Color wheel control system and method

Abstract

A color wheel control system and a color wheel control method. The color wheel control system includes a first image control circuit, a first motor unit and a micro control circuit. The first image control circuit generates a control signal. The first image control circuit is used to drive a spatial light modulation unit. The first motor unit is coupled to the first image control circuit. The first motor unit is used to drive a first color wheel to rotate and generate a first position indication signal related to the first color wheel. The micro control circuit is coupled to the first motor unit and the first image control circuit. The micro control circuit controls the first motor unit to maintain a rotation speed of the first color wheel at a first target rotation speed according to the first position indication signal. The micro control circuit adjusts the first target rotation speed according to the control signal. The color wheel control system and method of the present invention can control the color wheel to quickly reach the target rotation speed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a color wheel control system, and more particularly to a color wheel control method. Background Technology

[0002] Modern projectors that commonly use laser diodes (LDs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as light sources employ Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology and utilize color wheels (CWs) and digital micromirror devices (DMDs) to separate and project colors, providing a color image. Generally, laser projectors use image control circuits, such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), to provide pulse-width modulation (PWM) signals with relative rotational speeds to drive and control motors that rotate the phosphor wheel and / or color filter wheel. This allows phosphors to convert the color of the laser beam or filters out certain colors from the beam. However, in this architecture, when the system is powered on, each unit in the system, including the image control circuit, motor, and lighting system (such as the light source module), needs to complete its initialization settings sequentially. After the image control circuit completes its initialization settings, it can then control the motor to rotate the phosphor wheel and / or filter wheel to the required speed. Only after the rotation of the color wheel and the image frame displayed on the DMD are synchronized can the projector project normally. As can be seen from the projector's system startup procedure described above, the startup waiting time is relatively long. Therefore, shortening this startup waiting time is one of the many technical challenges.

[0003] The "Background Art" paragraph is only used to help understand the content of this invention. Therefore, the content disclosed in the "Background Art" paragraph may include some known technologies that are not known to those skilled in the art. The content disclosed in the "Background Art" paragraph does not mean that the content or the problems to be solved by one or more embodiments of this invention were known or recognized by those skilled in the art before this application was filed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention proposes a color wheel control system and method that can control the color wheel to quickly reach the target rotation speed.

[0005] Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be further understood from the technical features disclosed herein.

[0006] To achieve one, some, or all of the above objectives, or other objectives, one embodiment of the present invention provides a color wheel control system, including a first image control circuit, a first motor unit, and a microcontroller circuit. The first image control circuit generates a control signal. The first image control circuit drives a spatial light modulation unit. The first motor unit is coupled to the first image control circuit. The first motor unit drives a first color wheel to rotate and generates a first position indication signal related to the first color wheel. The microcontroller circuit is coupled to the first motor unit and the first image control circuit. The microcontroller circuit controls the first motor unit to maintain the rotational speed of the first color wheel at a first target rotational speed according to the first position indication signal. The microcontroller circuit adjusts the first target rotational speed according to the control signal.

[0007] To achieve one, some, or all of the above objectives or other objectives, an embodiment of the present invention provides a color wheel control method, comprising: a first motor unit driving a first color wheel to rotate and generating a first position indication signal related to the first color wheel; a first image control circuit generating a control signal, wherein the first image control circuit is used to drive a spatial light modulation unit; a microcontroller circuit controlling the first motor unit to maintain the rotational speed of the first color wheel at a first target rotational speed according to the first position indication signal; and the microcontroller circuit adjusting the first target rotational speed according to the control signal.

[0008] Based on the above, the embodiments of the present invention have at least one of the following advantages or effects. The color wheel control system described in the embodiments of the present invention can use a microcontroller circuit to control a first motor unit to maintain the rotational speed of the first color wheel at a first target rotational speed based on a first position indication signal associated with the first color wheel. In this way, when the system is first powered on, before the system circuit (e.g., the first image control circuit) completes its initialization settings, the microcontroller circuit can drive the motor unit to rotate the first color wheel in advance, so that the rotational speed of the first color wheel quickly reaches the first target rotational speed.

[0009] To make the above features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, specific embodiments are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a circuit block of a color wheel control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating a color wheel control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0012] Figure 3A This is described according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The circuit block diagram of the motor unit shown is shown.

[0013] Figure 3B This is described according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3A The diagram shows the sensing scenario of the motor unit.

[0014] Figure 4 This is a circuit block diagram of a color wheel control system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 5 This is a circuit block diagram of a color wheel control system according to another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The foregoing and other technical contents, features, and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. The directional terms mentioned in the following embodiments, such as up, down, left, right, front, or back, are merely for reference to the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are for illustrative purposes and not for limiting the present invention.

[0017] The term "coupled (or connected)" as used throughout this specification (including the claims) may refer to any direct or indirect means of connection. For example, if the text describes a first device coupled (or connected) to a second device, it should be interpreted as the first device being directly connected to the second device, or the first device being indirectly connected to the second device via other devices or some means of connection. Furthermore, wherever possible, elements / components / steps using the same reference numerals in the drawings and embodiments represent the same or similar parts. Elements / components / steps using the same reference numerals or the same terminology in different embodiments may be referred to mutually in the relevant descriptions.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic circuit block diagram of a color wheel control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, the color wheel control system 100 includes an image control circuit 110, a microcontroller circuit 120, a motor unit 130, a color wheel 140, and a spatial light modulation unit 150. The color wheel control system 100 is used in a projection device having a color wheel 140, which may be, for example, a phosphor wheel or a filter wheel. The color wheel 140 may be positioned in the transmission path of incident light emitted from the light source of the projection device, and is used to convert the color of the incident light to output other colored light, or to filter out colored light or part of the color of the incident light and output illumination light (not shown). The spatial light modulation unit 150 may include, for example, a digital micromirror device (DMD) and is positioned in the transmission path of the illumination light, to change the reflection angle of the illumination light and output image light (not shown).

[0019] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating a color wheel control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Please also refer to... Figure 1 and Figure 2 The motor unit 130 is coupled to the image control circuit 110, the microcontroller circuit 120, and the color wheel 140. In step S210, the motor unit 130 drives the color wheel 140 to rotate and generates a position indication signal I_PW related to the color wheel 140. The position indication signal I_PW is fed back to the image control circuit 110 and the microcontroller circuit 120 to indicate the current rotation (motion) state of the motor unit 130 (color wheel 140) (e.g., including motor starting position, speed, orientation, rotational position of the color wheel, and / or other status information).

[0020] In this embodiment, the image control circuit 110 is coupled to the microcontroller circuit 120, the motor unit 130, and the spatial light modulation unit 150. The image control circuit 110 may include, for example, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to receive an image synchronization signal Vsync and an image data signal Vdata. In step S220, based on the image synchronization signal Vsync, the image control circuit 110 can generate a control signal CS to drive (control) the microcontroller circuit 120, thereby controlling the rotation of the color wheel 140. Based on the image synchronization signal Vsync and the image data signal Vdata, the image control circuit 110 can drive (control) the spatial light modulation unit 150 to display image frames. Since the rotation of the color wheel 140 needs to be synchronized with the image frames displayed by the spatial light modulation unit 150, in some embodiments, the image control circuit 110 can receive a position indication signal I_PW fed back from the motor unit 130. Based on the position indication signal I_PW, the image synchronization signal Vsync, and the image data signal Vdata, the image control circuit 110 can drive the spatial light modulation unit 150 to display image frames. Here, "synchronization" means maintaining a certain relative relationship; the relative time interval can be set according to actual needs, and this embodiment is not limited thereto.

[0021] In this embodiment, the microcontroller circuit 120 is coupled to the image control circuit 110 and the motor unit 130. The microcontroller circuit 120 may include, for example, a microcontroller unit (MCU). In step S230, the microcontroller circuit 120 can control the motor unit 130 based on the position indication signal I_PW fed back from the motor unit 130 to maintain the rotational speed of the color wheel 140 at a target rotational speed. In step S230, the microcontroller circuit 120 can also adjust the target rotational speed of the color wheel 140 based on the control signal CS generated by the image control circuit 110.

[0022] In some embodiments, the microcontroller circuit 120 can control the motor unit 130 to adjust the phase of the position indication signal I_PW according to the image synchronization signal Vsync, that is, to synchronize the rotation of the color wheel 140 with the image synchronization signal Vsync. Specifically, in some embodiments, the pre-amplifier circuit (not shown) of the image control circuit 110 can provide the image synchronization signal Vsync to both the image control circuit 110 and the microcontroller circuit 120. In such embodiments, the image control circuit 110 can provide a corresponding image synchronization signal (not shown) to the microcontroller circuit 120 based on the image synchronization signal Vsync, or the microcontroller circuit 120 can directly receive the image synchronization signal Vsync provided by the pre-amplifier circuit (not shown). Furthermore, the microcontroller circuit 120 can control the motor unit 130 to accelerate or decelerate based on the time difference (phase difference) between the image synchronization signal (e.g., the image synchronization signal Vsync) and the position indication signal I_PW, so that the rotation of the color wheel 140 is synchronized with the image synchronization signal Vsync.

[0023] In other embodiments, the front-end circuitry (not shown) of the image control circuit 110 can provide an image data signal Vdata to the image control circuit 110. In such embodiments, the image control circuit 110 can generate a control signal CS to the microcontroller circuit 120 based on the content of the image data signal Vdata to control the rotational speed of the motor unit 130.

[0024] According to actual design, in some embodiments, the microcontroller circuit 120 can pre-set / define multiple different modes (gears) for the rotational speed of the motor unit 130. For example, when the frequency (e.g., frame rate) of the image data signal Vdata is adjusted from 60 Hz to 120 Hz (or 240 Hz or other frequencies), the image control circuit 110 can control the microcontroller circuit 120 through the control signal CS, so that the microcontroller circuit 120 adjusts (increases or decreases) the rotational speed mode (speed gear) of the motor unit 130.

[0025] According to the actual design, the functions of the image control circuit 110 and / or the microcontroller circuit 120 can be implemented as hardware using hardware description languages ​​(such as Verilog HDL or VHDL) or other suitable programming languages. For example, the functions of the image control circuit 110 and / or the microcontroller circuit 120 can be implemented in various logic blocks, modules, and circuits within one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and / or other processing units. In software and / or firmware form, the functions of the microcontroller circuit 120 can be implemented as programming codes. For example, using general programming languages ​​(such as C, C++, or assembly languages) or other suitable programming languages.

[0026] It is important to note that, generally speaking, it takes some time for the motor unit 130 to drive the color wheel 140 to rotate from zero speed to the target speed. In this embodiment, after the color wheel control system 100 is powered on, both the image control circuit 110 and the microcontroller circuit 120 can receive power simultaneously. During the initialization period after the image control circuit 110 is powered on, that is, before the image control circuit 110 generates the control signal CS, the microcontroller circuit 120 can first set the target speed of the color wheel 140 to a certain initial speed. The initial speed can be determined according to the actual design. In other words, while the system is powered on and waiting for other units (such as the image control circuit 110) to complete their initialization settings, the microcontroller circuit 120 can immediately drive the motor unit 130 to start rotating the color wheel 140. In this way, the motor unit 130 can rotate the color wheel 140 earlier without waiting for the image control circuit 110 to complete its initialization. After other units complete their initialization settings (e.g., the image control circuit 110 completes its initialization settings and generates a control signal CS), the microcontroller circuit 120 can then adjust the target rotation speed of the color wheel 140 according to the control signal CS. At this time, the time for the color wheel 140 to adjust from its initial rotation speed to the target rotation speed specified by the control signal CS will be less than the time for the color wheel 140 to increase from zero rotation speed to the target rotation speed specified by the control signal CS. Therefore, the color wheel control system 100 can reduce the startup waiting time. For example, a projection device using the color wheel control system 100 described in this embodiment can have a startup waiting time of less than 10 seconds.

[0027] Furthermore, the architecture that uses the image control circuit 110 in conjunction with the microcontroller circuit 120 to drive the spatial light modulation unit 150 and the motor unit 130 respectively, compared to an architecture that uses only a single control circuit (e.g., only the image control circuit 110) to drive the spatial light modulation unit 150 and the motor unit 130, can output a larger driving voltage (and / or driving current). In some embodiments, the driving voltage of the motor unit 130 can be greater than 15 volts, or the driving current of the motor unit 130 can be greater than 1 ampere. Based on this, a motor unit 130 capable of receiving higher voltages (or currents) can be used, thereby increasing the upper limit of the rotational speed of the motor unit 130 and the color wheel 140. In addition, when the rotational speed of the motor unit 130 is increased, the projection brightness of the projection device and the heat dissipation efficiency of the color wheel 130 can also be increased, and the impact of the rainbow effect / color breaking can be reduced, thereby improving the display quality.

[0028] In summary, the microcontroller circuit 120 of the color wheel control system 100 described in this embodiment can independently control the motor unit 130 to maintain the rotational speed of the color wheel 140 at the target speed based on the position indication signal I_PW associated with the color wheel 140. During the period when the system is first powered on and waiting for other units (such as the image control unit 110) to initialize, the microcontroller circuit 120 can immediately drive the color wheel 140 to rotate to the preset initial speed. After the other units (such as the image control unit 110) have completed initialization, the microcontroller circuit 120 can then adjust the rotation of the color wheel 140 to the target speed based on the control signal CS generated by the image control unit 110. In this way, the color wheel control system 100 can quickly increase the rotational speed of the color wheel 140 to the target speed, significantly reducing the power-on waiting time. Furthermore, compared to implementations that use a single control circuit (e.g., image control circuit 110) to control the spatial light modulation unit 150 and the motor unit 130, this embodiment uses the image control circuit 110 in conjunction with the microcontroller circuit 120 to independently drive the spatial light modulation unit 150 and the motor unit 130. This allows for a larger driving voltage (or driving current), thereby increasing the upper limit of the rotational speed of the motor unit 130 and the color wheel 140. When the rotational speed of the color wheel 140 is increased, its heat dissipation efficiency is improved, making it suitable for projection devices with higher brightness, thereby reducing the impact of the rainbow effect and improving display quality.

[0029] Figure 3A This is described according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The circuit block diagram of the motor unit 130 shown is shown. Figure 3B This is described according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3A A schematic diagram of the sensing scenario for the motor unit 130 shown. Figure 3A and Figure 3B In the illustrated embodiment, the motor unit 130 may include a motor 130_1, a sensing unit 130_2, and a drive circuit 130_3. Please also refer to... Figure 1 , Figure 3A and Figure 3B The drive circuit 130_3 drives the motor 130_1 according to the control of the microcontroller circuit 120. The motor 130_1 drives the color wheel 140 to rotate. The motor 130_1 can be, for example, a three-phase brushless motor, a stepper motor, or other types of motor. Depending on the design, in some embodiments, the drive unit 130_3 may include a gate driver and a power transistor, such as a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). In some embodiments, the drive voltage of the drive circuit 130_3 can be greater than 15 volts, or the drive current of the drive circuit 130_3 can be greater than 1 ampere. In this way, a high-speed (e.g., greater than or equal to 14400 rpm) motor 130_1 can be used to drive the color wheel 140 to rotate.

[0030] At Figure 3A In the illustrated embodiment, the sensing unit 130_2 is used to sense the rotational state of the motor 130_1 and generate a position indication signal I_PW. For example, in Figure 3B In the illustrated embodiment, the color wheel 140 is a filter color wheel, and one (or more) index tags IM can be affixed to the filter (or other location) of the filter color wheel. In other embodiments, the index tags IM can be affixed to the rotation shaft of the motor 130_1. When the sensing unit 130_2 (e.g., an image sensor or a light sensor) senses the position of the index tag IM, the sensing unit 130_2 can generate a position indication signal I_PW to the image control circuit 110 and the microcontroller circuit 120. Therefore, the position indication signal I_PW can indicate the rotation state of the motor 130_1. It must be noted here that... Figure 3B This is just one embodiment of sensing unit 130_2 sensing the rotational state of motor 130_1. In other embodiments, sensing unit 130_2 can sense the rotational axis of motor 130_1 connected to color wheel 140 to obtain position indication signal I_PW.

[0031] Figure 4 This is a circuit block diagram of a color wheel control system 400 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, the color wheel control system 400 may include an image control circuit 110, a microcontroller circuit 120, a motor unit 130, a motor unit 131, a color wheel 140, a color wheel 141, and a spatial light modulation unit 150. Figure 4 The image control circuit 110, microcontroller circuit 120, motor unit 130, color wheel 140, and spatial light modulation unit 150 shown can be referenced. Figure 1 or Figure 3A The descriptions of the image control circuit 110, microcontroller circuit 120, motor unit 130, color wheel 140, and spatial light modulation unit 150 in the illustrated embodiment can be deduced by analogy, and therefore will not be repeated.

[0032] At Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, motor unit 131 is coupled to image control circuit 110, microcontroller circuit 120, and color wheel 141. Motor unit 131 drives color wheel 141 to rotate and generates a position indication signal I_FW related to color wheel 141. Position indication signal I_FW can be fed back to image control circuit 110 and microcontroller circuit 120 to indicate the current rotation (motion) state of motor unit 131 (color wheel 141) (e.g., motor starting position, speed, orientation, rotational position of color wheel, etc.). In some embodiments, one of color wheel 140 and color wheel 141 can be a fluorescent pink wheel, while the other can be a filter color wheel; this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0033] It must be noted that in this embodiment, motor unit 131 is used to drive color wheel 141 to rotate. However, in other embodiments, the relevant functions of motor unit 131 can also be directly implemented by motor unit 130. That is, motor unit 130 and motor unit 131 can drive color wheel 140 and color wheel 141 to rotate respectively according to the control of micro control circuit 120, and generate position indication signal I_PW related to color wheel 140 and position indication signal I_FW related to color wheel 141 respectively. This embodiment does not impose any limitations.

[0034] In this embodiment, the microcontroller circuit 120 can control the motor unit 131 to maintain the rotational speed of the color wheel 141 at the target speed based on the position indication signal I_FW fed back from the motor unit 131. Depending on the application, the target rotational speed of the color wheel 141 may be the same as (or different from) the target rotational speed of the color wheel 140. In this embodiment, the microcontroller circuit 120 can adjust the target rotational speed of the color wheel 140 and / or the target rotational speed of the color wheel 141 based on the control signal CS generated by the image control circuit 110.

[0035] Depending on the actual needs, in some embodiments, the microcontroller circuit 120 can control the motor unit 131 according to the image synchronization signal (e.g., the image synchronization signal Vsync) to adjust the phase of the position indication signal I_FW, so that the rotation of the color wheel 141 is synchronized with the image synchronization signal Vsync. For example, based on the time difference (phase difference) between the image synchronization signal Vsync and the position indication signal I_PW, and based on the time difference (phase difference) between the image synchronization signal Vsync and the position indication signal I_FW, the microcontroller circuit 120 can control the motor unit 130 and the motor unit 131 to accelerate or decelerate, so that the rotation of the color wheel 140 and the color wheel 141 is synchronized with the image synchronization signal Vsync.

[0036] Figure 5 This is a circuit block diagram of a color wheel control system 500 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, the color wheel control system 500 may include an image control circuit 110, an image control circuit 111, a microcontroller circuit 120, a motor unit 130, a motor unit 131, a color wheel 140, a color wheel 141, and a spatial light modulation unit 150. Figure 5 The image control circuit 110, microcontroller circuit 120, motor unit 130, motor unit 131, color wheel 140, color wheel 141, and spatial light modulation unit 150 shown can be referenced. Figure 4 The descriptions of the image control circuit 110, microcontroller circuit 120, motor unit 130, motor unit 131, color wheel 140, color wheel 141, and spatial light modulation unit 150 in the illustrated embodiment can be deduced by analogy, and therefore will not be repeated.

[0037] At Figure 5In the illustrated embodiment, depending on design requirements, the image control circuit 111 can be coupled to the image control circuit 110, the motor unit 131, and the spatial light modulation unit 150. The image control circuit 111 may include, for example, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The image control circuit 111 receives a position indication signal I_FW related to the color wheel 141. In some embodiments, the effective working area (effective display area) of the spatial light modulation unit 150 can be divided into a first region and a second region, for example, two non-overlapping regions. The image control circuit 111 also receives an image synchronization signal Vsync and an image data signal Vdata. The image control circuits 110 and 111 can be used to drive the first region and the second region of the spatial light modulation unit 150, respectively. In this way, by using two image control circuits 110 and 111 to project two different regions of the spatial light modulation unit 150, the delay time for projection control can be reduced, and the bandwidth requirements of the image control circuit 110 can be lowered. In other embodiments, more image control circuits can be provided to project and control more different regions of the spatial light modulation unit 150; this embodiment is not limited to this. Further, the image control circuit 110 can be a master control circuit, and the image control circuit 111 can be a slave control circuit. After receiving the position indication signal I_FW, the image control circuit 111 can transmit a corresponding signal to the image control circuit 110, or the motor unit 131 can directly transmit the position indication signal I_FW to the image control circuit 110. The image control circuit 110 (master control circuit) integrates the position indication signal I_PW, the position indication signal I_FW, the image synchronization signal Vsync, and the image data signal Vdata to control the image control circuit 111 (slave control circuit) to drive the first and second regions of the spatial light modulation unit 150 respectively.

[0038] In summary, the embodiments of the present invention have at least one of the following advantages or effects. In the color wheel control system 500 described in the embodiments of the present invention, the microcontroller circuit 120 can independently control the motor unit 130 to maintain the rotation speed of the color wheel 140 at a first target rotation speed based on the position indication signal I_PW associated with the color wheel 140, and the microcontroller circuit 120 can independently control the motor unit 131 to maintain the rotation speed of the color wheel 141 at a second target rotation speed based on the position indication signal I_FW associated with the color wheel 141. After power-on, the image control circuit 110, image control circuit 111, and microcontroller circuit 120 of the color wheel control system 500 of this embodiment can simultaneously receive power. Therefore, during the period when the system is first powered on and waiting for other units (such as image control unit 110 and image control unit 111) to initialize, the microcontroller circuit 120 can immediately drive the color wheel 140 and color wheel 141 to rotate to a preset initial rotation speed. After other units (such as the image control unit 110 and the image control circuit 111) have completed initialization, the microcontroller circuit 120 can adjust the target speed of the color wheel 140 and the color wheel 141 according to the control signal CS generated by the image control unit 110. In this way, the color wheel control system 500 can quickly increase the speed of the color wheel 140 and the color wheel 141 to the target speed, greatly reducing the startup waiting time.

[0039] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the claims and specification of the present invention are still within the scope of the patent coverage of the present invention. Furthermore, no embodiment or claim of the present invention needs to achieve all the objectives, advantages, or features disclosed in the present invention. In addition, the abstract and title are only used to assist in patent document retrieval and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., mentioned in this specification or claims are only used to name elements or distinguish different embodiments or scopes, and are not used to limit the upper or lower limit of the number of elements.

[0040] Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the appended claims.

[0041] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0042] 100, 300, 400, 500: Color wheel control system

[0043] 110, 111: Image control circuit

[0044] 120: Microcontroller circuit

[0045] 130, 131: Motor unit

[0046] 130_1: Motor

[0047] 130_2: Sensing Unit

[0048] 130_3: Drive circuit

[0049] 140, 141: Color Wheel

[0050] 150: Spatial light modulation unit

[0051] CS: Control signal

[0052] I_FW, I_PW: Position indication signals

[0053] IM: Index Tags

[0054] Vdata: Image data signal

[0055] Vsync: Video synchronization signal

Claims

1. A color wheel control system, comprising a first image control circuit, a first motor unit, and a micro control circuit, the first motor unit coupled to the first image control circuit and the micro control circuit, wherein the first motor unit is configured to drive a first color wheel to rotate and generate a first position indication signal associated with the first color wheel, wherein the first position indication signal is fed back to the first image control circuit and the micro control circuit; the first image control circuit configured to generate a control signal, wherein the first image control circuit is configured to drive a spatial light modulation unit according to the first position indication signal; the micro control circuit coupled to the first image control circuit to receive the control signal from the first image control circuit, wherein the micro control circuit is configured to control the first motor unit to maintain a rotational speed of the first color wheel at a first target rotational speed according to the first position indication signal, and the micro control circuit is configured to adjust the first target rotational speed according to the control signal.

2. The color wheel control system of claim 1, wherein, the first image control circuit is configured to drive the spatial light modulation unit according to the first position indication signal, an image synchronization signal, and an image data signal.

3. The color wheel control system of claim 1, wherein, during an initialization period after power up, the micro control circuit is configured to set the first target rotational speed to an initial rotational speed before the first image control circuit generates the control signal.

4. The color wheel control system of claim 1, wherein, the micro control circuit is configured to control the first motor unit to adjust a phase of the first position indication signal according to an image synchronization signal.

5. The color wheel control system of claim 4, wherein, the image synchronization signal is provided by the first image control circuit to the micro control circuit.

6. The color wheel control system of claim 1, wherein, the first motor unit comprises a motor, a sensing unit, and a driving circuit, the motor is configured to drive the first color wheel to rotate; the sensing unit is configured to sense a rotational state of the motor and generate the first position indication signal; the driving circuit is configured to drive the motor according to a control of the micro control circuit.

7. The color wheel control system of claim 6, wherein, a driving voltage of the driving circuit is greater than 15 volts, or a driving current of the driving circuit is greater than 1 ampere.

8. The color wheel control system of claim 1, wherein, further comprising: a second motor unit coupled to the micro control circuit and the first image control circuit, configured to drive a second color wheel to rotate and generate a second position indication signal associated with the second color wheel, wherein the micro control circuit is configured to control the second motor unit to maintain a rotational speed of the second color wheel at a second target rotational speed according to the second position indication signal, and the micro control circuit is configured to adjust the second target rotational speed according to the control signal.

9. The color wheel control system of claim 8, wherein, one of the first color wheel and the second color wheel is a fluorescent color wheel, and the other of the first color wheel and the second color wheel is a filter color wheel.

10. The color wheel control system of claim 8, wherein, further comprising: a second image control circuit coupled to the first image control circuit and the second motor unit, configured to receive the second position indication signal associated with the second color wheel, wherein the first image control circuit is configured to drive a first area of the spatial light modulation unit, the second image control circuit is configured to drive a second area of the spatial light modulation unit, and the first area and the second area constitute an effective working area of the spatial light modulation unit.

11. The color wheel control system of claim 1, wherein, The first image control circuit generates the control signal according to a content of an image data signal.

12. A color wheel control method, comprising: rotating a first color wheel by a first motor unit and generating a first position indication signal associated with the first color wheel, wherein the first position indication signal is fed back to a first image control circuit and a micro control circuit; generating a control signal by the first image control circuit, wherein the control signal is transmitted to the micro control circuit, and wherein the first image control circuit is configured to drive a spatial light modulation unit according to the first position indication signal; controlling, by the micro control circuit, the first motor unit to maintain a rotation speed of the first color wheel at a first target rotation speed according to the first position indication signal; and adjusting, by the micro control circuit, the first target rotation speed according to the control signal. The first image control circuit drives the spatial light modulation unit according to the first position indication signal, an image synchronization signal and an image data signal.

13. The color wheel control method of claim 12, wherein, Further comprising:

14. The color wheel control method of claim 12, wherein, during an initialization period after power-up, setting, by the micro control circuit, the first target rotation speed to an initial rotation speed before the first image control circuit generates the control signal. Further comprising:

15. The color wheel control method of claim 12, wherein, controlling, by the micro control circuit, the first motor unit to adjust a phase of the first position indication signal according to an image synchronization signal. Further comprising:

16. The color wheel control method of claim 15, wherein, providing, by the first image control circuit, the image synchronization signal to the micro control circuit. Further comprising:

17. The color wheel control method of claim 12, wherein, rotating a second color wheel by a second motor unit and generating a second position indication signal associated with the second color wheel; controlling, by the micro control circuit, the second motor unit to maintain a rotation speed of the second color wheel at a second target rotation speed according to the second position indication signal; and adjusting, by the micro control circuit, the second target rotation speed according to the control signal. One of the first color wheel and the second color wheel is a fluorescent color wheel, and the other of the first color wheel and the second color wheel is a filter color wheel. Further comprising:

18. The color wheel control method of claim 17, wherein, driving, by the first image control circuit, a first area of the spatial light modulation unit; and 19. The color wheel control method of claim 17, wherein, receiving, by a second image control circuit, the second position indication signal associated with the second color wheel and driving a second area of the spatial light modulation unit; wherein the first area and the second area constitute an effective working area of the spatial light modulation unit. Further comprising: generating, by the first image control circuit, the control signal according to a content of an image data signal. ​ 20. The color wheel control method of claim 12, wherein, ​ ​

Images