JP5987340B2 - Projector and image display system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a projector that projects an image on a projection surface, and an image display system that includes a plurality of the projectors.

  Conventionally, a technique is known in which a plurality of images projected from a plurality of projectors are displayed in a stack to improve the brightness of a projected image projected on a projection surface (see, for example, Patent Document 1). When performing such stack display, it is necessary to align the images projected from the projectors with high accuracy. For example, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, a pattern of different colors is projected from each projector that performs stack projection, and the projection image from each projector is projected at a specific projection position. Display by color. Thereby, it can be visually recognized whether the projection position of each projector and the projection position overlap. In this case, the user performs the alignment of the projected image by operating the projector using the composite color obtained by overlapping the position adjustment patterns from the projectors as a guide.

JP 2011-29727 A

However, since the human visual function is relatively insensitive to changes in the hue direction, it is not easy to determine the overlap based on the difference in the color of the projected pattern as described in Patent Document 1. For example, it is difficult to distinguish between a case where the patterns completely overlap and a case where a slight deviation occurs. For this reason, there is a limit to the accuracy of alignment of images projected from each projector, and a technique that enables higher-accuracy alignment has been demanded.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a projector and an image display system that can solve the problems of the conventional techniques described above and can align images projected from a plurality of projectors with high accuracy. To do.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a projector that projects an image on a projection surface, a projection unit that projects the image, a first position adjustment pattern that is projected on the projection surface, and a second A storage unit for storing a position adjustment pattern, wherein the first position adjustment pattern and the second position adjustment pattern are a feature graphic composed of a common color and an auxiliary at a position different from the feature graphic Each of the adjustment patterns has a different color.
According to the present invention, since the feature graphic is composed of a common color, it is possible to determine the overlap of the feature graphic from the change in luminance. In addition, since the auxiliary graphic arranged at a position different from the characteristic graphic is made a different color for each adjustment pattern, the projector to be adjusted and the adjustment direction can be easily visually recognized when the adjustment pattern has a deviation. be able to. Therefore, the images projected from the plurality of projectors can be aligned with high accuracy.

According to the present invention, in the projector described above, the characteristic figure is a figure having a shape in which the presence or absence of a shift in the projection surface can be visually recognized.
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can be visually recognized easily whether the image projected from each projector in a projection surface has produced the shift | offset | difference by the characteristic figure projected from several projectors.

According to the present invention, in the projector described above, the feature graphic has a color different from that of the auxiliary graphic and has a higher luminance than the auxiliary graphic.
According to the present invention, it is possible to easily determine the overlap of feature figures based on a change in luminance.

In the projector according to the aspect of the invention, the projection unit may include a light source and a modulation unit that includes a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix and modulates light emitted from the light source. The figure is constituted by a line formed with a width of one pixel by the modulation means.
According to the present invention, since the characteristic graphic is formed with a width of one pixel, it is possible to easily distinguish between a part where the characteristic graphic completely overlaps and a part where a slight deviation occurs.

In the projector according to the aspect of the invention, the feature graphic is a graphic having at least a predetermined length.
According to the present invention, it is possible to easily visually recognize a shift in an image including a shift in the rotation direction of a feature graphic projected from each projector.

In the projector according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that at least one of the plurality of the position adjustment patterns has a color complementary to each other.
According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the color difference in the hue direction between the overlapping portion and the non-overlapping portion of the auxiliary graphic projected from each projector, and easily recognize the image shift. be able to.

In the projector according to the aspect of the invention, in the position adjustment pattern, the auxiliary graphic is arranged in the vicinity of the characteristic graphic, and the auxiliary graphic has a shape in which the adjustment direction and the adjustment amount of the characteristic graphic can be visually recognized. It is the figure which has.
According to the present invention, it is possible to easily visually recognize the adjustment direction of the feature graphic using the auxiliary graphic as a guide, and easily use the brightness of the feature graphic as a guide to determine whether or not the feature graphic is optimally superimposed by the adjustment. Can be judged.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image display system including a plurality of projectors, each of the projectors having a position adjustment pattern projected onto a projection surface, and each of the projectors The position adjustment pattern includes a feature graphic and an auxiliary graphic arranged at a position different from the feature graphic, and the color of the feature graphic included in the position adjustment pattern of each projector is common. Then, at least one set of the plurality of projectors is configured to have the position adjustment pattern including the auxiliary figures of different colors.
According to the present invention, the position adjustment pattern projected from the projectors of the image display system onto the projection surface includes the common figure feature graphic and the auxiliary figures of different colors. It can be easily determined by the luminance of the graphic, and the adjustment direction of the position adjustment pattern can be easily determined by the color difference of the auxiliary graphic. Therefore, the images projected from the plurality of projectors can be aligned with high accuracy.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the overlap of the position adjustment pattern projected from several projectors can be visually recognized easily, and the images projected from several projectors can be aligned with high precision.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image display system according to a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the functional structure of a projector. It is a figure which shows the example of a position adjustment pattern. It is a figure which shows the example which projected the position adjustment pattern on the screen by two projectors, (A) is a figure which shows the state of the position adjustment pattern before the adjustment projected on the screen, (B) is the figure after adjustment It is a figure which shows the state of a position adjustment pattern. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of position alignment of an image. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the image display system of 2nd Embodiment.

[First Embodiment]
Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image display system 1 according to the first embodiment.
The image display system 1 arranges a plurality of projectors 2 side by side, and performs stack display so that projection images from the plurality of projectors 2 are superimposed on a screen SC (projection surface). In the present embodiment, a configuration in which two projectors 2 (hereinafter referred to as projectors 2A and 2B) are installed side by side will be described as an example.

Each of the projectors 2A and 2B is connected to the image output device 7 via the image transmission cable 41, and projects an image based on the image data input from the image output device 7 onto the screen SC. Image data relating to the same image is supplied from the image output device 7 to the projectors 2A and 2B.
The image display system 1 projects the same image from each of the two projectors 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B onto the screen SC, and these projection images 101 and 102 are superimposed to form a single projection image 100 on the screen SC. To do. That is, the projection image 100 is an image in which the projection lights of the two projectors 2A and 2B are projected in an overlapping manner. By performing this stack display, there is an advantage that the amount of light of the projected image 100 can be significantly increased.

Here, if the image projected by the projector 2A and the image projected by the projector 2B are misaligned, the projection image 100 will be blurred. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the installation positions and angles of the projectors 2A and 2B.
For example, even if the projectors 2A and 2B are the same model, if the tilt angles are different, the projected images 101 and 102 are shifted in the height direction. Further, when the horizontal installation angles of the projectors 2A and 2B are deviated, the projected images 101 and 102 are deviated in the horizontal direction in the overlapping region 121. For this reason, it is necessary to align the projection images 101 and 102 with high accuracy by adjusting the installation positions and angles of the projectors 2A and 2B.
In the image display system 1 of the present embodiment, each of the projectors 2A and 2B has a function of projecting a superimposed display position adjustment pattern 5 for adjusting a superimposed position during superimposed display. The user operates one or both of the projectors 2A and 2B using the two position adjustment patterns 5 projected from the projectors 2A and 2B onto the screen SC as a guide, and aligns the projected images 101 and 102. The procedure for aligning the projected images 101 and 102 will be described later.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration and a hardware configuration of the projector 2 </ b> A configuring the image display system 1. Since the projector 2B has the same configuration as the projector 2A, illustration and description thereof are omitted.
The projector 2A includes an image projection unit 10 that projects an image, a control unit 31 that performs image processing, an image reception unit 32, an image processing unit 33, an image correction unit 34, a light modulation device driving unit 35, a light source driving unit 36, and a pattern. The main body 20 includes the storage unit 37 and the input operation unit 38.
The image projection unit 10 includes a light source 22 provided with a reflector 22A, a mirror 23 that separates light emitted from the light source 22 into R, G, and B color light components, and an R component, G component, and B separated by the mirror 23. A light modulation device 24 as modulation means for modulating component color light, and a projection optical system 25 for projecting light modulated by the light modulation device 24 toward the screen SC are provided.

As the light source 22, for example, a xenon lamp, an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, an LED, or the like can be used. In addition to the reflector 22A, a lens group (not shown), a polarizing plate, and an auxiliary reflector (not shown) for enhancing the optical characteristics of the projection light. (Not shown) or the like.
The mirror 23 reflects the R component light contained in the light emitted from the light source 22 and transmits the G component and the B component, and the G transmissive mirror reflects the G component light and transmits the B component. It is provided with a dichroic mirror for use. The mirror 23 may be provided with a relay lens group that absorbs the difference in optical path length for each of the R component, G component, and B component.

The light modulation device 24 corresponds to modulation means for displaying an image on the screen SC, and is a light modulation device (first modulation means) that modulates R component light (first color light), and G component light (second light). A light modulation device (second modulation means) that modulates the B component light (third color light), and a light modulation device (third modulation means) that modulates the B component light (third color light).
More specifically, the light modulation device 24 is configured by a method using three transmissive or reflective liquid crystal light valves corresponding to each color of RGB, a method using three digital mirror devices, and the like. The R component, G component, and B component light separated by the mirror 23 is modulated.

The mirror 23 may be configured to guide the light emitted from the light source 22 to the light modulation device 24 as white light without being separated into color light. In this case, the light modulation device 24 is configured by a DMD method in which a color wheel that transmits RGB light among light included in white light emitted from a light source is combined with one digital mirror device (DMD). . In the system in which the color wheel and one digital mirror device are combined, one digital mirror device corresponds to the modulation means.
In the present embodiment, the light modulation device 24 is configured using a liquid crystal light valve. The light modulation device 24 includes a transmissive liquid crystal panel in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a matrix. The light modulation device 24 functions as a modulation unit that forms an image with the plurality of pixels and modulates the light emitted from the light source 22 with the formed image. .
The light modulation device 24 is driven by a light modulation device driving unit 35, which will be described later, and forms an image by changing the light transmittance of each pixel arranged in a matrix.

The projection optical system 25 includes a prism 26 that combines the RGB three-color modulated light modulated by the light modulation device 24 and a projection lens 27 that forms a projection image synthesized by the prism 26 on the screen SC. The prism 26 is configured by combining one or a plurality of optical prisms and mirrors in accordance with the configuration of the light modulation device 24.
Since the light modulation device 24 of the present embodiment includes three transmissive liquid crystal panels, the prism 26 is configured to synthesize light modulated by these three liquid crystal panels by the prism 26. . The projection lens 27 includes, for example, a plurality of lens groups, and is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) that adjusts zoom and focus. The light projected by the projection optical system 25 is projected from the projection window 20A onto the screen SC, and the projection image 100 is displayed on the screen SC.

The control unit 31 includes a CPU (not shown), a ROM that stores programs and data executed by the CPU in a nonvolatile manner, a RAM that temporarily stores programs executed by the CPU and data to be processed, and the like. Centrally control each part of the projector 2A.
An image transmission cable 41 is connected to the image receiving unit 32. The image receiving unit 32 receives various types of image data (image signals) from the external image output device 7 via the image transmission cable 41. The image data received by the image receiving unit 32 may be either an analog image signal or digital image data, and the signal format, data format, and the like are arbitrary. The specific specifications of the connection terminal to which the image transmission cable 41 is connected in the image receiving unit 32, the image transmission cable 41, and the image output device 7 are also arbitrary. The image receiving unit 32 outputs the image data received from the image output device 7 to the image processing unit 33.

The image processing unit 33 analyzes the image data input from the image receiving unit 32 under the control of the control unit 31, and performs analog / digital conversion processing and resolution conversion that are set in advance corresponding to the data format of the image data. Processing, aspect ratio change processing, frame rate conversion processing, color reduction processing, color increase processing, image correction processing, and the like are performed, and projection image data having a resolution corresponding to the number of display pixels of the light modulation device 24 is generated.
The image correction unit 34 performs a trapezoidal distortion correction process for correcting the trapezoidal distortion uttered due to the tilt angle of the projector 2A with respect to the screen SC. Under the control of the control unit 31, the image correction unit 34 performs a correction process for converting the projection image data output from the image processing unit 33 into a shape that compensates for trapezoidal distortion, and drives the corrected projection image data to a light modulation device. To the unit 35. In this correction processing, for example, an image forming area having a shape set by the user so as to compensate for the trapezoidal distortion is set in the pixel area of the liquid crystal panel of the light modulation device 24 so that the image forming area fits in the image forming area. Projected image data is processed.
The light modulation device driving unit 35 drives the light modulation device 24 in accordance with the image data input from the image correction unit 34. As a result, the projected image 100 is projected into the image forming area having the shape set by the user.
The light source driving unit 36 performs lighting control of the light source 22 based on an instruction from the control unit 31.

The input operation unit 38 includes a plurality of operation keys (not shown) for the user to give various instructions to the projector 2A. As the operation keys provided in the input operation unit 38, for example, a power key for switching on / off the power, a menu key for displaying a menu image for performing various settings, an item selected by the menu image, etc. are confirmed. A determination key to be moved, a position adjustment key for instructing projection of a position adjustment pattern, four direction keys corresponding to up, down, left and right, a keystone distortion correction key used for keystone distortion correction, and the like. The control unit 31 detects the operation content of the user in the input operation unit 38, and controls the projector 2A based on the detected operation. The input operation unit 38 may be configured using a remote control (not shown) that can be operated remotely.
The pattern storage unit 37 includes a nonvolatile storage device such as a mask ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, or FeRAM (Ferroelectric RAM). In the pattern storage unit 37, a plurality of position adjustment patterns 5 (hereinafter referred to as position adjustment) used when adjusting and aligning the projection positions of the images in order to stack and display the images projected from the projectors 2A and 2B. Patterns 5A and 5B) are stored in advance.
As shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of projectors 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B constituting the image display system 1 project different position adjustment patterns 5 when performing position adjustment. For this reason, in this embodiment, the projectors 2A and 2B can project two position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B corresponding to the number of the projectors 2, respectively, and project either one of them.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the position adjustment pattern. Here, two position adjustment patterns are illustrated. 3A shows the first position adjustment pattern 5A, and FIG. 3B shows the second position adjustment pattern 5B. In the present embodiment, the projectors 2A and 2B store data for displaying the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B in the pattern storage unit 37, respectively. The pattern storage unit 37 may be configured to store not only two types of position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B but also three or more types of position adjustment patterns.
The first position adjustment pattern 5A includes a feature graphic 51A (first feature graphic) that is a graphic having at least a predetermined length in order to confirm the position at the corner of the image forming area. The auxiliary figure 52A (first auxiliary figure) is arranged at a different position. Similarly, in the second position adjustment pattern 5B, a feature graphic 51B (second feature graphic) that is a graphic having at least a predetermined length for confirming the position in the corner of the image forming area, and a characteristic graphic 51B Are configured to include auxiliary figures 52B (second auxiliary figures) arranged at different positions.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the first position adjustment pattern 5A includes a substantially cross-shaped feature graphic 51A arranged at positions corresponding to the vicinity of the four corners of the image forming area, and vertical and horizontal lines forming the characteristic graphic 51A. And an auxiliary figure 52A that extends, and is formed in a lattice shape having a set of vertical lines extending in the vertical direction of the image forming area and a set of horizontal lines extending in the horizontal direction as a whole. Has been.
Similarly, the second position adjustment pattern 5B includes a substantially cross-shaped feature graphic 51B arranged at positions corresponding to the vicinity of the four corners of the image forming area, and an auxiliary graphic 52B extending from vertical and horizontal lines forming the characteristic graphic 51B. , Including. The position adjustment pattern 5B as a whole has a lattice shape having a set of vertical lines extending in the vertical direction of the image forming area and a set of horizontal lines extending in the horizontal direction.

Further, the feature graphics 51A and 51B and the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B constituting the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B are all formed by a line having a width of one pixel.
The feature graphic 51A included in the first position adjustment pattern 5A and the feature graphic 51B included in the second position adjustment pattern 5B are configured with a common color, that is, the same color. The color of the feature figures 51A and 51B is preferably a high-luminance color, and particularly preferably white. The feature graphics 51A and 51B have a color different from that of the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B, and are brighter than the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B. In other words, the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B have a specific shape, and a certain part of the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B (a part corresponding to a feature graphic) and another part (a part corresponding to an auxiliary graphic) So the colors are different.

On the other hand, the auxiliary figure 52A included in the first position adjustment pattern 5A and the auxiliary figure 52B included in the second position adjustment pattern 5B are preferably different colors from each other, as long as they are complementary colors. More preferred. For example, when the auxiliary figure 52A of the first position adjustment pattern 5A is green, red, which is a complementary color of green, is used for the auxiliary figure 52B of the second position adjustment pattern 5B. In FIGS. 3A and 3B and FIG. 4 to be described later, the green portion is indicated by diagonal lines, and the red portion is indicated by diagonal grid stripes.
The combination of the colors of the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B can be, for example, a combination of colors such as orange and blue, yellow and purple, in addition to the above-described combination of green and red.

When adjusting the positions of the projectors 2A and 2B, for example, the projector 2A projects the first position adjustment pattern 5A, and the projector 2B projects the second position adjustment pattern 5B. The combinations of the projectors 2A and 2B and the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B are arbitrary, and different position adjustment patterns may be projected.
In this case, since the first position adjustment pattern 5A and the second position adjustment pattern 5B are simultaneously displayed on the screen SC, the user can observe the overlapping state of the feature graphic 51A and the feature graphic 51B while viewing the projector 2A, Adjust the 2B projection position. Since the characteristic figures 51A and 51B are figures having at least a length, it is possible to easily recognize whether or not the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B are shifted in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the rotation direction. Further, since the feature graphics 51A and 51B have higher brightness than the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B, the feature graphics 51A and 51B are more conspicuous on the screen SC, and the presence or absence of deviation can be easily visually confirmed.

Further, the user can know which projector 2 the projection direction should be adjusted to which direction in the position adjustment based on the positional relationship between the two auxiliary figures 52A and 52B made of different colors. In the above example, since the projector 2A projects the green auxiliary graphic 52A and the projector 2B projects the red auxiliary graphic 52B, the projection direction of which projector 2 is determined from the relative position of the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B. It is easy to see if it is displaced in the direction. That is, the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B can know the projector 2 to be selected as the adjustment target and the direction in which the projection direction of the selected projector 2 is moved.
It is known that a human visual function has a characteristic that when a plurality of colors having a complementary color relationship are adjacent to each other, the saturation of each other appears to be high. For this reason, the contrast effect can be emphasized by making the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B a combination of complementary colors. Due to this effect, the visibility of the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B is good on the screen SC, and accurate position adjustment can be performed.

Further, since the colors of the feature graphics 51A and 51B are brighter than the colors of the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B, the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B can be easily distinguished from the feature graphics 51A and 51B. Accordingly, the relative positions of the feature graphic 51A and the feature graphic 51B can be easily visually recognized regardless of the overlapping state of the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B, and more accurate position adjustment can be performed.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B extend from the vertical and horizontal lines forming the characteristic figures 51A and 51B, and the image forming areas of the projectors 2A and B are used. However, the configuration of the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B is not limited to this example. The auxiliary figures 52A and 52B can visually recognize whether or not the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B are shifted in the plane of the screen SC, and the shape and the adjustment amount of the characteristic figures 51A and 51B can be visually recognized. There may be any shape as long as it is a graphic arranged at a position different from the characteristic graphics 51A and 51B. Further, as described above, the color is also arbitrary.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B are projected onto the screen SC by the two projectors 2A and 2B. FIG. The state of the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B is shown, and (B) shows the state of the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B after adjustment.
When aligning the images projected from the projectors 2A and 2B, first, the projectors 2A and 2B are operated, and the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B of complementary colors are respectively displayed on the screen SC. Project to.

In the example of FIG. 4A, the first position adjustment pattern 5A is projected from the projector 2A, and the second position adjustment pattern 5B is projected from the projector 2B. When performing alignment, the first position adjustment pattern 5A projected from one projector (here, projector 2A) is used as a fixed image, and the projection position of the projector 2A is not adjusted, and the other projector 2B is adjusted. The position of the second position adjustment pattern 5B is overlapped with the position of the first position adjustment pattern 5A.
In the example of FIG. 4A, the characteristic figures 51A and 51B are in a shifted position, and it can be visually recognized that the characteristic figure 51B is located at the upper left with respect to the characteristic figure 51A. In this case, the first position adjustment pattern 5A is a fixed image, and the projection position of the projector 2A that projects the first position adjustment pattern 5A is fixed. Then, the projector 2B is operated, and an operation of shifting the projection position of the second position adjustment pattern 5B projected by the projector 2B is performed so that the feature graphic 51B overlaps the feature graphic 51A.

  In this alignment, the projection positions of the projectors 2A and 2B are adjusted electronically. That is, the control unit 31 controls the light modulation device driving unit 35 in accordance with the operation content of the input operation unit 38, and in the pixel region of the liquid crystal panel of the light modulation device 24 and the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B in this pixel region. Based on this, the relative position with the image forming area where the image is formed is shifted. By this process, the position where the image is formed on the liquid crystal panel of the fixed light modulation device 24 is shifted in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and the projection positions of the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B are moved.

  After the position adjustment, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, the characteristic figures 51A and 51B are substantially overlapped. When the characteristic figures 51A and 51B are common colors with high luminance as described above, the luminance is highest on the screen SC at the position where the characteristic figures 51A and 51B are superimposed. In addition, since the feature graphics 51A and 51B are formed by a line having a width of one pixel, the luminance changes greatly depending on whether or not there is a shift of one pixel. Therefore, the presence or absence of deviation of the feature graphics 51A and 51B can be easily recognized, and whether the feature graphics 51A and 51B are partially overlapped or entirely overlapped can be easily distinguished. In the present embodiment, the widths of the lines for forming the feature graphics 51A and 51B and the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B are formed with a width of one pixel. The line width may be greater than that of the pixels.

By the way, when the position adjustment of the projection image is electronically performed as described above, the position of the light modulation device 24 of each projector 2A, 2B does not move, so that the deviation of the position adjustment patterns 5A, 5B is completely eliminated. , It may be difficult to completely superimpose the whole. For example, there is a case where the amount of deviation is less than the size of one pixel. In such a case, even if the adjustment is performed as much as possible, as shown in FIG. 4B, a slight shift between the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B may be visually recognized.
However, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B are configured by the feature graphics 51A and 51B for visually determining the deviation of the projection position and the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B. , 51B, it is determined whether or not there is a deviation. Therefore, even if a part of the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B is displaced, it is possible to perform the alignment with high accuracy by giving priority to the positional deviations at the four corners of the image forming area important in the alignment. And since the shift | offset | difference of this characteristic figure 51A, 51B can be visually recognized with high precision based on the change of a brightness | luminance, it can be judged easily whether the projection position of projector 2A, 2B is an optimal state.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for aligning images.
With reference to FIG. 5, the procedure of position adjustment of the image display system 1 will be described. In FIG. 5, as an example, the projector 2A projects the first position adjustment pattern 5A, and the position is adjusted so that the second position adjustment pattern 5B projected by the projector 2B is aligned with the position of the first position adjustment pattern 5A. The case where it does is demonstrated.
First, the user installs the projector 2A at an arbitrary installation position (step S1). If the projector 2A does not project an image in step S1, projection of an arbitrary image is started by a user operation. Next, the projector 2B is installed by the user (step S2). In step S2, if the projector 2B is not projecting an image, projection of an arbitrary image is started by a user operation. The installation position of the projector 2B is determined so that the projection image projected from the projector 2B onto the screen SC includes the projection image projected from the projector 2A.

Subsequently, the projector 2A starts projecting the first position adjustment pattern 5A and the projector 2B projects the second position adjustment pattern 5B in response to the user's operation on the input operation unit 38 of each projector 2A, 2B. Start (step S3). In step S3, the control unit 31 of the projectors 2A and 2B, for example, from the plurality of position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B stored in advance in the pattern storage unit 37 in accordance with the operation of the menu key and position adjustment key provided in the input operation unit 38 A position adjustment pattern to be projected is selected and projection is started.
Here, the projectors 2A and 2B of the image display system 1 have a function of communicating with each other, and one of the projectors 2A and 2B set in advance or the previously operated device becomes the master device, and the other The device may be a slave device. In this case, the projectors 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B autonomously select and project one of the position adjustment patterns 5 </ b> A and 5 </ b> B by communicating with each other under the control of the master device. In this case, each of the projectors 2A and 2B selects and projects a set of position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B in a combination such that the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B have complementary colors. As a result, two types of position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B such that the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B are complementary colors are projected on the screen SC regardless of the number of the position adjustment patterns 5 stored in the projectors 2A and 2B. The Furthermore, the projection position of the slave device is set so that the projection position of the slave device is moved and correction is performed to match the projection position of the master device, and the projection position of the slave device is shifted regardless of which of the projectors 2A and 2B is operated. Good.

Here, the user visually recognizes the overlapping state of the four characteristic figures 51A and 51B included in the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B projected on the screen SC, and visually determines whether or not the position adjustment is necessary. When the position adjustment is necessary, the user determines the direction in which the projection position is shifted and the amount to be shifted based on the relative positions of the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B. Then, when the user operates the input operation unit 38, the projection position is moved so that the feature figures 51A and 51B overlap.
The projection position adjustment process is performed, for example, for each of the four characteristic figures 51A and 51B arranged near the four corners of the image forming area. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which adjustment is performed in order clockwise from the feature graphics 51A and 51B arranged in the upper left of the image forming area.

First, by the user's operation, the input operation unit 38 is operated so that the upper left characteristic graphic 51B of the projector 2B best overlaps the upper left characteristic graphic 51A of the projector 2A. The control part 31 of 2B moves a projection position (step S4). The user operates the input operation unit 38 until it is determined that the target upper left feature graphic 51B overlaps the characteristic graphic 51A.
Next, the user operates the input operation unit 38 so that the upper right feature graphic 51B of the projector 2B is best overlapped with the upper right feature graphic 51A of the projector 2A. The control unit 31 of the projector 2B moves the projection position (step S5). Thereafter, similarly, by the user's operation, the operation to the input operation unit 38 is performed so that the lower right feature graphic 51B of the projector 2B best overlaps the lower right characteristic graphic 51A of the projector 2A. Accordingly, the control unit 31 of the projector 2B moves the projection position (step S6). Further, by the user's operation, the input operation unit 38 is operated so that the lower left feature graphic 51B of the projector 2B best overlaps the lower left characteristic graphic 51A of the projector 2A. The control part 31 of 2B moves a projection position (step S7). In these steps S5 to S7, the user operates the input operation unit 38 until it is determined that the target characteristic graphic 51B overlaps the characteristic graphic 51A. Through this series of processing, after the position adjustment is performed so that all the characteristic figures 51A and 51B on the screen SC are overlapped, the projectors 2A and 2B perform the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B according to the operation to the input operation unit 38. Projection is terminated (step S8).

  When performing this position adjustment, the projectors 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B may not only shift the image forming area in the liquid crystal panel of the light modulation device 24 but also perform a process of changing the shape of the image forming area. For example, when the upper left feature graphic 51B of the target position adjustment pattern 5B is moved in step S4, not only the entire image forming area of the projector 2B is translated on the liquid crystal panel, but also the upper left feature graphic. The image forming area may be deformed so that 51B moves and at least one of the other three characteristic figures 51B does not move. In this case, the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B can be more accurately superimposed even when distortion due to the difference in the projection angle between the horizontal direction and the vertical direction with respect to the screen SC of the projectors 2A and 2B occurs.

  When sequentially adjusting the four characteristic figures 51A and 51B arranged in the vicinity of the four corners of the image forming area, by controlling either the projector 2A or 2B or by mutual communication between the projector 2A and the projector 2B, Control for selecting the feature figures 51A and 51B to be adjusted may be automatically performed.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment to which the present invention is applied, the projectors 2A and 2B that project images onto the projection surface (screen) SC are projected onto the projection unit 10 that projects images and the screen SC. And a storage unit 37 for storing the first position adjustment pattern 5A and the second position adjustment pattern 5B. The first position adjustment pattern 5A and the second position adjustment pattern 5B are configured with a common color. The feature graphics 51A and 51B and the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B at positions different from the feature graphics 51A and 51B are included, respectively, and the colors of the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B are different colors for the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B. Accordingly, for example, when performing a stack display in which the projection images of the two projectors 2A and 2B are projected on the screen SC, when performing the adjustment for overlapping the projection images of the projectors 2A and 2B, the projectors 2A and 2B are performed. Can be easily found from the change in the brightness of the characteristic figures 51A and 51B. Further, it is possible to quickly determine which position adjustment pattern 5A, B is projected from which projector 2A, 2B by the difference in color of the auxiliary figures 52A, 52B, and to move the projection position. And the direction of the movement can be easily known. Therefore, the images projected from the plurality of projectors 2 can be aligned with high accuracy by adjustment based on the user's visual judgment.

Further, the feature figures 51A and 51B are figures having a shape in which the presence or absence of deviation in the projection plane can be visually recognized. Therefore, the deviation direction and the deviation amount of the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B from the feature figures 51A and 51B can be easily set. Can be identified.
Further, the feature graphics 51A and 51B have a color different from that of the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B and are brighter than the auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B. Using the sensitivity, it is possible to easily find a point at which the projection images are optimally overlapped from a change in luminance due to the overlap of the feature figures 51A and 51B.
The projection unit 10 includes a light source 22 and a light modulation device (modulation unit) 24 that has a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix and modulates light emitted from the light source (lamp) 22. Since the graphics 51A and 51B are configured by lines formed by the modulation means 24 with a width of one pixel, a slight change in the feature graphics 51A and 51B causes a large change in the luminance of the feature graphics 51A and 51B on the screen SC. . Thereby, the state of deviation of the characteristic figures 51A and 51B can be easily identified.

Moreover, since the characteristic figures 51A and 51B are figures having at least a predetermined length, the vertical, horizontal, and rotational directions of the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B are shifted using the characteristic figures 51A and 51B. The presence or absence can be visually recognized.
In addition, since the colors of the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B are complementary to each other in at least one of the plurality of position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B, the auxiliary figure 52A on the screen SC is obtained by the contrast effect of the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B. And the auxiliary graphic 52B can be easily identified visually.

  Further, in the position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B, the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B are arranged in the vicinity of the characteristic figures 51A and 51B, and the auxiliary figures 52A and 52B are shapes in which the adjustment direction and the adjustment amount of the characteristic figures 51A and 51B can be visually recognized. It is a figure having. Thereby, since the shift direction and the shift amount between the projectors 2A and 2B can be immediately determined, it is possible to easily adjust the projectors 2A and 2B so that the projected images are in an optimum superimposed state.

  In the first embodiment, the configuration in which all the two projectors 2A and 2B constituting the image display system 1 can project the plurality of position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B has been described as an example. The invention is not limited to this. For example, one of the projectors 2A and 2B may be configured to project only one position adjustment pattern. In this case, the projector 2 having a plurality of position adjustment patterns 5 communicates with, for example, other projectors 2 to recognize the types of position adjustment patterns 5 that can be projected by the other projectors 2. The corresponding position adjustment pattern 5 may be selected. Further, the corresponding position adjustment pattern 5 may be selected by operating the input operation unit 38. Furthermore, some of the plurality of projectors 2 constituting the image display system 1 may include more position adjustment patterns 5.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, an image display system 110 according to a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG.
In the first embodiment, the image display system 1 that displays a stack on the screen SC by the plurality of projectors 2 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the projection images from the plurality of projectors 2 are arranged side by side. It is also possible to perform tiling display on the SC and project an image larger than the projection image of each projector 2. In the second embodiment, four projectors 2 (hereinafter referred to as projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F) are arranged side by side, and a configuration in which an image larger than the image projected by each projector 2 is projected vertically and horizontally. An example will be described. The functional configuration of each projector 2 and the configuration of the position adjustment pattern 5 included in each projector 2 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and are denoted by the same reference numerals and the illustration and description thereof are omitted.

The image display system 110 illustrated in FIG. 6 includes four projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F, and an image output that is connected to each of the four projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F via an image transmission cable 41. A device 8 is provided. The image output device 8 supplies image data for displaying different images to the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F.
The projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F project the projector 2C onto the upper left of the screen SC, project the projector 2D onto the upper right of the screen SC, project the projector 2E onto the lower left of the screen SC, and project the projector onto the lower right of the screen SC. 2F is projected so that images projected by four projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F are combined to project one large screen image 120. This display form is called a so-called tiling display.

  In the tiling display, the edges of the images projected by the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F are overlapped so that the boundaries between the projected images projected by the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F are not noticeable. Has been. This overlapping portion is generically referred to as the overlapping region 121. The superimposing region 121 includes a superimposing region 121A of projection images of the projector 2C and the projector 2D, a superimposing region 121B of projection images of the projector 2E and the projector 2F, a superimposing region 121C of projection images of the projector 2C and the projector 2E, and a projector 2D and a projector 2F. A projection image superimposing region 121D and a superimposing region 121E where all the projection images of the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F overlap are included.

  The image output device 8 divides the original image of the large screen image 120 projected by the image display system 110 into partial images corresponding to the number of projectors 2 to be used (here, four), and each projector 2C, 2D, 2E and 2F generate partial image data that is image data representing the partial image to be projected. The four partial image data generated by the image output device 8 is image data in a range including not only an image obtained by dividing the large screen image 120 into four parts but also an image of a part to which the superimposed region 121 is added. The image output device 8 outputs the generated partial image data to the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F arranged at positions corresponding to the partial images. Thereby, the projector 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F can project the large screen image 120 by tiling as the entire image display system 110 only by projecting the image data input from the image output device 8.

  Each partial image data generated by the image output device 8 includes overlapping images so that the projection images of the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F become the same image in the overlapping region 121. When the position of the projection image projected by each of the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F is not appropriate, the image is blurred in the overlapping region 121. For this reason, the image display system 110 has a function of projecting the position adjustment pattern by each of the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F and adjusting the projection position in a state where the position adjustment pattern is projected. In this adjustment, the user visually observes the position adjustment patterns projected from the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F, determines whether or not the position is shifted, and performs an operation on the input operation unit 38 by the user. Accordingly, at least one of the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F changes the image forming area in the liquid crystal panel of the light modulation device 24.

The position adjustment pattern 5 projected by each projector 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F includes a feature graphic 51A and an auxiliary graphic 52A, like the position adjustment pattern 5A shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B). . The features of the feature graphic 51A and the auxiliary graphic 52A are as described above. In addition, the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F are configured such that the two adjacent projectors 2 can project the position adjustment pattern 5 including auxiliary graphics of different colors. Furthermore, the position adjustment pattern 5 projected by the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F includes two types of auxiliary projections that are projected on the overlapping regions 121A, 121B, 121C, and 121D in all the overlapping regions 121A, 121B, 121C, and 121D. It is more preferable that the graphic colors are distributed so as to be complementary colors.
In this configuration, for example, the image output device 8 has two position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B, supplies the position adjustment pattern 5A to the projectors 2C and 2F, and positions adjustment patterns 5B to the projectors 2D and 2E. This can be realized by supplying In this case, two position adjustment patterns 5 including auxiliary graphics 52A and 52B of different colors are projected in the overlapping areas 121A, 121B, 121C, and 121D except for the overlapping area 121E. Of course, the image output apparatus 8 includes four position adjustment patterns 5 and may supply different position adjustment patterns 5 to all of the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F. One position adjustment pattern 5 corresponding to each position may be stored in 2F one by one.

  The specific procedure is as follows. First, the user selects two projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F that are adjacent to each other in the vertical and horizontal directions as the projector 2 to be adjusted. Here, the projector 2 to be adjusted may be automatically selected by mutual communication between the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F, or under the control of the image output device 8. Next, the user fixes one projector 2 and adjusts the projection position of the other projector 2 in the overlapping region formed by these two projectors 2. In this adjustment, the necessity of adjustment is determined based on the feature graphic of the target overlapping area, and the movement direction and the movement amount are determined based on the state of the auxiliary graphic. When this process is performed for all of the overlapping regions 121A, 121B, 121C, and 121D, the position adjustment of the entire image display system 110 is completed. Further, with respect to the projector 2 for which the position adjustment has been completed, the adjustment is easy, for example, by replacing the projected position adjustment pattern 5 with the position adjustment pattern 5 including an auxiliary figure of the same color as the position adjustment pattern 5 of the fixed projector 2. It is also possible to operate each projector 2 so that it can be performed.

  According to the second embodiment, in the image display system 110 that projects a single large screen image by tiling display on the screen SC by combining projection images from the plurality of projectors 2, each projector 2C, 2D, 2E. It is possible to adjust the image of the overlapping region 121 where the images projected by 2F are superimposed on each other so as to obtain an optimal overlapping state based on the position adjustment patterns projected by the projectors 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F. Thereby, the images projected from the plurality of projectors 2 can be aligned with each other with high accuracy, and the projected image in the superimposed region 121 can be prevented from being blurred, and a high-quality image can be projected.

  Each of the above embodiments is merely an example of a specific aspect to which the present invention is applied, and the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention can be applied as a different aspect from the above embodiment. For example, each of the above embodiments includes the substantially cross-shaped feature graphic 51A arranged at positions corresponding to the vicinity of the four corners of the image forming area, and the auxiliary graphic 52A extending from the vertical and horizontal lines forming the characteristic graphic 51A. As a whole, position adjustment patterns 5A and 5B formed in a lattice shape having a set of vertical lines extending in the vertical direction of the image forming region and a set of horizontal lines extending in the horizontal direction are used. Although the case has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is of course possible to use a position adjustment pattern having a more complicated shape, or a simpler shape. Further, when a plurality of auxiliary figures are included in one position adjustment pattern, it is not necessary that all the auxiliary figures have the same color, and a position adjustment pattern including auxiliary figures of a plurality of colors can be used. Further, in each of the embodiments described above, when an operation for starting position adjustment is performed in the input operation unit 38, the projector 2 performs a display for guiding the adjustment method to the user, and the like. Thus, an operation in which each projector 2 selects the position adjustment pattern 5 or an operation to select the projector 2 to be adjusted may be automatically executed.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which each projector 2 and the image output devices 7 and 8 are connected by wire via the image transmission cable 41 has been described as an example. The connection form with the devices 7 and 8 is arbitrary, for example, by wireless communication using a wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like, or by wired communication using a general-purpose data communication cable such as USB or a wired LAN. It is good also as a structure which mutually connects and transmits / receives image data.
Further, each functional unit of the projector 2 shown in FIG. 2 includes a functional configuration realized by cooperation of hardware and software, and the specific mounting form is not particularly limited. In addition, the specific detailed configuration of each part of the image display systems 1 and 110 including the projector 2 and the image output devices 7 and 8 can be arbitrarily changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,110 ... Image display system 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F ... Projector 5, 5A ... 1st position adjustment pattern (adjustment pattern), 5B ... 2nd position adjustment pattern (adjustment pattern) , 7, 8 ... Image output device, 10 ... Image projection unit (projection unit), 22 ... Light source, 24 ... Light modulation device (modulation means), 31 ... Control unit, 33 ... Image processing unit, 35 ... Light modulation device Drive unit 37... Pattern storage unit (storage unit), 51A, 51B... Feature graphic, 52A and 52B .. auxiliary graphic, 121, 121A, 121B, 121C, 121D, 121E.

Claims (8)

A projector that projects an image on a projection surface,
A projection unit for projecting the image;
A storage unit for storing a first position adjustment pattern and a second position adjustment pattern projected on the projection surface;
The first alignment pattern is seen containing a first auxiliary figure in different positions, a is a first feature shapes composed of common color, and the first feature graphics,
The second position adjustment pattern includes a second feature graphic composed of the common color, and a second auxiliary graphic in a position different from the second feature graphic,
In the second position adjustment pattern, the second feature graphic is at the same position as the position of the first feature graphic in the first position adjustment pattern,
In the second position adjustment pattern, the second auxiliary graphic is at the same position as the position of the first auxiliary graphic in the first position adjustment pattern,
The color of the first auxiliary graphic and the color of the second auxiliary graphic are different from the common color,
The projector according to claim 1, wherein a color of the first auxiliary graphic is different from a color of the second auxiliary graphic . 2. The projector according to claim 1, wherein the first feature graphic and the second feature graphic are shapes having a shape in which the presence or absence of a shift in the projection plane can be visually recognized. The first feature shapes, Ri high luminance der than before Symbol first auxiliary figure,
The second feature shape, projector according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by high luminance der Rukoto than said second auxiliary figure. The projection unit is
A light source;
A plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, and modulation means for modulating light emitted from the light source,
4. The projector according to claim 1, wherein the first characteristic graphic and the second characteristic graphic are configured by a line formed with a width of one pixel by the modulation unit. 5. . 5. The projector according to claim 1, wherein the first characteristic graphic and the second characteristic graphic are figures having at least a predetermined length. 6. The projector according to claim 1 , wherein a color of the first auxiliary graphic and a color of the second auxiliary graphic are complementary colors. In the first position adjustment pattern, the first auxiliary graphic is arranged in the vicinity of the first characteristic graphic,
In the second position adjustment pattern, the second auxiliary graphic is arranged in the vicinity of the second characteristic graphic,
The first auxiliary graphic is a graphic having a shape in which the adjustment direction and adjustment amount of the first characteristic graphic can be visually recognized,
Said second auxiliary figure, according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the graphic der Rukoto having the second direction and visible adjustment amount shape of the adjustment feature graphic projector. An image display system including a first projector and a second projector ,
Wherein the first projector comprises a first storage unit for storing the first alignment pattern is projected onto the projection surface,
The second projector includes a second storage unit that stores a second position adjustment pattern projected onto the projection surface,
Before SL first alignment pattern includes a first feature shapes composed of common color, and a first auxiliary figure in a position different from the first characteristic figure,
The second position adjustment pattern includes a second feature graphic composed of the common color, and a second auxiliary graphic in a position different from the second feature graphic,
In the second position adjustment pattern, the second feature graphic is at the same position as the position of the first feature graphic in the first position adjustment pattern,
In the second position adjustment pattern, the second auxiliary graphic is at the same position as the position of the first auxiliary graphic in the first position adjustment pattern,
The color of the first auxiliary graphic and the color of the second auxiliary graphic are different from the common color,
An image display system , wherein a color of the first auxiliary graphic is different from a color of the second auxiliary graphic .

Images