JP5125539B2 - Projector device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a projector device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a camera having a projector function is known as a portable projector device (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and a photographed image can be projected and displayed by a projector.

JP 2005-250392 A

  However, there is a problem that if the projector device is tilted at the time of projection, the projected image is also tilted. In particular, when performing projection while holding the projector device, it is difficult to hold the projector device accurately and horizontally.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a projector device that projects a rectangular projection image generated by an image generation unit using light from a projection light source, a tilt sensor that detects a tilt of the device housing, and a detection by the tilt sensor. A control unit that controls the image generation unit based on the result and corrects the inclination of the projection image generated by the image generation unit so that the longitudinal direction of the image projected on the projection surface always coincides with the horizontal direction. e Bei the door, the image generation unit includes a rectangular imaging region to generate the projection image, wherein, when the inclination of the device housing by the inclination sensor is detected, for the projection The projection image is generated by reducing the size of the projection image so that the diagonal dimension of the image is substantially the same as the short side dimension of the image generation area of the image generation unit, and the inclination variation detected by the inclination sensor is a predetermined value. If below , And changes the size of the reduced generated projection image to the maximum size displayable on the image generation region.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a projector apparatus that projects a rectangular projection image generated by an image generation unit using light from a projection light source, an inclination sensor that detects an inclination of the apparatus housing, and a detection by the inclination sensor. A control unit that corrects the inclination of the projection image generated by the image generation unit based on the result, the image generation unit includes a rectangular image generation region that generates the projection image, and When the tilt of the apparatus housing is detected by the tilt sensor, the control unit projects the projection so that the diagonal dimension of the projection image is substantially the same as the short side dimension of the image generation area of the image generation unit. If the variation of the inclination detected by the inclination sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the maximum size that can be displayed in the image generation area is the size of the projection image that has been reduced and generated. change to And wherein the Rukoto.

  According to the present invention, the posture of the projected image can be held constant regardless of the inclination of the apparatus housing.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
-First embodiment-
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a projector apparatus according to the present invention. In the housing 10 of the projector apparatus 1, a projector unit 30 and a control circuit 50 are provided as main components. The control circuit 50 is connected to a memory 60 for holding image data, and is also connected to a main switch 105, a mode switch 106s, a liquid crystal display 107, a battery 111, and an angle sensor 112. The control circuit 50 controls the entire projector apparatus. The angle sensor 112 detects the angle of the housing 10 and outputs the detection result to the control circuit 50. Information necessary for device operation is displayed on the liquid crystal display 107. An image based on the image data in the memory 60 can also be displayed on the liquid crystal display 107.

  The projector unit 30 includes a projection lens 301, an LED (light emitting diode) 302, a condenser lens 303, a reflective liquid crystal panel (LCOS) 304, a polarization beam splitter 305, a lens driving circuit 300, and a projection control circuit 306. . The projection control circuit 306 controls the projection lens 301 via the lens driving circuit 300 while controlling the LED 302 and the LCOS 304. The lens driving circuit 300 drives a focus lens (not shown) constituting the projection lens 301 based on the focus adjustment signal output from the projection control circuit 306.

  The light generated by the LED 302 is converted into substantially parallel light by the condenser lens 303 and enters the polarization beam splitter 305. The polarization beam splitter 305 transmits the P-polarized component of the incident light, reflects the S-polarized component, and emits it in the direction of the LCOS 304. The S-polarized component incident on the LCOS 304 travels through the liquid crystal layer, is reflected by the reflective surface of the LCOS 304, travels in the reverse direction through the liquid crystal layer, and is emitted from the LCOS 304 to the polarizing beam splitter 305.

  Since the liquid crystal layer of the LCOS 304 functions as a phase plate when a voltage is applied, the light incident again on the polarization beam splitter 305 remains the modulated light and the S polarization component modulated from the S polarization component to the P polarization component. The light is mixed with non-modulated light. The modulated light (P-polarized component) passes through the polarization beam splitter 305 and is then projected outside the housing 10 by the projection lens 301. On the other hand, unmodulated light (S-polarized light component) is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 305 toward the light source.

  In the present embodiment, there are two types of projection forms when projecting an image, and switching between them is performed by the mode selector switch 106s. The first projection form is a normal projection form as shown by a broken line 20 in FIG. 2, and the inclination of the projected image 20 projected on the screen changes according to the attitude of the housing 10. In the first projection mode, when the housing 10 is held horizontally, the horizontally long projected image 20 is projected in a horizontal state. For example, as shown in FIG. When tilted at the center by an angle θ, the projected image 20 is also projected at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal image 21.

  Further, when the housing 10 is rotated by 90 ° as shown in FIG. 2B, the projection image 20 is also rotated by 90 °. In particular, when projecting with the housing 10 held in hand, there is a problem that stable holding is difficult, and the tilt of the projected image 20 varies and it is difficult to observe. Therefore, the first projection form is suitable for a case where the housing 10 is placed on a desk or the like and projected, not in a handheld state.

  On the other hand, in the second projection mode, the tilt of the housing 10 is detected by the angle sensor 112, and the tilt angle θ of the projection image 20 is canceled and displayed on the LCOS 304 in accordance with the detected tilt so as to be horizontal. The image is rotated by a predetermined angle and displayed. FIG. 3 shows an image in the first projection form (projection image 20, display image 40) and an image in the second projection form (projection image 21, display image 41) when the casing 10 is tilted. Is.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the display image 40 displayed in the entire display area of the LCOS 304 is reduced and displayed so that the diagonal dimension is not more than the length D on the short side of the display area. The image 41 is a reduced display image, and the projected image 21 is similarly reduced and projected. Next, the display image 41 is rotated by (−θ) within the display area of the LCOS 304 around the center (optical axis) of the display area. In the example shown in FIG. 3B, the housing 10 is inclined by an angle θ so as to rotate counterclockwise, and rotating the display image 41 by an angle (−θ) rotates clockwise by the angle θ. It is to be.

  Here, for convenience of explanation, reduction and rotation have been described separately in order, but actually, the reduction process and the rotation process are performed simultaneously, and the reduced and rotated display image 41 is displayed on the LCOS 304. As a result, the rectangular projection image 21 on the screen is projected so that the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the horizontal direction. For example, when the casing 10 is set in the vertical state as shown in FIG. 2B, the display image 41 is rotated by 90 ° as shown in FIG.

  Note that when the inclination is always unstable, for example, when the inclination fluctuation frequency is too high and the inclination correction does not function sufficiently, the inclination correction is stopped, and when the fluctuation is larger, the projection by the projector unit 30 is stopped. To do.

  By the way, there is known one in which the direction code of the camera is written in the header of the image data in accordance with the direction of the camera at the time of shooting (see, for example, JP-A-8-336069). When such an image is reproduced and displayed, the image can be displayed in an upright state in which the vertical direction coincides with the vertical direction by using the direction code. In the projection form shown in FIG. 3, the projection image 21 is projected so that the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the horizontal direction, but the projection may be performed so that the vertical direction of the image coincides with the vertical direction.

  FIG. 4 shows a display example (projection example) when the vertical direction and the vertical direction of the image are matched. In FIG. 4A, since both long sides of the image correspond to the top and bottom, the display image 41 is displayed so that the longitudinal direction of the projection image 21 coincides with the horizontal direction. On the other hand, in FIG. 4B, since both short sides of the image correspond to the top and bottom, the display image 41 is displayed so that the longitudinal direction of the projection image 21 coincides with the vertical direction.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the angle of the display image 41 with respect to the display area is adjusted so as to cancel the tilt of the projection image in accordance with the tilt angle of the housing 10 detected by the angle sensor 112. 3 and 4, it is possible to always project the projected image in an upright state. In addition, by setting the diagonal dimension of the display image 41 to be equal to or smaller than the short side dimension D of the display area, the size of the projection image 21 does not change regardless of the inclination of the housing 10, and is not suitable. I do not feel natural. If the projection lens 301 is a zoom optical system, the reduction of the projection image 21 due to the reduction of the display image can be canceled by performing an enlarged display.

  Of course, the reduction ratio may be changed in accordance with the rotation angle θ of the display image 41, and the tilted display image 41 may be displayed to the limit of the display area. In this case, after the position (tilt) of the housing 10 is fixed and it is determined that the detection value of the angle sensor 112 is constant or less than a predetermined range, switching may be performed so that the image size becomes maximum. Note that. The predetermined range is, for example, an angle range in which the observer does not mind the shake of the projection image.

-Second embodiment-
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a digital camera provided with a projector unit and a photographing unit will be described as an example. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the digital camera 100. In the housing 10, a projector unit 30, a photographing unit 40, and a control circuit 50 are provided as main components. The configuration related to the projector function is the same as in the case of the projector device 1 shown in FIG.

  In addition to the memory 60 being connected to the control circuit 50, a projector switch 71s, a half-push switch 104a, a full-push switch 104b, a main switch 105, and a mode changeover switch 106s are connected. The half-push switch 104a and the full-push switch 104b each output an on signal or an off signal to the control circuit 50 in conjunction with the depression operation of the release button. Further, a liquid crystal display 107, a memory card interface 109, a battery 111 and an angle sensor 112 are connected to the control circuit 50.

  Based on a control program, the control circuit 50 performs a predetermined calculation based on a signal input from each part constituting the digital camera 100 and sends a control signal to each part of the digital camera 100 to perform a photographing operation and a projection operation. Control. The control program is stored in a nonvolatile memory (not shown) in the control circuit 50.

  The memory card interface 109 is an interface to which the memory card 110 can be attached and detached. The memory card interface 109 is an interface circuit that writes an image file to the memory card 110 and reads an image file recorded on the memory card 110 under the control of the control circuit 50. The memory card 110 is a semiconductor memory card such as a compact flash (registered trademark) or an SD card.

  The photographing unit 40 includes a photographing lens 101, an image sensor (image sensor) 402, a lens driving circuit 403, and a photographing control circuit 404. As the image sensor 402, a CCD, a CMOS image sensor, or the like is used. The imaging control circuit 404 drives and controls the image sensor 402 and the lens driving circuit 403 according to a command from the control circuit 50 and performs predetermined image processing on the imaging signal (accumulated charge signal) output from the image sensor 402. . Image processing includes white balance processing and gamma processing.

  The photographing lens 101 forms a subject image on the imaging surface of the image sensor 402. The imaging control circuit 404 causes the image sensor 402 to start imaging in response to an imaging start instruction, reads the accumulated charge signal from the image sensor 402 after the imaging is completed, performs the above-described image processing, and sends it to the control circuit 50 as image data. To do. The lens driving circuit 403 drives the zoom lens (not shown) constituting the photographing lens 101 forward and backward in the optical axis direction (tele side or wide side) based on the zoom adjustment signal output from the photographing control circuit 404.

  The digital camera 100 has a projection mode in which an image is projected by the projector unit 30 and a camera mode in which an image is photographed by the photographing unit 40 as operation modes. These are switched by operating the projector switch 71s.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the digital camera 100. A photographing unit 40 is provided at the center of the housing 10, a projector unit 30 is disposed on the right side, and a battery 111 is disposed on the left side. A flash light emitting unit 120 is provided on the upper side of the projector unit 30 and a flash main capacitor 121 is provided on the lower side. The projector unit 30 emits projection light in the right direction from the side surface of the camera housing 10.

  7A and 7B are diagrams showing the projector unit 30, in which FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view taken along the optical axis J, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA. The difference from the projector unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 is that a balancer 308 is provided and the entire projector unit 30 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the optical axis J. The projection lens 301, LED 302, condenser lens 303, LCOS 304, and polarization beam splitter 305 are fixed to the unit case 307. The unit case 207 is fixed to a balancer 308 made of a highly heat conductive member (for example, a metal member).

  At that time, the LED 302 is attached so that the heat generating portion of the LED 302 is in close contact with the balancer 308. A high-brightness LED is used as the LED 302 of the projector unit 30, and the amount of heat generation is large and the temperature is likely to be high in the sealed camera casing 10. However, the balancer 308 serves as a heat sink, and heat generated by the LED 302 is radiated to the balancer 308 and further radiated to the camera housing 10 via the rotation shaft 308a of the balancer 308.

  The projector unit 30 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the rotation shaft 308 a of the balancer 308. Further, the mass of the projector unit 30 shown in FIG. 7 is biased toward the balancer side (the lower side in the drawing) with respect to the rotating shaft 308a. Therefore, the projector unit 30 rotates so that the balancer 308 is vertically below the optical axis J. Since the digital camera 100 in FIG. 6 emits projection light to the side of the camera, when the image is projected by hand, the digital camera 100 is held in a state as shown in FIGS. At this time, when the casing 10 is inclined by the angle θ, the entire projector unit 30 rotates about the optical axis J by an angle (−θ), so that the longitudinal direction of the projected image coincides with the horizontal direction.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the entire projector unit 30 is configured to be rotatable about the optical axis J, and the balancer 308 is provided so that the longitudinal direction of the projected image always coincides with the horizontal direction. Since it did in this way, the inclination of the projection image by the change of the housing | casing attitude | position at the time of handheld projection can be prevented. Furthermore, unlike the first embodiment, it is not necessary to keep the image size constant by the zoom function of the projection lens 30. Further, since the balancer 308 also serves as a heat dissipation unit for the LED 302, the temperature rise of the LED 302 can be suppressed. Since the unit case 307 is also in contact with the balancer 308, the heat dissipation of the LCOS 304 can be improved.

  Further, a stopper for fixing the projector unit 30 at the initial position may be provided so that the rotatable state and the fixed state can be selectively selected. In the present embodiment, since the projected image is kept horizontal by the balancer 308, the angle sensor 112 for detecting the tilt of the housing 10 shown in FIG. 1 is not required.

  In the present embodiment, when the casing 10 is tilted, the projector unit 30 rotates so that the balancer 308 is vertically downward. It takes time. During this time, the projected image is also shaken, and is not suitable for observation. Therefore, the LED 302 is turned off in the middle of rotation and in a transient state where shaking occurs, and when the shaking stops, the LED 302 is turned on and image projection is performed to suppress the power consumption of the battery 111. For example, a sensor for detecting the swing angle of the projector unit 30 is provided, and the LED 302 is turned off when the angle fluctuation detected by the sensor is larger than a predetermined value. LED 302 is turned on.

  8A and 8B are diagrams showing a modification of the projector unit 30, in which FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view along the optical axis J, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view along AA. In this modification, the unit case 307 has a cylindrical shape. A part of the side periphery of the cylindrical unit case 307 is thick, and the thick part 307a is used as a balancer. In this case, the unit case 307 is formed of a high heat conductive member and also functions as a heat dissipation unit. The cylindrical axis and the optical axis J coincide with each other, and the cylindrical unit case 307 can rotate around the rotation axis 307b.

-Third embodiment-
In the first embodiment described above, the inclination of the housing 10 is detected by the angle sensor 112, and the direction of the projection image is controlled to be constant based on the detection result. However, the third embodiment described below is used. In this embodiment, the content to be projected is changed according to the inclination (posture) of the projector device. Note that the structure of the rotatable projector unit 30 in the second embodiment described above is also employed at the same time to prevent the image from shaking unstablely.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the third embodiment. Hereinafter, a mobile phone with a projector function will be described as an example. The mobile phone 50 is also provided with a camera unit, and a photographed image can be projected by the projector unit. The contents of the received mail can be projected as an image. These projections are switched by detecting the tilt angle of the mobile phone 50 by an angle sensor provided in the mobile phone 50 and switching according to the detected angle.

  When the cellular phone 50 is turned upside down, an image 54 photographed as shown in FIG. 9A is projected. Reference numeral 51 denotes a button for turning on the projector function. When performing projection as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, the button 51 is pressed in advance to switch to the projection mode. Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the display unit 53 or the operation unit 52 is changed to the front, the mail display state is switched and the same mail display as the image displayed on the display unit 53 is displayed. An image 55 is projected. FIG. 9C shows another form in which the mail display image 55 is projected. When the mobile phone 50 is placed sideways, it switches to the mail display state, and the vertical mail display image 55 is displayed. The

  In this case as well, a function for correcting the image tilt as in the first embodiment may be added. That is, when the angle of the mobile phone 50 is changed within a predetermined angle range from the state shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, the display image is always displayed in an inclined manner, so that FIGS. 9A to 9C are always displayed. The tilt is corrected so that it is displayed in the state shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example. When the cellular phone 50 is turned upside down as shown in FIG. 10A, the captured image is displayed, and when it is placed sideways as shown in FIG. 10B, the pointer 57 is projected and displayed.

  When the pointer 57 is projected, the light beam is condensed by a projection optical system to form a spot shape. In this case, since the brightness of the pointer 57 is higher than that in the case of the captured image display and attention is required, the pointer 57 is not displayed at the same time as the posture of the mobile phone 50 is changed, but the pointer switching button 58 is pressed for switching. In such a case, the pointer 57 is displayed only when the button 58 is pressed.

  In addition, the above description is an example to the last, and this invention is not limited to the said embodiment at all unless the characteristic of this invention is impaired. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a portable projector device that can be held is described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a stationary projector device. In the case of a stationary projector device, it is not necessary to adjust the tilt of the device at the time of installation.

1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a projector apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure explaining a projection form. It is a figure explaining the display form of a display image. It is a figure which shows the example of a display (projection example) at the time of making it match | combine the vertical direction of an image. It is a block diagram explaining the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a digital camera 100. FIG. It is a figure which shows the projector unit 30, (a) is sectional drawing along the optical axis J of the projector unit 30, (b) is AA sectional drawing. It is a figure which shows the modification of the projector unit 30, (a) is sectional drawing along the optical axis J, (b) is AA sectional drawing. It is a figure explaining the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of switching of a display form.

Explanation of symbols

  1: projector device, 10: housing, 30: projector unit, 40: photographing unit, 100: digital camera, 112: angle sensor, 300: lens driving circuit, 302: LED, 304: reflective liquid crystal panel (LCOS), 306: Projection control circuit

Claims (5)

A projection unit that projects a rectangular projection image generated by the image generation unit with light from a projection light source;
An inclination sensor for detecting the inclination of the device housing;
The image generation unit is controlled based on the detection result of the tilt sensor, and the inclination of the projection image generated by the image generation unit so that the longitudinal direction of the image projected on the projection surface always coincides with the horizontal direction. Bei example and a control unit that corrects,
The image generation unit has a rectangular image generation region for generating the projection image,
When the inclination of the apparatus housing is detected by the inclination sensor, the control unit is configured such that the diagonal dimension of the projection image is substantially the same as the short side dimension of the image generation area of the image generation unit. When the projection image is generated by being reduced, and the variation in the inclination detected by the inclination sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the maximum size that can be displayed in the image generation area is the size of the reduced projection image. A projector apparatus characterized by being changed to a size . The projector device according to claim 1 ,
The control unit stops the projection by the projection unit when the temporal change in the detected value of the tilt sensor is larger than a predetermined value, and if the temporal change in the detected value of the tilt sensor becomes a predetermined value or less. A projector apparatus that controls to resume projection by the projection unit. In the projector apparatus of Claim 1 or 2 ,
When the first tilt is detected by the tilt sensor, the image generation unit generates a projection image related to display information associated with the first tilt, and the second tilt is detected by the tilt sensor. Then, a projector apparatus comprising image switching means for causing the image generation unit to generate a projection image relating to display information associated with the second inclination. In the projector apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3 ,
An image sensor for capturing a subject image;
A storage unit for storing imaging information captured by the imaging device;
The image generation unit generates the projection image based on imaging information stored in the storage unit. A projection unit that projects a rectangular projection image generated by the image generation unit with light from a projection light source;
An inclination sensor for detecting the inclination of the device housing;
A control unit that corrects the inclination of the projection image generated by the image generation unit based on the detection result of the inclination sensor;
The image generation unit has a rectangular image generation region for generating the projection image,
When the inclination of the apparatus housing is detected by the inclination sensor, the control unit is configured such that the diagonal dimension of the projection image is substantially the same as the short side dimension of the image generation area of the image generation unit. When the projection image is generated by being reduced, and the variation in the inclination detected by the inclination sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the maximum size that can be displayed in the image generation area is the size of the reduced projection image. A projector apparatus characterized by being changed to a size .

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