Projection system, projection method and program

Abstract

To project a portion of a projection object in a full scale even when the entire projection object cannot be projected in a full scale.SOLUTION: A projection system 100 comprises: a screen acquisition unit 140 which acquires drawing data including a drawing image and dimension data; a projection unit 130 which projects the drawing image to a projection object body; and a control unit 110. The control unit 110 acquires the dimension data included in the drawing data acquired by the screen acquisition unit 140, determines whether the entire drawing image can be projected to the projection object body in a full scale on the basis of the acquired dimension data, and projects a portion of the drawing image to the projection object body by the projection unit 130 when the projection is impossible.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a projection system, a projection method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, projection apparatuses (projector apparatuses) that project and display various images onto a screen have been used. When a projection apparatus is used, the size of a projected image (projection image) can be easily changed by changing the distance to the screen (projection surface, projected object) or changing the zoom magnification. Therefore, it is also possible to project a projection target onto a projection surface in full size, like the image display apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

Prior Art Literature

Patent Literature

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By projecting a projection target in full size, a user can easily grasp the actual size of the projection target. However, depending on the size of the projection surface (projected object), projection in full size may not be possible. In the image display apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is determined whether projection in full size onto the projection surface is possible, and an error display is performed when projection in full size is not possible. However, even when the entire projection target cannot be projected in full size onto the projection surface, there are cases where it is desired to project a part of the projection target in full size.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a projection system, a projection method, and a program capable of projecting a part of a projection target in full size even when the entire projection target cannot be projected in full size.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] To achieve the above objective, one aspect of the projection system according to the present invention is: A drawing acquisition unit that acquires drawing data including drawing images and dimension data, A projection unit that projects the aforementioned drawing image onto an object to be projected onto, A projection object acquisition unit that acquires an image including the projection object, Control unit and Equipped with, The control unit, The dimensional data included in the drawing data acquired by the drawing acquisition unit is acquired, Based on the acquired dimensional data, it is determined whether the entire drawing image can be projected onto the object to be projected onto at actual size. The maximum projection size, which is the largest size that can be projected onto the object to be projected onto, is calculated. If the entire drawing image cannot be projected onto the object to be projected at actual size, the drawing acquisition unit extracts the essential part of the drawing image from the drawing data acquired by the drawing acquisition unit, as an area less than or equal to the maximum projection size, and projects the extracted essential part onto the object to be projected using the projection unit. The control unit, Based on the image acquired by the object acquisition unit, the position of the projection region on the object is obtained, which is the area projected onto the object by the projection unit. The image acquired by the object to be projected is associated with the drawing image. The region corresponding to the position of the projection region in the corresponding drawing image is extracted as the main part. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, even when it is not possible to project the entire projection target at actual size, a part of the projection target can be projected at actual size. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a projection system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a diagram illustrating the slow ratio of the projection section. [Figure 3] This is a diagram showing an example of drawing data. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart of the full-scale projection process according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart of the trimming process according to the embodiment. [Figure 6]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a main part cut out by trimming processing according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a main part cut out by trimming processing according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a projection system according to Modified Example 1. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an image acquired by a projection target acquisition unit. [Figure 10] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of trimming processing according to Modified Example 1. [Figure 11] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a main part cut out by trimming processing according to Modified Example 1. [Figure 12] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a projection system according to Modified Example 2. [Figure 13] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a projection position changing unit. [Figure 14] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of full-size projection processing according to Modified Example 2. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of moving trimming processing according to Modified Example 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0009] A projection system and the like according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0010] (Embodiment) The projection system according to this embodiment is a system that reads a drawing (drawing data including drawing images and dimension data) that has dimensions indicated on it, and projects the drawing at actual size. By using this projection system, for example, at a construction site, a user can confirm the location and size of each room and piece of equipment at actual size by projecting architectural drawings (floor plans, piping diagrams, etc.) onto the ground or walls at actual size. Actual size refers to the size of the dimensions indicated in the drawing data. In other words, actual size projection means projecting at the size of the dimensions indicated in the drawing data. Drawing data generally contains information about dimensions (numbers indicating dimensions, numbers indicating scale, etc.), but here, the information about dimensions is called dimension data, and the image data of the drawing data other than the dimension data is called the drawing image.

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the projection system 100 according to this embodiment includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, a projection unit 130, a drawing acquisition unit 140, a distance measuring unit 150, and an operation unit 160.

[0012] The control unit 110 is composed of a processor, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 110 executes the actual-scale projection process and other operations described later, based on the program stored in the memory unit 120.

[0013] The storage unit 120 stores programs executed by the control unit 110 and necessary data. The storage unit 120 may include, but is not limited to, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, etc. The storage unit 120 may also be located inside the control unit 110.

[0014] The projection unit 130 includes a projection image output unit consisting of a liquid crystal or DMD (Digital Mirror Device), and an optical block consisting of a light source and lenses, and projects the input image data onto a projection surface such as a screen. The optical block has functions such as optical zoom, aspect ratio adjustment, and keystone distortion adjustment, and the optical zoom magnification, aspect ratio, etc. can be changed by control from the control unit 110. The control unit 110 can also change the throw ratio (TR) of the projection unit 130 by changing the zoom magnification, etc. The throw ratio is the ratio of the projection distance (distance to the projection surface) to the size of the projected image (for example, the horizontal length of the projected image). For example, as shown in Figure 2, the projection unit 130 is installed on the ceiling 220 with the floor 210 as the projection surface, and if the distance from the projection unit 130 to the projection surface is d and the horizontal length of the projected image on the projection surface is w, then the throw ratio TR = d / w.

[0015] The drawing acquisition unit 140 is equipped with an image sensor and reads a drawing 300 as shown in Figure 3 to acquire drawing data including a drawing image and dimensional data. The drawing acquisition unit 140 may also acquire drawing data (such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) data) that has been previously scanned or photographed with a digital camera, in which case the drawing acquisition unit 140 does not need to be equipped with an image sensor.

[0016] The distance measuring unit 150 measures the distance from the projection unit 130 to the object to be projected. The distance measuring unit 150 can use any sensor that can measure distance. For example, the distance measuring unit 150 may be an ultrasonic sensor that measures distance by emitting ultrasonic waves and measuring the time it takes for the waves to reflect back to the object being measured. Alternatively, the distance measuring unit 150 may measure the distance to the object by emitting lasers or radio waves, or by using a stereo camera or the like. Note that if the distance between the projection unit 130 and the object to be projected is predetermined, or if there is no need to measure the distance (for example, if the distance between the projection unit 130 and the object to be projected is stored in the memory unit 120), the projection system 100 does not need to be equipped with the distance measuring unit 150.

[0017] The operation unit 160 is a user interface such as a push-button switch or a touch panel, and accepts user input. The projection system 100 includes, for example, a switch (full-size projection switch) for executing the full-size projection process described later, as the operation unit 160. The projection system 100 may also include a touch panel integrated with a display as the operation unit 160. By including such a touch panel, the projection system 100 can, for example, display a drawing acquired by the drawing acquisition unit 140 on the display and allow the user to specify the starting point of the projection range (the upper left point) using the touch panel.

[0018] The projection system 100 may be a single projector device equipped with the above-described functional configuration, or it may be a combination of multiple devices equipped with the above-described functional configuration. For example, the projection system 100 may be configured by connecting a PC (Personal Computer) equipped with a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, and an operation unit 160, a projector device equipped with a projection unit 130, a scanner device equipped with a drawing acquisition unit 140, and a distance sensor device equipped with a distance measuring unit 150 via USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like.

[0019] Furthermore, the projection system 100 may have multiple projection units 130. For example, by installing four projection units 130 in a 2x2 configuration, it becomes possible to project an image at actual size up to twice the size in both length and width compared to having only one projection unit 130. Even when the projection system 100 has multiple projection units 130, they can be considered as a single virtual projection unit 130 capable of projecting a large image, and by considering them in this way, the following explanation can be applied.

[0020] Next, the full-size projection process performed by the control unit 110 will be explained with reference to Figure 4. The full-size projection process is the process of projecting the drawing data to be projected at actual size, and it is started when the user operates the operation unit 160 to instruct the start of the full-size projection process (for example, by pressing the full-size projection switch).

[0021] First, the control unit 110 acquires drawing data using the drawing acquisition unit 140 (step S101). In this step, the control unit 110 acquires not only the drawing image as image data, but also the dimension data included in the drawing data. For example, when the drawing acquisition unit 140 acquires drawing data from the drawing 300 shown in Figure 3, it recognizes the numbers and line segments present on the upper and left sides of the drawing 300, thereby acquiring the length of each part in the drawing and the size of the entire drawing as dimension data. In principle, if no units are indicated, the units are treated as millimeters, so in this example, the size of the entire drawing is 5460 mm x 5460 mm. If units are indicated in the drawing, the size based on those units is acquired as dimension data. Alternatively, if a scale is indicated in the drawing, the size calculated based on the length and scale in the drawing may be acquired as dimension data.

[0022] Next, the control unit 110 calculates the maximum projection size (step S102). Specifically, the control unit 110 measures the distance from the projection unit 130 to the object to be projected (projection surface) using the distance measuring unit 150 (projection distance), and calculates the maximum length in both the horizontal and vertical directions that can actually be projected onto the object to be projected based on the settings of the projection unit 130, such as the throw ratio, optical zoom magnification, and aspect ratio. For example, if the projection distance is d, the throw ratio (projection distance / horizontal length of the projected image) is TR, and the aspect ratio (horizontal length of the projected image / vertical length) is A, the maximum horizontal length WM and the maximum vertical length HM that can be projected are calculated using the following formulas. WM=d / TR HM = d / (TR·A)

[0023] Then, the control unit 110 compares the dimensional data acquired in step S101 with the maximum projection size (WM, HM) calculated in step S102 to determine whether the entire drawing data can be projected (step S103). If the entire drawing can be projected (step S103; Yes), the control unit 110 proceeds to step S105.

[0024] If the entire image cannot be projected (step S103; No), the control unit 110 crops a portion of the drawing image to match the vertical and horizontal dimensions (WM, HM) of the projectable area (step S104), and proceeds to step S105. The cropping process performed in step S104 is the process of cutting out the essential part of the image (the area with the maximum projection size (WM, HM) in the image), but the details of the process will be described later.

[0025] In step S105, the control unit 110 calculates the projection scale. In this step, the control unit 110 determines the vertical length (VL) and horizontal length (HL) of one pixel in the projected image by dividing the maximum projection size (WM, HM) by the resolution of the image projected by the projection unit 130, and calculates the number of pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions by dividing the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the drawing (or the cropped part if step S104 was performed) by the vertical and horizontal lengths of one pixel. Specifically, these are calculated using the following formulas. The length of one vertical pixel, VL, is calculated as: Maximum vertical projection size ÷ Vertical resolution. The length of one horizontal pixel HL = Maximum horizontal projection size ÷ Horizontal resolution Vertical pixel count PV = Vertical drawing dimension ÷ VL Horizontal pixel count PH = Horizontal drawing dimensions ÷ HL

[0026] Note that the process in step S105 may be performed before step S103. Also, the projection system 100 may project the drawing image at a size smaller than the maximum size that can be projected by the projection unit 130 (vertical projection size and horizontal projection size). In this case, the calculation of VL and HL is performed using the following formulas. The length of one vertical pixel, VL, is calculated as the vertical projection size divided by the vertical resolution. The length of one horizontal pixel HL = Horizontal projection size ÷ Horizontal resolution

[0027] Then, the control unit 110 generates a projection image from the drawing image if the entire image can be projected, or from the essential parts cut out by the trimming process if the entire image cannot be projected, according to the number of vertical and horizontal pixels calculated in step S105 (step S106).

[0028] Then, the control unit 110 projects the generated projection image using the projection unit 130 (step S107), and the actual-size projection process is completed.

[0029] Next, the trimming process performed in step S104 of the full-scale projection process will be explained with reference to Figure 5. This process extracts the essential parts of the drawing image (the rectangular area of ​​the maximum projection size in the drawing image).

[0030] First, the control unit 110 determines whether or not to manually specify the starting point for trimming (the upper left point of the main part) (step S201). For example, if the user instructs the operation unit 160 to manually specify the starting point, the determination in step S201 is Yes. If the starting point for trimming is to be manually specified (step S201; Yes), the control unit 110 obtains the position of the starting point entered by the user via the operation unit 160 (step S202). Then, the control unit 110 uses the starting point obtained in step S202 (the starting point entered by the user) as the upper left point of the area to be cut out (trimming area) and cuts out a rectangular area of ​​the maximum projection size from the drawing image as the main part (step S203). Then, the control unit 110 finishes the trimming process and proceeds to step S105 of the actual-size projection process. The manual specification of the above starting point may also be performed by clicking or tapping with a mouse (not shown) on any point in the drawing image displayed on a display (not shown) (if the display is a touch panel). In one embodiment, the size of the main part may be smaller than the maximum projection size. The size of the main part may be set in advance by the user. If the size of the main part is smaller than the maximum projection size, the position of the main part in the image of the maximum projection size may be set to a predetermined position (e.g., the center), or it may be set by the user.

[0031] On the other hand, if the starting point for trimming is not manually specified (step S201; No), the control unit 110 divides the drawing image into unit areas (step S204) and calculates the whiteness ratio for each unit area (step S205). Specifically, the control unit 110 divides the drawing image into 100 unit areas of 10x10 dimensions and calculates the ratio of white pixels in each area.

[0032] Then, the control unit 110 extracts the unit region with the minimum whiteness ratio (step S206) and cuts out the region containing the unit region with the minimum whiteness ratio (step S207). For example, the control unit 110 uses the upper left point of the unit region with the minimum whiteness ratio as the upper left point of the trimming region and cuts out the region of the maximum projection size as the main part from the drawing image. Then, the control unit 110 finishes the trimming process and proceeds to step S105 of the actual size projection process.

[0033] In steps S205 to S207, the control unit 110 may, instead of focusing on the whiteness ratio of each individual unit region, extract the region of the maximum projection size (projection size region) in the drawing image, shifting it along the vertical and horizontal lengths of the unit region, calculate the whiteness ratio of each projection size region, and extract the projection size region at the position where the whiteness ratio is minimized as the main part.

[0034] The reason the area with the minimum whiteness ratio is selected as the key area in the aforementioned cropping process is that a minimum whiteness ratio means that various lines and characters are drawn in that area, and therefore the amount of information in that area is considered to be high. In other words, the cropping process described above extracts the area in the drawing image that is considered to have the most information as the key area.

[0035] Through the above-described full-size projection and cropping processes, even if the entire drawing image cannot be projected onto the object at full size, a portion of the drawing image (essential parts) can be projected onto the object at full size. Note that in the above explanation, the projection target was assumed to be a drawing image without dimension data; however, drawing data including dimension data may also be used as the projection target.

[0036] For example, when projecting drawing 300 shown in Figure 3, if a maximum projection size of 3000 mm × 4000 mm is obtained in step S102, it is impossible to project the entire drawing (5460 mm × 5460 mm), so a trimming process is performed. If there is no instruction for manual trimming, the automatic trimming process cuts out the area with the minimum whiteness ratio (the upper left area of ​​drawing 300 shown in Figure 3), and a trimming range 230 of 3000 mm × 4000 mm is cut out from drawing 300 shown in Figure 6, and the main part 310 of the drawing as shown in Figure 7 is projected.

[0037] In the above-described full-size projection process, it is assumed that the object to be projected is larger than or equal to the maximum projection size, and no process is performed to determine whether or not to crop based on the size of the object to be projected. However, the control unit 110 may, for example, acquire the size of the object to be projected (the maximum length and width of the object to be projected) in step S102, and in step S103, determine whether or not the entire object can be projected based on the smaller of the maximum projection size and the size of the object to be projected (length and width). As for how to acquire the size of the object to be projected, the user may input the size of the object to be projected using the operation unit 160, or the size of the object to be projected may be measured using some kind of sensor (such as a sensor provided by the distance measuring unit 150 or a separately prepared camera). An example of a sensor for acquiring the size of the object to be projected is a distance image sensor using the TOF (Time Of Flight) method.

[0038] Furthermore, in the full-scale projection process described above, the control unit 110 performs the acquisition of drawing data (step S101), calculation of the maximum projection size (step S102), and calculation of the projection scale (step S105) each time. However, by storing the acquired data and calculated values ​​in the storage unit 120, the acquisition and calculation processes can be omitted from the second time onward. For example, if the installation position of the projection unit 130 is not changed, the control unit 110 can calculate the maximum projection size once and then store it in the storage unit 120, eliminating the need for calculation from the second time onward.

[0039] Furthermore, the projection system 100 may also have a function to switch and project drawings of different layers of the same object (in the example above, it was a floor plan drawing as shown in Figure 3, but it could be a drawing of the piping on the lower layer, a drawing of the roof on the upper layer, etc.). In this case, once the control unit 110 calculates the projection scale, it stores it in the storage unit 120, so calculation is not required from the second time onward.

[0040] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the projection unit 130 was installed on the ceiling 220, and the floor 210 was used as the projection target to project an object (at least drawing data including a drawing image). However, the projection target is not limited to the floor 210. For example, similar to a normal projector, the projection unit 130 can be installed on the floor 210 or on a stand, and the wall can be used as the projection target. In this case, the projection unit 130 can project a drawing image of, for example, a door, sliding door, cupboard, kitchen, etc., viewed from the side (the direction of the user's usual line of sight) onto the wall at actual size, allowing the user to experience the actual size and feel of the door, etc.

[0041] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the projection unit 130 calculated the projection scale so as to project the projection target at actual size. However, by arbitrarily changing the projection scale, the magnification during projection can be arbitrarily changed. For example, at the user's instruction, the projection unit 130 may project the projection target at twice the actual size or at half the actual size.

[0042] (Variation 1) In the above-described embodiment, the area automatically cropped by the trimming process was an area with a low whiteness ratio, i.e., an area with a high amount of information. However, the area that the user wants to project is not necessarily an area with a high amount of information. For this reason, the above-described embodiment allows the user to manually specify the area to be cropped by the trimming process. However, having the user specify the area to be cropped makes the user operation cumbersome. For example, when projecting a floor plan onto the ground at a construction site, it is convenient if the area of ​​the floor plan corresponding to that area is projected onto the ground. Therefore, we will now describe Modification 1, which determines the position of the area to be cropped automatically by understanding the correspondence between the position in the drawing image and the position on the projected object.

[0043] The projection system 101 according to Modification 1 has a functional configuration in which a projection target acquisition unit 170 is added to the projection system 100, as shown in Figure 8. The projection system 101 according to Modification 1 is intended for use, for example, at a house construction site, when only the foundation work or only a part of the structure such as columns has been erected, to project a drawing 300 as shown in Figure 3 onto the ground at the construction site in order to confirm where each room and piece of equipment will be installed. Therefore, it is conceivable that the floor 210 may not yet be completed at this stage (the ground may be exposed), but for convenience, the projection target will be described as the floor 210 even if it is the ground. Furthermore, even if the ceiling 220 has not yet been completed, it is assumed that the projection unit 130 will be installed at a high position similar to the ceiling 220 using scaffolding or a tripod.

[0044] The object acquisition unit 170 is equipped with a camera near the projection unit 130 and takes a picture of the object to be projected (projection surface) to acquire an image that shows the location of the characteristic parts of the object to be projected. Here, the characteristic parts of the object to be projected are, for example, the edges of the object to be projected (for example, the boundary between the floor and the wall). For example, if the projection unit 130 of the projection system 101 is installed to project from the ceiling 220 toward the floor as shown in Figure 2, the camera of the object acquisition unit 170 will take an image 250 including the floor 210, which is the object to be projected, and its edge 211, as shown in Figure 9. The control unit 110 of the projection system 101 then recognizes the image 250 acquired by the object acquisition unit 170 and recognizes the location of the edge 211 of the object to be projected.

[0045] Furthermore, the control unit 110 of the projection system 101 also recognizes the position of the projection area 240 (where the projected image will be projected onto the object to be projected) from the image 250 acquired by the object acquisition unit 170, for example, by projecting a dummy image from the projection unit 130. The dummy image is arbitrary image data of the maximum projection size such that the size of the projected image and the position of the feature part of the object to be projected can be recognized from the image 250, for example, an image data that is entirely white. However, if the user does not want projection at the maximum projection size, or if the actual size of the drawing image is smaller than the maximum projection size, the size of the dummy image may be smaller than the maximum projection size.

[0046] The full-size projection process of the projection system 101 in Modification Example 1 is the same as the full-size projection process of the projection system 100 (Figure 4), but the content of the trimming process performed in step S104 is different. Therefore, the trimming process related to Modification Example 1 will be explained with reference to Figure 10.

[0047] Note that steps S301 to S303 of the trimming process shown in Figure 10 are the same as steps S201 to S203 of the trimming process of the projection system 100 (Figure 5), so the explanation is omitted.

[0048] If the starting point for trimming is not manually specified in step S301 (step S301; No), the control unit 110 recognizes the position of a feature area in the drawing image (step S304). A feature area in the drawing image is a part of the drawing image that serves as a landmark when corresponding to the position of the object to be projected, such as an edge (the boundary between the floor and the wall). The following explanation will assume that the feature area is an edge.

[0049] Next, the control unit 110 recognizes the position of the characteristic parts (in this case, the edges) of the object to be projected from the image of the object to be projected acquired by the object acquisition unit 170 (step S305). At this time, the control unit 110 also recognizes the distance between the edges of the object to be projected (in Figure 9, both the distance between the left and right edges and the distance between the top and bottom edges are 5460 millimeters), and compares it with the dimensional data to confirm that the actual size of the entire drawing is equal to the size of the object to be projected (floor 210).

[0050] Although omitted in Figure 10 for simplicity, if the actual size of the entire drawing is not equal to the size of the object being projected, or if the position of a feature (end) of the object being projected cannot be recognized, the projection system 101 may project an error message and terminate the actual-size projection process, or it may ask the user via the operation unit 160 to input which position on the object being projected should correspond to the feature (end) of the drawing.

[0051] Next, the control unit 110 projects a dummy image from the projection unit 130 and then, based on the image 250 acquired by the object to be projected onto (floor 210), recognizes (acquires) the position of the projection area 240 on the object to be projected onto (floor 210) (step S306). Figure 9 shows an example where an area of ​​4000 mm horizontally and 3000 mm vertically, slightly to the upper left of the center of the floor 210, is recognized as the projection area 240.

[0052] The control unit 110 then matches the image 250 and the drawing image (by matching their scales and aligning the positions of their feature parts (edges) to achieve positional correspondence), and cuts out the area corresponding to the projection area 240 in the drawing image as the main part (step S307). In other words, the main part is cut out so that the part of the drawing image corresponding to the feature part in the projection area 240 of the image 250 is projected onto the location of the feature part. For example, if a feature part (e.g., a corner of a room) is exactly at the starting point (top-left point) of the projection area 240 in the image 250, the point in the drawing image corresponding to that feature part (e.g., a corner of a room) is cut out as the starting point (top-left point) of the main part. If the position of the feature part in the image 250 is not at the starting point (top-left point) of the projection area 240, the point in the drawing image that is a predetermined distance away from the position corresponding to that feature part in the drawing image is cut out as the starting point (top-left point) of the main part. The predetermined distance mentioned above corresponds to the distance from the feature portion in image 250 to the starting point (the upper leftmost point) of the projection region 240. As a result, as shown in Figure 11, for example, the portion of drawing 300 corresponding to the projection region 240 is cut out as the main part of the drawing 320. The control unit 110 then finishes the trimming process and proceeds to step S105 of the full-size projection process.

[0053] Furthermore, if in step S305 the user is asked to input which position on the projected object the feature portion (end) of the drawing should correspond to, in step S307 the control unit 110 matches the position of the feature portion (end) of the drawing with the position of the projected object input in step S305 to establish a correspondence between the drawing and the projected object.

[0054] By performing the trimming process described above, the projection system 101 according to the modified example 1 can project the area (essential part) in the drawing image corresponding to the projection area 240 on the object to be projected onto, in actual size and with the correct position.

[0055] (Modification 2) In Modification 1, the position of the projection unit 130 of the projection system 101 was fixed, but Modification 2 will be described in which the projection unit can be moved to project the drawing image over a wider area on the object to be projected.

[0056] As shown in Figure 12, the projection system 102 according to the modified example 2 has a functional configuration in which a projection position changing unit 180 is added to the projection system 101.

[0057] The projection position changing unit 180 is a means for changing the projection position (moving the projection area) of the projection unit 130. The projection position changing unit 180 may be a means for moving the projection unit 130, or a means for changing the projection direction of the projection unit 130. Here, an example of a projection position changing unit 180 that moves the projection unit 130 using a motor and a lead screw will be described.

[0058] The projection position changing unit 180 according to the modified example 2 includes, for example, a lateral motor 181, a lateral male screw 182, a lateral female screw 183, a vertical motor 184, a vertical male screw 185, and a vertical female screw 186, as shown in Figure 13.

[0059] The control unit 110 rotates the lateral male screw 182 with the lateral motor 181, causing the lateral female screw 183 to move laterally (left-right in Figure 13). Additionally, the vertical female screw 186 moves vertically (perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 13) by rotating the vertical male screw 185 with the vertical motor 184.

[0060] The horizontal motor 181 is fixed to the ceiling 220, the vertical motor 184 is fixed to the horizontal female thread 183, and the projection unit 130 is fixed to the vertical female thread 186. Therefore, the control unit 110 can rotate the horizontal motor 181 and the vertical motor 184 to move the position of the projection unit 130 freely in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0061] The full-scale projection process of the projection system 102 in Modification Example 2 will be explained with reference to Figure 14. However, the full-scale projection process of Modification Example 2 has many processes in common with the full-scale projection process of the projection system 100 (Figure 4). For example, steps S401, S402, S403, S404, S406, and S407 of the full-scale projection process of Modification Example 2 are the same as steps S101, S102, S105, S103, S106, and S107 of the full-scale projection process of the projection system 100 (Figure 4), respectively, so their explanation will be omitted.

[0062] If it is not possible to project the entire image in step S404 (step S404; No), the control unit 110 performs a moving trimming process (step S405) and terminates the actual-size projection process. The moving trimming process performed in step S405 is a process in which the essential part of the image is cut out and projected, while moving the projection unit 130 as necessary. The details of the moving trimming process will be explained with reference to Figure 15.

[0063] Of the moving trimming process, steps S501, S502, S503, and S504 are the same as steps S304, S305, S306, and S307 of the trimming process in Modification 1 (Figure 10), so their explanation is omitted. Also, steps S505 and S506 are the same as steps S106 and S107 of the full-size projection process in the embodiment (Figure 4), so their explanation is omitted.

[0064] In step S507, the control unit 110 determines whether or not the user has given an instruction to move the projection area from the operation unit 160. If there is an instruction to move (step S507; Yes), the control unit 110 moves the projection unit 130 using the projection position changing unit 180 according to the instruction (step S508), and returns to step S503.

[0065] In step S503, the control unit 110 may project a dummy image again to recognize the position of the projection area, or it may calculate the position of the projection area based on the amount by which the projection unit 130 has been moved by the projection position changing unit 180.

[0066] On the other hand, if there is no movement instruction in step S507 (step S507; No), the control unit 110 determines whether or not the user has given an instruction to end the full-size projection process from the operation unit 160 (step S509). If there is no instruction to end (step S509; No), the process returns to step S507. If there is an instruction to end (step S509; Yes), the movement and trimming process is terminated, and the full-size projection process is also terminated.

[0067] In the actual-size projection process according to Modification 2, the projection area can be moved freely vertically and horizontally by the moving and trimming process, and the area in the drawing corresponding to the position of the moved projection area can be projected at actual size. Therefore, even if the entire drawing cannot be projected at actual size, by moving the projection location, various parts of the drawing can be projected at actual size into the projection area at the corresponding position.

[0068] (Other variations) Furthermore, the projection systems 100, 101, and 102 can also be implemented using a computer such as a tablet or PC equipped with a projection unit 130, a drawing acquisition unit 140, a distance measuring unit 150, etc. Specifically, in the above embodiment, it was described that the program for the full-scale projection process executed by the control unit 110 is pre-stored in the storage unit 120. However, the program may be stored and distributed on a non-temporary computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), MO (Magneto-Optical disc), memory card, or USB memory, and a computer capable of executing the above-mentioned processes may be configured by loading and installing the program into the computer.

[0069] Furthermore, the program can be superimposed on a carrier wave and applied via a communication medium such as the Internet. For example, the program could be posted and distributed on a bulletin board system (BBS) on a communication network. This program could then be launched and executed under the control of the operating system (OS), just like any other application program, to perform the aforementioned processes.

[0070] Furthermore, the control unit 110 may consist of any single processor, such as a single processor, multi-processor, or multi-core processor, or it may be configured by combining any of these processors with processing circuits such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array).

[0071] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and the present invention includes the invention described in the claims and its equivalents. The invention described in the original claims of this application is listed below.

[0072] (Note 1) A drawing acquisition unit that acquires drawing data including drawing images and dimension data, A projection unit that projects the aforementioned drawing image onto an object to be projected onto, Control unit and Equipped with, The control unit, The dimensional data included in the drawing data acquired by the drawing acquisition unit is acquired, Based on the acquired dimensional data, it is determined whether the entire drawing image can be projected onto the object to be projected onto at actual size. If projection is not possible, a portion of the drawing image is projected onto the object to be projected onto by the projection unit. A projection system.

[0073] (Note 2) The system further includes a distance measuring unit that measures the distance to the object to be projected, The control unit determines whether the entire drawing image can be projected onto the object to be projected at actual size using the acquired dimensional data and the distance measured by the distance measuring unit. The projection system described in Appendix 1.

[0074] (Note 3) The control unit, The maximum projection size, which is the largest size that can be projected onto the object to be projected onto, is calculated. If it is not possible to project the entire drawing image onto the object to be projected at actual size, the projection unit projects an area of ​​the drawing image included in the drawing data acquired by the drawing acquisition unit onto the object to be projected, up to or equal to the maximum projection size. The projection system described in Appendix 1.

[0075] (Note 4) The control unit, As an area smaller than or equal to the maximum projection size, the essential part of the drawing image is cut out. The cut-out main part is projected onto the object to be projected using the projection unit. The projection system described in Appendix 3.

[0076] (Note 5) The control unit, As the main part, the region with a large amount of information in the drawing image is extracted. The projection system described in Appendix 4.

[0077] (Note 6) The control unit, The aforementioned essential part is to cut out the area specified by the user. The projection system described in Appendix 4.

[0078] (Note 7) It includes a projected object acquisition unit that acquires an image including the projected object, The control unit, Based on the image acquired by the object acquisition unit, the position of the projection region on the object is obtained, which is the area projected onto the object by the projection unit. The region corresponding to the position of the projection region in the aforementioned drawing image is cut out as the main part. The projection system described in Appendix 4.

[0079] (Note 8) It further includes a projection position changing unit that changes the projection position, The control unit, After changing the projection position in the projection position changing unit, the position of the projection area on the object to be projected is obtained based on the image acquired by the object to be projected acquisition unit, or based on the projection position changed by the projection position changing unit. The region corresponding to the position of the projection region in the aforementioned drawing image is cut out as the main part. The projection system described in Appendix 7.

[0080] (Note 9) The control unit, The dimension data is obtained by recognizing the numbers and line segments in the drawing image included in the drawing data. A projection system as described in any one of the appendices 1 through 8.

[0081] (Note 10) The control unit, The dimension data is obtained from the drawing data, which includes the drawing image and dimension data. Based on the acquired dimensional data, it is determined whether the entire drawing image can be projected onto the object to be projected at actual size. If projection is not possible, a portion of the drawing image is projected onto the object to be projected. Projection method.

[0082] (Note 11) On the computer, The dimension data is obtained from the drawing data, which includes the drawing image and dimension data. Based on the acquired dimensional data, it is determined whether the entire drawing image can be projected onto the object to be projected at actual size. If projection is not possible, a portion of the drawing image is projected onto the object to be projected. A program that executes a process. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0083] 100, 101, 102…Projection system, 110…Control unit, 120…Storage unit, 130…Projection unit, 140…Drawing acquisition unit, 150…Distance measurement unit, 160…Operation unit, 170…Projection object acquisition unit, 180…Projection position change unit, 181…Lateral motor, 182…Lateral male screw, 183…Lateral female screw, 184…Vertical motor, 185…Vertical male screw, 186…Vertical female screw, 210…Floor, 211…End, 220…Ceiling, 230…Trimming range, 240…Projection area, 250…Image, 300…Drawing, 310, 320…Main part

Claims

1. A drawing acquisition unit that acquires drawing data including drawing images and dimension data, A projection unit that projects the aforementioned drawing image onto an object to be projected onto, A projection object acquisition unit that acquires an image including the projection object, Control unit and Equipped with, The control unit, The dimensional data included in the drawing data acquired by the drawing acquisition unit is acquired, Based on the acquired dimensional data, it is determined whether the entire drawing image can be projected onto the object to be projected onto at actual size. The maximum projection size, which is the largest size that can be projected onto the object to be projected onto, is calculated. If the entire drawing image cannot be projected onto the object to be projected at actual size, the drawing acquisition unit extracts the essential part of the drawing image from the drawing data acquired by the drawing acquisition unit, as an area less than or equal to the maximum projection size, and projects the extracted essential part onto the object to be projected using the projection unit. The control unit, Based on the image acquired by the object acquisition unit, the position of the projection region on the object is obtained, which is the area projected onto the object by the projection unit. The image acquired by the object to be projected is associated with the drawing image. The region corresponding to the position of the projection region in the corresponding drawing image is cut out as the main part. A projection system.

2. The system further includes a distance measuring unit that measures the distance to the object to be projected, The control unit uses the acquired dimensional data and the distance measured by the distance measuring unit to determine whether the entire drawing image can be projected onto the object to be projected at actual size. The projection system according to claim 1.

3. The control unit, As the main part, in each region obtained by dividing the drawing image into unit regions, the unit region with the minimum whiteness ratio is extracted. The projection system according to claim 1.

4. The control unit, The aforementioned essential part is to cut out the area specified by the user. The projection system according to claim 1.

5. It further includes a projection position changing unit that changes the projection position, The control unit, After changing the projection position in the projection position changing unit, the position of the projection area on the object to be projected is obtained based on the image acquired by the object to be projected acquisition unit, or based on the projection position changed by the projection position changing unit. The region corresponding to the position of the projection region in the aforementioned drawing image is cut out as the main part. The projection system according to claim 1.

6. The control unit is The image acquired by the object acquisition unit and the drawing image are matched in scale, and the positions of the feature parts are aligned to create a correspondence. The projection system according to claim 1.

7. The control unit, The dimension data is obtained by recognizing the numbers and line segments in the drawing image included in the drawing data. The projection system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The control unit, The dimension data is obtained from the drawing data, which includes the drawing image and dimension data. Obtain an image that includes the object to be projected onto, Based on the acquired dimensional data, it is determined whether the entire drawing image can be projected onto the object to be projected onto at actual size. The maximum projection size, which is the largest size that can be projected onto the object to be projected onto, is calculated. If it is not possible to project the entire drawing image onto the object to be projected at actual size, the essential part of the drawing image included in the acquired drawing data is cut out as an area less than or equal to the maximum projection size, and the cut-out essential part is projected onto the object to be projected. The control unit, Based on the acquired image including the object to be projected, the position of the projection region on the object to be projected is obtained, which is the area projected onto the object to be projected. The acquired image including the object to be projected is associated with the drawing image, The region corresponding to the position of the projection region in the corresponding drawing image is cut out as the main part. Projection method.

9. On the computer, The dimension data is obtained from the drawing data, which includes the drawing image and dimension data. Obtain an image that includes the object to be projected onto, Based on the acquired dimensional data, it is determined whether the entire drawing image can be projected onto the object to be projected onto at actual size. The maximum projection size, which is the largest size that can be projected onto the object to be projected onto, is calculated. If it is not possible to project the entire drawing image onto the object to be projected at actual size, the essential part of the drawing image included in the acquired drawing data is cut out as an area less than or equal to the maximum projection size, and the cut-out essential part is projected onto the object to be projected. To the aforementioned computer, Based on the acquired image including the object to be projected, the position of the projection region on the object to be projected is obtained, which is the area projected onto the object to be projected. The acquired image including the object to be projected is associated with the drawing image, The region corresponding to the position of the projection region in the corresponding drawing image is cut out as the main part. A program that executes a process.

Images