the vertical direction of the screen 103.

  In order for the PC 105 to receive a captured image, the PC 105 issues a command for projecting a white image from the projector 101 with ID1. The projector 101 with ID 1 receives the command and projects a white image projection screen onto the screen 103. Next, the PC 105 issues an imaging command to the projector 101 on which the imaging unit 1018 is mounted. The projector 101 equipped with the imaging unit 1018 receives an imaging command, captures a projection screen of a white image on the screen 103, and returns the captured image to the PC 105. This captured image includes the screen 103. The PC 105 detects the relative address of the projection screen from the reference point of the screen 103 based on the captured image received from the projector 101. In the present embodiment, the above process is repeated from the projector 101 with ID1 to the projector 101 with ID9. By performing this processing, the individual projection image position detection unit 910 detects the addresses of the four corners of the projection screens of the nine projectors 101 from ID1 to ID9.

  Next, based on the addresses of the four corners of the projection screen of each projector 101 detected by the individual projection image position detection unit 910, the individual projection image overlap detection unit 911 detects an overlapping area where the projection screens of the projectors 101 overlap. Detect. As a method for detecting the overlapping area, for example, an algorithm similar to the algorithm used when detecting the overlapping of windows can be performed. In this embodiment, the projection screen of the projector 101 with ID1 is the top surface, and then the order of the projection screen is determined in the order of ID2 → ID8, and the projection screen of the projector 101 with ID9 is superimposed on the bottom surface. And as shown in FIG. 14, each vertex of the polygon which the projection screen of each projector 101 is seen is calculated | required. The processing here is performed using an algorithm similar to the algorithm for obtaining the vertices of each window represented by a polygon that is visible to the user when there are nine Windows windows and when these windows are overlapped. As a result, the individual projection image area of each projector 101 is stored in the individual projection image overlap detection unit 911.

  FIG. 23B shows a data flow when the individual projection image area of each projector 101 stored in the individual projection image overlap detection unit 911 is transmitted to each projector 101.

  The individual projection image area transmission unit 906 transmits the individual projection image area of each projector 101 stored in the individual projection image overlap detection unit 911 to each projector 101 via the external device transmission control unit 902 and the external device I / F unit 901. Send to. In this case, ID0 is set as the self-confident device ID in the format shown in FIG. 16, and the ID number of the transmission target projector is set as the destination device ID. In addition, the individual projection image area of each projector 101 is set in the accompanying data.

  FIG. 24 shows a data flow when the projector 101 receives the individual projection image area transmitted from the PC 105.

  The external device reception control unit 1003 confirms the ID number of the destination device ID to determine whether the individual projection image region received via the first external device I / F unit 1001 is an individual projection image region received by the external device reception control unit 1003. If it is an individual projection image area received by itself, the individual projection image area is stored in the individual projection image area storage unit 1012 via the individual projection image area reception unit 1007. This process is performed for each projector 101 from the PC 105, and each projector 101 stores its own individual projected image area to be received in its own individual projected image area storage unit 1012. As a result, each projector 101 acquires an individual projection image area for projecting a projection image on the screen 103 from the PC 105.

  FIG. 25A shows the flow of data when the entire projection image is transmitted from the PC 105 to the projector 101.

  The overall projection image transmission unit 904 reads the overall projection image stored in the overall projection image storage unit 909 and transmits it to the projector 101 via the external device transmission control unit 902 and the external device I / F unit 901.

  FIG. 25B shows a data flow in which each projector 101 receives the entire projection image transmitted from the PC 105.

  Each projector 101 receives the entire projection image by the entire projection image receiving unit 1006 via the first external device I / F unit 1001 and the external device reception control unit 1003, and the entire projection image is stored in the entire projection image storage unit 1011. Store. Thereafter, the individual projection image trimming unit 1013 uses the individual projection image area of its own projector 101 stored in the individual projection image area storage unit 1012 to convert the entire projection image stored in the entire projection image storage unit 1011. Trim. Then, the trimmed projection image is transmitted to the projection unit 1014 and projected onto the screen 103. Thereby, for example, the projector 101 with ID 1 can project the projection image of the actual projection image area 604 shown in FIG. Further, the whole projection image mask unit 1015 uses the individual projection image area of its own projector 101 stored in the individual projection image area storage unit 1012 to store the whole projection image stored in the whole projection image storage unit 1011. Mask it. Thereby, for example, the projector 101 of ID1 can form an image of reference numeral 605 shown in FIG. 6C in which the actual projection image area 604 shown in FIG. it can.

  FIG. 26 shows a data flow when the whole projection image masked by the whole projection image mask unit 1015 is transmitted to the projector 101 at the subsequent stage.

  The whole projection image masked by the whole projection image mask unit 1015 is transmitted to the projector 101 at the subsequent stage via the whole mask image transmission control unit 1005 and the second external device I / F unit 1002. Thereafter, the subsequent projector 101 performs the same processing as in FIG. 25B, and transmits the entire projection image masked by the entire projection image mask unit 1015 to the subsequent projector 101.

<Example of overall processing operation of multi-projection system>
Next, a processing operation example of the multi-projection system will be described with reference to FIGS.

The processing operation of the multi-projection system includes the four processes shown in FIGS.
FIG. 27 shows a process in which the projection screen of each projector 101 is captured by the imaging unit 1018 and the captured images are sequentially read by the PC 105.
In FIG. 28, based on the captured image of the projection screen of each projector 101, the addresses of the four corners of the projection screen are detected, the overlapping area of the projection screen of each projector 101 is detected, and the individual projection image area of each projector 101 is determined. It is processing to do.
FIG. 29 shows a process of transmitting the individual projection image area to each projector 101.
FIG. 30 shows a process for displaying the entire projection image on each projector 101.

  In the present embodiment, the priority order of each projector 101 is assigned in advance, the priority order of the projector 101 of ID1 is the highest, and the priority order is assigned to become lower as ID2, ID3,. It has been.

  First, a process in which the PC 105 sequentially reads captured images of the projection screens of the projectors 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the projection of the white image by the projector 101 is turned on (step S1). In this process, the PC 105 transmits a command to turn on the projection of the white image to the control target projector 101, and the control target projector 101 receives the command, so that the control target projector 101 receives the white image. Projection will begin. Thus, a white image projection screen is projected on the screen 103.

  Next, the projection screen is imaged by the imaging unit 1018 (step S2). In this process, the PC 105 transmits a command for imaging the white image projection screen projected on the screen 103 by the imaging unit 1018 to the specific projector 101 on which the imaging unit 1018 is mounted. When the specific projector 101 receives the command, the specific projector 101 captures the projected image of the white image on the screen 103 by the imaging unit 1018. In this case, not only the white image projection screen but also the screen 103 is imaged. For this reason, the captured image captured by the imaging unit 1018 includes the screen 103 and a projection screen of a white image projected on the screen 103.

  Next, the captured image captured in step S2 is transmitted to the PC 105 (step S3). In this process, a captured image captured by the image capturing unit 1018 is transmitted from the projector 101 to the PC 105.

  Next, the projection of the white image by the projector 101 is turned off (step S4). When the PC 105 receives the captured image, the PC 105 transmits a command to turn off the white image projection to the projector 101 to be controlled. When receiving the command, the projector 101 to be controlled ends the projection of the white image.

  Next, when there is a next projector 101 to be controlled (step S5 / Yes), steps S1 to S4 are performed, and steps S1 to S4 are repeated until there is no projector 101 to be controlled. Then, when there is no projector 101 to be controlled (step S5 / No), the process ends (END). In this process, the PC 105 determines whether or not there is a next projector 101 to be controlled. If there is a projector 101 to be controlled, the processes in steps S1 to S4 are sequentially executed in all the projectors 101 to be controlled. Then, the process ends (END).

  By performing the processing of FIG. 27, the PC 105 sequentially reads the captured images of the projection screens of the projectors 101.

  Next, referring to FIG. 28, based on the captured images of the projection screens of the projectors 101, the addresses of the four corners of the projection screens are detected, the overlapping areas of the projection screens of the projectors 101 are detected, Processing for determining the individual projection image area will be described.

  The PC 105 receives the captured images sequentially transmitted from the projectors 101 in step S3 of FIG. 27, and stores the captured images of all the projectors 101 in the individual captured image receiving unit 907 (step S11).

  The PC 105 detects the addresses of the four corners of the projection screen of each projector 101 based on the captured image of each projector 101 stored in the individual captured image reception unit 907 (step S12). For example, a specific point on the screen 103 is used as a reference point, and a relative address from the reference point is detected. The reference point of the screen 103 is, for example, the vertex at the lower left corner of the screen 103 as the reference point. The reference point is fixed so that the reference point is always the same regardless of which projector 101 image is processed. By this processing, the addresses (x, y) at the four corners of the projection screen of each projector 101 are detected. The address is a two-dimensional coordinate, x is the horizontal direction of the screen 103, and y is the vertical direction of the screen 103.

  Next, based on the addresses of the four corners of the projection screen of each projector 101 detected in step S12, an overlapping area where the projection screens of each projector 101 overlap is detected (step S13). As a method for detecting the overlapping area, for example, an algorithm similar to the algorithm used when detecting the overlapping of windows can be performed.

  Next, the individual projection image area of each projector 101 is determined based on the overlapping area of the projection screens of each projector 101 (step S14). The individual projection image area is determined so that the projection screens of the projectors 101 do not overlap each other. In this embodiment, the projection screen of the projector 101 with ID1 is the top surface, and then the order of the projection screen is determined in the order of ID2 → ID8, and the projection screen of the projector 101 with ID9 is superimposed on the bottom surface. And as shown in FIG. 14, each vertex of the polygon which the projection screen of each projector 101 is seen is calculated | required. The processing here is performed using an algorithm similar to the algorithm for obtaining the vertices of each window represented by a polygon that is visible to the user when there are nine Windows windows and when these windows are overlapped. Thereby, the individual projection image area | region of each projector 101 can be determined.

  Next, a process for transmitting the individual projection image area to each projector 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the PC 105 transmits the individual projection image area of each projector 101 determined in step S14 to the projector 101 to be controlled (step S21).

  The projector 101 to be controlled receives the individual projection image area transmitted from the PC 105 (step S22).

  The PC 105 determines whether or not there is a next projector 101 to be controlled (step S23). If there is the next projector 101 to be controlled (step S23 / Yes), the processing in step S21 is performed, and the processing in step 21 is repeated until there is no more projector 101 to be controlled. Then, when there is no projector 101 to be controlled (step S23 / No), the process ends (END).

  By performing the processing of FIG. 29, each projector 101 receives an individual projection image area.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 30, a process for displaying an entire projection image on each projector 101 will be described.

  First, the projector 101 receives the entire projection image (step S31). In this process, the projector 101 with ID 1 receives the entire projection image transmitted from the PC 105. The projector 101 with ID1 receives the whole projection image that is not masked. Further, the projectors 101 of ID2 to ID9 receive the entire projection image transmitted from the projector 101 at the previous stage. The projectors 101 of ID2 to ID9 receive the whole projection image in which a part of the whole projection image is masked with the empty data.

  Next, the projector 101 trims the entire projection image received in step S31 using the individual projection image area received in step S22 (step S32). For example, the projector 101 with ID1 receives the individual projection image area of the actual projection image area 604 shown in FIG. 6B in step S22. For this reason, the projector 101 of ID1 trims the entire projection image using the individual projection image area of the actual projection image area 604 shown in FIG. 6B, and the actual projection image area 604 shown in FIG. A projection image can be generated.

  The projector 101 projects the projection image trimmed in step S32 onto the screen 103 by the projection unit 1014 in its own projector 101 (step S33). Thereby, for example, the projector 101 with ID 1 can project the projection image of the actual projection image area 604 shown in FIG.

  In addition, the projector 101 masks the entire projection image received in step S31 using the individual projection image area received in step S22 (step S34). Thereby, for example, the projector 101 with ID1 can form an image denoted by reference numeral 605 shown in FIG. 6C in which the actual projection image area 604 shown in FIG. 6B is masked with empty data from the entire projection image. . The masked whole projection image is transmitted to the projector 101 at the subsequent stage.

  Next, when there is a projector 101 to be projected next (step S35 / Yes), the processes of steps S31 to S34 are performed, and the processes of steps S31 to S34 are repeated until there is no projector 101 to be projected. Then, when there is no longer the projection target projector 101 (No in step S35), the process is terminated (END). In this process, the PC 105 determines whether or not there is a next projector 101 to be controlled. If there is a projector 101 to be controlled, the processes in steps S1 to S4 are sequentially executed in all the projectors 101 to be controlled. Then, the process ends (END).

  By performing the processing of FIG. 30, the projection image of the individual projection image area assigned to each projector 101 can be projected on the screen 103, and the entire projection image can be displayed on the screen 103.

<Operation and effect of the multi-projection system of the present embodiment>
Thus, in the multi-projection system of the present embodiment, the individual projection image position detection unit 910 detects the projection image areas of the projectors 101 arranged on the matrix. Further, the individual projection image overlap detection unit 911 detects an overlapping region where the projection image regions overlap among the projection image regions of the projectors 101 detected by the individual projection image position detection unit 910. In addition, the individual projection image overlap detection unit 911, based on the priority order of each projector 101, among the projector 101 of the projection image area that forms the overlap area, the overlap area is added to the projection image area of the projector 101 having a higher priority order. Include. Then, the projection image area of each projector 101 is determined. Thereby, the overlapping of the projection images of the projectors 101 can be eliminated, and one entire projection image can be displayed with the projection images projected from the plurality of projectors 101 onto the screen 103.

  In the multi-projection system of the present embodiment, the projectors 101 are connected in a daisy chain, and the priority order of the projectors 101 is assigned in order from the head connected in a daisy chain. Thereby, it can avoid that cable wiring becomes complicated.

  In the multi-projection system of this embodiment, the entire projection image is transferred in order from the projector 101 with the highest priority. Thereby, the priority order of the projector 101 and the transfer of the whole projection image are matched, and one whole projection image can be efficiently displayed with the projection images projected from the plurality of projectors 101 onto the screen 103.

  In the multi-projection system of the present embodiment, the entire projection image is trimmed based on the projection image area of each projector 101 determined by the individual projection image overlap detection unit 911. Thereby, an appropriate projection image can be projected on the screen 103 for each projector 101.

  In the multi-projection system of this embodiment, the entire projection image is masked based on the projection image area of each projector 101 determined by the individual projection image overlap detection unit 911. Thereby, it is possible to replace the projected image area that has overlapped between the projectors 101 with a blank image and eliminate the overlap of the projected images.

  In the multi-projection system according to the present embodiment, the projectors 101 having the highest priority are projected on the screen 103 in order based on the projection image area of each projector 101 determined by the individual projection image overlap detection unit 911. . Thereby, the variation in the projected image between the projectors 101 can be suppressed.

  The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment alone, and various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Implementation is possible.

  For example, the control operation of each device constituting the multi-projection system of the present embodiment described above can be executed using hardware, software, or a combined configuration of both.

  In the case of executing processing using software, it is possible to install and execute a program in which a processing sequence is recorded in a memory in a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. Alternatively, it can be installed in a memory in a general-purpose computer capable of executing various processes and executed.

  For example, the program can be recorded in advance on a hard disk or ROM (Read Only Memory) as a recording medium. Alternatively, the program can be stored (recorded) temporarily or permanently in a removable recording medium. Such a removable recording medium can be provided as so-called package software. Examples of the removable recording medium include various recording media such as a magnetic disk and a semiconductor memory.

  The program is installed in the computer from the removable recording medium as described above. In addition, it is wirelessly transferred from the download site to the computer. In addition, it is transferred to a computer via a network by wire.

  In addition, each device constituting the multi-projection system of the above embodiment is not limited to performing processing in time series according to the processing operation described in the above embodiment. For example, it is possible to construct the processing capability of a device that executes processing, or to execute processing in parallel or individually as necessary.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Projector 102 Imaging device 103 Screen 104 Projection screen 105 PC (an example of information processing apparatus)
106 Cable 901 External device I / F unit 902 External device transmission control unit 903 External device reception control unit 904 Whole projection image transmission unit 905 Device command transmission unit 906 Individual projection image area transmission unit 907 Individual captured image reception unit 908 Device status reception unit 909 Whole projection image storage unit 910 Individual projection image position detection unit 911 Individual projection image overlap detection unit 1001 First external device I / F unit 1002 Second external device I / F unit 1003 External device reception control unit 1004 External device transmission control unit 1005 Whole mask image transmission control unit 1006 Whole projection image reception unit 1007 Individual projection image area reception unit 1008 Device command reception unit 1009 Device status transmission unit 1010 Imaging device control unit 1011 Whole projection image storage unit 1012 Individual projection image storage unit 1013 Individual projection Image cropping Unit 1014 Projection unit 1015 Whole projection image mask unit 1016 Captured image transmission unit 1017 Captured image storage unit 1018 Imaging unit

JP 2002-277958 A

Claims (8)

A multi-projection system for displaying one whole projection image with projection images projected on a screen from a plurality of projectors,
Projection image detection means for detecting the projection image area of each projector;
A projected image overlap detecting means for detecting an overlapping area in which the projected image areas overlap among the projected image areas of the projectors detected by the projected image detecting means,
The projected image overlap detection means includes
Based on the priority of each projector, among the projectors of the projected image area that forms the overlapping area, the projected image area of each projector is determined including the overlapping area in the projected image area of the projector with the higher priority. A multi-projection system characterized by Each projector is connected in a daisy chain,
2. The multi-projection system according to claim 1, wherein the priority order of each projector is assigned in order from the first projector connected in a daisy chain.   The multi-projection system according to claim 1, wherein the whole projection image is transferred in order from the projector having the highest priority.   4. The trimming unit according to claim 1, further comprising a trimming unit that trims the entire projection image based on a projection image area of each projector determined by the projection image overlap detection unit. Multi-projection system.   5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a mask unit that masks the entire projection image based on a projection image area of each projector determined by the projection image overlap detection unit. Multi-projection system.   The projector according to claim 1, further comprising: a projecting unit that projects the projected image on the screen in order from the projector with the highest priority based on the projected image area of each projector determined by the projected image overlap detecting unit. The multi-projection system according to claim 5. An information processing apparatus that displays one overall projection image as projection images projected onto a screen from a plurality of projectors,
Projection image detection means for detecting the projection image area of each projector;
A projected image overlap detecting means for detecting an overlapping area in which the projected image areas overlap among the projected image areas of the projectors detected by the projected image detecting means,
The projected image overlap detection means includes
Based on the priority of each projector, among the projectors of the projected image area that forms the overlapping area, the projected image area of each projector is determined including the overlapping area in the projected image area of the projector with the higher priority. An information processing apparatus characterized by that. A program for causing a computer to display one overall projection image from projection images projected on a screen from a plurality of projectors,
Projection image detection processing for detecting the projection image area of each projector;
Causing the computer to execute a projection image overlap detection process for detecting an overlap area in which the projection image areas overlap among the projection image areas of the projectors detected by the projection image detection process,
The projected image overlap detection process includes:
Based on the priority of each projector, among the projectors of the projected image area that forms the overlapping area, the projected image area of each projector is determined including the overlapping area in the projected image area of the projector with the higher priority. A program characterized by that.

Images