This application claims the priority benefit of China application serial no. 201911401261.3, filed on Dec. 30, 2019. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
The disclosure relates to a projection technology, and in particular, to a projection apparatus and a control method of the projection apparatus.
Currently, puddle lamps are mounted on many vehicles for auxiliary lighting, so that people getting on or getting off a vehicle may pay attention to ground situations to avoid stepping on a dangerous area or dirt accidently. For aesthetics, brand display, or an indication function, beams emitted by some puddle lamps may further form a pattern or an image on the ground. However, because a vehicle has vehicle doors with different open directions on the left and right, if optimal view experience is to be provided to passengers getting on or getting off the vehicle or a driver, it is expected that the vehicle doors on left and right correspondingly project image contents with a same display effect corresponding to the different left and right directions.
However, in the related art, considering the costs, the structure design of the puddle lamps is very simple. As a result, when a bill of materials (BOM) of product design and the puddle lamp production lines are designed, the production lines are divided into a puddle lamp production line for left vehicle doors and a puddle lamp production line for right vehicle doors, and some material numbers are different, which causes burdens on production, stock, and even future maintenance. Therefore, how to provide a vehicle projection display apparatus with a simple structure, low costs, and dual applicability is one of the to-be-solved issues.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Further, the information disclosed in the Background section does not mean that one or more problems to be resolved by one or more embodiments of the invention were acknowledged by a person of ordinary skill in the art.
The invention provides a projection apparatus and a control method of the projection apparatus, which are applied to a vehicle door of a vehicle and can project proper images according to different installation positions.
Other objectives and benefits of the invention may further be understood from technical features disclosed by the invention.
To achieve one or some or all of the foregoing objectives or other objectives, an embodiment of the invention provides a projection apparatus, which is configured to be disposed on a vehicle door of a vehicle. The projection apparatus includes an illumination source, a projection display apparatus and a controller. The illumination source is configured to provide an illumination beam. The projection display apparatus is disposed on a transmission path of the illumination beam, and is configured to convert the illumination beam into a projection beam. The controller is coupled to the projection display apparatus, determines whether the vehicle door is a first vehicle door or a second vehicle door according to an opening operation of the vehicle door, and correspondingly causes the projection beam to display an image.
To achieve one or some or all of the foregoing objectives or other objectives, another embodiment of the invention provides a control method of a projection apparatus. The projection apparatus is configured to be disposed on a vehicle door of a vehicle. The control method includes the following steps: sensing an opening operation of the vehicle door to generate a vehicle door opening signal; and determining whether the vehicle door is a first vehicle door or a second vehicle door according to the vehicle door opening signal, to correspondingly project an image.
Based on the foregoing, the projection apparatus and the control method of the projection apparatus of the embodiments of the invention may sense opening of the vehicle door to select to project a first image or an adjusted image. Therefore, vehicle doors at different positions may share a same projection apparatus, so as to reduce production costs and simplify stock preparation.
Other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be further understood from the further technological features disclosed by the embodiments of the present invention wherein there are shown and described preferred embodiments of this invention, simply by way of illustration of modes best suited to carry out the invention.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
It is to be understood that other embodiment may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted,” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings.
Implementations of the projection apparatus 100 is further described in the following.
More specifically, in
When the light valve module 116 of the projection apparatus 100L receives image data (which is also referred to as first image data) of the first image IM1, the first image IM1 is displayed on the light valve module 116 of the projection apparatus 100L. If the light valve module 116 of the projection apparatus 100R receives the same first image data, a mirrored first image IM1 or a symmetrical first image IM1 is displayed on the light valve module 116 of the projection apparatus 100R. It is because the projection apparatus 100L and the projection apparatus 100R are respectively disposed on the left vehicle door 104L and the right vehicle door 104R. Also, as a result, some material numbers need to be set as being used by the left vehicle door or the right vehicle door, which leads to burdens in production, stock, and even future maintenance. In addition, the passenger may be confused on directions of the video, picture, or brand.
Therefore, in the invention, image data provided to the light valve module 116 of the projection apparatus 100R is pre-compensated. For example, the first image IM1 is rotated for 180 degrees, or the first image IM1 is mirror-adjusted, to form image data of an adjusted image, and image data of the adjusted image is provided to the light valve module 116 of the projection apparatus 100R. In this case, an adjusted image IM2 which is projected by the projection apparatus 100R to the projection surface G is consistent with the first image IM1. However, the invention is not limited thereto, and is not limited to the light valve module 116 of the projection apparatus 100R disposed on the right vehicle door. In other embodiments, the light valve module 116 of the projection apparatus 100L disposed on the left vehicle door may also generate an adjusted image.
In this embodiment, back to
In this embodiment, the projection apparatus 100 further includes a memory 140. The memory 140 may be a random access memory, a hard disk, a flash memory, or any memory which may be configured to store data. The memory 140 is coupled to the controller 120 and the projection display apparatus 114, and is configured to store the first image data and the adjusted image data, where display contents of the first image data and the adjusted image data are the same. In this embodiment, the controller 120 reads the first image data or the adjusted image data from the memory 140 according to a determining result of the vehicle door 104, and controls the projection display apparatus 114 to generate the first image IM1 according to the first image data, or generate the adjusted image IM2 according to the adjusted image data.
In another embodiment, the memory 140 stores image data. The controller 120 reads the image data from the memory according to a determining result of the vehicle door 104, and controls the projection display apparatus 114 to correspondingly generate the first image IM1 or the adjusted image IM2 according to the same image data by means of image processing or by controlling the light valve module 116.
The transmission device 230 is coupled to the controller 120 and the projection display apparatus 220, and includes, for example, a motor, a gear, or a belt. The transmission device 230 is configured to move or rotate the mask 240. In this embodiment, the controller 120 controls the transmission device 230, so that the mask 240 rotates by an angle, and correspondingly the first image IM1 or the adjusted image IM2 is generated. For example, if the controller 120 determines that the projection apparatus 200 is disposed on the left vehicle door 104L, the illumination beam IB forms the first image IM 1 after passing through the mask 240; and if the projection apparatus 200 is disposed on the right vehicle door 104R, the controller 120 rotates the mask 240 for 180 degrees on the projection surface G through the transmission device 230, and the illumination beam IB forms the adjusted image IM2 after passing through the rotated mask 240. The adjusted image IM2 is the same as the first image IM1 herein.
In another embodiment, the mask 240 includes a plurality of light-transmitting patterns to generate different projection images, for example, a first light-transmitting pattern and a second light-transmitting pattern. The controller 120 controls the transmission device 230 to select to have a part of the mask 240 including the first light-transmitting pattern, or a part of the mask 240 including the second light-transmitting pattern disposed on the transmission path of the illumination beam IB. Specifically, if the controller 120 determines that the projection apparatus 200 is disposed on the left vehicle door 104L, the transmission device 230, for example, enables the part of the mask 240 including the first light-transmitting pattern to be located on the transmission path of the illumination beam IB by means of extracting or slipping. The illumination beam IB passes through the first light-transmitting pattern to form the first image IM1. If the controller 120 determines that the projection apparatus 200 is disposed on the right vehicle door 104R, the transmission device 230, for example, enables the part of the mask 240 including the second light-transmitting pattern to be located on the transmission path of the illumination beam IB by means of extracting or slipping. The illumination beam IB passes through the second light-transmitting pattern and forms the adjusted image IM2.
It needs to be specifically noted that, the invention is not limited to the plurality of exemplary embodiments, and the embodiments are allowed to be combined properly. For example, in an embodiment, the projecting module may adjust projection contents in combination with the light valve module 116, the transmission device 230, and the mask 240.
Based on the foregoing, the projection apparatus and the control method of the projection apparatus of the embodiments of the invention may be disposed on any one of vehicle doors of a vehicle, and sense opening of the vehicle door to correspondingly project an image, so that passengers at different view angles may obtain optimal view experience. In addition, the projection apparatus provided by the invention has a simple structure, low production costs, and good application flexibility.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. The embodiments are chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its best mode practical application, thereby to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Therefore, the term “the invention”, “the present invention” or the like does not necessarily limit the claim scope to a specific embodiment, and the reference to particularly preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention does not imply a limitation on the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The abstract of the disclosure is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure of any patent issued from this disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Any advantages and benefits described may not apply to all embodiments of the invention. It should be appreciated that variations may be made in the embodiments described by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Moreover, no element and component in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element or component is explicitly recited in the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201911401261.3 | Dec 2019 | CN | national |