CN106131522A

CN106131522A - A kind of multi-screen projector equipment and method

Info

Publication number: CN106131522A
Application number: CN201610497098.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李晓平
Original assignee: Hisense Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hisense Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-06-29
Filing date: 2016-06-29
Publication date: 2016-11-16

Abstract

The invention discloses a kind of multi-screen projector equipment and method.Multi-screen projector equipment disclosed in this invention includes: signal processing system, lens assembly and DMD DMD, and described DMD is divided into the region that N block does not overlaps each other, and N is the positive integer more than or equal to 2；Signal processing system, for image to be projected being converted to corresponding for upper for DMD i-th piece of region the DMD in region driving signal, and exports to DMD drive circuit, and i is the positive integer less than or equal to N；DMD drive circuit, for driving signal to drive region corresponding on DMD to project according to the DMD received, wherein, the lens assembly that is projected through of the zones of different on DMD is imaged onto in the zones of different of screen.The present invention is capable of multi-screen projection.

Description

Multi-screen projection equipment and method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of projection, in particular to multi-screen projection equipment and a multi-screen projection method.

Background

Digital Light Processing (DLP) projection technology uses a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) as a main key element to realize Digital optical processing, wherein the DMD is a bistable spatial Light modulator composed of thousands of micromirrors. The principle of the DLP projector is that a light source is homogenized by an Integrator (Integrator), and the light is divided into three primary colors of red R, green G and blue B by a Color Wheel (Color Wheel) to be output in time sequence, and then the colors are imaged on a DMD by a lens. The image signal is digitally processed, and the deflection angle and time length of each micromirror on the DMD are independently controlled by electric signals in a synchronous signal method, so that reflected light is guided, continuous light is converted into gray scale, colors are represented by matching R, G, B three colors, and finally the gray scale is projected and imaged on a screen through a lens assembly.

The DMD is a bistable spatial light modulator composed of thousands of micromirrors (precision, micro mirrors) and is formed by adding a rotating mechanism capable of modulating a reflective surface to a standard Semiconductor process of a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS). Data is loaded into a memory cell located below the micromirrors, and the data electrostatically controls the deflection states of the micromirrors in a binary manner, and the angle and duration of deflection of each micromirror are independently controlled, thereby directing the reflected light and modulating the gray scale. Fig. 1 exemplarily shows the deflection of two micromirrors on the DMD and the situation of reflected light. It can be seen that the micro mirror 101 is deflected at an angle different from that of the micro mirror 102, and the micro mirror 101 is deflected at an angle by which light emitted from the light source 103 can be reflected onto the light absorption unit 104, and the micro mirror 102 is deflected at an angle by which light emitted from the light source 103 can be reflected onto the lens 105.

The present projection technology is generally limited to a design mode for performing projection in a single direction at the same time, and therefore, how to change the situation that the existing projection technology is limited to the single projection design mode is to provide a technical solution capable of implementing multi-screen projection is a problem to be researched and solved urgently in the industry.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides multi-screen projection equipment and a multi-screen projection method, which are used for realizing multi-screen projection.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-screen projection apparatus, including: the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) comprises a signal processing system, a lens assembly and a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD), wherein the DMD is divided into N non-overlapping areas, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

the signal processing system is used for converting the image to be projected corresponding to the ith block area on the DMD to obtain a DMD driving signal corresponding to the area and outputting the DMD driving signal to the DMD driving circuit, wherein i is a positive integer less than or equal to N;

and the DMD driving circuit is used for driving the corresponding area on the DMD to project according to the received DMD driving signal, wherein the projection of different areas on the DMD is imaged on different areas of a screen through the lens assembly.

Optionally, the signal processing system is further configured to:

dividing the DMD into N non-overlapping areas according to a preset partition number N, and determining the area on the DMD corresponding to an image to be projected; or,

dividing the DMD into N non-overlapping areas according to the number N of images to be projected, and determining the areas on the DMD corresponding to the N images to be projected.

Optionally, the N areas on the DMD are symmetrically arranged with respect to an optical axis of the lens assembly.

Optionally, the signal processing system is further configured to:

determining the size of N blocks of areas on the DMD according to a preset size; or

Determining the size of N blocks of areas on the DMD according to the size of the DMD and the preset number of partitions; or

Determining the size of N areas on the DMD according to the size of the DMD and the number of images to be projected; or

Determining the size of N areas on the DMD according to the resolution of an image to be projected; the size of an area is proportional to the resolution of the image to be projected corresponding to the area.

Optionally, the signal processing system is specifically configured to: simultaneously outputting DMD driving signals corresponding to the N areas, which are obtained by converting the images to be projected corresponding to the N areas on the DMD, to a DMD driving circuit; or outputting a DMD driving signal corresponding to the area obtained by converting the image to be projected corresponding to the area to the DMD driving circuit within a projection time period configured for the ith block of area on the DMD according to preset time-sharing projection configuration information, otherwise, not outputting the DMD driving signal corresponding to the area; or,

the multi-screen projection equipment further comprises:

the first control system is used for outputting a first control signal and a second control signal to the DMD drive circuit according to preset time-sharing projection configuration information, the first control signal is used for controlling the DMD drive circuit to drive a corresponding area on the DMD to carry out projection according to the DMD drive signal output by the signal processing system, and the second control signal is used for controlling the DMD drive circuit to drive the micromirrors of the corresponding area on the DMD to deflect to a closed state.

Optionally, the DMD is disposed on a movable mechanical part, and the multi-screen projection apparatus further includes: and the second control system is used for controlling a movable mechanical part where the DMD is located to drive the DMD arranged on the movable mechanical part to move and/or twist according to target imaging areas of the N areas on the DMD, so that the projection of the N areas on the DMD is imaged on the target imaging area of the screen through the lens assembly.

A multi-screen projection method provided by an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a multi-screen projection device including a DMD and a lens assembly, and is characterized in that the DMD is divided into N non-overlapping regions, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; the method comprises the following steps:

converting a to-be-projected image corresponding to the ith block area on the DMD to obtain a DMD driving signal corresponding to the area, and outputting the DMD driving signal to a DMD driving circuit so that the DMD driving circuit drives the area on the DMD to project according to the received DMD driving signal, wherein i is a positive integer less than or equal to N; the projection of different areas on the DMD is imaged onto different areas of the screen by the lens assembly.

Optionally, the multi-screen projection method further includes:

Optionally, the image to be projected corresponding to the N blocks of areas on the DMD is converted to obtain a DMD driving signal corresponding to the N blocks of areas, and the DMD driving signal is output to a DMD driving circuit; or, converting a to-be-projected image corresponding to the ith block area on the DMD to obtain a DMD drive signal corresponding to the area, and outputting the DMD drive signal corresponding to the area to a DMD drive circuit within a projection time period configured for the ith block area on the DMD according to preset time-sharing projection configuration information, otherwise, not outputting the DMD drive signal corresponding to the area; or,

the multi-screen projection method further comprises the following steps: and outputting a first control signal and a second control signal to a DMD drive circuit according to preset time-sharing projection configuration information, wherein the first control signal is used for controlling the DMD drive circuit to drive a corresponding area on the DMD to project according to the received DMD drive signal, and the second control signal is used for controlling the DMD drive circuit to drive the micromirrors of the corresponding area on the DMD to deflect to a closed state.

Optionally, the DMD is disposed on a movable mechanical part, the method further comprising:

according to the target imaging areas of the N areas on the DMD, a movable mechanical part where the DMD is located is controlled to drive the DMD arranged on the movable mechanical part to move and/or twist, so that the projection of the N areas on the DMD is imaged on the target imaging area of the screen through the lens assembly.

It can be seen that, in the multi-screen projection device provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the DMD is divided into a plurality of non-overlapping regions, the signal processing system performs signal processing on the DMD in units of regions, converts an image to be projected corresponding to a region on the DMD to obtain a DMD driving signal corresponding to the region, and outputs the DMD driving signal to the DMD driving circuit to drive the corresponding region on the DMD to perform projection, so that each region on the DMD can project an image to be projected corresponding to each region, and the projections of different regions on the DMD are imaged on different regions on a screen through the lens assembly, thereby forming a screen splitting effect, achieving a multi-screen projection effect, and overcoming a defect of single projection in the prior art.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without inventive exercise.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating deflection and reflected light of two micromirrors of a DMD in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a prior art projector with OFFSET between the projector and the image on the screen;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a multi-screen projection apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic projection diagram of a multi-screen projection apparatus implemented based on 2 blocks of regions on a DMD according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 5(a) is a schematic diagram of an area division on a DMD in a multi-screen projection device implemented based on 2 blocks of areas on the DMD according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 5(b) is a schematic imaging diagram illustrating the corresponding regions divided in fig. 5(a) in a multi-screen projection apparatus implemented based on 2 regions on a DMD according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 6(a) is a schematic diagram of another area division on a DMD in a multi-screen projection device implemented based on 2 blocks of areas on the DMD according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 6(b) is a schematic imaging diagram illustrating the corresponding regions divided in fig. 6(a) in the multi-screen projection apparatus implemented based on 2 regions on the DMD according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 7(a) is a schematic diagram of an area division on a DMD in a multi-screen projection device implemented based on 4 blocks of areas on the DMD according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 7(b) is a schematic imaging diagram illustrating the corresponding regions divided in fig. 7(a) in a multi-screen projection apparatus implemented based on 4 regions on a DMD according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a multi-screen projection method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

In the existing projection technology, the field of view of the lens assembly is usually a circular symmetry plane, wherein the field of view can be understood as an object plane, and an image displayed on a screen can be understood as an image plane. In the projector, the DMD is positioned on the object plane of the lens, namely in the field range of the lens, the lens is used as an imaging component, and light rays emitted by the DMD enter the lens and are projected onto a screen for imaging.

In order to realize multi-screen projection, embodiments of the present invention provide a multi-screen projection apparatus and method capable of realizing multi-screen projection based on analysis of an optical architecture in a projection technology. It should be understood that implementing multi-screen projection also means implementing projection in multiple directions, and thus the multi-screen projection implemented in the embodiments of the present invention can also be understood as implementing a multi-directional projection.

In the geometrical optics of the projector, the OFFSET is a measure for measuring the displacement of the DMD relative to the optical axis of the lens, for example, in a projection design with 0% OFFSET, the center of the DMD is precisely aligned with the optical axis of the projection lens, in this design, the projected image projected by the DMD is equal above and below the optical axis, and in some designs such as ultra-short-focus projection, the central optical axis of the light emitted by the DMD is not coincident with the central optical axis of the lens according to the requirements of the system, so that the projection requirements are met by a certain OFFSET, for example, a certain OFFSET in the range of 100% to 150% is set according to the application direction of the system.

This OFFSET between the DMD and the lens causes the image projected by the projector to have an OFFSET with the central optical axis of the lens, and the image on the projector and the screen to have an OFFSET accordingly. Fig. 2 shows an example with OFFSET between the projector and the imaging on the screen. As shown in fig. 2, light emitted from the projector lens 201 is projected obliquely upward (at a large incident angle) onto the screen 202 to form a projection image, and then reflected by the screen 202 and incident on the human eye to complete projection display.

Analysis of the optical architecture of the DMD and the optical axis of the lens with the OFFSET shows that the optical structure cannot fully utilize the lens assembly of the projector, the optical apertures of some lenses can be fully filled with light, so that the full utilization is realized, and the optical apertures of some lenses cannot be fully filled with light, but only use a part of the optical apertures, that is, the whole optical apertures cannot be fully utilized.

Based on the optical structure analysis, the embodiment of the invention provides a technical scheme capable of realizing multi-screen projection. Specifically, in the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the DMD is divided into a plurality of non-overlapping areas, the signal processing system performs signal processing on the DMD in units of the areas, the to-be-projected images corresponding to the areas on the DMD are converted to obtain DMD driving signals corresponding to the areas, and the DMD driving signals are output to the DMD driving circuit to drive the corresponding areas on the DMD to perform projection, so that multi-screen projection is realized, a screen splitting effect is further formed, and the defect of single projection in the prior art is overcome.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic structural diagram of a multi-screen projection apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 3, some embodiments of the invention provide a multi-screen projection apparatus including a signal processing system 301, a lens assembly 302, and a DMD 303.

It should be understood that fig. 3 only shows the components of the multi-panel projection apparatus to which the present invention mainly relates, and some embodiments of the present invention may also include components of a multi-panel projection apparatus, such as an optical lens assembly, a heat dissipation system, and the like, which are included in a projection apparatus in the prior art. Since the present invention does not specifically relate to improvements of these constituent components in the optical system, a detailed description thereof will not be provided in the present invention.

Specifically, the DMD303 is divided into N blocks of regions that do not overlap with each other, N being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. As shown in fig. 3, the DMD303 is divided into N regions that do not overlap with each other, for example, a 1 st block region 3031, an nth block region 303N, and an ith block region 303i in the N block regions in the DMD303 in fig. 3.

The signal processing system 301 is configured to convert the image to be projected corresponding to the ith block area on the DMD303 to obtain a DMD driving signal corresponding to the area, and output the DMD driving signal to the DMD driving circuit 304 corresponding to the DMD303, where i is a positive integer less than or equal to N.

Further, the DMD driving circuit 304 is configured to drive corresponding areas on the DMD303 to perform projection according to the received DMD driving signal, wherein the projections of different areas on the DMD303 are imaged onto different areas of the screen 305 through the lens assembly 302.

Specifically, for any area 303i on the DMD303, the signal processing system 301 may convert the image to be projected corresponding to the area 303i on the DMD303 to obtain a DMD driving signal corresponding to the area 303i, and the DMD driving circuit 304 may further drive the area 303i on the DMD303 to perform projection according to the DMD driving signal corresponding to the area 303i output by the signal processing system 301; the micromirror array in the area 303i on the DMD303 projects an image to be projected under the driving of the DMD driving circuit.

Since an ideal lens can be considered as a simplified imaging component in an optical system, for the ideal lens, the central optical axis of the light emitted by the object is not coincident with the central optical axis of the ideal lens, and objects located at different positions in the field of view will be imaged in different imaging areas. It can be seen that, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided in some embodiments of the present invention, N blocks of regions on the DMD303 do not overlap with each other, and thus it can also be understood that N blocks of regions on the DMD303 are located at different positions within a field of view range, and each block of region occupies a part of the field of view, so that when the N blocks of regions on the DMD303 project images corresponding to each other, the corresponding projections are imaged on N different regions of the screen 305 through the lens assembly 302, thereby achieving the effect of multi-screen projection.

Optionally, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided by some embodiments of the present invention, the N non-overlapping regions on the DMD303 may be N regions divided by the signal processing system 301 according to the preset number N of partitions into the DMD303, and after the regions are divided, the signal processing system 301 may further determine the region on the DMD303 corresponding to the image to be projected.

Alternatively, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided by further embodiments of the present invention, the N non-overlapping regions on the DMD303 may be N regions divided by the signal processing system 301 according to the number N of images to be projected, and after dividing the regions, the signal processing system 301 may further determine the regions on the DMD303 corresponding to the N images to be projected.

Further, since the DMD303 may be divided into N areas for projection display, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided in some embodiments of the present invention, the DMD303 may employ a DMD with a larger size to achieve an effect of fully utilizing the optical aperture of the lens assembly.

Meanwhile, it can be seen that, in the multi-screen projection device provided in some embodiments of the present invention, since the N blocks of areas on the DMD303 are respectively driven by the signal processing system according to the DMD driving signals corresponding to the to-be-projected images respectively output by the N blocks of areas, the to-be-projected images corresponding to the respective N DMDs for projection may be the same or different, and may specifically be determined by the signal processing system, so that a requirement that one or more users view different contents at the same time can also be satisfied.

It can be seen that, because the multi-screen projection apparatus provided by some embodiments of the present invention can achieve the effect of multi-screen projection, and can also meet the requirement that one or more users watch different contents at the same time, the multi-screen projection apparatus provided by some embodiments of the present invention has a great potential application, especially for some occasions that need to project different information, publicity or advertisement, etc. at the same time to create a better visual effect.

Alternatively, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided by some embodiments of the present invention, the N areas on the DMD303 may be symmetrically arranged with respect to the optical axis of the lens assembly 302, and such a symmetrical arrangement will enable the N areas on the DMD303 to be projected onto the imaging area on the screen symmetrically.

Alternatively, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided by some embodiments of the present invention, the signal processing system 301 may determine the size of the N blocks of areas on the DMD303 according to a preset size. For example, a uniform size setting value is preset, the sizes of the N blocks of areas on the DMD303 may all be the same as the size setting value, or for example, different size setting values are preset for different areas on the DMD303, the sizes of the N blocks of areas on the DMD303 may each be the same as the corresponding size setting value.

Alternatively, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided in further embodiments of the present invention, the signal processing system 301 may determine the size of the N blocks of areas on the DMD303 according to the size of the DMD303 and the preset number of partitions.

The set value of the size, the size of the DMD, and the preset number of partitions may be obtained by reading a stored configuration file by the signal processing system. Further, the set value of the size and the preset number of partitions may be changed or reset by providing a software interface to the user, or the like.

Alternatively, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided in further embodiments of the present invention, the signal processing system 301 may also determine the size of the N blocks of areas on the DMD303 according to the size of the DMD303 and the number of images to be projected.

Alternatively, since one micromirror on the DMD corresponds to one pixel in the projected image, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided in further embodiments of the present invention, the size of the N blocks of areas on the DMD303 may be determined according to the resolution of the image to be projected corresponding to the N blocks of areas, and thus the signal processing system 301 may determine the size of the N blocks of areas on the DMD303 according to the resolution of the image to be projected, where the size of one block of areas is proportional to the resolution of the image to be projected corresponding to the one block of areas. For example, the resolution of the image to be projected corresponding to the region 303i is higher than the resolution of the image to be projected corresponding to the region 303N, the size of the region 303i may be larger than the size of the region 303N.

Specifically, the areas of the DMD303 projected on the screen by the areas having the same size will also have the same size, and the areas of the DMD303 projected on the screen by the areas having different sizes will have different sizes.

Alternatively, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided in some embodiments of the present invention, the signal processing system 301 may simultaneously output, to the DMD driving circuit 304, DMD driving signals for N blocks of areas corresponding to the N blocks of areas to be projected on the DMD303, which are obtained by converting the corresponding N blocks of areas.

Further, the N areas on the DMD303 in the multi-screen projection device shown in fig. 3 can also be time-division controlled, so as to realize time-division display on multiple areas of the screen, or select which area or areas on the DMD to perform projection work according to projection requirements, thereby realizing display on the corresponding area of the screen.

Optionally, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided in some embodiments of the present invention, the signal processing system 301 may output, to the DMD driving circuit 304, a DMD driving signal obtained by converting an image to be projected corresponding to the area within a projection time period configured for an ith block area on the DMD303 according to preset time-sharing projection configuration information, and otherwise, does not output the DMD driving signal corresponding to the area.

For example, assuming that in the preset time-sharing projection configuration information, the ith block region 303i and the nth block region 303N are configured to project in the a time period, the signal processing system 301 outputs a DMD driving signal obtained by converting the images to be projected corresponding to the ith block region 303i and the nth block region 303 to the DMD driving circuit 304 in the a time period, so as to drive the two regions to project. And in other periods, the driving signals corresponding to these two areas are not output to the DMD driving circuit 304.

The time-sharing projection configuration information may be embodied as periodic time-sharing projection of N blocks of areas, or random time-sharing projection of the N blocks of areas, and the like. The time-sharing projection configuration information may also be obtained by reading a stored configuration file by the signal processing system, or may also be changed or reset by providing a software interface or the like to a user.

Optionally, in order to implement time-sharing display on multiple areas of the screen, in the multi-screen projection device provided in further embodiments of the present invention, a first control system may be further included, configured to output a first control signal and a second control signal to the DMD driving circuit according to preset time-sharing projection configuration information, where the first control signal is used to control the DMD driving circuit to drive the corresponding area on the DMD to project according to the DMD driving signal output by the signal processing system, and the second control signal is used to control the DMD driving circuit to drive the micromirrors of the corresponding area on the DMD to all deflect to the off state.

Further, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided in some embodiments of the present invention, the DMD303 may be disposed on a movable mechanical component, and the second control system controls the movable mechanical component where the DMD303 is located to drive the DMD303 disposed on the movable mechanical component to move and/or twist according to the target imaging area of the N areas on the DMD303, so that the projection of the N areas on the DMD303 is imaged on the target imaging area of the screen through the lens assembly 302, and the target imaging area projected on the screen of the N areas on the DMD303 may be moved integrally by the driving of the movable mechanical component, which is combined with the multi-screen display and time-sharing projection effects that may be obtained in the foregoing embodiments, so as to achieve a richer visual effect.

Optionally, in the multi-screen projection apparatus provided in some embodiments of the present invention, the multi-screen projection apparatus may further include:

the optical splicing lens assembly is arranged at the position of the lens assembly facing the screen direction side and used for adjusting the positions of N areas on the DMD303, which are imaged on the N areas of the screen through the lens assembly in the corresponding projection mode, so that the imaging edges are spliced.

The optical splicing lens component can be a cylindrical lens and the like, and a single optical splicing non-optimal scheme is adopted. The ideal seamless splicing corresponds to the state without OFFSET, and the seamless splicing can be realized in the multi-screen projection device provided by some embodiments of the present invention by using an image processing method.

In order to more clearly illustrate the multi-screen projection device implemented based on N areas on the DMD according to the embodiments of the present invention, a specific application and an obtainable technical effect of the multi-screen projection device implemented based on two areas on the DMD according to the embodiments of the present invention are described below with N being 2, that is, the multi-screen projection device implemented based on two areas on the DMD according to the embodiments of the present invention is taken as an example.

For example, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a multi-screen projection apparatus implemented based on two blocks of areas on a DMD according to some embodiments of the present invention.

The multi-screen projection apparatus shown in fig. 4 has a DMD, and two areas, an area a401 and an area B402, are divided on the DMD without overlapping each other. The region a401 and the region B402 are symmetrically disposed with the optical axis of the lens assembly 403 as the center, and have an OFFSET in the opposite direction to the optical axis of the lens assembly 403. Correspondingly, assuming that the DMD corresponds to a signal processing system, the signal processing system may convert RGB component values of image pixels in the image to be projected corresponding to the area a401 into DMD driving signals corresponding to the area a401, and output the DMD driving signals to the DMD driving circuit, and the DMD driving circuit drives the flip angle and duration of each micromirror in the corresponding area a401 according to the DMD driving signals, and under the irradiation of the corresponding irradiation light beam, the color required for displaying by each pixel is satisfied; the process of projection display in the area B402 is substantially the same as that in the area a 401.

In some scenes with time-sharing projection requirements, the signal processing system may control each region to implement time-sharing operation, such as performing projection in a time-sharing manner on the region 401 and the region 402, or performing projection or non-projection simultaneously, by outputting a driving signal of the corresponding region to be projected to the DMD driving circuit, or outputting different control signals corresponding to each region to the DMD driving circuit, according to the region to be projected corresponding to each time. Further, the area 401 and the area 402 can be displayed separately, which can select which area is enabled for operation according to the projection requirement.

As shown in the imaging area of the projected image in fig. 4, it can be seen that the area a401 and the area B402 can be projected and imaged on two image areas simultaneously on the screen, such as the first imaging area 404 corresponding to the area a401 and the second imaging area 405 corresponding to the area B402 shown in fig. 4, thereby forming the split screen effect. The two display areas are often spaced apart due to the OFFSET between the DMD and the lens, but they may be located as close as possible, such as adjacent to each other, so that the images projected onto the screen are guaranteed to be non-overlapping and have a small spacing for different users to view different contents (the display contents are determined by the signal processing system) at the same time.

Further, since the view plane is a symmetrical circular plane, the area a401 and the area B402 in the multi-screen projection apparatus shown in fig. 4 can be specifically configured as shown in fig. 5(a) or fig. 6(a), and form the imaging area as shown in fig. 5(B) or fig. 6(B), respectively.

As shown in fig. 5(a), the area a401 and the area B402 may be arranged to be symmetrical left and right with respect to the center of the field of view, i.e., the optical axis of the lens assembly, so that left and right sheets of projection area pictures, such as left and right sheets of imaging areas (the projection area L corresponding to the area a401 and the projection area R corresponding to the area B402) shown in fig. 5(B), may be formed on the screen; alternatively, as also shown in fig. 6(a), the area a401 and the area B402 may be arranged to be vertically symmetrical with respect to the center of the field of view, so that upper and lower sheets of projection area screens, such as upper and lower sheets of imaging areas (projection area D corresponding to the area a401 and projection area U corresponding to the area B402) shown in fig. 6(B) may be formed on the screen; or the area a401 and the area B402 may be arranged at different viewing field positions, and corresponding projection areas may be formed on the screen.

However, if the area a401 and the area B402 and the setting position are shown in fig. 5(a) or fig. 6(a), since the area a401 and the area B402 have the same size, the projection area size corresponding to each is also the same.

Further, the projection area can be approximately seamlessly spliced by adding an optical splicing element in the direction from the lens assembly to the screen to compensate for the distance between the imaging areas caused by the inevitable physical gap between the area a401 and the area B402.

For another example, the multi-screen projection apparatus provided by further embodiments of the present invention can be implemented based on four blocks of areas on the DMD as shown in fig. 7(a), and fig. 7(b) is an imaging schematic diagram corresponding to the setting of 4 blocks of areas on the DMD as shown in fig. 7 (a).

The 4 regions (region 701, region 702, region 703, and region 704) shown in fig. 7 a may be arranged symmetrically, or the 4 regions may be arranged asymmetrically. The 4 regions may be the same or different in size, and the 4 regions with different sizes may be projected and imaged on 4 image regions with different sizes, such as a projection region U corresponding to the region 701, a projection region D corresponding to the region 702, a projection region R corresponding to the region 703, and a projection region L corresponding to the region 704 shown in fig. 7 (b).

The specific principle of 4 blocks of regions imaging as shown in fig. 7(a) can be referred to the foregoing description, and similar to the foregoing embodiment, the 4 blocks of regions can also control the display simultaneously, or can also control the driving in a time-sharing and/or separate manner, so as to achieve the effect of performing projection imaging by using different projection regions in a time-sharing manner.

By taking N-2 and N-4 as examples, that is, the multi-panel projection apparatus implemented based on two blocks of regions on the DMD and based on four blocks of regions on the DMD provided by some embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of the multi-panel projection apparatus provided by embodiments of the present invention can easily understand the practical application and the projection effect of the multi-panel projection apparatus implemented based on N blocks of regions on the DMD provided by other embodiments of the present invention.

As can be seen from the above description, in the multi-screen projection device provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the DMD is divided into a plurality of non-overlapping regions, the signal processing system performs signal processing on the DMD in units of regions, converts the to-be-projected images corresponding to the regions on the DMD into DMD driving signals corresponding to the regions, and outputs the DMD driving signals to the DMD driving circuit to drive the corresponding regions on the DMD to project, so that each region on the DMD can project the to-be-projected image corresponding to each region, and meanwhile, since the N regions are not overlapped with each other, the projections in different regions on the DMD are imaged on different regions on the screen through the lens assembly, thereby forming a screen splitting effect, achieving an effect of multi-screen projection, and overcoming a defect of single projection in the prior art, and at the same time, because multi-screen display can be performed, the utilization rate of the viewing fields is increased, the full utilization of the optical caliber of the lens component is realized.

Meanwhile, it can be seen that, in the multi-screen projection device provided in some embodiments of the present invention, since the N areas on the DMD may also project the respective images to be projected, or may also be understood as the respective display contents, the requirement that the user views different contents at the same time can be met.

Further, N blocks of areas on the DMD in the multi-screen projection device provided in some embodiments of the present invention may also be time-division controlled, so as to implement time-division display on multiple areas of the screen, or select which area or areas to activate for projection according to projection requirements, thereby implementing display on the corresponding area of the screen, and further enriching the visual effect of projection.

Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of the present invention further provide a multi-screen projection method, which can be implemented by the apparatus embodiments or applied to a multi-screen projection device that includes a lens assembly and a DMD, and the DMD is divided into N non-overlapping regions, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a multi-screen projection method according to some embodiments of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 8, the multi-screen projection method includes:

step 801: converting a to-be-projected image corresponding to the ith block area on the DMD to obtain a DMD driving signal corresponding to the area, and outputting the DMD driving signal to a DMD driving circuit so that the DMD driving circuit drives the area on the DMD to project according to the received DMD driving signal, wherein i is a positive integer less than or equal to N; the projection of different areas on the DMD is imaged onto different areas of the screen by the lens assembly.

Optionally, the multi-screen projection method provided by some embodiments of the present invention may further include:

dividing the DMD into N non-overlapping areas according to a preset partition number N, and determining the area on the DMD corresponding to an image to be projected; or dividing the DMD into N non-overlapping areas according to the number N of images to be projected, and determining the areas on the DMD corresponding to the N images to be projected.

Optionally, in the multi-screen projection method provided in some embodiments of the present invention, the image to be projected corresponding to N blocks of areas on the DMD may be converted to obtain DMD driving signals corresponding to the N blocks of areas, and the DMD driving signals are output to the DMD driving circuit; or after the to-be-projected image corresponding to the ith block area on the DMD is converted to obtain a DMD drive signal corresponding to the area, the DMD drive signal corresponding to the area may be output to a DMD drive circuit number within a projection time period configured for the ith block area on the DMD according to preset time-sharing projection configuration information, otherwise, the DMD drive signal corresponding to the area is not output.

Optionally, in the multi-screen projection method provided in further embodiments of the present invention, a first control signal and a second control signal may also be output to the DMD driving circuit according to preset time-sharing projection configuration information, where the first control signal is used to control the DMD driving circuit to drive a corresponding area on the DMD to perform projection according to the received DMD driving signal, and the second control signal is used to control the DMD driving circuit to drive micromirrors in the corresponding area on the DMD to all deflect to an off state.

Optionally, in a multi-screen projection method provided by some embodiments of the present invention, the DMD may be disposed on a movable mechanical part, and the method may further include: according to the target imaging areas of the N areas on the DMD, controlling a movable mechanical part where the DMD is located to drive the DMD arranged on the movable mechanical part to move and/or twist so as to enable the projection of the N areas on the DMD to be imaged on the target imaging area of the screen through the lens assembly.

For a software implementation, the techniques may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The software codes may be stored in memory units and executed by processors. The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor.

The present invention has been described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A multi-screen projection device, comprising: the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) comprises a signal processing system, a lens assembly and a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD), wherein the DMD is divided into N non-overlapping areas, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

2. A multi-screen projection device as recited in claim 1, wherein the signal processing system is further configured to:

3. A multi-screen projection device as recited in claim 1, wherein the N areas on the DMD are symmetrically arranged with respect to an optical axis of the lens assembly.

4. A multi-screen projection device as recited in claim 1, wherein the signal processing system is further to:

5. A multi-screen projection device as recited in claim 1, wherein the signal processing system is specifically configured to: simultaneously outputting DMD driving signals corresponding to the N areas, which are obtained by converting the images to be projected corresponding to the N areas on the DMD, to a DMD driving circuit; or outputting a DMD driving signal corresponding to the area obtained by converting the image to be projected corresponding to the area to the DMD driving circuit within a projection time period configured for the ith block of area on the DMD according to preset time-sharing projection configuration information, otherwise, not outputting the DMD driving signal corresponding to the area; or,

the multi-screen projection equipment further comprises:

6. A multi-screen projection device as recited in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the DMD is disposed on a movable mechanical part, the multi-screen projection device further comprising:

and the second control system is used for controlling a movable mechanical part where the DMD is located to drive the DMD arranged on the movable mechanical part to move and/or twist according to target imaging areas of the N areas on the DMD, so that the projection of the N areas on the DMD is imaged on the target imaging area of the screen through the lens assembly.

7. A multi-screen projection method is applied to multi-screen projection equipment comprising a DMD and a lens assembly, and is characterized in that the DMD is divided into N non-overlapping areas, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; the method comprises the following steps:

8. A multi-screen projection method as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

9. A multi-screen projection method as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

10. A multi-screen projection method as recited in claim 7, wherein the image to be projected corresponding to N blocks of areas on the DMD is converted to obtain DMD driving signals corresponding to the N blocks of areas, and the DMD driving signals are output to a DMD driving circuit; or, converting a to-be-projected image corresponding to the ith block area on the DMD to obtain a DMD drive signal corresponding to the area, and outputting the DMD drive signal corresponding to the area to a DMD drive circuit within a projection time period configured for the ith block area on the DMD according to preset time-sharing projection configuration information, otherwise, not outputting the DMD drive signal corresponding to the area; or,

11. A multi-screen projection method as defined in any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the DMD is disposed on a movable mechanical part, the method further comprising:

according to the target imaging areas of the N areas on the DMD, controlling a movable mechanical part where the DMD is located to drive the DMD arranged on the movable mechanical part to move and/or twist so as to enable the projection of the N areas on the DMD to be imaged on the target imaging area of the screen through the lens assembly.