PROJECTOR

• US 20130286052A1
• Filed: 11/27/2012
• Published: 10/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Katsumi Asakawa
• Inventors: ASAKAWA, Katsumi
• Granted Patent: US 9,039,199 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/690
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/2053 Intensity control of illuminating light controlled by video signal processing H04N5/74 or H04N9/31
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/2086 Security or safety means in lamp houses
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3413 Details of control of colour illumination sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3155 for controlling the light source light source control per se H05B35/00 – H05B47/00; control of an illumination source for displays in general G09G3/3406
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3158 for controlling the spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3182 Colour adjustment, e.g. white balance, shading or gamut white balance per se H04N9/73; control of amplitude of colour signals H04N9/68; colour control circuits for displays in general G09G5/02, G09G3/2003, G09G3/3607
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3194 including sensor feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/643 Hue control means, e.g. flesh tone control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/68 for controlling the amplitude of colour signals, e.g. automatic chroma control circuits H04N9/71, H04N9/73 take precedence; camera processing pipelines for controlling the colour saturation of colour signals H04N23/86
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7933 the level control being frequency-dependent

Abstract

A projector includes a light modulation part modulating light generated by a light source part, a video signal processing part processing a video signal to be input, and a projection optical system projecting the light modulated by the light modulation part onto an external projection target to obtain a projected video image. The video signal processing part includes a blue light effect alleviating part alleviating effects of blue light on retinas. In a case where among a red signal, a green signal, and a blue signal included in a video signal, only a ratio of the blue signal is high, the blue light effect alleviating part generates a blue light effect alleviating signal for controlling the light source part to reduce the brightness of the projected video image as a whole.

Claims

1. A projector, comprising:

a light modulation part modulating light generated by a light source part;

a video signal processing part processing a video signal to be input; and

a projection optical system projecting the light modulated by said light modulation part onto an external projection target to obtain a projected video image, wherein

said video signal processing part includes a blue light effect alleviating part alleviating effects of blue light on retinas, and

in a case where among a red signal, a green signal, and a blue signal included in the video signal, only a ratio of said blue signal is high, said blue light effect alleviating part generates a blue light effect alleviating signal for controlling said light source part to reduce the brightness of said projected video image as a whole.

2. The projector according to claim 1, wherein

said blue light effect alleviating part includes:

first, second, and third sum calculators calculating a sum of said red signals, a sum of said green signals, and a sum of said blue signals in individual pixels of video signals for one frame, respectively;

a first adder adding output values of said first sum calculator and said second sum calculator;

a second adder adding an output value of said first adder and an output value of said third sum calculator;

a divider dividing the output value of said first adder by an output value of said second adder; and

a coefficient calculator outputting a first coefficient in a case where an output value of said divider is smaller than a specified value and outputting a second coefficient larger than said first coefficient in a case where the output value of said divider is equal to or larger than said specified value, as a blue light effect alleviating signal,

said light source part includes;

a red light source, a green light source, and a blue light source; and

a first light source control driver outputting a first drive current for driving said red light source, a second light source control driver outputting a second drive current for driving said green light source, and a third light source control driver outputting a third drive current for driving said blue light source,

said blue light effect alleviating signal is provided to said first to third light source control drivers, and

said first to third light source control drivers output said first to third drive currents, respectively, at a duty ratio corresponding to said first or second coefficient based on said blue light effect alleviating signal.

3. The projector according to claim 1, wherein

said blue light effect alleviating part includes:

first, second, and third sum calculators calculating a sum of said red signals, a sum of said green signals, and a sum of said blue signals in individual pixels of video signals for one frame, respectively;

first, second, and third multipliers multiplying output values of said first, second, and third sum calculators by values obtained by subtracting, as coefficients, a relative luminous efficiency at a wavelength of red light, a relative luminous efficiency at a wavelength of green light, and a relative luminous efficiency at a wavelength of blue light corresponding to three primary colors of light from one, respectively;

a first adder adding output values of said first multiplier and said second multiplier;

a second adder adding an output value of said first adder and an output value of said third multiplier;

a divider dividing the output value of said first adder by an output value of said second adder; and

a coefficient calculator outputting a first coefficient in a case where an output value of said divider is smaller than a specified value and outputting a second coefficient larger than said first coefficient in a case where the output value of said divider is equal to or larger than said specified value,

said light source part includes;

a red light source, a green light source, and a blue light source; and

a first light source control driver outputting a first drive current for driving said red light source, a second light source control driver outputting a second drive current for driving said green light source, and a third light source control driver outputting a third drive current for driving said blue light source,

said blue light effect alleviating signal is provided to said first to third light source control drivers, and

said first to third light source control drivers output said first to third drive currents, respectively, at a duty ratio corresponding to said first or second coefficient based on said blue light effect alleviating signal.

4. The projector according to claim 1,

wherein said blue light effect alleviating part includes:

first, second, and third sum calculators calculating a sum of said red signals, a sum of said green signals, and a sum of said blue signals in individual pixels of video signals for one frame, respectively;

first, second, and third multipliers multiplying output values of said first, second, and third sum calculators by, as coefficients, a reciprocal of a relative luminous efficiency at a wavelength of red light, a reciprocal of a relative luminous efficiency at a wavelength of green light, and a reciprocal of a relative luminous efficiency at a wavelength of blue light corresponding to three primary colors of light, respectively;

a first adder adding output values of said first multiplier and said second multiplier;

a second adder adding an output value of said first adder and an output value of said third multiplier;

a divider dividing the output value of said first adder by an output value of said second adder; and

a coefficient calculator outputting a first coefficient in a case where an output value of said divider is smaller than a specified value and outputting a second coefficient larger than said first coefficient in a case where the output value of said divider is equal to or larger than said specified value,

said light source part includes;

a red light source, a green light source, and a blue light source; and

a first light source control driver outputting a first drive current for driving said red light source, a second light source control driver outputting a second drive current for driving said green light source, and a third light source control driver outputting a third drive current for driving said blue light source,

said blue light effect alleviating signal is provided to said first to third light source control drivers, and

said first to third light source control drivers output said first to third drive currents, respectively, at a duty ratio corresponding to said first or second coefficient based on said blue light effect alleviating signal.

5. The projector according to claim 3, wherein

said light source part generates light having a constant wavelength range, and

said video signal processing part multiplies relative energy at each wavelength within a wavelength range having a spectral distribution of light of each color by the relative luminous efficiency at each wavelength, and determines the relative luminous efficiency at the wavelength of said red light, the relative luminous efficiency at the wavelength of said green light, and the relative luminous efficiency at the wavelength of said blue light, with a wavelength having the largest multiplication value as a representative wavelength.

6. The projector according to claim 4, wherein

said light source part generates light having a constant wavelength range, and

said video signal processing part multiplies relative energy at each wavelength within a wavelength range having a spectral distribution of light of each color by the relative luminous efficiency at each wavelength, and determines the relative luminous efficiency at the wavelength of said red light, the relative luminous efficiency at the wavelength of said green light, and the relative luminous efficiency at the wavelength of said blue light, with a wavelength having the largest multiplication value as a representative wavelength.

7. The projector according to claim 2, wherein

said first, second, and third sum calculators calculate a sum of said red signals, a sum of said green signals, and a sum of said blue signals in individual pixels forming each region obtained in a case where said projected video images for one frame are divided into a plurality of regions, for each of the regions,

said coefficient calculator outputs said first coefficient in a case where the output value of said divider in any of the regions is smaller than said specified value and outputs said second coefficient in a case where the output value of said divider is equal to or larger than said specified value, and

in a case where said first coefficient is output in any one of said plurality of regions, said coefficient calculator outputs said first coefficient as said blue light effect alleviating signal.

8. The projector according to claim 3, wherein

said first, second, and third sum calculators calculate a sum of said red signals, a sum of said green signals, and a sum of said blue signals in individual pixels forming each region obtained in a case where said projected video images for one frame are divided into a plurality of regions, for each of the regions,

said coefficient calculator outputs said first coefficient in a case where the output value of said divider in any of the regions is smaller than said specified value and outputs said second coefficient in a case where the output value of said divider is equal to or larger than said specified value, and

in a case where said first coefficient is output in any one of said plurality of regions, said coefficient calculator outputs said first coefficient as said blue light effect alleviating signal.

9. The projector according to claim 4, wherein

said first, second, and third sum calculators calculate a sum of said red signals, a sum of said green signals, and a sum of said blue signals in individual pixels forming each region obtained in a case where said projected video images for one frame are divided into a plurality of regions, for each of the regions,

said coefficient calculator outputs said first coefficient in a case where the output value of said divider in any of the regions is smaller than said specified value and outputs said second coefficient in a case where the output value of said divider is equal to or larger than said specified value, and

in a case where said first coefficient is output in any one of said plurality of regions, said coefficient calculator outputs said first coefficient as said blue light effect alleviating signal.

10. The projector according to claim 2, wherein said first, second, and third sum calculators each calculate a sum for pixels thinned out at predetermined pixel intervals from said individual pixels of said video signals for one frame.

11. The projector according to claim 10, wherein said first, second, and third sum calculators change, for each frame, pixels for which sums are calculated by changing, for each frame, a position of a pixel in which signals are captured first among said individual pixels of said video signals for one frame.

12. The projector according to claim 3, wherein said first, second, and third sum calculators each calculate a sum for pixels thinned out at predetermined pixel intervals from said individual pixels of said video signals for one frame.

13. The projector according to claim 12, wherein said first, second, and third sum calculators change, for each frame, pixels for which sums are calculated by changing, for each frame, a position of a pixel in which signals are captured first among said individual pixels of said video signals for one frame.

14. The projector according to claim 4, wherein said first, second, and third sum calculators each calculate a sum for pixels thinned out at predetermined pixel intervals from said individual pixels of said video signals for one frame.

15. The projector according to claim 14, wherein said first, second, and third sum calculators change, for each frame, pixels for which sums are calculated by changing, for each frame, a position of a pixel in which signals are captured first among said individual pixels of said video signals for one frame.

16. The projector according to claim 2, further comprising:

a fourth sum calculator provided between said divider and said coefficient calculator and calculating a sum of output values of said divider for a predetermined number of frames; and

a coefficient storage unit storing coefficients that gradually increase from a specific value exceeding zero and smaller than one to one, wherein

said coefficient calculator reads a coefficient smaller than a current value by one notch from said coefficient storage unit and takes the read value as said first coefficient in a case where an output value of said fourth sum calculator is smaller than said specified value; and

said coefficient calculator reads a coefficient larger than the current value by one notch from said coefficient storage unit and takes the read value as said second coefficient in a case where the output value of said fourth sum calculator is equal to or larger than said specified value.

17. The projector according to claim 16, wherein said fourth sum calculator sets said predetermined number of frames based on whether said video signal is a video signal from a personal computer or a video signal from video equipment.

18. The projector according to claim 3, further comprising:

a fourth sum calculator provided between said divider and said coefficient calculator and calculating a sum of output values of said divider for a predetermined number of frames; and

a coefficient storage unit storing coefficients that gradually increase from a specific value exceeding zero and smaller than one to one, wherein

said coefficient calculator reads a coefficient smaller than a current value by one notch from said coefficient storage unit and takes the read value as said first coefficient in a case where an output value of said fourth sum calculator is smaller than said specified value; and

said coefficient calculator reads a coefficient larger than the current value by one notch from said coefficient storage unit and takes the read value as said second coefficient in a case where the output value of said fourth sum calculator is equal to or larger than said specified value.

19. The projector according to claim 18, wherein said fourth sum calculator sets said predetermined number of frames based on whether said video signal is a video signal from a personal computer or a video signal from video equipment.

20. The projector according to claim 4, further comprising:

a fourth sum calculator provided between said divider and said coefficient calculator and calculating a sum of output values of said divider for a predetermined number of frames; and

a coefficient storage unit storing coefficients that gradually increase from a specific value exceeding zero and smaller than one to one, wherein

said coefficient calculator reads a coefficient smaller than a current value by one notch from said coefficient storage unit and takes the read value as said first coefficient in a case where an output value of said fourth sum calculator is smaller than said specified value; and

said coefficient calculator reads a coefficient larger than the current value by one notch from said coefficient storage unit and takes the read value as said second coefficient in a case where the output value of said fourth sum calculator is equal to or larger than said specified value.

21. The projector according to claim 20, wherein said fourth sum calculator sets said predetermined number of frames based on whether said video signal is a video signal from a personal computer or a video signal from video equipment.

22. The projector according to claim 2, further comprising:

a range finder measuring a distance to said projection target;

a rotational position detector detecting a rotational position of a zoom lens included in said projection optical system; and

a projected video image area estimator receiving said distance and said rotational position of said zoom lens, and calculating and outputting an estimated area of said projected video image,

wherein said coefficient calculator varies said first coefficient and said second coefficient based on said estimated area and outputs said varied first and second coefficients.

23. The projector according to claim 3, further comprising:

a range finder measuring a distance to said projection target;

a rotational position detector detecting a rotational position of a zoom lens included in said projection optical system; and

a projected video image area estimator receiving said distance and said rotational position of said zoom lens, and calculating and outputting an estimated area of said projected video image,

wherein said coefficient calculator varies said first coefficient and said second coefficient based on said estimated area and outputs said varied first and second coefficients.

24. The projector according to claim 4, further comprising:

a range finder measuring a distance to said projection target;

a rotational position detector detecting a rotational position of a zoom lens included in said projection optical system; and

a projected video image area estimator receiving said distance and said rotational position of said zoom lens, and calculating and outputting an estimated area of said projected video image,

wherein said coefficient calculator varies said first coefficient and said second coefficient based on said estimated area and outputs said varied first and second coefficients.

25. The projector according to claim 2, further comprising a photometer measuring the ambient brightness and outputting the illuminance thereof,

wherein said coefficient calculator varies said first coefficient and said second coefficient based on said illuminance and outputs the varied first and second coefficients.

26. The projector according to claim 3, further comprising a photometer measuring the ambient brightness and outputting the illuminance thereof,

wherein said coefficient calculator varies said first coefficient and said second coefficient based on said illuminance and outputs the varied first and second coefficients.

27. The projector according to claim 4, further comprising a photometer measuring the ambient brightness and outputting the illuminance thereof,

wherein said coefficient calculator varies said first coefficient and said second coefficient based on said illuminance and outputs the varied first and second coefficients.