Seiko Epson Corporation

Makoto Otani

Eiji Morikuni

Akira Ikeda

Akitaka Yajima

Akihiko Tamura

Kohei Yanai

A light outputting apparatus includes a light source that outputs a first light flux, a collimator that parallelizes the first light flux, a light separator that separates the first light flux into a first partial light flux and a second partial light flux, a first light flux width expander, and a second light flux width expander. The light separator causes the first partial light flux to exit in a first direction and the second partial light flux to exit in a second direction. When a first plane is assumed to be a plane containing the first direction and the second direction, the first light flux width expander expands a width of the first partial light flux in a direction along the first plane, and the second light flux width expander expands a width of the second partial light flux in a direction along the first plane.

Light outputting apparatus and image display system

The position detection method includes projecting a detecting image on a projection surface from a projection section, taking, by an imaging section, an image of the projection surface in a first direction from the projection section in a situation in which the detecting image is projected on the projection surface and a pointing body touches the projection surface to thereby generate imaging data, and detecting a position of a touch portion by the pointing body on the projection surface based on the imaging data, wherein the detecting image represents a plurality of objects located in a matrix and the position of the touch portion is detected based on a positional relationship in the predetermined direction corresponding to a first direction of the plurality of objects represented by the imaging data.

Position detection method, and position detection device

A projector includes: an illumination device casting one detection light and another detection light onto an operation surface; a first image pickup device having a higher sensitivity to the one detection light than to the another detection light; a second image pickup device different from the position of the first image pickup device, the second image pickup device having a higher sensitivity to the another detection light than to the one detection light; and a detection device detecting that an object is in contact with the operation surface when a position of a pointing unit specified based on a first picked-up image picked up using the first image pickup device and a position of the pointing unit specified based on a second picked-up image picked up using the second image pickup device are within a predetermined range.

Position detection device, projector, and position detection method

A control method for a position detecting device including a first adjusting step of emitting detection light to a jig for adjustment disposed on a screen and adjusting the detection light to first detection light such that the detection light is emitted to a specific range of the jig for adjustment and a step of setting, in a state in which the detection light has been adjusted to the first detection light, a region including the jig for adjustment as a non-detection area where a detecting section does not detect the detection light as the reflected light from an obstacle, wherein the position detecting device including a light emitting section configured to emit the detection light and the detecting section.

Control method for position detecting device, position detecting device, and projector

A light emitting device is provided with a first light emitter and a second light emitter. The first light emitter is provided with a first lens for making the light of the first light source wide-angle, and the second light emitter is provided with a second lens for making the light of the second light source wide-angle. A plurality of first small lenses are arranged on a first incident plane of the first lens. The first small lens has a shape in which a maximum value of an angle formed between the first incident plane and a tangent of the first small lens is larger than an angle formed between the first incident plane and first light. The second lens has substantially the same configuration.

Directional lens having lens array

The position detection method includes the steps of (a) obtaining a first taken image by imaging a pointing element with an operation surface as a background using a first camera while performing illumination with a first illumination section disposed so that a shadow of the pointing element on the operation surface is not substantially imaged by the first camera, (b) obtaining a second taken image by imaging the pointing element with the operation surface as a background using a second camera disposed at a different position from a position of the first camera while performing illumination with a second illumination section disposed so that the shadow of the pointing element on the operation surface is not substantially imaged by the second camera, and (c) detecting a position of the pointing element with respect to the operation surface using the first taken image and the second taken image.

Position detection method, position detection device, and interactive projector

A position detection method of detecting a position of a pointing element with respect to an operation surface includes: obtaining a first taken image by imaging the pointing element with the operation surface as a background using a monocular camera while performing illumination with a first illumination section without performing the illumination with a second illumination section at a position different from a position of the first illumination section; obtaining a second taken image by imaging the pointing element with the operation surface as the background using the camera while performing the illumination with the second illumination section without performing the illumination with the first illumination section; extracting pointing element and shadow areas from the first taken image and the second taken image; detecting a position of the pointing element with respect to the operation surface using a relationship between the pointing element area and the shadow area.

A display method includes (a) capturing an image including a hand, (b) determining a first distance as a distance between the hand and an operation surface, (c) recognizing a shape of the hand based on the image, and (d) displaying an operation icon selected in accordance with the shape of the hand out of a plurality of operation icons on the operation surface in a case of a separate state in which the first distance exceeds a first distance threshold value determined in advance.

Display method, display device, and interactive projector configured to receive an operation to an operation surface by a hand of a user

A light emitting device is provided with a first light emitter and a second light emitter. The first light emitter is provided with a first lens for making the light of the first light source wide-angle, and the second light emitter is provided with a second lens for making the light of the second light source wide-angle. The cover lens tilted with respect to a projection surface and disposed downstream of the first lens and the second lens has a curved surface shape, and the curvature center of the cover lens is different in position from a first diffusion center to be a starting point from which the first light is made wide-angle, and a second diffusion center to be a starting point from which the second light is made wide-angle.

Light emitting device and image display system

A light emitting apparatus includes a light emitting unit. The light emitting unit includes a light source, a collimator lens, and an optical element that spreads light transmitted through the collimator lens in a direction corresponding to a width direction. The optical element has a plurality of lens groups arranged in a first direction (stacking direction), each of the plurality of lens groups has a plurality of small lenses arranged in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and crossing an optical axis, each of the plurality of small lenses is formed to spread entering light in a direction corresponding to the width direction so that the lights spread by the small lenses adjacent in a second direction are superimposed, and the plurality of lens groups have the small lenses with the small lenses adjacent in the first direction and the second direction in different sizes from each other.

Light emitting apparatus and image display system

A first light emitter of a light emitting device includes a first lens for making first light wide-angle from a first diffusion center as a starting point, and a second light emitter includes a second lens for making second light wide-angle from a second diffusion center as a starting point. A cover lens disposed downstream of the first lens and the second lens includes a first curved surface and a second curved surface. A first curvature center as a curvature center of the first curved surface overlaps the first diffusion center of the first lens when viewed from a front-back direction, and a second curvature center as a curvature center of the second curved surface overlaps the second diffusion center of the second lens when viewed from the front-back direction.

A light emitting device uses optical elements each formed of a plurality of small lenses. On that basis, the array pitch of the plurality of small lenses is set within a predetermined numerical range determined based on a proportional relationship between two values with respect to the focal distance of a collimator.

A projector system includes a projector main body that obliquely projects image light and an imager that operates based on a stereographic projection scheme and captures an image of a stereographic region containing a projection region where the image light from the projector main body is projected to detect a pointing element present in the stereographic region.

Projector system

Cameras that are four imagers that form an imaging system are so configured as to be capable of acquiring parallax information based on two sets of parallax images that differ from each other in terms of imaging range for acquisition of the parallax information with the inter-camera distance reduced. The acquired parallax information is used to detect a pointing element on an irradiated region that is a projection screen to achieve interactive image projection.

A light outputting apparatus includes a light outputting section that outputs light, and the light outputting section includes a light source that emits light, a collimator lens for parallelizing the light emitted from the light source, and an optical element including a plurality of lenslets that widen the light having passed through the collimator lens in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the light source and corresponding to a first direction that is one of first and second directions perpendicular to each other.

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Matsumoto, Japan

Makoto Otani