Image display apparatus and image display method

• US 8,994,764 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2011
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Ryoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Liao, Lun-Yi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Saiful A
• Application Number:
  US13/052,564
• Publication Number:
  US 20110234650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,471 Days
• Field of Search: 345/690, 345/698, 345/56, 345/696, 353/30, 348/751, 348/E09.025, 348/E9.025, 348/E9.027, 352/41, 352/104, 352/109, 352/138, 352/166, 352/203, 349/5
• US Class Current: 345/698
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/005 forming an image using a quickly moving array of imaging elements, causing the human eye to perceive an image which has a larger resolution than the array, e.g. an image on a cylinder formed by a rotating line of LEDs parallel to the axis of rotation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/399 using two or more bit-mapped memories, the operations of which are switched in time, e.g. ping-pong buffers

Abstract

An image display apparatus includes: a light source that outputs light; a light modulation device that has plural pixels arranged in a matrix and modulates the light from the light source; a projection system that projects the light modulated by the light modulation device onto a projection surface; a pixel image shift unit that can shift positions of images of the pixels of the light modulation device projected on the projection surface; and a control unit that controls the light modulation device and the pixel image shift unit, wherein the control unit can switch whether the pixel image shift unit temporally shifts the positions of the images of the pixels or not.

Claims

1. An image display apparatus comprising:

a light source that outputs light;

a light modulation device that has plural pixels arranged in a matrix and modulates the light from the light source;

a projection system that projects the light modulated by the light modulation device onto a projection surface;

a pixel image shift unit that can shift positions of images of the pixels of the light modulation device projected on the projection surface, and

a control unit that controls the light modulation device and the pixel image shift unit,

wherein the control unit can switch whether the pixel image shift unit temporally shifts the positions of the images of the pixels or not,

wherein the control unit controls the pixel image shift unit to not temporally shift the positions of the images of the pixels on the projection surface if the resolution of the images to be displayed is equal to or lower than the resolution of the light modulation device and the control unit determines whether the images to be displayed are still images or moving images if resolution of images to be displayed is higher than resolution of the light modulation device,

wherein, following determining whether the images to be displayed are still images or moving images based upon the resolution of the images, the control unit controls the pixel image shift unit to temporally shift the positions of the images of the pixels on the projection surface if the images are determined to be still images and not to temporally shift the positions of the images of the pixels on the projection surface if the images to be displayed are determined to be moving images.

2. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the pixel image shift unit to temporally shift the positions of the images of the pixels on the projection surface constantly unless images to be displayed are determined to be moving images.

3. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes an image determination part that compares respective image data input in plural frames and determines whether images to be displayed are still images or moving images, and

the image determination part outputs a control signal to the pixel image shift unit based on a determination result of itself.

4. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes an image determination part that acquires still image/moving image information previously contained in input image data, and determines whether images to be displayed are still images or moving images from the still image/moving image information, and

the image determination part outputs a control signal to the pixel image shift unit based on a determination result of itself.

5. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmissive plate is configured to be tilted from a first position to a second position, wherein a light incident surface of the transmissive plate is perpendicular to the optical axis of the modulated light in the first position and wherein the light incident surface of the transmissive plate is changed to an angle other than perpendicular at the second position.

6. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pixel image shift unit is disposed between the light combining system and the projection system.

7. The image display apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the light source is separated into components.

8. The image display apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a light modulation device for each of the components, wherein each light modulation device has plural pixels arranged in a matrix and modulates one of the components of the light from the single light source.

9. The image display apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a light combining system that combines the modulated light components.

10. An image display method using an image display apparatus including a single light source that outputs light, a light modulation device that has plural pixels arranged in a matrix and modulates the light from the light source, a projection system that projects the light modulated by the light modulation device onto a projection surface, and a pixel image shift unit that shifts positions of images of the pixels of the light modulation device projected on the projection surface, the method comprising:

controlling the light modulation device and the pixel image shift unit to switch whether the pixel image shift unit temporally shifts the positions of the images of the pixels or not, further comprising;

controlling the pixel image shift unit not to temporally shift the positions of the images of the pixels on the projection surface if the resolution of the images to be displayed is equal to or lower than the resolution of the light modulation device and the control unit determines whether the images to be displayed are still images or moving images if resolution of images to be displayed is higher than resolution of the light modulation device, and

following determining whether the images to be displayed are still images or moving based upon the resolution of the images, controlling the pixel image shift unit to temporally shift the positions of the images of the pixels on the projection surface if the images are determined to be still images and not to temporally shift the positions of the images of the pixels on the projection surface if the images to be displayed are determined to be moving images.