JP2020115639A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

To highly accurately determine partial image data constituting whole image data out of a plurality of image data to be input in a display device.SOLUTION: A display device (100) includes: input means in which a plurality of image data are input; acquisition means for acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data; determination means for determining whether or not there is a combination of partial image data constituting whole image data having a size larger than that of the input image data in the plurality of image input data on the basis of the format information; generation means that synthesizes the input data determined by the determination means as the combination of the partial data to generate the whole image data; and display means that displays an image based on the whole image data generated by the generation means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a display device.

In recent years, display devices capable of displaying high-definition images such as 4K2K (4096×2160) and 8K4K (8192×4320) have been put into practical use. However, transmission of high-definition image data requires a wide band, which increases the cost of the transmission system. Therefore, a method has been proposed in which original high-definition image data (referred to as whole image data) is divided into a plurality of partial image data for transmission, and the partial image data is combined in a display device to reproduce the whole image data. According to this method, a wide band is not required for transmission, so that the cost of the transmission system can be reduced. In order to correctly configure the whole image data from the divided image data, it is necessary to correctly select the divided image data forming the entire image data from the plurality of image data input to the display device. The configuration in which this selection is performed by a user operation has a problem that the user is required to perform a complicated operation when the number of divisions increases. As a configuration for automatically selecting the divided image data, there is a method of analyzing the input image data and determining the input image data satisfying a predetermined condition as the partial image data. Patent Document 1 discloses a method of counting the number of image data having the same frequency of a synchronization signal among a plurality of input image data and performing image combination with reference to the frequency having the largest number of image data. ..

JP, 2013-5226, A

The combination of partial image data estimated by the method of Patent Document 1 does not always become the combination of partial image data forming the entire image data. For example, image data A1, A2, and B having the same frequency of the synchronization signal are input. Of these, the image data A1 and A2 are partial image data forming the entire image data A, and the image data B is the entire image. It is assumed that the image data is independent of the data A. In this case, according to the method of Patent Document 1, the image data B may be determined as the partial image data forming the entire image data A. Then, the size of the entire image data exceeds the displayable size of the display device.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for accurately determining partial image data forming the entire image data among a plurality of image data input to a display device.

In order to achieve the above object, one of the display devices according to the present invention is an input unit for inputting a plurality of image data, an acquisition unit for acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data, and the format. Determination means for determining whether there is a combination of partial image data having a size larger than the input image data among the plurality of input image data based on the information, and the partial image data by the determination means And a display unit for displaying an image based on the overall image data generated by the generating unit.

In order to achieve the above object, one of the display devices according to the present invention is an input unit for inputting a plurality of image data, an acquisition unit for acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data, and the format. Determination means for determining whether there is a combination of partial image data having a size larger than the input image data among the plurality of input image data based on the information, and the partial image data by the determination means Presenting means for presenting the information of the input image data determined to be a combination to the user, designating means for accepting from the user an instruction to designate the combination of the partial image data among the plurality of input image data, and the designating means. Generating means for synthesizing the input image data designated as a combination of the partial image data to generate the whole image data, and display means for displaying an image based on the whole image data generated by the generating means. Have.

In order to achieve the above object, one of the control methods according to the present invention is an input step of inputting a plurality of image data, an acquisition step of acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data, and the format. Based on the information, a determination step of determining whether there is a combination of partial image data that is larger in size than the input image data among the plurality of input image data, and the partial image data is determined by the determination step. And a display step of displaying an image based on the overall image data generated by the generating step.

In order to achieve the above object, one of the control methods according to the present invention is an input step of inputting a plurality of image data, an acquisition step of acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data, and the format. Based on the information, a determination step of determining whether there is a combination of partial image data that is larger in size than the input image data among the plurality of input image data, and the partial image data is determined by the determination step. A step of presenting information of the input image data determined to be a combination to the user, a specification step of receiving from the user an instruction to specify a combination of the partial image data of the plurality of input image data, and the specifying step A generation step of synthesizing the input image data specified as a combination of the partial image data to generate the whole image data; and a display step of displaying an image based on the whole image data generated by the generation step. Have.

According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately determine the partial image data forming the entire image data among the plurality of image data input to the display device.

It is a figure for demonstrating the some component which the display apparatus 100 of Embodiments 1-3 has. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a process performed by the display device 100 according to the first embodiment. It is a figure for explaining an example of format information of input image data. It is a figure for explaining an example of a pattern table. It is a figure for explaining an example of a menu which chooses an image input part. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a process performed by the display device 100 according to the third embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the process which determines the difference of the pixel value of an adjacent pixel.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the following embodiments.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a plurality of components included in the display device 100 according to the first to third embodiments.
In the first embodiment, the case where the display device 100 operates as, for example, a projector will be described, but the display device 100 is not limited to the projector. When the display device 100 operates as a projector, the display device 100 can be configured as a single-plate type projector or a three-plate type projector. When the display device 100 operates as a projector, the display device 100 can be configured as a projector having a liquid crystal display or as a projector having an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. When the display device 100 operates as a projector, the display device 100 can also be configured as a projector having a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) shutter.

The control unit 101 controls the operation of each component that constitutes the display device 100. The control unit 101 is connected to other constituent elements via a bus, issues control instructions to the other constituent elements, and exchanges data with the other constituent elements.
The operation unit 102 receives an instruction from the user. By operating the operation unit 102, the user can input a desired instruction (command) to the display device 100. The power supply unit 103 controls power supply to each constituent element of the display device 100. The liquid crystal unit 104 is composed of one or three liquid crystal panels and forms an image based on image data. In the first embodiment, the number of pixels of the liquid crystal section 104 is 3840×2160. This number of pixels is an example, and the number of pixels of the liquid crystal panel is not limited to this.

The liquid crystal drive unit 105 drives the liquid crystal element of the liquid crystal panel of the liquid crystal unit 104 based on the image data input from the image processing unit 118 to form an image. The light source 106 supplies light to the liquid crystal unit 104. The projection optical system 107 projects the light transmitted through the liquid crystal unit 104 onto the screen. The light source control unit 108 controls the light amount and the like of the light source 106. The optical system control unit 109 controls the operations of the zoom lens and the focus lens of the projection optical system 107, and adjusts the zoom magnification and focus.

The image input units 110 to 113 are image input interfaces to which a plurality of image data output from a PC, a DVD player or the like is input. DVI (Digital Visual Interface) and HDMI (registered trademark) are examples of image input interfaces. When the image input interface is HDMI, a control command for image processing or the like may be simultaneously input together with the image data. In the first embodiment, the image input units 110 to 113 are assumed to be HDMI. The image input units 110 to 113 correspond to HDMI1 to HDMI4 in the selection menu 300 (see FIG. 5) of the image input unit described later.
The image input units 110 to 113 include measurement circuits such as a frequency counter and a pulse counter, measure and acquire format information such as the timing of a synchronization signal of input image data, and store the measurement result in an internal register.

The display device 100 has a standard mode and a combination mode as display modes. In the standard mode, the display device 100 displays an image based on any one of the image data input from the image input units 110 to 113. In the combining mode, the display device 100 displays an image based on the entire image data that is larger than the partial image data and is obtained by combining a plurality of image data as the partial image data. The combination mode is used for displaying 4K images (3840×2160) by inputting four systems of HD images (1920×1080) and combining them. As a result, it is possible to use HD image compatible terminals as the image input terminal and the image transmission system.
It is possible to cope with the display of high-definition images of 8K and 8K. In the first embodiment, for simplification of description, it is assumed that the whole image data is obtained by combining two or four partial image data in the combining mode. In addition, the number of partial image data forming the entire image data is not limited to this example. Further, as a method of arranging a plurality of partial image data when synthesizing the whole image data, a horizontal single row, a vertical single row, a tiled method, or the like can be considered. The user can input settings and instructions for switching the display mode and selecting partial image data forming the entire image data while looking at an OSD (On Screen Display) menu or the like to be described later.

A USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface 114 is an interface for connecting a USB device. By connecting an external device such as a pointing device, a keyboard, and a flash memory to the USB interface 114, various files such as control commands and image data can be input/output from the external device.
A card type recording medium such as an SD card or a compact flash can be inserted into the card interface 115, and various files such as image data can be input/output to/from the recording medium. The communication unit 116 is a communication interface such as a wired LAN or a wireless LAN, and transmits and receives various files such as image data and commands by connecting to an intranet or the Internet.

The internal memory 117 is a storage unit including a semiconductor memory and a hard disk, and stores various information such as image data and user setting data. The file reproducing unit 133 processes files input from the various external interfaces described above, generates image data, and outputs the image data to the image processing unit 118. The file reproducing unit 133 performs a process of decoding the encoded file based on an instruction from the control unit 101. The image data input from the image input units 110 to 113 is directly transmitted to the image processing unit 118 without passing through the file reproduction unit 133.

The image processing unit 118 performs image processing on the image data input from the file reproduction unit 133 or the image input units 110 to 113 or the image data input from the control unit 101. The image processing performed by the image processing unit 118 is, for example, a process of converting the number of pixels so as to match the image formation of the liquid crystal unit 104, or a process of doubling the number of frames of image data for AC drive of the liquid crystal panel. Etc. Here, the AC driving of the liquid crystal panel is a method in which the direction of the voltage applied to the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal panel is switched for each frame for display. This is a driving method utilizing the property of a liquid crystal panel that can form an image regardless of whether the voltage applied to the liquid crystal is the forward direction or the reverse direction. In this driving method, since it is necessary to send one image for the forward direction and one image for the reverse direction to the liquid crystal driving unit 105, the image processing unit 118 performs a process of doubling the number of frames of the image data.

The image processing unit 118 also performs measurement of format information and image analysis on the image data input from the image input units 110 to 113. The image processing unit 118 measures the timing of a synchronization signal or the like in the image data and stores it in an internal register readable by the control unit 101. In addition, the information of the pixel value of the image data is stored in the internal register.
The image processing unit 118 performs keystone correction on the image data. The keystone correction is a process of deforming the shape of the image data in order to prevent the projected image from being distorted into a trapezoidal shape or the like when the image is projected obliquely on the screen. In the keystone correction, the image processing unit 118 enlarges/reduces the input image data in the horizontal and vertical directions. This cancels out the trapezoidal distortion of the projected image and the distortion of the image on the liquid crystal panel, and an image with the correct aspect ratio is projected and displayed on the screen. The image processing unit 118 may automatically perform keystone correction based on the tilt angle of the display device 100 obtained by the tilt sensor 119 described below, or the key input by the user operating the operation unit 102. The correction may be performed according to the stone correction command.

The tilt sensor 119 detects the tilt of the display device 100. The timer 120 detects the operating time of the display device 100 and the operating time of each component. The thermometer 121 measures the temperature of the light source 106 of the display device 100, the temperature of the liquid crystal unit 104, the outside air temperature, and the like. The infrared receiving units 122 and 123 receive an infrared signal from a remote controller or the like that sends an instruction to the display device 100, and send a command to the control unit 101. The display device 100 according to the first embodiment includes a plurality of infrared receiving units, i.e., an infrared receiving unit 122 installed in the rear and an infrared receiving unit 123 installed in the front. The number of infrared receivers installed is not limited to this.

The focus detection unit 124 detects the distance between the display device 100 and the screen. The imaging unit 125 images the direction of the screen. The screen photometric unit 126 measures the amount of light and the brightness of the light reflected by the screen. The display unit 128 displays the state of the display device 100, a warning, and the like. The display control unit 129 controls the display unit 128. The battery 130 supplies electric power when the display device 100 is carried and used. The power supply input unit 131 receives AC power from the outside, rectifies it to a predetermined voltage, and supplies it to the power supply unit 103.
The cooling unit 132 is composed of, for example, a heat sink and a fan, and cools the main body by releasing the heat in the display device 100 to the outside. The RAM 134 is used as a development destination of a program stored in the internal memory 117 or a frame memory that stores image data.

Next, the basic operation of the display device 100 will be described.
When a power-on instruction is input from the operation unit 102, the control unit 101 issues an instruction to the power supply unit 103 to supply power to each component, and puts each component in a standby state. Next, the control unit 101 instructs the light source control unit 108 to start light emission from the light source 106. Next, the control unit 101 acquires information on the distance between the screen and the display device 100 from the focus detection unit 124, and instructs the optical system control unit 109 to adjust the projection optical system 107. Based on an instruction from the control unit 101, the optical system control unit 109 operates the zoom lens and the focus lens of the projection optical system 107 so that the projection light forms an image on the screen.

In this way, the projection is ready. Next, the image processing unit 118 performs image processing on the image data input to the image input units 110 to 113 according to the display mode. For example, in the standard mode, the image processing unit 118 arranges any input image data in a frame in a predetermined layout and converts the input image data into the number of pixels suitable for the liquid crystal unit 104. Further, the image processing unit 118 performs gamma correction, brightness unevenness correction, and keystone correction on the image data as needed. The liquid crystal drive unit 105 drives the liquid crystal unit 104 based on the image data corrected by the image processing unit 118, and an image is formed on the liquid crystal panel of the liquid crystal unit 104.

The image formed on the liquid crystal panel of the liquid crystal unit 104 is incident on the projection optical system 107 by the light emitted from the light source 106, and the image is projected on the screen by the projection optical system 107. During image projection, the control unit 101 detects the temperature of the light source 106 or the like with the thermometer 121, and operates the cooling unit 132 according to the temperature to cool the light source 106 or the like. The control unit 101 performs control to operate the cooling unit 132, for example, when the temperature of the light source becomes 40 degrees or higher.

When a power-off instruction is input from the operation unit 102, the control unit 101 issues an instruction to each component to perform a termination process. When the preparation for stopping the operation of each component is completed, the power supply unit 103 sequentially stops the power supply to each component. The control unit 101 cools the display device 100 by operating the cooling unit 132 for a while after the operation of each component is stopped.

When the display mode is the composite mode, the image processing unit 118 causes the image input units 110 to 113 to operate.
The image data input to is combined based on the user's instruction or the determination processing result of partial image data described later, and is displayed as one whole image. The user can input designation of which of the input image data is to be a combination of partial image data forming the entire image data by operating the operation unit 102 while viewing the setting menu such as the OSD. .. The image processing unit 118 synthesizes the entire image data based on the combination of the input image data designated by the user. The image processing unit 118 converts the entire image data obtained by combining the input image data into the number of pixels suitable for the liquid crystal unit 104, and performs gamma correction, brightness unevenness correction, and keystone correction as necessary. To do. The liquid crystal drive unit 105 drives the liquid crystal unit 104 based on the entire image data corrected by the image processing unit 118, and an image is formed on the liquid crystal panel of the liquid crystal unit 104.
The image formed on the liquid crystal panel of the liquid crystal unit 104 is incident on the projection optical system 107 by the light emitted from the light source 106, and the image is projected on the screen by the projection optical system 107.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, a process of detecting a combination of partial image data forming the entire image data among the image data input from the image input units 110 to 113 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the process performed by the display device 100 according to the first embodiment.
In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the process shown in FIG. 2 is performed by using a user instruction input from the operation unit 102 or the remote controller as a trigger. When the user inputs an instruction to execute this process from the operation unit 102, the control unit 101 starts the process of S101.

In step S101, the control unit 101 instructs the image input units 110 to 113 to measure the format information of the input image data. In the first embodiment, the format information to be measured includes the number of pixels (Image Size) 202, the horizontal synchronization signal frequency (hSyncFreq) 203, the vertical synchronization signal frequency (vSyncFreq) 204, the quantization clock (as shown in FIG. 3 described later). Dclk) 205, scanning method (Scanning) 206, horizontal sync signal polarity (hPol) 207, vertical sync signal polarity (vPol) 208, horizontal total number of dots (hTotal) 209, horizontal sync signal width (hSyncWidth) 210, horizontal back porch. (HBp) 211, vertical total number of lines (vTotal) 212, vertical sync signal width (vSyncWidth) 213, and vertical back porch (vBp) 214. The image input units 110 to 113 measure these pieces of information by a measuring circuit provided inside, and store the result in an internal register. The control unit 101 reads the measurement result via the bus and expands it in the RAM 134. Here, since the image data is input to the image input units 110 to 113, the control unit 101 accesses the image input units 110 to 113 and reads the measurement result information.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the measurement result 200 of the format information of the input image data. "1" to "4" of the image input unit number (Port) 201 correspond to the image input units 110 to 113, respectively.

In S102, the control unit 101 searches for input image data having the same format information based on the measurement result read in S101. The control unit 101 performs a comparison operation on each element of the measurement result of the format information of the image input unit illustrated in FIG. 3, and searches for a combination of input image data in which the values of all the format information match. Although an example of searching for a combination of input image data in which the values of all format information are the same is shown here, the measurement result may include some error due to jitter etc., so the difference is within the predetermined range. If it is within the range, it may be determined as “matched”. In the example of FIG. 3, since the format information of the input image data of the image input units 111 (Port 2) and 112 (Port 3) is the same, the combination of the image input unit number 2 and the input unit number 3 is the search result. Is output. These are candidates for partial image data forming the entire image data. The number of partial image data candidates is 2. In S102, the control unit 101 proceeds to S103 if the number of partial image data candidates is 2 or 4 (TRUE), and ends the process otherwise. In the example of FIG. 3, since the number of partial image data candidates is 2, the control unit 101 transitions to S103.

In step S103, the control unit 101 refers to the pattern table 400, and compares the number of partial image data candidates and format information detected in step S102. FIG. 4 shows an example of the pattern table 400 according to the first embodiment. The pattern table 400 shows information on the correspondence relationship between the combination of the entire image data that can be displayed in the combination mode of the display device 100 and the partial image data that constitutes the same. The total number of pixels (Full Image Size) 401 indicates the number of pixels (size) of the entire image data, and this number of pixels is the number of pixels that can be displayed by the display device 100 in the first embodiment. The number of inputs (input port) 402 is the number of partial image data forming the entire image data (the number of divisions of the entire image data by the partial image data). Partial pixel number (Partial Image Size) 403 indicates the number of pixels of partial image data that constitutes the entire image data. The pattern table 400 is stored in the internal memory 117 in advance, and is read into the RAM 134 by the control unit 101 when the display device 100 is activated.

In S104, the control unit 101 determines whether the pattern table 400 has a combination that matches the number of pixels 202 and the number of partial image data candidates in the format information of the partial image data candidates detected in S102. As a result, the control unit 101 determines, based on the measured format information, whether or not there is a combination of partial image data that makes up the entire image data that is larger than the input image data, among the plurality of input image data. In the example of FIG. 3, the candidate partial image data is image data of 1920×2160 pixels input to the image input units 111 and 112, and the number of partial image data is 2. This matches the pattern in which the total number of pixels is 3840×2160 and the number of inputs is 2 in the pattern table 400. The number of pixels of this entire image data matches the number of pixels 3840×2160 of the liquid crystal unit 104 of the display device 100 according to the first embodiment. Information on the number of pixels of the liquid crystal unit 104 is assumed to be stored in the internal memory 117 in advance. In the pattern table 400, the control unit 101 compares the number of pixels of the partial image data candidate detected in S<b>102 and the number of pixels of the entire image data of the pattern that matches the number of candidates with the number of pixels of the liquid crystal unit 104. When the entire image data has the number of pixels that can be displayed on the liquid crystal unit 104, the control unit 101 transitions to S105.

In S105, the control unit 101 controls the image processing unit 118 to combine the image data input from the image input unit of the combination of the partial image data candidates detected in S102. As a result, the control unit 101 combines the input image data determined to be a combination of the partial image data forming the whole image data to generate the whole image data. The liquid crystal drive unit 105 drives the liquid crystal unit 104 based on the combined whole image data, so that the image based on the whole image data is projected onto the screen by the projection optical system 107.

In the first embodiment, the combination of the partial image data forming the entire image data of the input image data is determined based on the measured format information of the input image data and the pattern table 400 stored in advance in the internal memory. The method is not limited to this. For example, the determination may be made based on a VIC (Video ID Code) defined in CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) Standard included in the HDMI signal received by the image input units 110 to 113. Of the input image data, the image data having the same VIC may be determined as a candidate for the partial image data.

According to the first embodiment, it is possible to search for an appropriate combination of partial image data based on the measurement result of the format information of the input image data and the pattern table, synthesize the entire image data, and perform projection. As a result, it is possible to correctly display the whole image data in which the partial image data is combined, without the user performing an operation of selecting the image input unit to which the partial image data forming the whole image data is input.

The measurement target of the format information of the input image data is not limited to the one illustrated in FIG. Only part of the format information illustrated in FIG. 3 may be used, or the frame rate, blanking period, and the like not illustrated in FIG. 3 may be further measured. Further, in S102 of the first embodiment, a combination of input image data in which at least a part of the format information values match may be determined as a combination candidate of partial image data forming the entire image data. As at least a part of the format information, for example, the number of pixels, frame rate, sync signal frequency, blanking period, etc. can be exemplified.

In S104 of the first embodiment, a combination of input image data in which the measured format information matches is determined to be partial image data, and the entire image data obtained by combining the partial image data has a size that can be displayed on the liquid crystal unit 104. It is determined whether the image is. As a result, for example, when the number of pixels of the liquid crystal unit 104 is 3840×2160 and the partial image data candidates are two input image data of 1920×2160 and 1920×2160, a correct combination of partial image data is obtained. Is determined. Here, the correct combination of the partial image data means that the size of the entire image data formed by the combination of the partial image data is a size that can be displayed on the liquid crystal unit 104. When the partial image data candidates are three input image data of 1920×1080, 1920×1080, and 1920×1080, it is determined that the partial image data combination is not correct. This is because the total image data obtained by combining the three input image data of 1920×1080, 1920×1080, and 1920×1080 is larger than the size that can be displayed on the liquid crystal unit 104.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, the example in which the combination of the partial image data forming the entire image data is automatically determined based on the measurement result of the format information of the input image data and the pattern table has been described. The example presented in FIG. In the second embodiment, the description of the parts common to the first embodiment will be omitted, and the parts different from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

The process up to S104 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 is the same as that of the first embodiment.
In S104, the control unit 101 determines whether the pattern table 400 has a combination that matches the number of pixels 202 and the number of partial image data candidates in the format information of the partial image data candidates detected in S102. When there is a matching combination, the control unit 101 presents the information of the input image data (information of the image input unit) related to the combination to the user through the OSD menu. As a result, the control unit 101 presents the information of the input image data determined to be the combination of the partial image data forming the entire image data to the user. The user can manually specify the combination of partial image data based on this presentation information. The operation unit 102 receives an instruction from the user to specify a combination of partial image data among a plurality of input image data.

FIG. 5A is a selection menu 300 of the image input unit in the standard mode before the user receives an instruction to execute the process shown in FIG. 2 from the operation unit 102. In the standard mode, it is possible to select any one of the image input units 110 to 113 (HDMI 1 to 4) as the input unit of the image data to be displayed in the selection menu 300.
FIG. 5B is a selection menu 300 of the image input unit in the composite mode after the user receives an instruction to execute the process shown in FIG. 2 from the operation unit 102. In the combination mode, a selection item 301 indicating a combination candidate of partial image data forming the entire image data searched by the control unit 101 by the processing of FIG. 2 is added to the selection menu 300.

In the example of FIG. 3, by the process of S104, the control unit 101 determines that the combination of the image input unit 111 and the image input unit 112 (HDMI2 and HDMI3 in the selection menu 300) is the combination of partial image data that forms the entire image data. To do. Based on this determination result, the control unit 101 causes the image processing unit 118 to generate a selection item 301 indicating the information of the combination in the selection menu 300, superimpose it on the display image as an OSD menu, and inform the user of the information of the combination. Control to present. When the user operates the operation unit 102 to input an instruction to select the selection item 301, the control unit 101 converts the image data input from the image input unit of the combination of the partial image data candidates detected in S102 into the image processing unit. At 118, control is performed so that they are combined. Thereby, the control unit 101 synthesizes the input image data designated by the user as a combination of the partial image data to generate the entire image data. The liquid crystal drive unit 105 drives the liquid crystal unit 104 based on the combined whole image data, so that the image based on the whole image data is projected onto the screen by the projection optical system 107.

According to the second embodiment, an appropriate combination of partial image data is searched based on the measurement result of the format information of the input image data and the pattern table, and the result is displayed to the user as the selection item 301 in the selection menu 300 of the image input unit. Presented. Based on the presented information, the user can easily select the image input section to which the partial image data forming the whole image data has been input. This makes it possible to greatly simplify the operation for the user to select the image input unit in which the partial image data has been input.

In the second embodiment, an example has been described in which the image input unit that inputs image data determined as a candidate for a combination of partial image data is presented to the user by the GUI of the OSD, but the presentation method to the user is not limited to this. Absent. Each image input unit is provided with an indicator composed of an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or the like, and by turning on the LED of the image input unit corresponding to the candidate of the combination of partial image data, the user is notified of the information of the combination of partial image data. May be presented. Alternatively, the display unit 128 may display information on candidates for a combination of partial image data.

[Third Embodiment]
In the third embodiment, when partial image data forming the entire image data has the same format as image data and image data independent of the entire image data is input from the image input unit, the partial image data A method of correctly determining the combination will be described. In the first and second embodiments, the partial image data forming the entire image data is determined by comparing the measurement result of the format information with the pattern table. However, when the partial image data and the format information are the same, but the image data that is not the partial image data forming the entire image data is input, it is preferable to be able to accurately determine that the image data is not the partial image data. ..

In the third embodiment, when two candidates for partial image data are arranged vertically or horizontally to form the entire image data, attention is paid to a difference in pixel value between pixels (referred to as adjacent pixels) at ends or joints adjacent to each other. To do. When the difference between the pixel values of adjacent pixels is small, it can be determined that one continuous image data is divided partial image data. Therefore, in the third embodiment, when the two input image data are arranged vertically or horizontally, and when the sum of absolute differences of pixel values at adjacent ends is smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the two input image data are entirely It is determined that it is included in the combination of the partial image data forming the image data.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the processing performed by the display device 100 according to the third embodiment. The processing from S201 to S204 is the same as the processing from S101 to S104 in FIG. Here, the processing after S204 will be described.
In S204, when the pattern table 400 has a combination that matches the number of pixels 202 and the number of partial image data candidates in the format information of the partial image data candidates detected in S202, the control unit 101 transitions to S205.

In step S205, the control unit 101 performs a determination process of whether or not the sum of absolute differences between the pixel values of the adjacent ends of the partial image data candidates is smaller than the threshold value. In the first and second embodiments, the case where the number of pixels of the entire image data is 3840×2160 has been described as an example, but in the third embodiment, for simplicity, 5×5 shown in FIGS. The binary image data will be described as an example. In the example of FIG. 7, the partial image data is 5×5, and the total image data combined by combining the two pieces is 10×5.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart for explaining the process of determining the sum of absolute differences.
First, a case where the image data of FIG. 7A is input to the image input unit 111 and the image data of FIG. 7B is input to the image input unit 112 will be described.

In S301, the control unit 101 initializes a counter n for acquiring the difference between the pixel values of adjacent pixels of two input image data. The value of the counter n is stored in the RAM 134. This counter n means a line number for comparing pixel values at adjacent ends of the image of FIG. 7A and the image of FIG. 7B (n=1 to 5).

In step S<b>302, the control unit 101 selects one of the end portions adjacent to the image of FIG. 7B input to the image input unit 112 among the images of FIG. 7A input to the image input unit 111. The pixel value of the pixel E:1 on the line is read from the frame memory of the image processing unit 118. Since the pixel E:1 of the image in FIG. 7A is white as shown in the figure, the gradation value 1 is read.

In step S303, the control unit 101 selects one of the end portions adjacent to the image of FIG. 7A input to the image input unit 111 among the images of FIG. 7B input to the image input unit 112. The pixel value of pixel A:1 of the line is read from the frame memory of the image processing unit 118. Since the pixel A:1 of the image of FIG. 7B is white as shown in the figure, the gradation value 1 is read.

In S304, the control unit 101 calculates the absolute difference value between the pixel value of the pixel E:1 in FIG. 7A and the pixel value of the pixel A:1 in FIG. 7B read in S302 and S303. .. Here, the pixel value of each pixel is 1 and the absolute difference value is 0. The control unit 101 stores the calculated absolute difference value of the pixel values of the adjacent pixels in the RAM 134. The control unit 101 similarly calculates the absolute value of the difference between the pixel values of the adjacent pixels for the subsequent lines and sums them. In FIGS. 7A and 7B, as illustrated, the pixel values of the adjacent pixels in each line are the same, and therefore the sum of absolute differences is 0.
As described above, when the process of calculating the sum of absolute differences in FIG. 6B is completed, the control unit 101 transitions to S206 in FIG. 6A.

In S206, the control unit 101 determines whether the sum of absolute differences calculated in S205 is smaller than the threshold value. Here, the threshold value is set to 3. As described above, in the case of FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, the sum of absolute differences is 0, which is smaller than the threshold value. This is because the input image data in FIGS. 7A and 7B has a small difference in pixel value between adjacent end portions, and is likely to be partial image data obtained by dividing one continuous image data. Means that. In this case, the control unit 101 transitions to S207.

In S207, the control unit 101 controls the image processing unit 118 to combine the image data input from the image input unit of the combination of the partial image data candidates detected in S202. The liquid crystal drive unit 105 drives the liquid crystal unit 104 based on the combined whole image data, so that the image based on the whole image data is projected onto the screen by the projection optical system 107.

Next, the case where the image data of FIG. 7C is input to the image input unit 111 and the image data of FIG. 7D is input to the image input unit 112 will be described. The processing after S302 of FIG. 6B which is different from the above description will be described.

In step S<b>302, the control unit 101 selects one of the end portions adjacent to the image of FIG. 7D input to the image input unit 112 among the images of FIG. 7C input to the image input unit 111. The pixel value of the pixel E:1 on the line is read from the frame memory of the image processing unit 118. Since the pixel E:1 of the image in FIG. 7C is white as shown in the figure, the gradation value 1 is read.

In step S<b>303, the control unit 101 selects one of the end portions adjacent to the image of FIG. 7C input to the image input unit 111 among the images of FIG. 7D input to the image input unit 112. The pixel value of pixel A:1 of the line is read from the frame memory of the image processing unit 118. Since the pixel A:1 of the image of FIG. 7D is black as shown in the figure, the gradation value 0 is read out.

In S304, the control unit 101 calculates the absolute difference value between the pixel value of the pixel E:1 in FIG. 7C read in S302 and S303 and the pixel value of the pixel A:1 in FIG. 7D. .. Here, the pixel E:1 pixel value in FIG. 7C is 1, and the pixel value of the pixel A:1 pixel in FIG. 7D is 0, so the difference absolute value is 1. The control unit 101 stores the calculated absolute difference value of the pixel values of the adjacent pixels in the RAM 134. The control unit 101 similarly calculates the absolute value of the difference between the pixel values of the adjacent pixels for the subsequent lines and sums them. In FIGS. 7C and 7D, as shown in the figure, since the pixel values of the adjacent pixels on each line are different, the sum of absolute difference is 5.
As described above, when the process of calculating the sum of absolute differences in FIG. 6B is completed, the control unit 101 transitions to S206 in FIG. 6A.

In S206, the control unit 101 determines whether the sum of absolute differences calculated in S205 is smaller than the threshold value. Here, the threshold value is set to 3. As described above, in the cases of FIG. 7C and FIG. 7D, the sum of absolute differences is 5, which is equal to or greater than the threshold. This means that the input image data in FIGS. 7C and 7D has a large difference in pixel value between adjacent end portions and is not partial image data obtained by dividing one continuous image data. .. In this case, the process of the flowchart of FIG. 6A ends.

According to the third embodiment, an appropriate combination candidate of partial image data is searched for based on the measurement result of the format information of the input image data and the pattern table. Furthermore, by comparing the pixel values at the ends of the adjacent candidate image data, it is possible to more accurately determine the combination of the partial image data. As a result, it is possible to correctly display the whole image data in which the partial image data is combined, without the user performing an operation of selecting the image input unit to which the partial image data forming the whole image data is input.

[Embodiment 4]
The various functions, processes, and methods described in the first to third embodiments may be implemented by a personal computer, a microcomputer, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), or the like using a program. Hereinafter, in the fourth embodiment, a personal computer, a microcomputer, a CPU, etc. will be referred to as “computer X”. Further, in the fourth embodiment, a program for controlling the computer X, which is a program for realizing the various functions, processes, and methods described in the first to third embodiments, is referred to as a “program Y”.
The various functions, processes and methods described in the first to third embodiments are realized by the computer X executing the program Y. In this case, the program Y is supplied to the computer X via a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium according to the fourth embodiment includes at least one of a hard disk device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, a magneto-optical storage device, a memory card, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, and the like. The computer-readable storage medium in the fourth embodiment is a non-transitory (non-transitory) storage medium.

100: display device, 101: control unit, 104: liquid crystal unit, 110: image input unit, 111: image input unit, 112: image input unit, 113: image input unit, 118: image processing unit

In order to achieve the above object, one of the display devices according to the present invention is a display unit for displaying an image, an input unit for inputting a plurality of input image data, and a plurality of the input image data. Control means for controlling the display means to display a first image for the user to select one input image data used for displaying an image on the display means, the display means displaying When the plurality of input image data include a plurality of partial image data forming the possible image data, the control unit allows the user to obtain a combination of the first image and the input image data corresponding to the plurality of partial image data. The display means is controlled so that the second image for selection by and is also displayed.

In order to achieve the above object, one of the control methods according to the present invention is a control method of a display device having a display unit for displaying an image, and an input step of inputting a plurality of input image data, Of the plurality of input image data, a control step of controlling the display means to display a first image for the user to select one input image data used to display an image on the display means, And the plurality of input image data includes a plurality of partial image data forming the image data that can be displayed by the display means, the control step includes the first image and the plurality of partial image data. The display means is controlled so that a second image for the user to select a corresponding combination of input image data is also displayed.

Claims (10)

Input means for inputting a plurality of image data,
Acquisition means for acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data,
Based on the format information, the plurality of input image data, a determination unit for determining whether there is a combination of partial image data constituting the entire image data having a size larger than the input image data,
Generating means for synthesizing the input image data determined to be a combination of the partial image data by the determining means to generate the whole image data;
A display unit that displays an image based on the entire image data generated by the generation unit. Input means for inputting a plurality of image data,
Acquisition means for acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data,
Based on the format information, the plurality of input image data, a determination unit for determining whether there is a combination of partial image data constituting the entire image data having a size larger than the input image data,
Presenting means for presenting to the user the information of the input image data determined to be a combination of the partial image data by the determining means,
Designation means for accepting an instruction from the user to designate a combination of the partial image data among the plurality of input image data,
Generating means for generating the whole image data by synthesizing the input image data specified by the specifying means as a combination of the partial image data;
A display unit that displays an image based on the entire image data generated by the generation unit. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines, as the partial image data, input image data in which at least a part of the format information matches each other. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the format information includes the number of pixels, a frame rate, a sync signal frequency, or a blanking period. When the two input image data are arranged vertically or horizontally when the difference between the pixel values at the end portions adjacent to each other is smaller than a threshold value, the determination means determines that the two input image data are a combination of the partial image data. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is determined to be included. The determination means determines whether, among the plurality of input image data, there is a combination of partial image data that is larger in size than the input image data and that constitutes the entire image data of a size that can be displayed by the display means. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. An input step in which a plurality of image data is input,
An acquisition step of acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data,
A determination step of determining, based on the format information, among the plurality of input image data, a combination of partial image data that makes up the entire image data having a size larger than the input image data;
A generation step of combining the input image data determined to be a combination of the partial image data by the determination step to generate the whole image data;
A display step of displaying an image based on the whole image data generated by the generating step;
And a control method. An input step in which a plurality of image data is input,
An acquisition step of acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data,
A determination step of determining, based on the format information, among the plurality of input image data, a combination of partial image data that makes up the entire image data having a size larger than the input image data;
A presentation step of presenting information of the input image data determined to be a combination of the partial image data by the determination step to a user;
A specifying step of receiving an instruction from a user to specify a combination of the partial image data among the plurality of input image data,
A generating step of combining the input image data specified as a combination of the partial image data by the specifying step to generate the whole image data;
A display step of displaying an image based on the whole image data generated by the generating step;
And a control method. Computer,
Input means for inputting a plurality of image data,
Acquisition means for acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data,
Based on the format information, the plurality of input image data, a determination unit for determining whether there is a combination of partial image data constituting the entire image data having a size larger than the input image data,
Generating means for synthesizing the input image data determined to be a combination of the partial image data by the determining means to generate the whole image data;
A program for causing a display unit to display an image based on the entire image data generated by the generation unit. Computer,
Input means for inputting a plurality of image data,
Acquisition means for acquiring format information of the plurality of input image data,
Based on the format information, the plurality of input image data, a determination unit for determining whether there is a combination of partial image data constituting the entire image data having a size larger than the input image data,
Presenting means for presenting to the user the information of the input image data determined to be a combination of the partial image data by the determining means,
Designation means for accepting an instruction from the user to designate a combination of the partial image data among the plurality of input image data,
Generating means for generating the whole image data by synthesizing the input image data specified by the specifying means as a combination of the partial image data;
A program for causing a display unit to display an image based on the entire image data generated by the generation unit.

Images