JP3446912B2 - Projector device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a projector device, and is applied to a projector device for projecting an image on a screen to form an image to simplify the maintenance work of a light source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a projector device which projects an image transmitted through a liquid crystal display panel onto a screen to display an image. That is, this type of projector device forms illumination light from a light source such as a metal halide lamp, and decomposes this illumination light into red, green, and blue illumination light. Further, this type of projector device drives the liquid crystal display panels with red, green, and blue color signals, respectively, and transmits red, green, and blue illumination light to the respective liquid crystal display panels.

Further, this type of projector device forms a color display image by synthesizing the transmitted light of these liquid crystal display panels and then projecting it on a screen by a projection lens. As a result, this type of projector device increases the amount of illumination light and increases the amount of transmitted light of each liquid crystal display panel.
The brightness of the display image can be improved.

[0004]

By the way, the metal halide lamp applied to this type of projector device has a drawback that the brightness decreases when it is used for a long time. Therefore, in the projector device, the metal halide lamp is replaced after a certain period of use. There is a need to. For this reason, in the conventional projector device, the usage time is measured by a built-in integration time meter, and the lamp is replaced based on the measurement result.

However, when the lamp is replaced on the basis of the usage time by the built-in integrating time meter in this way, it is necessary to reset the integrating time meter each time the lamp is replaced, or record and save the time of replacement. However, there is a problem that the work at the time of replacement becomes complicated accordingly.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to propose a projector device capable of simplifying the work of this kind of light source replacement.

[0007]

In order to solve such a problem, according to the present invention, in a projector device for driving a light source to display an image on a predetermined screen, a light source holding mechanism for holding the light source in a replaceable manner, This light source holding mechanism is held so as to be replaceable with the previous light source, and has a memory for recording management information about the previous light source.

Further, at this time, the previous management information is information on the usage time of the light source, and the previous projector device updates this usage time information and warns when this usage time reaches a specified value. To occur.

[0009]

In a projector device for driving a light source to display an image on a predetermined screen, a light source holding mechanism for holding the light source in an exchangeable manner and a light source holding mechanism for exchanging the light source together with the light source holding mechanism for replacing the light source. If a memory for recording information is provided, this memory can be effectively used to manage the usage time of the light source and the like.

As a result, the information on the usage time of the light source is assigned as the previous management information, the information on the usage time is updated, and a warning is generated when the usage time reaches a specified value. You can check the correct replacement time just by replacing the.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a cross section of a liquid crystal projector device according to an embodiment of the present invention from the upper surface side. The liquid crystal projector device 1 is obliquely inclined and fixedly installed on a ceiling or the like, and in this state, an image is projected on a screen arranged on the front side of the liquid crystal projector device 1 on the right side in the drawing.

Here, the liquid crystal projector device 1 is wholly covered with a cover, and a chassis box 2 forming a housing is arranged inside the cover. The chassis box 2 holds a projection lens 3 on the front side, holds an optical block 4 behind the projection lens 3, and further holds a lamp block 5 behind the optical block 4.

In the optical block 4, a condenser lens 6 is arranged on the lamp block 5 side, and the illumination light L1 incident from the lamp block 5 is condensed by the condenser lens 6. Further, in the optical block 4, a color separation optical system 7 is arranged on the emission surface side of the condenser lens 6, and the color separation optical system 7 converts the illumination light L1 composed of white light into the red, blue and green illumination lights LR. , LB and LG.

That is, the color separation optical system 7 is provided with the illumination light L.
A first dichroic mirror that separates and reflects the blue illumination light LB from 1 and a second dichroic mirror that separates and reflects the green illumination light LG from the light emitted from the first dichroic mirror are provided on the optical path of the illumination light L1. It is formed by sequentially arranging.

The optical block 4 has liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 10 arranged on the optical paths of the blue, green and red illumination lights LB, LG and LR, which are driven by blue, green and red image signals, respectively. Then, the transmitted lights of the liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 10 are combined by the following combining optical system 11. The optical block 4 bends the optical path of the blue illumination light LB among the blue, green, and red illumination lights LB, LG, and LR by the mirror 12 so as to be parallel to the optical path of the illumination light L1. After that, the liquid crystal display panel 8 is made to pass therethrough, whereby the overall shape is made smaller.

Further, in this embodiment, the liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 10 are respectively arranged on the incident side of the illumination light.
The polarizing filter is arranged apart from the panel body so that the temperature rise of the polarizing filter is not directly transmitted to the panel body. In addition to the polarization filters arranged apart from each other, in this embodiment, the polarization filters are arranged in the color separation optical system 7, and the illumination lights LB, LG, L entering the panel body by these polarization filters are arranged.
R is set to a linearly polarized wave, which also reduces the temperature rise of the panel body.

The synthetic optical system 11 includes liquid crystal display panels 8 and 9.
And 10 are formed by a half mirror or the like that combines the transmitted light, and the combined image light is emitted to the projection lens 3. As a result, in the liquid crystal projector device 1, the projection lens 3 projects image light to display a color image.

In this way, when the liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 10 are held by the optical block 4, the liquid crystal projector device 1 takes in outside air from the front side and the left side, and the sucked outside air is taken in by the optical block 4. From the upper side toward the lower side of the liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 10 to reduce the temperature rise of the liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 10.

That is, the front surface of the liquid crystal projector device 1,
An intake port 13 is formed on the left side, and a cooling fan 14 is arranged above the projection lens 3. A duct 15 for guiding the outside air taken in from the intake port 13 to the cooling fan 14 is formed for the cooling fan 14, and an air filter 16 is arranged between the duct 15 and the intake port 13. .

On the other hand, behind the cooling fan 14,
A duct (not shown) extending rearward along the optical block 4 is formed, and the liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 1 are provided above the liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 10 in the middle of the duct.
A blowout port is formed toward 0. Further, an exhaust port is formed below the liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 10, so that in the liquid crystal projector device 1, the cooling fan 14 is driven to cool the liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 10. .

The lamp block 5 holds the lamp 20, which is a metal halide lamp, in the storage case 22 together with the reflecting mirror 21 of the lamp 20, and supplies the illumination light L1 from the lamp 20 to the optical block 4.

Here, in the lamp block 5, the housing case 22 is formed with a plurality of through holes, and the exhaust fan arranged above the lamp block 5 causes the air in the lamp block 5 to be the air in the chassis box 2. The temperature rise in the lamp block 5 is reduced, and the characteristic deterioration due to the temperature rise of the lamp 20 is reduced.

Further, the storage case 22 includes the optical block 4
In this liquid crystal projector device 1, when the brightness of the lamp 20 decreases and the amount of illumination light L1 emitted to the optical block 4 decreases, the storage case 22 is removed from the optical block 4. The lamp 20 can be removed and replaced with the storage case 22 as a unit.

That is, the housing case 22 has connectors arranged so as to correspond to the connectors 24 arranged in the chassis box 2. The connector on the housing case 22 side is inserted into the connector 24 and pushed into a predetermined position of the chassis box 2. After that, the optical block 4 is fixed to a predetermined position by screwing. As a result, in this embodiment, the positioning mechanism and the screws of the storage case 22 serve as a light source for the lamp 2.
A light source holding mechanism that holds 0 in a replaceable manner together with the storage case 22 is formed.

Further, in the storage case 22, a board is arranged outside the case, and the management memory 26 is arranged on the board. The management memory 26 is an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory (EPR).
OM: Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), and prescribed information is recorded.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, in the management memory 26, the data of the product number of the lamp 20 is recorded, and subsequently the model data of the projector device (corresponding model) in which the lamp block 5 is allowed to be mounted is stored. It is designed to be recorded. Accordingly, the liquid crystal projector device 1
On the basis of the product number data and the model data, the erroneous mounting of the lamp block 5 can be effectively avoided, and it is possible to cope with the future increase in product types.

Further, in the management memory 26, the data of the manufacturing number (including the manufacturing lot, the manufacturing date, etc.) of the lamp 20 is recorded, whereby the lamp block 5 is recovered from the market after being replaced. Data such as manufacturing lots and manufacturing dates can be collected and used effectively for line management.

Further, the management memory 26 is configured so that a certain area is secured next, and a history of maintenance and the like can be recorded if necessary. As a result, the liquid crystal projector device 1 separately records the history of maintenance and the like on the lamp block 5 side, collects the replaced lamp block 5 from the market, and collects various useful information from the products actually put on the market. Made possible,
Also, during maintenance in the market, this management memory 2
6 is accessed so that this kind of information can be used for maintenance work.

Further, in the management memory 26, information on the usage time is recorded subsequently, and the usage time of the lamp 20 is recorded thereby.

The management memory 26 and the lamp 20 (FIG. 1) are connected to a system control circuit 27 and a lamp control circuit 28 via a connector 24, respectively. Here, the lamp control circuit 28 operates under the control of the system control circuit 27 to supply power to the lamp 20 and
Control on and off.

The system control circuit 27 is formed by a microcomputer which controls the operation of the liquid crystal projector apparatus 1 as a whole, and when the power is turned on, the operation of the cooling system such as the cooling fan 14 is started. Subsequently, the system control circuit 27 accesses the management memory 26 and confirms the product number of the lamp block 5 and the corresponding model to determine whether or not the correct lamp block 5 is mounted.

When a negative result is obtained here, the system control circuit 27 drives the liquid crystal display panel arranged on the operation panel (not shown) of the liquid crystal projector device 1,
A message indicating that the correct lamp block 5 is not mounted is displayed and the entire operation is stopped and controlled. Accordingly, in the liquid crystal projector device 1, the lamp block 5
It is designed to be able to effectively avoid erroneous mounting.

On the other hand, when a positive result is obtained, the system control circuit 27 subsequently drives the lamp control circuit 28 to turn on the lamp 20. As a result, in the liquid crystal projector device 1, the whole is brought into an operating state and a color image is displayed.

When the entire system is activated in this way, the system control circuit 27 continues to operate the management memory 2.
The information of the usage time is read from 6 and recorded in the built-in memory, and then the timer 29 is started. As a result, the system control circuit 27 monitors the timer 29 and executes the usage time update processing and the usage time confirmation processing at regular time intervals. The operation of the timer 29 is realized by the time measuring function provided in the microcomputer.

Here, in the usage time update processing, the system control circuit 27 adds the usage time measured by the timer 29 to the usage time recorded in the built-in memory, and updates the contents of the management memory 26 according to the addition result. At the same time, the timer 29 is reset and executed. As a result, in the liquid crystal projector device 1, the management memory 26 attached to the lamp block 5 side is used to record the usage time of the lamp 20.

Therefore, after replacing the lamp block 5,
The time information of the replaced lamp block 5 is updated and the usage time is recorded, so that the usage time of the lamp 20 can be reduced by omitting the reset work of the integrating time meter, the recording work of the replacement time, etc. The data can be recorded accurately, and the work at the time of replacement can be simplified accordingly.

Further, by using the management memory 26 for recording the usage time, the management data such as the serial number for the lamp 20 is recorded so that the data can be effectively used and the lamp 20 and the liquid crystal projector can be effectively used. Product management and the like of the device 1 can be improved.

On the other hand, in the usage time confirmation processing, the system control circuit 27 determines whether or not the usage time of the lamp 20 has exceeded the specified time, and if a positive result is obtained here, this liquid crystal projector device The liquid crystal display panel arranged on the first operation panel is driven to display a message indicating that it is time to replace the lamp.

Accordingly, in the liquid crystal projector device 1,
According to this warning message, the lamp box 5 is exchanged so that various images can be displayed with a prescribed brightness.

On the other hand, when the so-called hidden command key operation is executed during maintenance work or the like, the system control circuit 27 displays the history information on the maintenance recorded in the management memory 26 on the liquid crystal display of the operation panel. The history information is sequentially displayed on the panel, and the history information is additionally recorded in the management memory 26 in response to a key operation, whereby the efficiency of maintenance work can be improved with reference to the history information.

In the above structure, the illumination light L1 generated by the lamp 20 is transmitted through the condenser lens 6 by the color separation optical system 7 to the blue, green and red illumination lights LB, LG and LR.
And the illumination lights LB, LG, and LR are transmitted through the liquid crystal display panels 8, 9 and 10, respectively, and then combined by the combining optical system 11 and projected onto the screen by the projection lens 3.

The lamp 20 is held in the optical block 4 so as to be replaceable integrally with the housing case 22, and the management data on the lamp 20 is recorded in the management memory 26 provided in the housing case 22. .

Of these management data, the product number of the lamp 20 and the data of the corresponding model are accessed and confirmed by the system control circuit 27 at the time of start-up, thereby effectively avoiding erroneous mounting of the lamp block 5. .

Further, of these management data, the usage time data is updated at regular time intervals, and the usage time of the lamp 20 is recorded on the lamp block 5 side. Further, it is judged from the data of the usage time whether or not the lamp 20 has been used for a predetermined time or longer, and the result of this judgment notifies the replacement time of the lamp 20.

On the other hand, of these management data,
Information about the history of maintenance is sequentially displayed on the liquid crystal display panel in response to the key operation of the hidden command, and additionally recorded in the management memory 26 in response to the key operation. The efficiency of maintenance work is improved.

According to the above construction, the management memory 26 is arranged so as to be replaceable with the lamp 20 and the usage time of the lamp 20 is recorded in the management memory 26.
It is possible to accurately record the usage time of the lamp 20 by omitting the resetting operation of the integrating time meter and the recording operation of the replacement time, which are required in the related art, and the replacement operation can be simplified accordingly.

Further, by effectively utilizing the management memory 26 and recording the information regarding the lamp 20 and the information regarding the liquid crystal projector device 1, the data can be effectively utilized by utilizing the data effectively. It is possible to improve the product management of item 1 and the efficiency of maintenance work.

In the above embodiment, in addition to the usage time, the product number of the lamp 20, the corresponding model, the manufacturing number,
Although the case where the maintenance history is recorded in the management memory 26 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and in addition to the time information, various kinds of information regarding the lamp and the liquid crystal projector device can be widely recorded as necessary. it can.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a so-called three-plate type liquid crystal projector device has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various projector devices such as a single-plate type liquid crystal projector device. Can be widely applied to.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention, the memory for recording management information about the light source is held in a replaceable manner together with the light source, so that the memory can be effectively used and the usage time of the light source can be improved. It is possible to manage the time, etc. of the light source by omitting the work of resetting the integration time meter and the work of recording the replacement time, which are required in the past. It can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a liquid crystal projector device according to an embodiment of the present invention with a partial cross-section.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the contents of a management memory shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Liquid crystal projector device 3 Projection lens 4 Optical block 5 lamp blocks 20 lamps 22 Storage case 26 Management memory 27 System control circuit 29 timer

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A projector device for driving a light source to display an image on a predetermined screen, wherein a light source holding mechanism for holding the light source in a replaceable manner, and a light source holding mechanism for holding the light source in a replaceable manner integrally with the light source. A projector device comprising: a memory for recording management information about the light source. 2. The management information is information on the usage time of the light source, the projector device updates the usage time information, and issues a warning when the usage time reaches a specified value. The projector device according to claim 1, wherein: