JP6783628B2 - Image projection device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image projection device, and more particularly to an image projection device capable of adjusting the brightness of a projected image.

Image display elements such as liquid crystal panels used in projectors may have pixel defects due to variations in the production process, and the projected images of the defective pixels may become abnormal. In general, a pixel having a defect is often limited in the gradation that can be expressed, and a pixel that is always white or black is called a always bright spot, a always black spot, or the like.

In particular, when multiple projectors are used, such as so-called multi-projection that improves the amount of information in the projected image and so-called stack projection that improves brightness, the number of pixels used for display increases, so the total number of pixel defects increases. It gets higher.

On the other hand, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a display control device including first and second modulation panel units and suppressing the influence of pixel defects by controlling the second modulation panel unit. ing.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-098671

However, in the above-mentioned prior art of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to additionally provide a special display element for correcting pixel defects, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost and device size.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image projection device that suppresses the influence of pixel defects when there is a pixel defect in a portion where the projected image of the image projection device is superimposed on the projected image of another image projection device. That is.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention presents an image display element that displays an image by modulating light based on an image signal from the outside, and an image displayed by the image display element on a projected surface. An image projection device including a projection optical system for projecting, an acquisition means for acquiring element information regarding an image display element of another image projection device, an image projected by the image projection device, and the other image projection device. When the image projected by the image is superimposed in the superimposed region on the projected surface, the changing means for changing the partial image corresponding to the superimposed region of the image projected on the projected surface based on the element information. It is characterized by having.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image projection device that suppresses the influence of pixel defects when there is a pixel defect in a portion where the projected image of the image projection device is superimposed on the projected image of another image projection device. it can.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the projector which is the Example of this invention. The figure which shows the setting GUI of the defective pixel in the Example of this invention. The flow chart of the control of Example 1. The flow chart of the control of Examples 2 and 3. The figure which shows the setting GUI of the defective pixel in the Example of this invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a liquid crystal projector (image projection device) 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The image processing unit 10 includes a terminal for inputting an input image signal from a composite terminal, an HDMI (registered trademark) terminal, a DVI terminal, a Displayport terminal, or the like. It also includes a device (AD converter, receiver IC, etc.) necessary for receiving the input image signal input through those terminals.

In addition to the above, it also has a USB terminal and a LAN terminal, and can receive JPEG, BMP, and PNG image files and streaming moving images as input image signals.

Further, the image processing unit 10 can perform image processing on an image based on the input image signal. An image signal that has undergone arbitrary image processing from among brightness adjustment and contrast adjustment, color conversion by LUT, resolution conversion to an arbitrary resolution, sharpening processing and smoothing processing, frame rate conversion, IP conversion, etc. is generated.

The OSD superimposition unit (operation display unit) 20 superimposes an OSD image on the image signal output from the image processing unit 10. The OSD image can be generated based not only on image data such as a bitmap prepared in advance, but also on a straight line, a rectangle, or a drawing instruction in pixel units.

The geometric distortion correction unit 40 performs deformation processing on the image signal output from the OSD superimposition unit 20 so as to correct the geometric distortion generated in the projected image. If the geometric distortion correction unit 40 performs appropriate conversion, it is possible to suppress distortion of the projected image caused by tilt projection or the like.

The liquid crystal drive unit 50 is connected to the geometric distortion correction unit 40, converts the image signal corrected by the geometric distortion correction unit 40 into a liquid crystal drive signal, and drives the liquid crystal display element (image display element) 66 of the optical system 60. .. Further, the liquid crystal driving unit 50 can also adjust the brightness on a pixel-by-pixel basis and the position where an image is formed on the liquid crystal display element. In addition, edge blend correction (gradation correction for each of the blend region and the non-blend region) can also be performed in order to make the superimposed portion inconspicuous when performing multi-projection.

The optical system 60 includes a light source unit 62, an illumination optical system 64, a liquid crystal display element 66, and a projection optical system 68. The light emitted from the light source unit 62 passes through the illumination optical system 64, is modulated by the liquid crystal display element 66, and then is projected onto the screen (projected surface) as a projected image through the projection optical system (projection lens) 68. The liquid crystal display element 66 is connected to the liquid crystal driving unit 50 and modulates the incident luminous flux based on the liquid crystal driving signal from the liquid crystal driving unit 50. Further, the projection optical system 68 adjusts the optical zoom (enlargement and reduction of the projected image), the optical shift (movement of the position of the projected image on the projected surface), and the focus by moving the lens and the unit by the motor. It is possible to do.

The operation unit 70 includes a button for inputting an operation by the user and an infrared light receiving unit for receiving infrared rays from the remote controller, and converts the input operation into an electric signal. Types of operations include decision and cancellation, menu calling for making various settings, up / down / left / right direction instructions, power control, and the like.

The communication unit 80 has wired and wireless communication functions, receives commands from the outside, and transmits commands to the outside from the projector. When a command is received, for example, processing equivalent to operation input to the operation unit 70 is performed, or control of the image processing unit 10 and the geometric distortion correction unit 40 is performed.

The memory unit 90 stores various information such as values of various settings made by the user, information at the time of shipment of the projector, usage time, and logs. It also stores information on pixel defects owned by itself, information on pixel defects of other projectors that are superimposed and projected, and the like.

The CPU unit (control means) 30 includes an image processing unit 10, an OSD superimposing unit 20, a geometric distortion correction unit 40, a liquid crystal drive unit 50, an operation unit 70, a communication unit 80, a memory unit 90, a projection optical system 68, and a temperature. It is connected to a number of devices (not shown), including sensors and fans.

The CPU unit 30 is also a microcomputer (processing unit) that controls the power supply and state of each part of the liquid crystal projector 100, and when an abnormality in the internal state is detected, the power supply is shut off, the light source is stopped, and cooling is strengthened. It also automatically performs processing such as warning to the user. In addition, it receives a user's operation input from the operation unit 70, performs control and the like according to the operation, and also performs processing and the like for a command received from the communication unit 80. For example, the OSD superimposing unit 20 is controlled to display a menu screen, the image processing unit 10, the geometric distortion correction unit 40, and the projection optical system 68 are controlled to control the state and function of each unit, acquire the state, and the like. Do.

FIG. 2 shows a GUI (user operation) for acquiring the state of pixel defects (element information related to an image display element) of another projector when superimposing projection is performed on the projector according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation screen (operation screen for acceptance).

A user (for example, a projector installer) installs a plurality of projectors so as to perform superimposed projection. After installation, for example, each projector is made to display a test pattern such as full-screen white display and full-screen black display. As the test pattern, one stored in the memory unit 90 in advance may be displayed, or the test pattern may be input to the image processing unit 10 from the outside as an input image signal. After displaying the test pattern, the projection image of the superimposed projection portion (partial image corresponding to the superimposed region) is checked for pixel defects such as always bright spots and always black spots, and if there are pixel defects, FIG. 2 shows. Display the operation screen shown.

As shown in FIG. 2, where is the position of the pixel defect on the projection position of the projector without the pixel defect (in this embodiment, considering the case where the projection positions do not completely overlap, even if the position is after the decimal point. It is possible to set). In addition, the abnormal state (always bright spots and always black spots) and how multiple projectors are superimposed are also set. The set information (information on image display elements of other projectors) is stored in the memory unit 90 of the projector having no pixel defects.

Next, the operation of the CPU unit 30 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is executed by the CPU unit 30 according to a computer program (control program).

Step S10 refers to the memory unit 90 and determines whether or not defective pixel information of another projector is stored. If it is not stored, the process ends without doing anything, and if it is stored, the process proceeds to step S20.

In step S20, defective pixel information of another projector is acquired from the memory unit 90, and the process proceeds to step S30.

In step S30, the offset and gain with respect to the pixel value are obtained as the correction amount based on the defective pixel information acquired in step S20. Considering the brightness as a reference, the correction amount is set to 2 times in the case of stack projection and 1 time (no correction) in the case of multi-projection. The offset may be set so as to subtract the brightness itself of the set constant bright spot, but in the case of multi-projection, the correction is also canceled so that the edge blend correction is not applied only to the pixel. In other words, the difference between the brightness at the position of the defective pixel on the projected surface and the brightness when the defective pixel is normal is corrected to be small.

In step S40, the gain and offset obtained in step S30 are set for the pixel closest to the pixel defect position with respect to the brightness adjustment function for each pixel in the liquid crystal drive unit 50.

The brightness adjustment function for each pixel in the liquid crystal drive unit 50 is to add or subtract the offset after integrating the gain with respect to the input. However, if the adjustment result is in the range that cannot be realized as the brightness, The liquid crystal shall be driven by the upper limit or the lower limit.

As described above, the influence of the pixel defect can be suppressed by adjusting the brightness of the normal pixel closest to the place where the pixel defect occurs based on the pixel defect information of the other projector.

Example 2 of the present invention will be described. Since the configuration of the projector of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

The operation of the CPU unit 30 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is executed by the CPU unit 30 according to a computer program (control program). The difference from the first embodiment is that step 130 is added instead of step S30, and steps 140 and S150 are added instead of step S40. Further, the description of the same reference numerals as in Example 1 will be omitted as appropriate.

In step S130, the offset and gain with respect to the pixel value are obtained as the correction amount based on the pixel defect information acquired in step S20. The correction amount in this embodiment is the same in that the brightness at the position of the pixel defect is set to the same brightness as when there is no pixel defect, but the target for which the correction is set is different from that in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the brightness is adjusted for the pixel closest to the pixel defect position, but in this embodiment, the pixel near the defect (the peripheral area including the position of the defective pixel) of the projector having no pixel defect and the defect. Correction (brightness adjustment) is performed on the pixels near the defect of the projector with pixels.

The correction amount is an integrated value of the brightness of the projected image formed in the vicinity of the pixel in which the pixel defect occurs by weighting the position of the pixel defect and the distance between the main projector and other projector pixels in the vicinity thereof. However, it is derived so that the brightness is originally desired to be expressed.

In step S140, the correction amount obtained in step S130 is set in each neighboring pixel for the brightness adjustment function in the liquid crystal drive unit 50.

In step S150, with respect to the correction amount obtained in step S130, the communication unit 80 transmits a correction amount to be set in another projector by a command.

As described above, by adjusting the pixels in the peripheral region including the position where the defective pixel is generated based on the defective pixel information of the other projector, the influence of the pixel defect can be further suppressed.

Example 3 of the present invention will be described. Since the configuration of the projector of this embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

Further, the operation of the CPU unit 30 of this embodiment is basically the same as the flowchart of FIG. 4 of the second embodiment. The difference from the second embodiment is that the operations of steps S130 and S150 are different.

In step S130, the correction amount is calculated based on the pixel positional relationship in consideration of the control of the projection optical system of another projector in step S150 described later.

In step S150, the command transmitted from the communication unit 80 transmits a command for controlling the projection optical system 68 of another projector in addition to the correction amount. Specifically, it controls a lens shift function and a focus function that can move the projection position of an image on the projected surface. The relative positional relationship of the pixel positions between the projectors on the projected surface is shifted (for example, 0.5 pixels in the case of two projectors), and the focus of the projector with defective pixels is slightly shifted from the projected surface (for example, 0.5 pixels). Defocus).

As described above, by controlling the focus and lens shift of the projection optical system of another projector in addition to the processing of the second embodiment, the pixel defect can be smoothed to the neighboring pixels, and the influence of the pixel defect can be further improved. Can be suppressed.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and modifications can be made within the scope of the gist thereof.

In the above embodiment, the case of projecting with two projectors has been described, but the number of superposed units may be three or more.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which the projector in which the pixel defect information is input by the GUI plays a central role in the control has been described. However, the projector that performs control may be another projector, and even if the controller is determined in advance and each projector transmits each pixel defect information and the relative information of the projector projection position to the controller. Good.

Further, in the above embodiment, the means for transmitting the relative positional relationship of the projector is not mentioned, but as shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to set what percentage of the projector is displaced horizontally and vertically. Similarly, it may be configured to convey how the projectors are displaced from each other by a command, or it may be configured to convey the positional relationship for all pixels.

Further, an image pickup means such as a camera may be provided, and the projected images of another projector and the own projector may be imaged, and the positional relationship between the captured images may be obtained.

Further, in the above embodiment, the difference in brightness, the number of pixels, and the projection size is not mentioned, but the configuration may be such that these information can be transmitted and received by a command, and the correction amount may be distributed in consideration of this.

The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to the system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads the program. This is the process to be executed.

30 CPU unit 50 Liquid crystal drive unit 60 Optical system

Claims (10)

An image display element that displays an image by modulating light based on an image signal from the outside,
A projection optical system that projects an image displayed by the image display element onto a projection surface, and
It is an image projection device equipped with
An acquisition means for acquiring element information regarding an image display element of another image projection device, and
When the image projected by the image projection device and the image projected by the other image projection device are superimposed in the superposed region on the projected surface, the image projected on the projected surface based on the element information. Of the changing means for changing the partial image corresponding to the superimposed region,
An image projection device characterized by having. The image projection device according to claim 1, wherein the element information is a position and a state of defective pixels of an image display element of the other image projection device. It has an operation display unit that displays an operation screen for accepting user operations on the image display element.
The acquisition means acquires the information set by the operation screen as the element information.
The image projection apparatus according to claim 2. It has a means for imaging the projected surface, and has
The acquisition means acquires the element information from the captured image captured by the imaging means.
The image projection apparatus according to claim 2. Based on the element information, the changing means reduces the difference between the brightness of the position of the defective pixel on the projected surface and the brightness of the position when the defective pixel is normal. The image projection device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the partial image is changed. Based on the element information, the changing means determines the brightness of the projected image of the peripheral region including the position of the defective pixel on the projected surface, and the projected image of the peripheral region when the defective pixel is normal. The image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the partial image is changed so that the difference from the brightness of the above is small. The acquisition means further acquires the position and state of defective pixels of the image display element of the image projection device as element information.
Based on the element information, the changing means determines the brightness of the projected image of the peripheral region including the position of the defective pixel on the projected surface, and the projected image of the peripheral region when the defective pixel is normal. The image projection apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the partial image is changed so that the difference from the brightness of the image is small. Has a means of communication to communicate with other image projection devices
The image projection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the changing means moves a projection position of an image projected by the other image projection device by the communication. Has a means of communication to communicate with other image projection devices
The image projection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the changing means controls the focus of an image projected by the other image projection device by the communication. An image projection device including an image display element that displays an image by modulating light based on an image signal from the outside, and a projection optical system that projects the image displayed by the image display element onto a projected surface. A computer program that runs your computer
On the computer
To acquire element information about the image display element of another image projection device,
When the image projected by the image projection device and the image projected by the other image projection device are superimposed in the superposed region on the projected surface, the image projected on the projected surface based on the element information. A control program for an image projection device, which comprises changing a partial image corresponding to the superimposed region.

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