阅读说明：本技术 激光投影方法及设备 (Laser projection method and apparatus ) 是由 吴凯 陈许 于 2021-09-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请公开了一种激光投影方法及设备,涉及激光投影技术领域。激光投影设备的控制器能够根据待投射图像中像素的颜色,控制投影光源向光机发出相应颜色的光。本申请解决了与图像像素颜色不同的其他颜色的光对光机内器件的性能产生影响的问题。本申请用于激光投影。(The application discloses a laser projection method and device, and relates to the technical field of laser projection. The controller of the laser projection equipment can control the projection light source to emit light with corresponding colors to the optical machine according to the colors of pixels in the image to be projected. The method and the device solve the problem that light of other colors different from the color of the image pixel influences the performance of devices in the optical engine. The application is used for laser projection.)

1. A laser projection device, characterized in that the laser projection device comprises: the projection light source can emit light with m colors to the optical machine, and m is larger than or equal to 1;

the controller is configured to: according to an image to be projected, sending a first signal to the projection light source and sending a second signal to the optical machine; the image to be projected comprises pixels of n colors, wherein n is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m; the first signal is used for indicating the projection light source to emit the light of the n colors to the light machine; the second signal is used for indicating the light machine to modulate the light with the n colors emitted by the projection light source and transmitting the modulated light to the lens;

the projection light source is used for emitting the light of the n colors to the light machine according to the first signal;

the optical machine is used for modulating the light emitted by the projection light source according to the second signal and directing the modulated light to the lens.

2. The laser projection device of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises: the processing unit and the driving unit are connected;

the processing unit is used for sending m control signals corresponding to the m colors one by one to the driving unit according to the image to be projected and sending the second signal to the optical machine;

the driving unit is used for sending the first signal to the projection light source according to the m control signals;

for any one of the n colors, the control signal corresponding to the color is used for instructing the driving unit to drive the projection light source to emit light of the color to the light machine;

when the m colors include other colors than the n colors, the control signals corresponding to the other colors are used for instructing the driving unit to: and forbidding to drive the projection light source to emit the light with other colors to the light machine.

3. The laser projection device of claim 2, wherein for any one of the m colors:

the color-corresponding control signal comprises: an enable signal and a current signal; the enable signal is used for indicating whether the current signal is effective or not; the current signal is used for indicating the driving current corresponding to the color;

the drive unit is used for: when the enable signal indicates that the current signal is valid and the driving current indicated by the current signal is greater than zero, sending a driving current corresponding to the color to the projection light source;

the projection light source is used for emitting light with the color to the optical machine according to the driving current corresponding to the color;

the first signal includes: a drive current for each of the n colors.

4. A laser projection device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the current signal is a pulse width modulated PWM signal.

5. The laser projection device of any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the processing unit comprises: the multimedia board unit and the control unit are connected;

the multimedia board unit is used for sending the image to be projected to the control unit;

the control unit is used for sending the m control signals to the driving unit and sending the second signal to the optical machine according to the image to be projected.

6. The laser projection device of claim 1 or 2, wherein m > n, the second signal further being configured to instruct the light engine to inhibit modulation of light of other colors, the m colors comprising the n colors and the other colors.

7. The laser projection device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the projection light source comprises: at least one laser.

8. A laser projection method for use with a laser projection apparatus, the laser projection apparatus comprising: the controller is connected with the projection light source and the optical machine, the projection light source can emit light with m colors to the optical machine, and m is larger than or equal to 1; the method comprises the following steps:

the controller sends a first signal to the projection light source and a second signal to the optical machine according to an image to be projected; the image to be projected comprises pixels of n colors, wherein n is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m; the first signal is used for indicating the projection light source to emit the light of the n colors to the light machine; the second signal is used for indicating the light machine to modulate the light with the n colors emitted by the projection light source and transmitting the modulated light to the lens;

the projection light source sends the light of the n colors to the light machine according to the first signal;

and the optical machine modulates the light emitted by the projection light source according to the second signal and directs the modulated light to the lens.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the controller comprises: the processing unit and the driving unit are connected; the controller sends a first signal to the projection light source and a second signal to the optical machine according to an image to be projected, and the method comprises the following steps:

the processing unit sends m control signals corresponding to the m colors one by one to the driving unit according to the image to be projected, and sends the second signal to the optical machine;

the driving unit sends the first signal to the projection light source according to the m control signals;

for any one of the n colors, the control signal corresponding to the color is used for instructing the driving unit to drive the projection light source to emit light of the color to the light machine;

when the m colors include other colors than the n colors, the control signals corresponding to the other colors are used for instructing the driving unit to: and forbidding to drive the projection light source to emit the light with other colors to the light machine.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein for any one of the m colors, the color-corresponding control signal comprises: an enable signal and a current signal; the enable signal is used for indicating whether the current signal is effective or not; the current signal is used for indicating the driving current corresponding to the color;

the driving unit sends the first signal to the projection light source according to the m control signals, and the driving unit includes:

for any color, when the enable signal indicates that the current signal is valid and the driving current indicated by the current signal is greater than zero, the driving unit sends the driving current corresponding to the color to the projection light source; the first signal includes: the driving current corresponding to the n colors;

the projection light source emits the light of the n colors to the light machine according to the first signal, and the projection light source comprises:

for any color, the projection light source emits light of the color to the light machine according to the driving current corresponding to the color.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to laser projection technologies, and in particular, to a laser projection method and apparatus.

Background

Laser projection equipment such as ultra-short-focus laser televisions are widely used in the display field due to the advantages of high color purity, large color gamut, high brightness and the like.

Currently, a laser projection apparatus includes: the controller is connected with the projection light source and the optical machine. The controller is used for sending a first signal to the projection light source according to the image to be projected and sending a second signal to the optical machine. On one hand, the projection light source can emit light with m colors to the optical machine, m is larger than or equal to 1, the first signal is used for indicating the projection light source to emit the light with the m colors to the optical machine, and the projection light source can emit the light with the m colors to the optical machine according to the first signal. On the other hand, the image to be projected comprises pixels of n colors (n is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m) in m colors, and the second signal is used for instructing the optical machine to modulate the light of the n colors emitted by the projection light source and transmit the modulated light to the lens. And when the m colors comprise other colors except the n colors, the second signal is also used for instructing the optical machine to forbid modulating the light of the other colors and forbid transmitting the light of the other colors emitted by the projection light source to the optical machine to the lens. At this time, the optical machine can transmit the light with other colors to the position far away from the lens in the optical machine according to the second signal.

However, when the optical engine transmits light of other colors to a position far away from the lens inside the optical engine, the light may affect the performance of each device inside the optical engine, thereby affecting the performance and the service life of the optical engine.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a laser projection method and laser projection equipment, which can solve the problem that light of other colors different from the color of an image pixel influences the performance of devices in a camera. The technical scheme is as follows:

in one aspect, a laser projection apparatus is provided, the laser projection apparatus comprising: the projection light source can emit light with m colors to the optical machine, and m is larger than or equal to 1;

the controller is configured to: according to an image to be projected, sending a first signal to the projection light source and sending a second signal to the optical machine; the image to be projected comprises pixels of n colors, wherein n is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m; the first signal is used for indicating the projection light source to emit the light of the n colors to the light machine; the second signal is used for indicating the light machine to modulate the light with the n colors emitted by the projection light source and transmitting the modulated light to the lens;

the projection light source is used for emitting the light of the n colors to the light machine according to the first signal;

the optical machine is used for modulating the light emitted by the projection light source according to the second signal and directing the modulated light to the lens.

In a second aspect, a laser projection method is provided for a laser projection apparatus, the laser projection apparatus comprising: the controller is connected with the projection light source and the optical machine, the projection light source can emit light with m colors to the optical machine, and m is larger than or equal to 1; the method comprises the following steps:

the controller sends a first signal to the projection light source and a second signal to the optical machine according to an image to be projected; the image to be projected comprises pixels of n colors, wherein n is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m; the first signal is used for indicating the projection light source to emit the light of the n colors to the light machine; the second signal is used for indicating the light machine to modulate the light with the n colors emitted by the projection light source and transmitting the modulated light to the lens;

the projection light source sends the light of the n colors to the light machine according to the first signal;

and the optical machine modulates the light emitted by the projection light source according to the second signal and directs the modulated light to the lens.

The beneficial effect that technical scheme that this application provided brought includes at least:

to sum up, in the laser projection method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the controller controls the projection light source to emit light of a corresponding color to the optical machine according to the color of the pixel in the image to be projected. Thus, when the number n of the types of the colors of the pixels in the image to be projected is smaller than the number m of the types of the colors of the light which can be emitted by the projection light source to the optical machine, the projection light source does not emit light with other colors to the optical machine, so that the influence of the light with other colors on devices in the optical machine is avoided, the contrast of the image projected by the laser projection equipment is improved, and the power consumption of the projection light source is reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a laser projection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a projection light source according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a fluorescent wheel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a color filter wheel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another projection light source provided in the embodiments of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of a laser projection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another laser projection apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

To make the principles, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a laser projection apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 1, the laser projection apparatus may include: controller 00, projection light source 10, optical engine 20 and lens 30. The projection light source 10, the optical engine 20, and the lens 30 are sequentially arranged along a light beam transmission direction, and the controller 00 is connected to both the projection light source 10 and the optical engine 20.

The projection light source 10 can emit light of m colors to the optical machine 20, wherein m is more than or equal to 1. Also, the projection light source 10 may include: a laser or a plurality of lasers, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The structure of the projection light source 10 will be briefly described below by taking as an example the projection light source 10 including one laser and capable of emitting light of four colors to the optical engine, and the projection light source 10 including three lasers and capable of emitting light of three colors to the optical engine, respectively.

(1) Fig. 2 shows the structure of a projection light source 10 including one laser, which, as shown in fig. 2, includes: a blue laser 1001, a first focusing lens 1002, a dichroic mirror 1003 (for reflecting blue light and transmitting yellow and green light), a fluorescent wheel 1004, three reflecting mirrors 1005, a second focusing lens 1006, a color filter wheel 1007, and a light pipe 1008 (for dodging). In addition, fig. 2 also shows an optical engine 20 and a lens 30 in the laser projection apparatus, wherein the optical engine 20 includes: a Total Internal Reflection (TIR) prism 2001, a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) 2002, and a galvanometer 2003.

Referring to fig. 2, blue light emitted from a blue laser 1001 is transmitted to a dichroic mirror 1003 through a first focusing lens 1002. The dichroic mirror 1003 is used to reflect blue light and transmit yellow and green light. When light from the first focusing lens 1002 is irradiated onto one surface of the dichroic mirror 1003, the blue light is reflected by the dichroic mirror 1003 to the fluorescent wheel 1004. Referring to fig. 2 and 3, the fluorescent wheel 1004 has a transparent region, a yellow fluorescent region and a green fluorescent region.

When the blue light reflected by the dichroic mirror 1003 is irradiated to the transparent region of the fluorescent wheel 1004, the blue light can pass through the transparent region and sequentially reach the second focusing lens 1006 through the three reflecting mirrors 1005 and the reflection of the other surface of the dichroic mirror 1003, and then is focused by the second focusing lens 1006 to the transparent region (as shown in fig. 2 and 4) on the color filter wheel 1007, and after passing through the transparent region, reaches the optical machine 20 through the light guide 1008.

When the blue light reflected by the dichroic mirror 1003 is irradiated to the yellow fluorescent region of the fluorescent wheel 1004, the yellow fluorescent region can emit yellow light toward the dichroic mirror 1003 under excitation of the blue light. The dichroic mirror 1003 transmits the yellow light to the second focusing lens 1006, and then the yellow light is focused by the second focusing lens 1006 to a red light transmitting region and a yellow light transmitting region (as shown in fig. 2 and 4) on the color filter wheel 1007, wherein when the yellow light irradiates the red light transmitting region, the red light in the yellow light transmits through the red light transmitting region, and then reaches the optical engine 20 through the light guide 1008. When the yellow light is irradiated to the yellow light transmission region, the yellow light is transmitted through the yellow light transmission region and then reaches the optical engine 20 through the light guide 1008.

When the blue light reflected by the dichroic mirror 1003 is irradiated to the green fluorescence region of the fluorescence wheel 1004, the green fluorescence region can emit green light to the dichroic mirror 1003 under excitation of the blue light. The dichroic mirror 1003 transmits the green light to the second focusing lens 1006, and the green light is focused by the second focusing lens 1006 to a green light transmitting region (as shown in fig. 2 and 4) on the color filter wheel 1007. The green light is transmitted through the green light transmissive region and then through the light pipe 1008 to the optical engine 20.

The light (such as the red light, the yellow light, the green light, and the blue light) reaching the optical engine 20 is reflected to the DMD 2002 by the total reflection prism 2001, the DMD 2002 modulates the incident light, transmits the modulated light to the galvanometer 2003 through the total reflection prism 2001, and transmits the modulated light to the lens 30 by the galvanometer 2003, so that the lens 30 emits the modulated light to the outside, thereby displaying an image.

(2) Fig. 5 shows the structure of a projection light source 10 including three lasers, which, as shown in fig. 5, includes: red laser 1001, green laser 1002, blue laser 1003, first dichroic mirror 1004 (for transmitting red light and reflecting blue and green light), reflecting mirror 1005, second dichroic mirror 1006 (for transmitting blue light and reflecting green light), focusing lens 1007, diffusion wheel 1008 (for reducing speckle), and light guide 1009 (for dodging). In addition, fig. 5 also shows an optical engine 20 and a lens 30 in the laser projection apparatus, wherein the optical engine 20 includes: a total reflection prism 2001, a DMD 2002, and a galvanometer 2003.

Referring to fig. 5, red light emitted from a red laser 1001 is emitted to a first dichroic mirror 1004, and the first dichroic mirror 1004 is used for transmitting the red light and reflecting the blue light and the green light. The red light emitted from the red laser 1001 to the first dichroic mirror 1004 passes through the first dichroic mirror 1004 to reach the focusing lens 1007.

The green light from green laser 1002 is reflected from mirror 1005 to a second dichroic mirror 1006, which second dichroic mirror 1006 is configured to transmit blue light and reflect green light. Green light from green laser 1002 is reflected by second dichroic mirror 1006 to first dichroic mirror 1004. Since the first dichroic mirror 1004 is used to transmit red light and reflect blue light and green light, the green light reflected by the second dichroic mirror 1006 to the first dichroic mirror 1004 is reflected by the first dichroic mirror 1004 to the focusing lens 1007.

Blue light from the blue laser 1003 is directed to a second dichroic mirror 1006, and the second dichroic mirror 1006 is used to transmit the blue light and reflect the green light. Blue light emitted from the blue laser 1003 to the second dichroic mirror 1006 passes through the second dichroic mirror 1006 to reach the first dichroic mirror 1004. The first dichroic mirror 1004 functions to transmit red light, and reflect blue and green light. Therefore, the blue light from the second dichroic mirror 1006 is reflected by the first dichroic mirror 1004 to the focusing lens 1007.

The light (red, green, and blue light described above) reaching the focusing lens 1007 passes through the focusing lens 1007, the diffusion wheel 1008, and the light guide 1009 in sequence to the light engine 20.

The light (such as the red light, the green light, and the blue light) reaching the optical engine 20 is reflected by the total reflection prism 2001 to the DMD 2002, the DMD 2002 modulates the incident light, transmits the modulated light to the galvanometer 2003 through the total reflection prism 2001, and transmits the modulated light to the lens 30 through the galvanometer 2003, so that the lens 30 emits the modulated light to the outside, thereby realizing the projection of the image.

The projection light source 10 shown in fig. 5 may further include a driving module of the diffusion wheel 1008, for driving the diffusion wheel 1008 to rotate.

Further, the laser projection apparatus may further include: and a screen (not shown in the drawings) onto which light emitted from the lens 30 is projected, thereby realizing an image projected on the screen.

As can be seen from the above, when the laser projection apparatus projects an image to be projected, the projection light source 10 needs to emit light of m colors to the optical engine 20, and the optical engine 20 needs to modulate the light from the projection light source 10 and transmit the modulated light to the lens 30. With continued reference to fig. 1, the projection light source 10 and the optical engine 20 can perform corresponding operations under the control of the controller 00. For example, the controller 00 is configured to send a first signal to the projection light source 10 and a second signal to the light engine 20 according to the image to be projected. The projection light source 10 is configured to emit light to the optical engine 20 according to the first signal, and the optical engine 20 is configured to modulate the light emitted by the projection light source 10 according to the second signal and transmit the modulated light to the lens 30.

On the one hand, the projection light source 10 can emit light of m colors to the light engine 20, where m is greater than or equal to 1, and the first signal is used to instruct the projection light source 10 to emit light of the m colors to the light engine 20. The projection light source 10 may emit the m colors of light to the light engine 20 according to the first signal.

On the other hand, the image to be projected includes pixels of n colors (also called primary colors), n is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m, and the second signal is used for instructing the light engine 20 to modulate the light of the n colors in the light of the m colors emitted by the projection light source. When m > n, the second signal is also used to instruct the light engine 20 to inhibit modulation of light of colors other than the n colors from the m colors emitted by the projection light source and to inhibit transmission of light of the other colors (also referred to as off light) to the lens 30.

However, when the optical engine transmits light of other colors to a position far away from the lens inside the optical engine, the light may affect the performance of each device inside the optical engine, thereby affecting the performance and the service life of the optical engine, and also affecting the contrast of an image projected by the laser projection equipment. When m > n, although the light of the other color is emitted from the projection light source 10 to the optical engine 20, the optical engine 20 does not modulate the light and the light is not transmitted to the lens 30, and therefore, the light of the color emitted from the projection light source 10 causes high power consumption of the projection light source 10.

The embodiment of the application provides a laser projection method, and the method can be used for the laser projection equipment. In addition, in the laser projection method, the controller controls the projection light source to emit light with corresponding colors to the optical machine according to the colors of the pixels in the image to be projected. Thus, when the number n of the types of the colors of the pixels in the image to be projected is smaller than the number m of the types of the colors of the light which can be emitted by the projection light source to the optical machine, the projection light source does not emit light with other colors to the optical machine, so that the influence of the light with other colors on devices in the optical machine is avoided, the contrast of the image projected by the laser projection equipment is improved, and the power consumption of the projection light source is reduced.

For example, fig. 6 is a flowchart of a laser projection method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 6, the laser projection method may include:

step 101, the controller sends a first signal to the projection light source and a second signal to the optical machine according to an image to be projected, wherein the image to be projected comprises pixels of n colors, and n is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m.

On one hand, the first signal is used for indicating the projection light source to emit light with n colors to the optical machine.

For example, suppose the projection light source is capable of emitting three colors of light to the light engine, namely red light, green light and blue light, where m is 3.

If the image to be projected comprises red, green and blue pixels, then n 3 m, and this first signal is used to instruct the projection light source to emit red, green and blue light to the light engine.

If the image to be projected comprises red pixels and green pixels and does not comprise blue pixels, n is 2 < m, and at the moment, the first signal is used for indicating the projection light source to emit red light and green light to the light machine and not indicating the projection light source to emit blue light to the light machine.

It can be seen that, in the embodiment of the present application, the first signal indicates that the color of the light emitted from the projection light source to the optical engine corresponds to the color of the pixel in the image to be projected.

Optionally, the first signal may include: a drive current for each of the n colors. The driving current corresponding to each color is used for driving the projection light source to emit light of the color to the optical machine. Other implementations of the first signal are possible, for example, the first signal is a signal indicating the n colors, and the projection light source can determine the n colors according to the first signal, and then emit the n colors to the light engine.

On the other hand, the second signal is used for instructing the optical machine to modulate the light of n colors emitted by the projection light source and transmit the modulated light to the lens. The second signal may be for transmission to a portion of the optical machine, such as a DMD, for modulating the light.

Optionally, when m > n, the second signal is further used to instruct the light engine to inhibit modulation of light of other colors, the m colors including the n colors and the other colors. At this time, although the projection lens does not emit light of other colors to the optical engine, whether the optical engine prohibits the modulation of the light of other colors according to the second signal does not affect the laser projection.

Of course, the second signal may also be used not to instruct the optical engine to prohibit modulation of light of other colors, but only to instruct the optical engine to modulate light of n colors emitted by the projection light source, and transmit the modulated light to the lens, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

Step 102, the projection light source emits n colors of light to the optical machine according to the first signal.

After receiving the first signal, the projection light source can emit the light of the n colors to the optical machine according to the first signal.

Exemplarily, if the first signal comprises: the driving current for each of the n colors, then in step 102, for any color, the projection light source can emit light of the color to the light engine according to the driving current for the color.

And 103, modulating the light emitted by the projection light source by the optical machine according to the second signal, and directing the modulated light to the lens.

With continued reference to fig. 2 or fig. 5, after receiving the second signal, the part of the optical engine (e.g., DMD) for modulating light may modulate the received light of the n colors according to the second signal, and transmit the modulated light to the lens through the galvanometer.

Further, the manner of the controller executing the above step 101 is various, and one implementation manner thereof will be explained as an example.

Optionally, fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another laser projection apparatus provided in this embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 7, on the basis of fig. 1, the controller 00 includes: a processing unit 001 and a drive unit 002 connected. In step 101, the processing unit 001 may send m control signals corresponding to m colors one by one to the driving unit 002 and send a second signal to the optical engine 20 according to the image to be projected; after that, the driving unit 002 transmits the first signal to the projection light source 10 according to the received m control signals. In this way, the controller 00 sends the first signal to the projection light source 10 and the second signal to the optical engine 20 according to the image to be projected.

It should be noted that, for any one of the n colors, the control signal corresponding to the one color is used to instruct the driving unit 002 to drive the projection light source 10 to emit the light of the one color to the light engine 20. For example, when the n colors include red and green, the control signal corresponding to the red is used to instruct the driving unit 002 to drive the projection light source 10 to emit red light to the optical engine 20, and the control signal corresponding to the green is used to instruct the driving unit 002 to drive the projection light source 10 to emit green light to the optical engine 20.

When the m colors include other colors than the n colors, the control signals corresponding to the other colors are used to instruct the driving unit to: and forbidding driving the projection light source to emit light with other colors to the optical machine. For example, the m colors include: red, green and blue, and the n colors include red and green, in which case the other color is blue. The control signal corresponding to red is used for instructing the driving unit 002 to drive the projection light source 10 to emit red light to the optical machine 20, the control signal corresponding to green is used for instructing the driving unit 002 to drive the projection light source 10 to emit green light to the optical machine 20, and the control signal corresponding to blue is used for instructing the driving unit 002 to drive the projection light source to emit blue light to the optical machine.

Optionally, the processing unit 001 may include one unit, or may include a plurality of units, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

Illustratively, with continuing reference to fig. 7, the processing unit 001 includes: the multimedia board unit 0011 and the control unit 0012 are connected; in step 101, the multimedia board unit 0011 can acquire an image to be projected (also called a high definition display protocol interface (V-by-One, VB1) video signal), and send the image to be projected to the control unit 0012; the control unit 0012 can send m control signals to the driving unit 002 and a second signal to the light engine 20 according to the image to be projected.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the present application, taking an example that the processing unit 001 includes the multimedia board unit 0011 and the control unit 0012, optionally, the processing unit 001 may also include only the control unit 0012 and does not include the multimedia board unit 0011, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Further, the control signal may have a plurality of implementation manners, and an embodiment of the present application will be explained by taking one implementation manner as an example.

For example, for any one of m colors, the control signal corresponding to the one color may include: an Enable (Enable) signal and a current signal (e.g., a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signal). Wherein the enable signal is used for indicating whether the current signal is valid or not; the current signal is used for indicating the driving current (i.e. the magnitude of the driving current) corresponding to the color; the driving unit 002 may send the driving current corresponding to the color (the driving current indicated by the current signal) to the projection light source 10 when the enable signal indicates that the current signal is valid and the driving current indicated by the current signal is greater than zero when the first signal is sent to the projection light source 10 according to the m control signals. At this time, the first signal includes: the driving currents corresponding to the n colors.

It can be seen that if it is not necessary to control the projection light source 10 to emit light of a certain color to the light engine 20, the processing unit 001 may use the enable signal in the control signal corresponding to the certain color to indicate that the current signal is invalid and/or the driving current indicated by the current signal is zero. Thus, the driving unit 002 does not drive the projection light source 10 to emit the light of the color to the light engine 20 according to the control signal.

For example, taking m colors including red, green and blue as an example, please continue referring to fig. 7, in which case the control signal corresponding to red includes: enable signals R-E and R-PWM signals (current signals); the green corresponding control signal includes: enable signals G-E and G-PWM signals (current signals); the control signals corresponding to blue include: enable signals B-E and B-PWM signals (current signals).

If the colors in n comprise red and green, the enabling signal R-E is used for indicating that the R-PWM signal is effective and the driving current indicated by the R-PWM signal is larger than zero; the enable signal G-E is used to indicate that the G-PWM signal is active and that the drive current indicated by the G-PWM signal is greater than zero. However, the enable signals B-E indicate that the B-PWM signal is inactive and/or that the drive current indicated by the B-PWM signal is equal to zero. For example, the enable signals B-E indicate that the B-PWM signal is inactive and the drive current indicated by the B-PWM signal is greater than zero; or the enable signal B-E indicates that the B-PWM signal is effective and the drive current indicated by the B-PWM signal is equal to zero; alternatively, the enable signals B-E indicate that the B-PWM signal is inactive and the drive current indicated by the B-PWM signal is equal to zero.

If the colors in n include red, green and blue, the enable signal R-E is used to indicate that the R-PWM signal is active and the drive current indicated by the R-PWM signal is greater than zero; the enabling signal G-E is used for indicating that the G-PWM signal is effective and the driving current indicated by the G-PWM signal is larger than zero; the enable signals B-E indicate that the B-PWM signal is active and that the drive current indicated by the B-PWM signal is greater than zero.

Optionally, the control signal may not include the enable signal and the current signal, for example, the control signal includes only the current signal, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application. When the control signal only comprises the current signal, the current signal in the control signal corresponding to each color in the n colors indicates that the driving current is larger than zero. The driving current indicated by the current signal in the control signals corresponding to the colors other than the n colors in the m colors is equal to zero.

It can be seen that, when the controller 00 includes the multimedia board unit 0011, the control unit 0012 and the driving unit 002, the control unit 0012 generates a control signal according to the image to be projected, and the control signal is immediately sent to the driving unit after being generated, so that the driving unit controls the projection light source quickly according to the control signal. Therefore, the processing delay in the whole process is short, the projection light source is controlled quickly, and the projection of the image to be projected can be realized quickly.

Optionally, when controller 00 includes multimedia board unit 0011, control unit 0012 and driving unit 002, multimedia board unit 0011, control unit 0012 and driving unit 002 may also have multiple implementation manners, and one implementation manner is explained as an example below.

With continued reference to FIG. 7, multimedia board unit 0011 can include: the device comprises an audio and video processing and controlling module 00111, a first storage module 00112 and a power amplifier module 00113. The control unit 0012 includes: a display driver module 00121, a second memory module 00122, and a Micro Controller Unit (MCU) 00123.

The audio and video processing and control module 00111 is respectively connected to the first storage module 00112, the power amplifier module 00113, the display driver module 00121 and the MCU 00123. The display driving module 00121 is connected to the second storage module 00122, the optical engine 20 (e.g. DMD in the optical engine 20) and the driving unit 002. The MCU 00123 connects the display driver module 00121 and the driving unit 002. The driving unit 002 is connected to the projection light source 10. Referring to fig. 7, the laser projection apparatus further includes an optical-mechanical socket 40 and an optical-mechanical adapter plate unit 50, the optical machine 20 may be disposed on the optical-mechanical socket 40, and the optical-mechanical socket 40 is disposed on the optical-mechanical adapter plate unit 50. Display driver module the display driver module 00121 can be connected to the optical engine 20 through the optical engine adapter board unit 50 and the optical engine socket 40.

The audio and video processing and control module 00111 is configured to obtain an audio and video to be played, and obtain an image to be projected and an audio to be played from the audio and video to be projected. Then, the audio/video processing and controlling module 00111 may send the image to be projected to the display driving module 00121, and send the audio to be played to the power amplifier module 00113 (for example, send the audio to be played to the power amplifier module through an Inter-IC Sound (I2S) bus signal in the integrated circuit). The display driving module 00121 may send m control signals corresponding to the m colors to the driving unit 002 and send the second signal to the optical engine 20 according to the received image to be projected. The driving unit 002 can transmit a first signal (including a driving current for each of the n colors) to the projection light source according to the received m control signals.

Further, the audio/video processing and control module 00111 may send an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) signal to the MCU 00123 when sending the image to be projected to the display driver module 00121, and the display driver module 00121 may send the I2C signal to the MCU 00123 when sending the m control signals and the first signal. The MCU 00123 can be used to send a turn-on signal to the driving unit 002 after receiving the I2C signal sent by the audio/video processing and control module 00111 and the I2C signal sent by the display driving module 00121. The driving unit 002 may enter an operating state according to the turn-on signal so as to send the first signal to the projection light source 10 according to the above-mentioned m control signals.

In addition, the laser projection apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: a speaker 60, a fan 70, a Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) sensor 80, and an eye-protecting plate 90. At this time, the power amplifier module 00113 may also be connected to a speaker 60, and the MCU 00123 is further connected to a fan 70, an NTC sensor 80, an eye-protecting plate 90, and a diffusion wheel (e.g., the diffusion wheel 1008 in fig. 5, not shown in fig. 7) in the projection light source 10. The power amplifier module 00113 can control the speaker 60 to play the audio according to the audio to be played. The MCU 00123 can also control the fan 70 to rotate when the laser projection apparatus is turned on, so as to cool the controller 00. The MCU 00123 can also adjust the speed of the fan 70 according to the parameters detected by the NTC sensor 80. The MCU 00123 can also control the operation of the eye protection plate 90 and the diffusion wheel when the laser projection device is powered on. Eye protection plate 90 is used for detecting whether there is a human body in the target distance of laser projection equipment during operation, and after eye protection plate 90 detects a human body, MCU 00123 can send a turn-off signal to drive unit 002. The driving unit 002 can exit the working state according to the closing signal, so that the driving unit 002 stops sending the first signal to the projection light source 10, the laser projection equipment stops projecting the image, and the purpose of protecting human eyes is achieved. The diffusion wheel is adapted to rotate during operation to eliminate a spot of light passing therethrough.

In the above description, the MCU 00123 is connected to the diffusion wheel, and optionally, the MCU 00123 may be connected to a driving module of the diffusion wheel, so that the MCU 00123 drives the diffusion wheel to rotate through the driving module.

It should be noted that the laser projection apparatus may include or not include a diffusion wheel, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application, and in this embodiment, the laser projection apparatus includes the diffusion wheel, and when the laser projection apparatus does not include the diffusion wheel, the MCU 00123 is not connected to the diffusion wheel.

The laser projection device provided by the embodiment of the application further comprises: a power supply unit 100, the power supply unit 100 being used to supply power to other structures in the laser projection apparatus except the power supply unit 100. For example, the power supply unit 100 in fig. 7 may be used to supply power to the multimedia board unit 0011, the control unit 0012 and the driving unit 002.

Alternatively, when there are fewer lasers in the projection light source, the voltage at which the power supply unit supplies power to the driving unit 002 may be higher; when there are many lasers in the projection light source, the voltage supplied from the power supply unit to the driving unit 002 may be low. For example, when the projection light source includes a laser, the power supply unit may supply 70 volts of Direct Current (DC) power to the driving unit 002. When the projection light source includes three lasers, the power supply unit may supply 48 volts of direct current to the driving unit 002.

In addition, the power supplied from the power supply unit to the multimedia board unit 0011 may be 12 volts direct current, and the power supplied from the power supply unit to the control unit 0012 may be 12 volts or 18 volts direct current.

In summary, in the laser projection method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the controller controls the projection light source to emit light of corresponding colors (light of n colors) to the optical engine according to the colors (n colors) of the pixels in the image to be projected. Thus, when the number n of the types of the colors of the pixels in the image to be projected is smaller than the number m of the types of the colors of the light which can be emitted by the projection light source to the optical machine, the projection light source does not emit light with other colors to the optical machine, so that the influence of the light with other colors on devices in the optical machine is avoided, the contrast of the image projected by the laser projection equipment is improved, and the power consumption of the projection light source is reduced.

The present application provides a laser projection apparatus, as shown in fig. 7, the laser projection apparatus includes: the device comprises a controller 00, a projection light source 10, an optical machine 20 and a lens 30, wherein the controller 00 is connected with the projection light source 10 and the optical machine 20, the projection light source 10 can emit light with m colors to the optical machine 20, and m is more than or equal to 1;

the controller 00 is configured to: according to an image to be projected, sending a first signal to the projection light source 10 and sending a second signal to the optical machine 20; the image to be projected comprises pixels of n colors, wherein n is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m; the first signal is used for instructing the projection light source 10 to emit the n colors of light to the light engine 20; the second signal is used to instruct the optical machine 20 to modulate the light of the n colors emitted by the projection light source 10, and transmit the modulated light to the lens 30;

the projection light source 10 is configured to emit the light of the n colors to the light engine 20 according to the first signal;

the optical machine 20 is configured to modulate the light emitted by the projection light source 10 according to the second signal, and direct the modulated light to the lens.

Optionally, the controller comprises: a processing unit 001 and a driving unit 002 connected;

the processing unit 001 is configured to send m control signals corresponding to the m colors one by one to the driving unit 002 according to the image to be projected, and send the second signal to the optical engine 20;

the driving unit 002 is configured to send the first signal to the projection light source 10 according to the m control signals;

wherein, for any one of the n colors, the control signal corresponding to the color is used to instruct the driving unit 002 to drive the projection light source 10 to emit the light of the color to the light engine 20;

when the m colors include other colors than the n colors, the control signals corresponding to the other colors are used to instruct the driving unit 002 to: the projection light source 10 is prohibited from being driven to emit the light of the other color to the light engine 20.

Optionally, for any one of the m colors:

the color-corresponding control signal comprises: an enable signal and a current signal; the enable signal is used for indicating whether the current signal is effective or not; the current signal is used for indicating the driving current corresponding to the color;

the drive unit 002 is configured to: when the enable signal indicates that the current signal is valid and the driving current indicated by the current signal is greater than zero, sending a driving current corresponding to the color to the projection light source 10;

the projection light source 10 is configured to emit light of the color to the optical engine 20 according to the driving current corresponding to the color;

the first signal includes: a drive current for each of the n colors.

Optionally, the current signal is a pulse width modulation, PWM, signal.

Optionally, the processing unit comprises: the multimedia board unit 0011 and the control unit 0012 are connected;

the multimedia board unit 0011 is configured to send the image to be projected to the control unit 0012;

the control unit 0012 is configured to send the m control signals to the driving unit 002 and send the second signal to the optical machine 20 according to the image to be projected.

Optionally, m > n, the second signal is further used to instruct the light engine 20 to prohibit modulation of light of other colors, the m colors including the n colors and the other colors.

Optionally, the projection light source 10 includes: at least one laser.

In summary, the embodiment of the present application provides a laser projection apparatus, where a controller of the laser projection apparatus controls a projection light source to emit light of corresponding color (light of n colors) to an optical machine according to the color (n colors) of a pixel in an image to be projected. Thus, when the number n of the types of the colors of the pixels in the image to be projected is smaller than the number m of the types of the colors of the light which can be emitted by the projection light source to the optical machine, the projection light source does not emit light with other colors to the optical machine, so that the influence of the light with other colors on devices in the optical machine is avoided, the contrast of the image projected by the laser projection equipment is improved, and the power consumption of the projection light source is reduced.

It should be understood that reference herein to "and/or" means that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. Also, the term "at least one" in the present application means one or more, and the term "a plurality" in the present application means two or more.

The terms "first," "second," and the like in this application are used for distinguishing between similar items and items that have substantially the same function or similar functionality, and it should be understood that "first," "second," and "nth" do not have any logical or temporal dependency or limitation on the number or order of execution. For example, a first baffle may be referred to as a second baffle, and similarly, a second baffle may be referred to as a first baffle, without departing from the scope of the various described examples.

The above description is only exemplary of the present application and should not be taken as limiting the present application, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements and the like that are made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.