Projector Image Blurring Around In-Focus Points for Uniform Projection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing projector technologies struggle with focus inconsistencies when projecting images onto surfaces with varying distances, leading to a sense of incongruity due to differences in focus between areas.

Innovation Solution

The method involves projecting a first image, determining an in-focus point, and performing blurring over a range including this point to generate a second image, which is then projected, ensuring consistent focus across the surface.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the projector focuses on a specific position on the projection surface, then the in-focus point is sharp and clear, but the out-of-focus areas create visual incongruity and poor overall image quality

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefocus precisionVSAvoidvisual incongruity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies different blur levels to different regions of the image. The in-focus point maintains sharpness while surrounding areas apply progressive blurring, creating local quality variations that match the depth of field characteristics and eliminate visual incongruity between focused and out-of-focused regions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of making only the in-focus point sharp and leaving out-of-focus areas as-is, the patent inverts the approach by applying blurring to the out-of-focus areas to match the expected visual appearance, thereby creating overall visual consistency across the projection image

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Stability of the object's composition

If the projector maintains consistent focus across the entire projection surface, then the image appearance is uniform, but the depth of field requirement becomes extremely challenging to achieve

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimage consistencyVSAvoidfocus control complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the focus parameters dynamically by calculating the in-focus point position and applying different blur levels based on the distance from this point. This allows the system to simulate consistent focus appearance across varying distances without requiring complex mechanical focus adjustment mechanisms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS12634418B2Control method for projector, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program, and projector

Publication Date: 2026.05.19 SEIKO EPSON CORP

AI summary

A control method for a projector includes: projecting a first image as a projection image onto a projection surface; determining a first in-focus point indicating an in-focus position in the projection image on the projection surface; determining a second in-focus point in the first image corresponding to the first in-focus point; and projecting a second image generated by performing first blurring over a range including the second in-focus point in the first image, as the projection image onto the projection surface.