HK1125703B - Image projector, and method and program for controlling the operation of the projector - Google Patents

Description

Projection apparatus and operation control method for projection apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention particularly relates to a projection apparatus suitable for use in a projector apparatus or the like using a light source lamp such as a high-pressure mercury lamp, and to a method of controlling the operation of the projection apparatus.

Background

At the end of projection, a projector that performs after cooling (after cooling) is conceivable in order to lower the temperature of the lamp as a light source until the lamp reaches a predetermined temperature.

For example, a projector described in Japanese patent laid-open No. 2005-156750.

Such a projector automatically performs after-cooling for a predetermined time after the end of projection, but the projector is configured to be rapidly cooled by increasing the rotation speed of the cooling fan so that the after-cooling is completed in as short a time as possible at this time.

However, in an actual usage environment of the projector, it is conceivable that the attendees at the spot discuss, add explanations, and the like after the projection operation on the projector is completed. In such a case, if the projector is rapidly cooled for the purpose of after-cooling, noise due to the cooling fan may increase, which may hinder discussion and the like.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a projection apparatus and an operation control method capable of performing appropriate after-cooling in accordance with a usage environment.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the present invention includes: a light source using a lamp; a projection unit configured to form an optical image by an image signal and light from the light source and project the optical image; a cooling member capable of changing a cooling capacity of the lamp for cooling the light source after the lamp is turned on; an indicating member for indicating the end of lighting of the lamp; a selecting member that selects a cooling capacity of the cooling member when instructed by the instructing member; and a cooling control component for cooling the lamp of the light source by the cooling component according to the cooling capacity selected by the selection component.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a projector device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a key switch unit of the projector device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing contents when the power supply is turned off according to the embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents when the power of the projector device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is turned off.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing contents when the power of the projector apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is turned off.

Detailed Description

First embodiment

The first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings, in which case the present invention is applied to a DLP (Digital Light Processing) (registered trademark) type projector apparatus.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electronic circuit of a projector device 10 according to the embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes an input/output connector section including, for example, a contact jack (RCA) type video input terminal, an RGB input terminal, and a USB terminal.

The image signals of various specifications input through the input/output connector unit 11 are unified into an image signal of a predetermined format in the image conversion unit 13 via an input/output interface (I/F)12 and a system bus SB, and then transmitted to the projection driving unit 14.

At this time, a mark such as a pattern image or a pointer (pointer) for On Screen Display (OSD) is also transmitted to the projection driver 14 in a state of being superimposed On the image signal as necessary.

The projection driver 14 develops and stores the transferred image signal in the video RAM15, and generates a video signal from the storage content of the video RAM 15. The projection driving unit 14 multiplies the frame rate of the video signal, for example, 60 (frames/second), by the number of color component divisions and the number of display gradations, and performs display driving of, for example, the micromirrors 16 as spatial light modulation elements (SOMs) by higher-speed time-division driving.

On the other hand, the light source lamp 18, which is disposed in the reflector 17 and uses, for example, an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, emits white light with high luminance. The white light emitted from the light source lamp 18 is time-divisionally colored into primary colors by a color wheel 19, is converted into a light beam having a uniform luminance distribution by an integrator 20, is totally emitted by a mirror 21, and is irradiated to the micromirror 16.

Then, a light image is formed by the reflected light of the micromirror 16, and the formed light image is projected and displayed on a screen, not shown here, which is a projection target, via the optical lens unit 22.

The optical lens unit 22 enlarges the optical image formed by the micromirrors 16 and projects the enlarged image onto an object such as a screen, and is configured to be able to arbitrarily change a zoom position (projection angle of view).

That is, the zoom lenses, not shown, in the optical lens unit 22 are controlled by moving back and forth together in the optical axis direction, and these lenses are moved by the rotational drive of the stepping motor (M) 23.

In addition, a cooling fan 24 for cooling the light source lamp 18 is rotationally driven by a motor (M) 25. Further, a motor (M)26 for rotating the color wheel 19 is provided.

The lighting drive of the light source lamp 18, the rotation drive of the motor 26 for the color wheel 19, the rotation drive of the motor 25 for the cooling fan 24, and the rotation drive of the stepping motor 23 are all executed by a projection light processing unit 27.

The projection light processing unit 27 also receives temperature data from a temperature sensor 28 attached to the reflector 17 and detecting the temperature of the light source lamp 18.

The operations of the above circuits are controlled by the CPU 29. The CPU29 executes control operations in the projector apparatus 10 by using the program memory 30, which is a nonvolatile memory for storing an operation program, various types of fixed data, and the like, and the main memory 31 including a RAM.

The CPU29 is further connected to a key switch unit 32, an indicator unit 33, and an audio processing unit 34 via the system bus SB.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the key switch unit 32 disposed on the upper surface of the cabinet, for example, of the projector apparatus 10. Here, the key switch unit 32 includes: a power key 32 a; a QUICK power supply cutoff button (QUICK PWR OFF)32 b; a "MODE" button 32 c; cancel (C) button 32 d; zoom keys (FOCUS)32e, 32 f; ZOOM buttons (ZOOM)32g, 32 h; indicating ("arp" ↓ "←" → ") key 32 i-321; an Enter (ENT) button 32m, and the like.

The power button 32a indicates ON/OFF of power. The rapid power source cut-off button 32b instructs the cutting off of the power source accompanied by the post-cooling by the rapid cooling described later. The "Mode" key 32c indicates various operation modes.

The cancel button 32d indicates release of the item selected at that time, movement to a menu layer on an upper layer, or the like. The focus buttons 32e and 32f instruct the movement of the focus position in the front-rear direction.

The zoom keys 32g, 32h instruct expansion or contraction of the zoom angle of view. The instruction buttons 32i-321 instruct movement of the item selected at that time, and the like. The input key 32m indicates a decision of the item selected at that time, and the like.

If the user performs an arbitrary operation using each key of the key switch unit 32, an operation signal corresponding to the key operation is input to the CPU29, and the CPU29 executes a control operation in accordance with the input from the key switch unit 32.

The indicator unit 33 is composed of, for example, a plurality of LEDs, and displays various operation states, temperature abnormality of the light source lamp 18, and the like by a lighting color, a blinking pattern, and the like.

The sound processing unit 34 includes a sound source circuit such as a PCM (pulse code modulation) sound source, simulates sound data applied during a projection operation, and drives a speaker 35 provided on, for example, the back surface of the main body casing of the projector apparatus 10 to amplify and reproduce the sound data, or to generate a buzzer sound as necessary.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing contents when power-off is instructed by the operation of the power key 32a or the rapid power-off key 32b of the key switch unit 32 from the power-on state. The processing in fig. 3 is all operation control executed by the CPU29 mainly via the projection light processing unit 27 based on the operation program stored in the program memory 30.

When the process is started, first, after the light source lamp 18 is turned off by stopping the lighting drive (step a01), it is determined whether or not the rapid cooling is necessary based on whether or not the power-off instruction is completed by the operation of the rapid power-off button 32b (step a 02).

If it is determined that the command is given by the operation of the rapid power shutoff button 32b, for example, if the rotational driving speed of the motor 25 is at three stages of "high", "medium", and "low", the highest "high" is set to realize the rapid cooling state (step a 03).

In this rapid cooling state, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the light source lamp 18 has become equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value Tth based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 28, and whether or not the light source lamp 18 has been cooled to such an extent that the rapid cooling is completed is repeatedly determined, whereby the end of the rapid cooling state is waited (step a 04).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step a02 that the instruction for power supply interruption is not made by the operation of the rapid power supply interruption button 32b but by the operation of the normal power supply button 32a, for example, when the rotational driving speed of the motor 25 is in the "high", "middle", or "low" shift range, the state is set to "middle", and the cooling state by the normal after-cooling is realized (step a 05).

In this normal cooling state, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the light source lamp 18 has become equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value Tth based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 28, and it is repeatedly determined whether or not the light source lamp 18 has been cooled to such an extent that the normal cooling is completed, and the end of the normal cooling state is waited (step a 06).

Then, when it is determined that the temperature of the light source lamp 18 has become equal to or lower than the preset threshold Tth in step a03 or a05, as a step of ending the post-cooling operation by the rapid cooling or the normal cooling, the cooling operation by the motor 25 and the cooling fan 24 is stopped (step a07), and the entire operation in the projector apparatus 10 including the display of the indicator unit 33 and the playback operation by the sound processing unit 34 is stopped (step a08), and the processing of fig. 3 executed by the CPU29 is completed.

According to the above-described embodiment, the post-cooling after the projection operation can be performed with an appropriate cooling capacity according to the usage environment.

In the above embodiment, since the user of the projector apparatus 10 selects whether or not to perform rapid cooling at the time of power-off based on the rapid power-off key 32b of the operation key switch unit 32 or the operation power key 32a, the intention of the user is reliably reflected, and it is possible to reliably avoid situations such as erroneous setting of the rapid cooling state, and a question or discussion after a presentation being hindered by noise.

In the above embodiment, whether or not to perform the rapid cooling is selected by operating one of the 2 buttons of the power button 32a and the rapid power shutoff button 32b of the key switch 32, but even if a dedicated operation button such as the rapid power shutoff button 32b is not provided in the key switch unit 32, the cooling operation can be selected by an operation method of 1 button such as performing the rapid cooling without performing the usual cooling when the power button 32a is pressed for two seconds or more.

In the above embodiment, the user selects whether or not to perform rapid cooling by operating the rapid power shutoff key 32b of the key switch unit 32 or the power key 32a after the projection operation, but the present embodiment is not limited to this, and when the rapid power shutoff key 32b is not present in the key switch unit 32, it may be set in advance by performing mode setting or the like in advance before the start of the projection operation to select whether or not to perform rapid cooling of the light source lamp 18 after the projection operation, and when the power is shut off by operating the power key 32a, it may be set in advance based on the content set in advance to select whether or not to perform rapid cooling.

In this way, by presetting whether or not to perform rapid cooling in advance in the projection operation, it is possible to select a cooling operation suitable for the projection operation by the same key operation after the projection operation, and perform post-cooling after the projection operation.

Second embodiment

In the following, a second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings, in which case the present invention is applied to a DLP (digital light processing) (registered trademark) type projector device.

The functional configuration of the electronic circuit of the projector device 10 according to the present embodiment is basically the same as that shown in fig. 1, and the same reference numerals are used for the same parts, and therefore, the illustration and description thereof are omitted.

The specific configuration example of the key switch unit 32 is the same as that shown in fig. 2 except that the rapid power shutoff key 32b is not provided.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents when power-off is instructed by operating the power button 32a of the button switch unit 32 from the power-on state. The processing shown in fig. 4 is all operation control executed by the CPU29 with the projection light processing unit 27 as the center of the control object based on the operation program stored in the program memory 30.

Immediately after the start of the processing, the light source lamp 18 is turned off after the lighting drive is stopped (step B01), and at this time, it is determined whether or not the image signal is not input through the input/output connector portion 11 (step B02).

When it is determined that no image signal is input, the power supply on the external device side to be connected to the input/output connector unit 11 is also cut off at that time, and the projector apparatus 10 may be immediately removed, and for example, when the rotational driving speed of the motor 25 is at the third gear of "high", "middle", and "low", the highest "high" is set to realize the rapid cooling state (step B03).

In this rapid cooling state, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the light source lamp 18 has become equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value Tth based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 28, and whether or not the light source lamp 18 has been cooled to such an extent that the rapid cooling is completed is repeatedly determined, thereby waiting for the completion of the rapid cooling state (step B04).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step B02 that an image signal is still input through the input/output connector unit 11, and when the power supply on the external device side connected to the input/output connector unit 11 is turned on at that time, there is no possibility that the projector apparatus 10 is immediately removed, and when the rotational driving speed of the motor 25 is in the three stages of "high", "middle", and "low", for example, the cooling state by the normal after-cooling is set to "middle" (step B05).

In this normal cooling state, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the light source lamp 18 has become equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value Tth based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 28, and it is repeatedly determined whether or not the light source lamp 18 has been cooled to such an extent that the normal cooling is completed, and the end of the normal cooling state is waited (step B06).

Then, when it is determined that the temperature of the light source lamp 18 has become equal to or lower than the preset threshold Tth in step B03 or B05, as a step of ending the post-cooling operation by the rapid cooling or the normal cooling, the cooling operation by the motor 25 and the cooling fan 24 is stopped (step B07), and the entire operation in the projector apparatus 10 including the display of the indicator unit 33 and the playback operation by the sound processing unit 34 is stopped (step B08), and the processing of fig. 4 executed by the CPU29 is completed.

According to the above-described embodiment, whether or not to perform rapid cooling when the power supply is turned off is selected based on the presence or absence of the video signal applied from the outside of the apparatus, and therefore, the state is automatically determined and the rapid cooling is performed only in the state where the input of the video signal is already turned off, and the rapid cooling is not performed when the input of the video signal is still continued, so that it is possible to reliably avoid a situation where the noise due to the rapid cooling hinders, for example, the question or discussion after the demonstration.

Third embodiment

In the following, a third embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings, in which case the present invention is applied to a DLP (digital light processing) (registered trademark) type projector device.

The functional configuration of the electronic circuit of the projector device 10 according to the present embodiment is basically the same as that shown in fig. 1, and the same reference numerals are used for the same parts, and therefore, the illustration and description thereof are omitted.

The specific configuration example of the key switch unit 32 is the same as that shown in fig. 2 except that the rapid power shutoff key 32b is not provided.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing content when power-off is instructed by operating the power key 32a or the rapid power-off key 32b of the key switch unit 32 from the power-on state. The processing in fig. 5 is all operation control executed by the CPU29 mainly via the projection light processing unit 27 based on the operation program stored in the program memory 30.

Immediately after the start of the processing, the lighting drive of the light source lamp 18 is stopped and the lamp is turned off (step C01), and at this time, it is determined whether or not the external device is not connected to the input/output connector portion 11 (step C02).

Here, it is determined whether or not each of the input/output terminals constituting the input/output connector section 11 is in an off state based on the terminal impedance level of each of the terminals, and when it is determined that no external device is connected to the input/output connector section 11, for example, when the rotational driving speed of the motor 25 is at three stages of "high", "medium", and "low", the highest "high" is set to realize the rapid cooling state (step C03).

In this rapid cooling state, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the light source lamp 18 has become equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value Tth based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 28, and whether or not the light source lamp 18 has been cooled to such an extent that the rapid cooling is completed is repeatedly determined, thereby waiting for the completion of the rapid cooling state (step C04).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step C02 that the external device is still connected to any one of the terminals constituting the input/output connector unit 11, for example, when the rotational driving speed of the motor 25 is at the third gear of "high", "middle", and "low", the cooling state by the normal after-cooling is realized by setting the rotational driving speed to "middle" (step C05).

In this normal cooling state, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the light source lamp 18 has become equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value Tth based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 28, and it is repeatedly determined whether or not the light source lamp 18 has been cooled to such an extent that the normal cooling is completed, and the end of the normal cooling state is waited (step C06).

Then, when it is determined that the temperature of the light source lamp 18 has become equal to or lower than the preset threshold Tth in step C03 or C05, as a step of ending the post-cooling operation by the rapid cooling or the normal cooling, the cooling operation by the motor 25 and the cooling fan 24 is stopped (step C07), and the entire operation in the projector apparatus 10 including the display of the indicator unit 33 and the playback operation by the sound processing unit 34 is stopped (step C08), and the processing of fig. 5 executed by the CPU29 is completed.

According to the above-described embodiment, whether or not to perform rapid cooling when the power supply is turned off is selected based on the presence or absence of connection to the external device of the input-output connector portion 11, and therefore, the state is automatically determined and the rapid cooling is performed only in the state where the connection has been released, and the rapid cooling is not performed when the connection is still present, so that it is possible to reliably avoid a situation where the noise due to the rapid cooling hinders, for example, the answer or discussion after the demonstration.

In the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which the determination is made by looking at whether or not each of the input/output terminals constituting the input/output connector section 11 is in an off state based on the terminal impedance level of each terminal, but other known electrical connection detection means or mechanical connection detection means may be used without using such electrical connection detection means, and the present invention is not limited to the contents of the connection detection means.

In addition, although the above-described first to third embodiments have described the case where the termination of the rapid cooling and the normal cooling is determined based on whether or not the temperature of the light source lamp 18 has become equal to or less than the threshold value Tth, in order to determine the termination of the cooling, it is conceivable that the temperature of the light source lamp 18 is not detected by the temperature sensor 28, and the configuration is such that: the timer provided in the CPU29 counts the respective set times elapsed between the rapid cooling and the normal cooling.

Further, in any of the first to third embodiments, the case where the projector apparatus 10 is applied to a DLP (digital light processing) (registered trademark) projector apparatus has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the projector apparatus as a projection apparatus, and the like, and can be applied similarly to a projector apparatus of a liquid crystal system that performs a projection operation using a transmissive color liquid crystal panel as a display device, or a projector apparatus of a monochromatic Overhead projector (OHP) or a slide projector that requires a post-cooling operation for cooling a lamp as a light source after the projection operation, such as a projector apparatus.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the scope of the invention. Further, the functions performed in the above embodiments may be combined as much as possible. The above embodiment includes various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriate combinations of a plurality of disclosed components. For example, even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments, if an effect is obtained, a configuration in which the components are deleted may be extracted as the invention.

Claims (4)

1. A projection device is characterized by comprising:

a light source using a lamp;

a projection unit configured to form an optical image by an image signal and light from the light source and project the optical image;

a cooling member capable of changing a cooling capacity of the lamp for cooling the light source after the lamp is turned on;

an indicating member for indicating the end of lighting of the lamp;

an input/output connector unit to which a signal is input from outside the projection apparatus;

a determination unit configured to determine whether or not a signal is input from outside the projection apparatus via the input/output connector unit;

a selecting means for selecting a cooling capacity of the cooling means based on a determination result of the determining means when the instruction means instructs; and

and a cooling control means for cooling the lamp of the light source by the cooling means with the cooling capability selected by the selection means.

2. The projection device of claim 1,

the indicating member includes a plurality of operating members for indicating the end of lighting of the lamp,

the selection means selects the cooling capacity of the cooling means according to whether any of the plurality of operation members is operated.

3. The projection device of claim 1,

further comprises a setting means for setting the cooling capacity of the cooling means in advance,

the selecting means selects the cooling capacity of the cooling means in accordance with the setting content of the setting means when instructed by the instructing means.

4. An operation control method of a projection apparatus including a light source using a lamp, a projection unit for forming and projecting an optical image by an image signal and light from the light source, and a cooling unit capable of changing a cooling capacity of the lamp for cooling the light source, the operation control method comprising:

an instruction step of instructing an end of lighting of the lamp of the projector;

a determination step of determining whether or not a signal is input from outside the projection apparatus via an input/output connector section of the projection apparatus;

a selecting step of selecting a cooling capacity of the cooling unit based on a determination result of the determining step when the instruction is given in the instructing step; and

and a cooling control step of cooling the lamp of the light source by the cooling unit with the cooling capacity selected in the selection step.