IMAGE PROJECTION SYSTEM AND IMAGE PROJECTION APPARATUS

• US 20150244998A1
• Filed: 01/29/2015
• Published: 08/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Yanazume, Shinsuke, Baba, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,774,835 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/04 with cameras or projectors providing touching or overlapping fields of view
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3147 Multi-projection systems displays in general H04N9/12; video walls G06F3/1446, G09G2300/026
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3185 Geometric adjustment, e.g. keystone or convergence optical or mechanical adjustment of convergence H04N9/317; using scanning means H04N3/22; optical or mechanical adjustments of projectors not peculiar to the presence of an electronic spatial light modulator G03B21/14

Abstract

An image projection system includes a first image projection apparatus and a second image projection apparatus; each of detecting units that is arranged on the first image projection apparatus and detects whether the second image projection apparatus is in contact with or adjacent to the first image projection apparatus; a specifying unit that specifies a positional relationship between the first image projection apparatus and the second image projection apparatus based on detection results; a dividing unit that divides content data into pieces of divided content data corresponding to the respective image projection apparatuses on the basis of the positional relationship; and a projecting unit that projects a first projection image based on a piece of the divided content data corresponding to the first image projection apparatus on a projected object, and interconnects the first projection image to a second projection image projected by the second image projection apparatus.

Claims

1. An image projection system comprising:

a plurality of image projection apparatuses including a first image projection apparatus and a second image projection apparatus;

a plurality of detecting units, each of which is arranged on one of at least some of outer surfaces of a housing of the first image projection apparatus and detects whether the second image projection apparatus is in contact with or adjacent to the one of the outer surfaces of the first image projection apparatus;

a specifying unit that specifies a positional relationship between the first image projection apparatus and the second image projection apparatus in accordance with which one of the outer surfaces of the first image projection apparatus the detecting unit, which has detected contact or adjacency with the second image projection apparatus, is provided on;

a dividing unit that divides content data into pieces of divided content data corresponding to the respective image projection apparatuses on the basis of the positional relationship; and

a projecting unit that projects a first projection image based on a piece of the divided content data corresponding to the first image projection apparatus on a projected object, and interconnects the first projection image to a second projection image projected by the second image projection apparatus.

2. The image projection system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of the second image projection apparatuses, wherein

each of the detecting units, when detecting that any one of the second image projection apparatuses is in contact with or adjacent to the outer surface on which the detecting unit is provided, generates direction information indicating a position of the first image projection apparatus relative to the one of the second image projection apparatuses, and receives information indicating the positional relationship from the second image projection apparatus that is in contact with or adjacent to a predetermined outer surface of the first image projection apparatus,

the specifying unit specifies the positional relationship of the first image projection apparatus based on the direction information generated by each of the detecting units and based on the information indicating the positional relationship received by each of the detecting units, and

each of the detecting units transmits information indicating the positional relationship specified by the specifying unit to the second image projection apparatus in contact with or adjacent to the outer surface other than the predetermined outer surface.

3. The image projection system according to claim 1, wherein

the specifying unit determines whether each of the image projection apparatuses serves as a host or a client based on the positional relationship,

the image projection apparatus serving as the host includes the dividing unit, and

the image projection system further comprises:

a communication unit that transmits a piece of the divided content data divided by the dividing unit to the image projection apparatus serving as the client.

4. The image projection system according to claim 1, wherein

the specifying unit determines whether each of the image projection apparatuses serves as a host or a client based on the positional relationship,

each of the image projection apparatus serving as the host and the image projection apparatus serving as the client includes the dividing unit, and

the image projection system further comprises:

a communication unit that transmits the content data from the image projection apparatus serving as the host to the image projection apparatus serving as the client.

5. The image projection system according to claim 3, wherein

the communication unit causes the image projection apparatus serving as the host to acquire setting information for determining an attribute of an image from outside, and causes the image projection apparatus serving as the host to transmit the setting information to the image projection apparatus serving as the client, and

the projecting unit changes an attribute of an image to be projected, on the basis of the setting information.

6. The image projection system according to claim 3, wherein

the communication unit causes the image projection apparatus serving as the host to acquire time information from outside, and transmits the time information from the image projection apparatus serving as the host to the image projection apparatus serving as the client, and

the projecting unit adjusts a timing to project the first projection image, on the basis of the time information.

7. The image projection system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a distance detecting unit that detects an inter-device distance, which is a distance between the image projection apparatuses that each of the detecting units has detected as being in contact with or adjacent to each other, wherein

the dividing unit divides the content data based on the inter-device distance and the positional relationship.

8. The image projection system according to claim 7, wherein the projecting unit projects an image for displaying a warning when the inter-device distance detected by the distance detecting unit is a distance in which the first projection image is not interconnectable to the second projection image.

9. The image projection system according to claim 4, further comprising:

a distance detecting unit that detects an inter-device distance, which is a distance between the image projection apparatuses that each of the detecting units has detected as being in contact with or adjacent to each other, wherein

when the inter-device distance detected by the distance detecting unit is a distance in which the first projection image is interconnectable to the second projection image, the projecting unit projects the first projection image based on a piece of the divided content data that the dividing unit has divided based on the inter-device distance and the positional relationship, and

when the inter-device distance detected by the distance detecting unit is a distance in which the first projection image is not interconnectable to the second projection image, the projecting unit projects an image based on the content data.

10. The image projection system according to claim 1, wherein each of the first projection image and the second projection image includes a mark image for position adjustment to interconnect the first projection image and the second projection image.

11. An image projection apparatus comprising:

a housing;

a plurality of detecting units, each of which is arranged on one of at least some of outer surfaces of the housing and detects whether any one of other image projection apparatuses is in contact with or adjacent to the one of the outer surfaces of the image projection apparatus;

a specifying unit that specifies positional relationships of the image projection apparatus and the other image projection apparatuses in accordance with which one of the outer surfaces of the image projection apparatus each of the detecting units, which have detected contact or adjacency with the other image projection apparatuses, is provided on and determines whether the image projection apparatus serves as a host or a client on the basis of the positional relationships,

a dividing unit that, when the specifying unit determines that the image projection apparatus serves as the host, divides content data into pieces of divided content data corresponding to the respective image projection apparatuses on the basis of the positional relationship;

a communication unit that, when the specifying unit determines that the image projection apparatus serves as the host, transmits a piece of the divided content data to a corresponding one of the other image projection apparatuses; and

a projecting unit that projects a first projection image based on a piece of the divided content data on a projected object, and interconnects the first projection image to second projection images projected by the other image projection apparatuses.