JP2001290600A - Coordinate input system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a coordinate input system in which one person can concurrently operate an information processing device such as a personal computer and also host the operation, and does not restrict the action. SOLUTION: A light emitting device 25 which emits a light beam 33.
And a light receiving device 23 for receiving the reflected light 28 of the beam light beam 33. The light emitting device 25 includes a plurality of buttons, and changing means for changing a modulation state of the beam light beam in response to each button operation. The light receiving device 23 includes a specifying unit that specifies the coordinates of the reflection point of the reflected light 28, and a generating unit that generates a signal according to the modulation state of the light beam 33.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a coordinate input system applied to an information processing device such as a personal computer, and more particularly to a coordinate input system used in combination with a display system such as a projector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in meetings and presentations, it is considered desirable to utilize not only words but also diagrams and illustrations.
(Over Head Projector) provided visual assistance. However, these conventional display systems,
Since each time an original drawing must be created, which is troublesome, a display system that uses output data of an information processing device such as a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a “PC”) as it is has been frequently used.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of the display system. In this figure, an image 2 is displayed on a screen 1. The video 2 includes, for example, document information created by a personal computer to be described below, which includes images for presentation, charts, text, or a combination thereof, and further includes an operation index object (hereinafter “cursor”) 3 of the personal computer. ing. The image 2 is a projection image from the projector 5 that emits the emitted light 4, and a signal serving as a source of the projection image is provided from the personal computer 7 via the cable 6. PC 6
Is, for example, a general-purpose information processing device having a hardware environment and a software environment that can execute application software for presentation.By operating an attached input device, a pre-created presentation document is displayed on a display, and The document is converted into an image signal and transmitted via the cable 6,
It can output to the projector 5. Here, the image 2 displayed on the screen 1 often turns pages as the presentation progresses,
Replaced by another document. For example, immediately after the start of the presentation, a document with a general description that includes the whole is displayed, and as the presentation progresses, a document with each detailed description is displayed. Such a display operation is performed by an input device (for example, a mouse 8) of the personal computer 7, and a dedicated operator 9 for that purpose is arranged in the presentation hall.

[0004] A presenter 10 of the presentation attempts to appropriately explain the image 2 displayed on the screen 1 in a verbal manner. In this case, an assisting device for pointing an explanation point of the image 2, for example, an elongated pointing stick or an optical device is used. An expression pointer (that is, the laser pointer 11) is used. In general, the former has a drawback of blocking the radiated light 4 from the projector 5 to form a shadow on the screen 1, and therefore, the latter usually uses the laser pointer 11 in many cases.

[0005] Therefore, in such a display system, the operator 9 of the personal computer 7 operates the mouse 8 as needed in accordance with a schedule previously discussed with the moderator 10 or an instruction from the moderator 10 to display a required image. The image is displayed on the display of the personal computer 7 (this display image becomes the image 2 projected on the screen 1 at the same time), while the moderator 10 uses the laser pointer 11 to irradiate the main part of the image 2 with the spotlight 12 while giving a presentation We work together to move forward.

[0006]

However, in the above-described conventional display system, the operation of the personal computer 7 and the presentation operation (the operation of pointing to the main part of the image 2 projected on the screen 1) are performed separately. Therefore, there is a problem in staffing that at least two personnel (moderator 10 and operator 9) must be secured. In addition, instead of the spot light 12, the image 2
Can be used as the moderator and the exclusive moderator 10 can be dispensed with, but in this case, the operator / moderator (operator 9) can change the operation console of the mouse 8 There is a disadvantage that the operator and the moderator cannot be separated and the actions of the operator and the moderator are restricted.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a coordinate input system in which one person can concurrently operate an information processing device such as a personal computer and perform a moderation without restricting the action.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A light emitting device that emits a light beam and a light receiving device that receives reflected light of the light beam, the light emitting device includes a plurality of buttons and a change that changes a modulation state of the light beam in response to each button operation. Means, the light receiving device, a specifying means for specifying the reflection point coordinates of the reflected light,
Generating means for generating a signal in accordance with a modulation state of the beam light beam. The invention according to claim 2 includes a light emitting device that emits a light beam and a light receiving device that receives reflected light of the light beam, wherein the light emitting device includes:
A plurality of buttons, and changing means for changing a modulation state of the beam light beam in response to each button operation, wherein the light receiving device specifies a reflection point coordinate of the reflected light; and Generating means for generating an event corresponding to the modulation state. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the light receiving device is an electronic still camera or an electronic movie camera. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the light receiving device generates a two-dimensional image including the image of the reflected light, and interchanges pixel positions of the two-dimensional image. A mapping is generated, and a reflection point coordinate is specified from an image of the reflected light included in the mapping.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. (1) First Embodiment FIG. 1 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a display system of a first embodiment according to the present invention. In this figure, the screen 21
, An arbitrary video (not shown) (see video 2 in FIG. 21)
Is displayed, and this video includes, for example, a cursor of a personal computer described later (see cursor 3 in FIG. 21) together with document information for presentation. The image is a projection image from the projector 22 that emits the emitted light 27, and a signal that is a source of the projection image is a cable 2
4a provided from the personal computer 24.

The personal computer 24 has, for example, a hardware environment and a software environment in which application software for presentation can be executed. By operating an attached input device (keyboard, mouse, etc.), a presentation document created in advance can be created. In addition to displaying the document on the display, the document is converted into an image signal (for example, an NTSC signal or an RGB signal) and output to the projector 22 via the cable 24a.

Further, the personal computer 24 responds to predetermined signals (on-focus signal, left-click signal, right-click signal, double-click signal) appropriately input from the light receiving device 23 via the cable 24b, Predetermined events (on-focus events, left-click events,
Double-click event). These events are known events that occur in response to an operation signal from an input device (especially a pointing device such as a mouse) attached to the personal computer 24, and provide a Windows 95/98 / NT
(These are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation).
This is one of the standard functions installed in S. A developer of an application program uses these events to design a program (also called an event procedure) excellent in user interface. For example, the OS
Supports various object parts such as command control buttons, so the developer arranges the desired object parts on the form when designing the form layout of the application program, and performs on-focus event, left click event, Design the desired event procedure associated with the double-click or right-click event. Thus, the user of the application program sets the on-focus event procedure associated with the object component by on-focusing the object component on the form (moving the pointing device to place the cursor on the object component). Can be performed. Or
By left-clicking the object component on the form (the operation of pressing the left-click button of the pointing device after on-focus), the left-click event procedure associated with the object component can be executed. Or, double-click the object part on the form (continuously press the left click button of the pointing device after on-focus)
By doing so, the double click event procedure associated with the object part can be executed. Alternatively, a right-click event procedure associated with the object component can be executed by right-clicking the object component on the form (by pressing the right-click button of the pointing device after on-focus). Some OSs, such as certain event-activated OSs, support only two click events (single-click event and double-click event). In this case, the above-mentioned right-click event does not exist and other Although there is a slight difference in the name of the event (the left-click event is referred to as a single-click event), they are the same in that various events are generated in response to the operation of the pointing device. Do not treat.

The light receiving device 23 receives the reflected light 29 of the image displayed on the screen 21, generates a two-dimensional image signal of the reflected light 29, and increases the brightness of the image by the reflected light 29 included in the two-dimensional image signal. The coordinates of the area (the image area of the screen 21 irradiated with the spot light 28) (the center pixel coordinates of the image area irradiated with the spot light 28 or the weight center coordinates of the pixel values) are transmitted to the personal computer 24 via the cable 24b. In addition to the output, the predetermined signal (on-focus signal, right-click signal, double-click signal, left-click signal) superimposed on the coordinate value of the image area is output to the personal computer 24 via the cable 24b.

On the other hand, a presentation moderator (hereinafter, referred to as a presentation moderator)
The moderator 26 has a light emitting device 25 capable of emitting the beam light 33, and the moderator 26 operates the light emitting device 25 while turning on and off and modulating the beam light 33 (described later). Is switched, and the irradiation position of the spot light 28 on the screen 21 is controlled.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the light emitting device 25. The light emitting device 25 is provided with a plurality of buttons, that is, an on-focus button 34, a left-click button 35, a right-click button 36 (and a power switch (not shown)) on a body 30 having a shape suitable for being held by hand. A light emitting unit 32 for emitting a light beam 33 through a light emitting window 31, an electronic circuit, and a battery (both not shown) are mounted inside. Note that the beam 3
3 is a parallel light ray in the visible region.

FIG. 3 is an internal configuration diagram of the light emitting device 25.
Note that, in this figure, the same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The light emitting device 25 includes electronic components such as a non-modulated optical signal generator 37, a modulated A signal generator 38, a modulated B signal generator 39, a signal selector (corresponding to a change unit described in the gist of the invention) 40, and a driver 41. A circuit is provided, and these units have the following functions.

The non-modulated signal generating section 37 generates a non-modulated signal Sn for non-modulating driving of the light emitting section 32 in response to the pressing operation of the on-focus button 34. The modulation A signal generator 38 generates a modulation A signal Sa for driving the light emitting unit 32 in the first modulation state in response to the pressing operation of the left click button 35, and the modulation B signal generator 3
Reference numeral 9 denotes a modulation B for modulating and driving the light emitting unit 32 in the second modulation state in response to the pressing operation of the right click button 36.
A signal Sb is generated. Further, the signal selection section 40 selects the three modulation signals (Sn, Sa, Sb) and outputs a drive signal Si, and the drive section 41 drives the light emitting section 32 according to the drive signal Si.

When any one of the three modulated signals (Sn, Sa, Sb) is input, the signal selecting section 40 outputs the modulated signal as a drive signal Si. When signals are input in duplicate (when two or more of the on-focus button 34, the left-click button 35, and the right-click button 36 are simultaneously pressed down), it is considered that no signal has been input. This signal is ignored, or one of the signals is selected according to a preset priority (for example, Sn>Sa> Sb) and output as the drive signal Si.

The non-modulation signal generation section 37 of the three signal generation sections has a function of locking the non-modulation signal Sn, that is, generation and non-generation of the non-modulation signal Sn every time the on-focus button 34 is pressed down. It is desirable to have a function of repeating the above. This is for eliminating the trouble of maintaining the operation of pressing down the on-focus button 34 during the on-focus period. The on-focus button 34 may have this lock function. That is, a switch of a type that repeats the ON state and the OFF state each time the depressing operation is performed may be used for the on-focus button 34.

Here, the three modulated signals (Sn, S
Explaining about a and Sb), the non-modulated signal Sn is used to convert the beam 33 emitted from the light emitting unit 32 into constant energy light (hereinafter, referred to as “unmodulated light”).
The modulation A signal Sa is for converting the same light beam 33 into a modulated light (hereinafter referred to as “modulation A light”) for turning on and off at a predetermined cycle, and the modulation B signal Sb makes the same light beam 33 different from the above cycle. This is for making modulated light that is turned on and off periodically (hereinafter referred to as “modulated B light”).

Therefore, the light emitting device 25 having the structure shown
When the on-focus button 34 is pressed down, the light beam 32 of the unmodulated light can be emitted from the light emitting unit 32. When the left click button 35 is pressed down, the modulation A The light beam 33 can be emitted, and when the right-click button 36 is pressed down, the light-emitting unit 32 emits the unchangeable B light.
A beam of light 33 can be launched.

In this embodiment, the light beam 33
Are three modulation states including "non-modulation", but are not limited thereto. The point is that the modulation state of the light beam 33 may be changed according to the pressing operation of each operation button (the on-focus button 34, the left click button 35, and the right click button 36) provided on the light emitting device 25. The “non-modulation” may be read as “modulation” (for example, modulation C) that is turned on and off at another cycle different from the cycle of the modulation A and the modulation B. In this case, the light emitting device 25 emits the modulated C light beam 33 from the light emitting unit 32 when the on-focus button 34 is pressed down.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the correspondence between the button operation of the light emitting device 25 and the modulation state of the light beam 33 (non-modulation, modulation A and modulation B). Button 34 operated, left click button 35 operated, right click button 36 operated, on-focus button 3
4 shows a state in which the operation of No. 4 is performed and none of the buttons are operated. In the figure,
Buttons with hatching indicate those that are being pressed down, and corresponding to the push down buttons,
The light beam 33 in the unmodulated, modulated A, and modulated B modulation states is emitted. The change on the time axis of the beam ray 33 in this example state is initially OFF.
(No light emission), then ON (unmodulated light), ON (modulation A
Light) and ON (modulated B light), and finally OFF again
(Non-light emission). Now, if the time for each process other than the non-emission state (OFF) (~) and T ₁ through T _4, time T ₁ and T ₄ correspond to the operation period of the on-focus button 34, left-click time T ₂ in response to an operation period of the button 35, time T ₃ corresponds to the operation period of the right-click button 36.

Therefore, the time T _t (T _t = T ₁ + T ₂ + T
₃ + T ₄ ), although the light beam 33 includes the periodic on / off period (the period of the modulation A and the period of the modulation B), the spot light 28 continues to be seen by the human eye even during that period, Pointing of the projected image can be performed without any trouble, and furthermore, which button of the light emitting device 25 is operated based on the modulation state (non-modulation, modulation A, modulation B) of the beam 33 during the same period. Can be determined by the light receiving device 23.

FIG. 5 is an internal configuration diagram of the light receiving device 23.
The light receiving device 23 captures an image area of which brightness is increased by the spot light 28 by the beam light 33 radiated on the screen 21 to specify the position of the image area, and modulates the light beam 33 (non-modulated, modulated A). , Modulation B) to determine the above three button operations of the light emitting device 25,
A signal (on-focus signal, left-click signal, right-click signal, and double-click signal) corresponding to each button operation is generated and output to a personal computer not shown (see personal computer 24 in FIG. 1).

In order to realize such a function, the light receiving device 2
Reference numeral 3 denotes an optical lens 42, an optical filter 43, and a two-dimensional image sensor (typically, a CCD: Charge Coupled Device).
44, an image signal generating unit 45, a control unit (corresponding to a specifying unit and a generating unit according to the gist of the invention) 46, a program memory 47, an image memory 48, an external interface (abbreviated as an external I / F in the figure) 49, and the like. It is provided with.

The optical lens 42 is provided so as to face the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional image sensor 44, and the optical axis of the optical lens 42 and the central axis of the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional image sensor 44 coincide with each other. Reflected light 2 from spot light 28 of screen 21
8a forms an image on the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional image sensor 44 through the optical lens 42, and the image forming position is determined by the incident angle of the reflected light 28a with respect to the optical axis of the optical lens 42. For example, when the incident angle is 0 degrees (an angle coincident with the optical axis of the optical lens 42), the image forming position is the center of the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional image sensor 44, and when the incident angle is α degrees (α> 0), It is shifted by L from the center. The direction and amount (L) of the shift depend on the incident direction of the reflected light 28a and α.
By specifying the pixel position of the two-dimensional image sensor 44, the coordinate position of the spot light 28 on the surface of the screen 21 can be known.

The optical filter 43 has a transmission characteristic in the wavelength range of the light beam 33, and is for eliminating the influence of disturbance light such as sunlight and artificial light sources. The image signal generator 45 converts an analog output signal from the two-dimensional image sensor 44 into a digital signal, and the image memory 48 holds the digital image signal. Control unit 46
Is configured by, for example, a microprocessor, executes a control program (“light receiving control process” described later) written in advance in a program memory 47, and performs signal processing on an image signal held in an image memory 48. , The image area irradiated with the spot light 28 is extracted, the coordinate position thereof is identified, the modulation state of the spot light 28 is determined, and the like, and the on-focus event, left click event, right click event and double A signal (on-focus signal, left-click signal, right-click signal, double-click signal) required to generate a click event is generated and output to the personal computer 24 via the external I / F 49.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a light receiving control processing program executed by the control unit 46.
FIG. 3 is a diagram extracting and showing a process of generating the signal. When this light reception control processing program is started, first, in step S
At 11, the CCD image is fetched and written into the image memory 48. This CCD image is an image corresponding to one frame image (one screen) periodically output from the two-dimensional image sensor 44, and the frame image is a two-dimensional image of the surface of the screen 21. Is a two-dimensional image sensor 4
3, the optical filter 43 is arranged on the front surface.
The CCD image is mainly image information in the wavelength region (the wavelength region of the beam light source 33) that has passed through the optical filter 43, that is, when the beam light source 33 is irradiated from the light emitting device 25 to the surface of the screen 21, the spot light 2
8 will include information on the illuminated image area.

Next, at step S12, it is determined whether or not the information (CCD image) stored in the image memory 48 includes an image area whose brightness is increased by the spot light 28. If not, the process proceeds to step S11. Return to. here,
The image area whose brightness is increased by the spot light 28 is a group of pixels formed by the spot light 28 and having a brightness value exceeding a predetermined threshold value. Therefore, when the light source 25 irradiates the surface of the screen 21 with the beam light source 33, the spot light 2
8, the result of determination in step S12 is "YES".
Therefore, the process proceeds to step S13, and it is determined whether or not the light is a modulated spot light. And the screen 21
If the light beam 33 applied to the surface is a non-modulated light, the result of the determination in step S13 is "NO", and an on-focus signal is generated in step S20. Proceed to S14.

In step S14, it is determined whether the modulation state of the light beam 33 is the modulation A light. If the modulation light is the modulation A light, the process proceeds to step S16. If not, whether the modulation light is the modulation B light in step S15. Determine whether or not. Step S
In 16, it is determined whether or not a left click signal has been generated a predetermined time ago. If the determination result is “NO”, a left click signal is generated in step S 18, while if the determination result is “YES”. If so, a double click signal is generated in step S19. If the result of the determination in step S15 is "YES", a right-click signal is generated in step S17. If the result of the determination in step S15 is "NO", the signal does not correspond to any modulation state.
Return to 11.

If a right-click signal, left-click signal, double-click signal or on-focus signal is generated in step 17, step S18, step S19 or step S20, the process proceeds to step S21, where the signal is transmitted to the external I / F 49. After output to the personal computer 24 via the PC, the process returns to step S11.

The operation of the above light receiving control processing program is summarized as follows. . (A) When the screen 21 is not irradiated with the light beam 33 Since the determination result of step S12 is “NO”, step S11 is repeatedly executed. Steps S17 to S21 are not executed. Therefore, neither the right click signal, the left click signal, the double click signal nor the on-focus signal is generated. (B) When the screen 21 is irradiated with the beam light 33 of the unmodulated light The determination result in the step S12 is “YES”, and the step S1
Step S20 and Step S21 are executed because the determination result of Step 3 is “NO”. Therefore, generation of an on-focus signal and output of the signal to the personal computer 24 are performed. (C) When the screen 21 is irradiated with the modulated A light beam 33 The determination result in the step S12 is "YES", and the step S1 is performed.
Since the determination result of step 3 is “YES” and the determination result of step S14 is “YES”, the determination of step S16 is performed. Then, it is further divided into two subcases according to the determination result. (C-1) When the left click signal has not been generated before the predetermined time In this case, since the determination result of step S16 is "NO", steps S18 and S21 are executed.
Therefore, a left click signal is generated and the signal is output to the personal computer 24. (C-2) When the left click signal has been generated a predetermined time ago In this case, since the determination result of step S16 is "YES", steps S19 and S21 are executed. Therefore, the generation of the double-click signal and the output of the signal to the personal computer 24 are performed. Here, the “predetermined time” of the determination condition in step S16 is a value corresponding to a double-click interval of a general pointing device. (D) When the screen 21 is irradiated with the modulated B light beam 33 The determination result in the step S12 is "YES", and the step S1 is performed.
Step S17 and Step S21 are executed because the determination result of Step 3 is “YES”, the determination result of Step S14 is “NO”, and the determination result of Step S15 is “YES”. Therefore, a right click signal is generated and the signal is output to the personal computer 24. (E) When the screen 21 is irradiated with the beam light 33 of unknown modulated light (modulated light other than the modulated A light or the modulated B light)

If the decision result in the step S12 is "YES",
If the decision result in the step S13 is "YES", the step S1
The determination result of Step 4 is “NO” and the determination result of Step S15 is “NO”, and Step S11 is repeatedly executed.
Steps S17 to S21 are not executed. Therefore, neither the right click signal, the left click signal, the double click signal nor the on-focus signal is generated.

Although illustration is omitted, steps S17 to S17 are performed.
When generating the right click signal, the left click signal, the double click signal, or the on-focus signal in step S20, the coordinate position signal of the image region whose brightness is increased is also generated. In step S21, the coordinate position signal is generated together with the coordinate position signal. A right click signal, a left click signal, a double click signal, or an on-focus signal is output to the personal computer 24.

As described above, the light emitting device 25 of the present embodiment emits three types of light beams 33 having different modulation states according to the selective operation of the on-focus button 34, the left click button 35, and the right click button 36. can do. Furthermore, the light receiving device 23 of the present embodiment includes:
The modulation state of the spot light 28 of the light beam 33 applied to the screen 21 is determined, and a signal (right-click signal, left-click signal, double-click signal or on-focus signal) corresponding to each modulation state and the spot light 28 A coordinate position signal can be generated and output to the personal computer 24.

Therefore, according to the light emitting device 25 and the light receiving device 23 of the present embodiment, by using the personal computer 24, the projector 22 and the screen 21 together,
One moderator 2 without restricting the moderator 26's actions
6 points only on the screen 21 and the PC 2
4 can be given (on-focus, left-click, double-click, and right-click), and the special effect of eliminating the need for a dedicated operator of the personal computer 24 can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. As enumerated below, it is needless to say that various embodiments are included within the intended scope of the invention.

(2) Second Embodiment FIG. 7 is a view showing a second embodiment according to the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that a light receiving device 62 is mounted inside a projector 50. It is in the point which did. In the figure, a projector 50 arranges a first mirror 52, a second mirror 53, and a third mirror 54 on the optical axis of an optical lens 51 at an angle, respectively, and on the surface reflected optical axes of the mirrors 52, 53, 54, respectively. Liquid crystal display device (LCD: dedicated to red (R), green (G) and blue (B) image display
Liquid crystal displays 55, 56, 57 and high-luminance illumination light sources 58, 59, 60 are arranged, and reflected light from the screen 21 between the optical lens 51 and the first mirror 52. A fourth mirror 61 that reflects 28a (reflected light of the beam 33) is arranged, and a light receiving device 62 is arranged on the surface reflection optical axis of the fourth mirror 61, which is different from the known mirror. According to the projector 50 having such a configuration, since the optical lens 51 of the projector 50 can be used for the light receiving device 62, the unique effect that the optical lens of the light receiving device 62 (see the optical lens 42 in FIG. 5) can be eliminated. can get.

(3) Third Embodiment FIG. 8 is a view showing a third embodiment according to the present invention. Instead of the light receiving device 23 and the personal computer 24 of the first embodiment, an electronic still camera or an electronic This is an example in which an imaging device such as a movie camera (hereinafter referred to as “electronic still camera 69”) is used. The illustrated electronic still camera 69
The functions include an image generation system 70 for generating an image signal of a subject, a temporary storage system 71 for temporarily storing the image signal to facilitate reproduction processing and other processing, and a long-term storage of a captured image. A long-term preservation storage system 73, an image display system 7 for checking the composition at the time of shooting and displaying a reproduced image
5. A communication system 76 for outputting image signals stored in the temporary storage system 71 or the long-term storage system 73 to the outside or fetching the image signals from the outside. It can be divided into a compression / expansion processing system 72 for expanding the image signal read from the long-term storage storage system 73 and a control system 74 for controlling the entire operation of the electronic still camera 69.

The configuration will be described below for each system.
The image generation system 70 converts a subject image into an electric signal by an image sensor, generates and outputs an image signal of a predetermined cycle from the electric signal, and generates a color image signal in this example. It may be a monochrome image signal. The image generation system 70 includes an optical system 77 including a photographic lens and an aperture mechanism, and an image sensor (hereinafter referred to as CCD) 78 that converts light from a subject passing through the optical system 77 into an electric signal and outputs a frame image signal of a predetermined period. A driver 79 for driving the CCD 78, a timing generator 80 for generating various timing signals such as a signal for controlling an imaging time (electronic shutter time) of the CCD 78, and a frame image signal output from the CCD 78. It includes a sample-and-hold circuit 81 for removing noise, an analog-to-digital converter 82 for converting a frame image signal after noise removal into a digital signal, and further uses an output from the analog-to-digital converter 82 to output a luminance / color difference combined signal (hereinafter, referred to as a combined signal). To generate a color image signal. Including the color process circuit 83.

The temporary storage system 71 includes a rewritable storage medium (for example, DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory).
mory or SRAM: a semiconductor memory such as a Static Random Access Memory) having a predetermined storage capacity. The buffer memory 85 includes at least an image signal captured from the image generation system 70 or a long-term storage storage system. A buffer area having a sufficient size (storage capacity) for expanding the image signal captured from the memory 73 is provided.
This buffer area is large enough to temporarily store at least one still image, but is large enough to temporarily store a plurality of images constituting a moving image when a moving image can be shot or reproduced. have. The buffer area for the still image and the buffer area for the moving image may partially overlap or may be independent. Further, the buffer memory 85
Has a work area for image processing in addition to the buffer area described above, and this work area is used by the control system 74 when performing image processing described later.

The long-term storage storage system 73 is composed of a rewritable nonvolatile storage medium, for example, a flash memory 87. The flash memory 87 stores an image of a predetermined format compressed by the compression / decompression processing system 72. It has a capacity to store tens to hundreds of files (generally, compressed images in JPEG format for still images). In addition,
The flash memory 87 has a removable shape (for example,
Card type).

The image display system 75 reproduces and displays an image signal output from the image generation system 70 at a predetermined cycle (so-called through-image display) for confirming the composition, or outputs an image recorded in the flash memory 87 as it is. Alternatively, the digital video encoder 90 converts the size of a reproduced image to a display size for performing required processing and reproducing and displaying the image, and a color liquid crystal for displaying an output from the digital video encoder 90 on a screen. Display 91,
It includes a touch panel 92 for detecting touch coordinates on the display screen of the liquid crystal display 91, and a touch panel I / F (interface) 93 for converting an output signal of the touch panel 92 into a predetermined format and outputting the converted signal to the control system 74.

The communication system 76 includes a communication unit 94 for exchanging data with an external device (for example, see the projector 22 in FIG. 1) according to a predetermined protocol. The compression / expansion processing system 72 compresses the image signal stored in the buffer memory 85 in a predetermined format.
The compressed image file stored in the flash memory 87 is expanded in the same format. The control system 74 executes a predetermined control program to control the entire operation of the electronic still camera 69, and a required key operation signal in response to operation of various keys including a shutter key (not shown). Generated and the key operation signal is transmitted to the CPU 88.
And a key input unit 89 for outputting to the user.

An electronic still camera 69 having such a configuration
By operating a predetermined function key of the key input unit 89, the mode can be switched between the photographing mode and the reproduction mode. That is, in the photographing mode, the image signal from the image generation system 70 is stored in the temporary storage system 71, and is output to the liquid crystal display 91 of the image display system 75 and displayed through, while the shutter key of the key input unit 89 is pressed down. , The same image as the through image is captured and recorded in the flash memory 87 of the long-term storage system 73. In the reproduction mode, a desired image is read from the flash memory 87 of the long-term storage system 73 and displayed on the liquid crystal display 91 of the image display system 75.

In addition to these modes, the electronic still camera 69 of the present embodiment further has a special mode (hereinafter referred to as “projector combined mode” for convenience) executed when used together with the projector. In this mode, a desired image is read from the flash memory 87 of the long-term storage system 73, the image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 91 of the image display system 75, and (a) a predetermined control object ( (B) Output an image on which the control object is superimposed to the projector via the communication unit 94 of the communication system 76. (C) Shoot an image signal from the image generation system 70 and A specific operation of extracting a spot image from a signal, specifying the coordinate position of the spot image, determining the modulation state of the spot image, and generating various event signals is performed.

FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a display screen of the liquid crystal display 91 during execution of the projector combined mode. In this example, a reproduced image (an image of the person 91a in the figure) arbitrarily read from the flash memory 87 is shown. ) Has two command button objects (BA
The CK button 91b and the NEXT button 91c) are displayed in a superimposed manner. Note that a cursor 91d is displayed on the screen. For example, when the BACK button 91b is touched from above the touch panel 92, the cursor 91 moves to the touch position (above the BACK button 91b), and is displayed on the BACK button 91b. An associated predetermined processing program (in this case, a processing program for changing a reproduced image to an image in the old shooting order) is executed.

FIG. 9B is a display example of the screen 21 (see FIG. 1) during execution of the projector combined mode. This display image is the same image as the display screen of the liquid crystal display 91 during execution of the projector combined mode, and is output from the communication unit 94 of the electronic still camera 69 to the projector.
It is an image projected on the. Therefore, the video on the screen 21 includes a reproduced image similar to the above (person 2 in the figure).
1a), a cursor 21e and two command button objects for turning pages (BACK button 21c and NEXT button 91d) are included.

Now, on the screen 21 of FIG.
The light beam 33 from the aforementioned light emitting device 25 (see FIG. 2)
Is irradiated, a spot light 21 f is formed on the screen 21 by the light beam 33. As will be apparent from the following description, the spot light 21f
Is moved, the position of the cursor 21e also moves.
After moving the position of f above the BACK button 21c,
By depressing the left click button 35 of the light emitting device 25, the processing program associated with the BACK button 91b with only the light emitting device 25 without touching the electronic still camera 69 (in this case, the reproduced image is displayed in the old shooting order) (A processing program for changing the image into the image).

FIG. 10 shows a control system 7 of the electronic still camera 69.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a projector combination mode processing program executed in Step 4; When this program is started, first, in step S31, a CCD image is fetched from the image generation system 70 and stored in the temporary storage system 71.

Next, at step S32, the temporary storage system 7
It is determined whether or not the stored content (CCD image) of 1 includes an image region whose brightness has been increased.
It returns to step S31. Here, the image region of high brightness indicates a group of pixels having a bright brightness value exceeding a predetermined threshold value by the spot light 21f. Therefore, when the light source 25 irradiates the surface of the screen 21 with the beam light source 33,
Since the determination result of step S32 is “YES” based on the spot light 21f, the process proceeds to step S33, and it is determined whether or not the modulated spot light 21f. If the light beam 33 applied to the surface of the screen 21 is non-modulated light, the result of the determination in step S33 is "NO", and an on-focus event is generated in step S40.
S "and the process proceeds to step S34.

In step S34, it is determined whether or not the modulation state of the light beam 33 is the modulation A light. If the modulation light is the modulation A light, the process proceeds to step S36. Determine whether or not. Step S
In 36, it is determined whether or not a left click event has occurred before a predetermined time. If the determination result is "NO", a left click event is generated in step S38, but if the determination result is "YES". For example, a double click event is generated in step S39. If the decision result in the step S35 is "YES", a right-click event is generated in a step S37, and if the decision result in the step S35 is "NO", it does not correspond to any modulation state. Return to.

If a right click event, a left click event, a double click event or an on-focus event has occurred in step 37, step S38, step S39 or step S40, step S41 is executed.
After performing the required event processing at step S31, the process returns to step S31.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the event process (step S41 in FIG. 10). In this process, the event type is determined in step S51, and the on-focus process in step S52, the right click process in step S53, the left click process in step S54, and the double click process in step S55 are executed for each event type. FIG. 12 shows the on-focus processing (step S in FIG. 11).
It is a flowchart of 52). In this processing, in step S61, the center pixel coordinates or the center coordinates of the weight of the pixel value of the image region whose brightness has been increased are acquired, and the acquired coordinates are used as the coordinates of the cursor 91d in step S62. FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the right click process (step S53 in FIG. 11). In this process, an on-focus process (same process as in FIG. 12) is executed in step S71, and a control object (BACK button 91b or NEXT button 91b) is placed on the coordinates of the cursor 91d in step S72.
It is determined whether or not c) exists, and if so, the right click event process assigned to the control object is executed in step S73.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the left click process (step S54 in FIG. 11). In this process, an on-focus process (the same process as in FIG. 12) is executed in step S81, and a control object (BACK button 91b) is set on the coordinates of the cursor 91d in step S82.
And whether or not the NEXT button 91c) exists,
If there is, a left click event process assigned to the control object is executed in step S83. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the double-click process (step S55 in FIG. 11). In this process,
In step S91, an on-focus process (the same process as in FIG. 12) is executed, and in step S92, a control object (BACK button 91) is displayed on the coordinates of the cursor 91d.
b and the NEXT button 91c) are determined to be present, and if so, the double click event process assigned to the control object is executed in step S93.

The operation of the above projector combined mode processing program is summarized as follows. (A ') When the screen 21 is not irradiated with the light beam 33 Since the determination result in step S32 is "NO", step S31 is repeatedly executed. Steps S37 to S41 are not executed. Therefore, none of the right click event, the left click event, the double click event, and the on-focus event occur. (B ') When the screen 21 is irradiated with the unmodulated light beam 33 The determination result in the step S32 is "YES", and the step S3
Since the determination result of No. 3 is “NO”, steps S40 and S41 are executed. Therefore, the occurrence of the on-focus event and the processing of the event are performed. (C ′) When the screen 21 is irradiated with the modulated A light beam 33 The determination result in the step S32 is “YES”, and the step S3
3 is "YES" and the determination result in step S34 is "YES", so the determination in step S36 is performed. Then, it is further divided into two subcases according to the determination result. (C'-1) When the left click event has not occurred before the predetermined time In this case, since the determination result of step S36 is "NO", steps S38 and S41 are executed.
Therefore, the occurrence of a left click event and the processing of the event are performed. (C'-2) When the left click event has occurred before a predetermined time In this case, since the determination result of step S36 is "YES", steps S39 and S41 are executed. Therefore, the occurrence of the double-click event and the processing of the event are performed. Here, step S36
The "predetermined time" of the determination condition in is a value corresponding to a double click interval of a general pointing device. (D ') When the screen 21 is irradiated with the modulated B light beam 33 The determination result in the step S32 is "YES", and the step S3
Step S37 and Step S31 are executed because the determination result of Step 3 is "YES", the determination result of Step S34 is "NO", and the determination result of Step S35 is "YES". Therefore, the occurrence of a right-click event and the processing of the event are performed. (E ') When the screen 21 is irradiated with a beam 33 of unknown modulated light (modulated light other than the modulated A light or the modulated B light)

If the decision result in the step S32 is "YES",
If the decision result in the step S33 is "YES", a step S3
The determination result of Step 4 is “NO” and the determination result of Step S35 is “NO”, and Step S31 is repeatedly executed.
Steps S37 to S41 are not executed. Therefore, none of the right click event, the left click event, the double click event, and the on-focus event occur.

Although not shown, steps S37 to S37 are performed.
When a right-click event, a left-click event, a double-click event, or an on-focus event is generated in step S40, a center pixel coordinate or a weight center coordinate of a pixel value of the image region whose brightness is increased is also generated. ing.

As described above, the electronic still camera 69 of the present embodiment determines the modulation state of the spot light 21f of the beam 33 illuminated on the screen 21 and determines the event (right-click event, right click event, A left click event, a double click event, or an on-focus event) and a coordinate position signal of the spot light 21f can be generated and output to the personal computer 24.

Therefore, the electronic still camera 69 according to the present modification is provided with the light emitting device 25 and the projector 22 described above.
In addition, when used together with the screen 21, the operation of the moderator 26 is not restricted, and only one moderator 26 can point the screen 21 or various input instructions to the electronic still camera 69 (on-focus, left-click, double-click, etc.). Click and right-click), and the information processing device (in this example, the electronic still camera 6)
A special effect that the dedicated operator of 9) can be eliminated is obtained.

(4) Fourth Embodiment FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment according to the present invention.
This is an example in which the position of the spotlight 103 on the screen 100 is fixed, and the cursor position on the screen 100 and the input instruction to the personal computer 105 are performed only by the operation of one moderator 108. In the figure, a laser fixed to a tripod is provided near a projector 101 (in the figure, on a top panel of the projector 102) which captures an output image from a personal computer 105 via a cable 104 and projects the image on a screen 100. A pointer 102 is placed, and a spot light 103 having a fixed position is formed on the screen 100 by the beam emitted from the laser pointer 102. Although the position of the spot light 103 is shown in the upper right corner of the screen 100 in the drawing, this is a convenient example. Any fixed position on the screen 100 is acceptable. Here, “fixed” means a position that does not move during the presentation.

In the figure, the moderator 108 has the light receiving device 10
9, the light receiving device 109 has the following function: (A) an image including a spot light 103 on the screen 100 is captured, and an image area (in which the luminance is increased from the image signal) A function to extract the image area irradiated with the spotlight 103; (B) a function to specify the coordinate position of the image area; and (C) various click signals (left click signal, double click signal, right click signal) (D) a function of transmitting coordinate position information of the image area and various click signals via a wireless communication medium (for example, radio waves) 110.

The personal computer 105 includes an input device such as a mouse 106 and a keyboard, and also includes a receiving unit 107 that can receive the wire communication medium 110, and determines the position of a cursor based on coordinate position information from the light receiving device 109. The on-focus function to be changed and the light receiving device 109
Has a function of generating various events (left click event, double click event, right click event) in response to a left click signal, a double click signal, or a right click signal.

Here, among the above functions of the light receiving device 109, (A) “an image including an image area whose brightness is increased by the spot light on the screen is taken, and the brightness is increased from the image signal. Function to extract image area "
(B) The “function of specifying the coordinate position of the image region with high brightness” also includes the electronic still camera 69 of the third embodiment. Instead of the electronic still camera 69
Can be used. However, the aforementioned electronic still camera 69
Are the other functions of the light receiving device 109 of the present embodiment, that is, (C) “the function of selectively generating various click signals (left click signal, double click signal, right click signal)” and (D) “ Function for transmitting the coordinate position information of the image area with high brightness and various click signals via a wire communication medium ", the function cannot be used as it is, and these functions (C) and (D) are added. Of course you have to do it.

When an image of the screen 100 is photographed by the illustrated light receiving device 109 (or the electronic still camera 69 of the third embodiment to which the functions (C) and (D) are added), the photographed image 111 is shown in FIG. Is shown as In this figure, an image region 111 a with high brightness is located at the upper right corner of the image 111, and this position corresponds to the position of the spot light 103 on the screen 100 (upper right corner). Now, consider the case where the light receiving device 109 is shaken (panned) by a distance X in the right direction, for example.
The position of the image area 111a of the image 111 moves the same distance (-X) in the opposite direction. Alternatively, for example, when the light receiving device 109 is shaken (panned) by a distance -Y in the upward direction, the position of the image area 111a of the image 111 moves the same distance (Y) in the opposite direction. Therefore, the light receiving device 109
And the moving direction of the image area 111a of the image 111 are opposite, the position coordinates of the image area 111a cannot be directly used as the cursor position and position coordinates. By doing so, the pan direction of the light receiving device 109,
The cursor moving direction on the screen 100 is reversed,
This is because an intuitive cursor operation cannot be performed.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a mapping in which the pixel positions of the image captured by the light receiving device 109 are interchanged is created.
The inconvenience (intuitive cursor operation cannot be performed) is solved by treating the coordinates of the image area 111a on the mapping as cursor coordinates.

FIG. 18 shows a photographed image 112 of the light receiving device 109.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a pixel arrangement of a map 113 and a mapping 113 thereof. Although a simple 6 × 6 pixel structure is shown for convenience of illustration,
Of course, it is needless to say that it is actually composed of a larger number of pixels. In the figure, each square is a pixel,
The numbers in the cells are pixel numbers assigned for convenience. The captured image 112 of the light receiving device 109 is arranged in the order of pixel 0, pixel 1,..., Pixel 34, and pixel 35 from the upper left corner to the lower right corner, but the mapping 113 of the captured image 112 is from the upper left corner to the lower right corner. , The pixels 35, 34,..., Pixel 1, and pixel 0 are arranged in reverse order. The same pixel information is set to the pixels of the same number of the photographed image 112 and the mapping 113, so that the photographed image 11
Assuming that the content of No. 2 is as shown in FIG. 17 (an image region with high brightness is located at the upper right corner of the image), the captured image 11
The content of the mapping 113 corresponding to No. 2 is as shown in FIG. 19, and the position of the image region 113a with the high brightness is changed to the lower left corner. Now, for example, when the light receiving device 109 is swung (panned) by a distance X in the right direction, the position of the image area 113a of the mapping 113 moves by the same distance (X) in the same direction. Or, the light receiving device 109 is, for example,
Considering the case where the image area 113a is shaken (panned) by the distance -Y in the upward direction, the position of the image area 113a of the mapping 113 moves by the same distance (-Y) in the same direction. Therefore, there is no inconvenience when the photographed image 111 is used as it is, that is, the pan direction of the light receiving device 109 and the cursor moving direction on the screen 100 are not reversed, and an intuitive cursor operation is performed. be able to.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an image conversion process according to the present embodiment. An output image 116 from the personal computer 105 includes a cursor 116a, and the image 116 is projected on the screen 100 by a projector (not shown). A cursor 114 is displayed on the screen 100, and the display position of the cursor 114 is the spot light 1
03 coincides with the irradiation position. The captured image 111 of the light receiving device 109 includes an image region 111a having a high brightness,
The mapping 113 also includes the image region 113a whose brightness has been increased. The positional relationship between the two image regions 111a and 113a is, for example, as shown in the pixel arrangement diagram of FIG.
Of the mapping 113 is the lower left corner.
Therefore, the position coordinates of the image region 115a with high brightness given to the personal computer 105 are at the lower left corner similarly to the position coordinates of the mapping 113, and are returned to the original coordinate position (upper right corner) inside the personal computer 105 and the coordinates of the cursor 116a are set. By setting the position, a coordinate position that matches the irradiation position of the spot light 103 can be set, and the above-described inconvenience (intuitive cursor operation cannot be performed) can be solved.

[0069]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by operating an arbitrary button of the light emitting device, a light beam is emitted in a modulated state corresponding to the button. Then, the reflected light of the beam light is received by the light receiving device, and a signal corresponding to the modulation state of the beam light is generated in the light receiving device. Therefore, since the button operation and the signal have a one-to-one relationship, by using this signal instead of, for example, a pointing device signal of the personal computer, the personal computer can be remotely controlled using the light emitting device. As a result, it is possible to provide a coordinate input system in which one person can perform both the operation of the personal computer and the like and the presentation operation (pointing operation on the screen by the beam beam) without restricting the operation. According to the second aspect of the present invention, various OS-level events can be generated in response to an arbitrary button operation of the light emitting device. According to the invention described in claim 3,
The use of an electronic still camera or an electronic movie camera can be expanded. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the direction in which the light receiving device is moved can be made to coincide with the direction in which the pointed position on the screen is moved by the light beam.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a display system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a light emitting device 25.

FIG. 3 is an internal configuration diagram of the light emitting device 25.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a correspondence between a button operation of the light emitting device 25 and a modulation state of the light beam 33.

FIG. 5 is an internal configuration diagram of the light receiving device 23.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a light receiving control processing program executed by a control unit 46.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a third embodiment according to the present invention.

9 is a diagram illustrating a display screen of the liquid crystal display 91 during execution of the projector combined mode and a diagram illustrating a display example of the screen 21 during execution of the projector combined mode.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a projector combined mode processing program executed by the control system 74 of the electronic still camera 69.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an event process (step S41 in FIG. 10).

FIG. 12 shows an on-focus process (step S5 in FIG. 11);
It is a flowchart of 2).

FIG. 13 is a right-click process (step S53 in FIG. 11).
It is a flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a left-click process (step S54 in FIG. 11).
It is a flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 15 shows a double-click process (step S5 in FIG. 11).
It is a flowchart of 5).

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment according to the present invention.

17 is a diagram showing a captured image 111 of the light receiving device 109. FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a pixel arrangement of a captured image 112 of the light receiving device 109 and a mapping 113 thereof.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a mapping 113;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an image conversion process according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of a conventional display system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 23 light receiving device 25 light emitting device 29 reflected light 33 beam light 34 on-focus button (button) 35 left click button (button) 36 right click button (button) 40 signal selection unit (change unit) 46 control unit (identification unit, generation unit) ) 69 Electronic Still Camera 113 Mapping

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A light emitting device that emits a light beam and a light receiving device that receives reflected light of the light beam, the light emitting device includes: a plurality of buttons; and a modulation of the light beam corresponding to each button operation. Changing means for changing a state, wherein the light receiving device comprises: specifying means for specifying coordinates of a reflection point of the reflected light; and generating means for generating a signal according to a modulation state of the light beam. And a coordinate input system. 2. A light-emitting device that emits a light beam and a light-receiving device that receives reflected light of the light beam, wherein the light-emitting device has a plurality of buttons, and modulates the light beam in response to each button operation. Changing means for changing a state, wherein the light receiving device includes: specifying means for specifying coordinates of a reflection point of the reflected light; and generating means for generating an event according to a modulation state of the light beam. And a coordinate input system. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving device is an electronic still camera or an electronic movie camera.
Alternatively, the coordinate input system according to claim 2. 4. The light receiving device generates a two-dimensional image including the image of the reflected light, generates a mapping in which pixel positions of the two-dimensional image are interchanged, and generates an image of the reflected light included in the mapping. 3. The coordinate input system according to claim 1, wherein the coordinates of the reflection point are specified from the following.