Projector and control method therefor to suppress flickering

• US 8,534,847 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2008
• Issued: 09/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shirasu, Toshiyuki, Oka, Daizo, Morikawa, Hiroyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Sohn, Seung C
• Application Number:
  US12/029,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20080218703A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,045 Days
• Field of Search: 353/87, 353/85, 250/205
• US Class Current: 353/87
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/003 Cine-projectors
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/2046 Positional adjustment of light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/206 Control of light source other than position or intensity
• 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

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a projector for projecting an image to a screen, including: a lamp configured to emit light; an elliptic reflecting mirror configured to reflect and condense the light from the lamp; a sensor configured to detect the amount of the light reflected and condensed by the elliptic reflecting mirror; a lamp power supply configured to supply power to the lamp to drive the lamp; and a control circuit configured to successively increase the power to be supplied from the lamp power supply to the lamp until after a variation value of the amount of the reflected light detected by the sensor becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value.

Claims

1. A projector for projecting an image to a screen, comprising:

a lamp configured to emit light;

an elliptic reflecting mirror configured to reflect and condense the light from said lamp to optoelectronics to project said image to said screen;

a sensor configured to detect an amount of the light reflected and condensed by said elliptic reflecting mirror to said optoelectronics;

a lamp power supply configured to supply power to said lamp to drive said lamp; and

a control circuit configured to successively increase the power supplied from said lamp power supply to said lamp until after a variation value of the amount of the reflected light detected by said sensor becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value.

2. The projector according to claim 1, further comprising a position adjustment mechanism configured to adjust the position of said lamp so that the bright point of said lamp is displaced from a first focus of said elliptic reflecting mirror.

3. The projector according to claim 2, wherein said position adjustment mechanism adjusts the position of said lamp when the aspect ratio of the image displayed on said screen changes.

4. The projector according to claim 2, wherein said position adjustment mechanism moves the bright point of said lamp along an optical axis of said elliptic reflecting mirror or along a direction different from the optical axis.

5. The projector according to claim 2, wherein the position adjustment mechanism adjusts the position of said lamp relative to a fixed position of said elliptic reflecting mirror.

6. The projector according to claim 5, wherein the position adjustment mechanism adjusts the position of said lamp in a direction to displace a condensing point of light reflected from said elliptic reflecting mirror.

7. The projector according to claim 6, wherein the position adjustment mechanism adjusts the position of said lamp in a three-dimensional coordinate space.

8. The projector according to claim 1, further comprising a display section configured to display an alarm for urging for exchange of said lamp when the variation value exceeds the predetermined value while the power supplied from said lamp power supply to said lamp has a maximum value.

9. The projector according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is a specified value determined in advance.

10. A control method for a projector for projecting an image to a screen, the method comprising:

emitting light from a lamp, said lamp connected to a lamp power supply configured to supply power to said lamp to drive said lamp;

reflecting and condensing the emitted light from the lamp, by an elliptic reflecting mirror, to optoelectronics to project said image to said screen;

sensing an amount of the light reflected and condensed, by said elliptic reflecting mirror, to said optoelectronics;

controlling, by a control circuit, said lamp power supply, including successively increasing the power to be supplied from said lamp power supply to said lamp until after a variation value of the amount of the reflected light detected by said sensor becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value.