A light pattern projector with a pattern mask to spatially modulate an intensity of a wideband illumination source, such as an LED, and a projector lens to reimage the spatially modulated emission onto regions of a scene that is to be captured with an image sensor. The projector lens may comprise a microlens array (MLA) including a first lenslet to reimage the spatially modulated emission onto a first portion of a scene, and a second lenslet to reimage the spatially modulated emission onto a first portion of a scene. The MLA may have a fly's eye architecture with convex curvature over a diameter of the projector lens in addition to the lenslet curvature. The pattern mask may be an amplitude mask comprising a mask pattern of high and low amplitude transmittance regions. In the alternative, the pattern mask may be a phase mask, such as a refractive or diffractive mask.

A system includes a camera and a projector for capturing spatial detail having resolution exceeding that afforded by the imaging optics, and recovering topographic information lost to the projective nature of imaging. The projector projects a spatial pattern onto the scene to be captured. The spatial patterns may include any pattern or combination of patterns that result in complex sinusoidal modulation. Spatial detail such as texture on the objects in the scene modulate the amplitude of the spatial pattern, and produce Moir fringes that shifts previously unresolved spatial frequencies into the camera's optical passband. The images may be demodulated, and the demodulated components may be combined with the un-modulated components. The resulting image has spatial detail previously inaccessible to the camera owing to the band-limited nature of the camera optics. A spatial pattern may also be projected and received by the camera to estimate topographic information about the scene.

A projector projects image light generated by an image generation unit, as an enlarged image via a projection system. The incident position of the image light on the projection system is moved by a lens shift mechanism. The projection system forms an intermediate image in the course of the optical path. A light-shielding mask is provided at an image forming position of the intermediate image. A light-shielding area by the light-shielding mask includes an area that does not overlap the intermediate image within a range of an effective image forming area at the image forming position of the intermediate image. For example, the light-shielding area is an area on the side opposite to the side to which the intermediate image is shifted, of the circular effective image forming area.

An optical projection system includes an image sensor, a light emitting circuit and a processor. The image sensor is configured to capture an image of a target object. The processor is electrically coupled to the image sensor and the light emitting circuit. The processor is configured to determine a size of the target object, and control the light emitting circuit to emit an optical pattern and to fan out the optical pattern according to the size of the target object, in order to cover the target object.

An image projection apparatus includes an acquirer configured to acquire information on a lens unit, and a controller configured to set, based on the information on the lens unit, at least one of an image orientation of a projection image and a shift direction of the lens unit.

A method for clearing unwanted data from optically detected virtual representations of objects includes: a. Defining an extension line of the representation; b. Generating a projection plane at one point of the extension line, which is perpendicular to the generated projection plane; c. Projecting all known points in space of the representation from one region on the projection plane onto the projection plane, the corresponding point in space being stored for each projected point; d. Generating a two-dimensional curve on the projection plane; e. Determining maxima, minima and a center of the curve; f. Identifying projected points of the curve thatviewed from the center of the curvelie outside of the minima or maxima; g. Removing the points in space that correspond to the projected points that were identified in step f.; and h. Optionally, repeating starting from step b. for one further point of the extension line.

A projector apparatus includes a projection unit that projects an image, a projection direction variable unit configured to mechanically change a direction of the image to be projected by the projection unit, an acquiring unit that acquires the image projected by the projection unit onto a target of projection, and a control unit that determines a direction of projection to be changed by the projection direction variable unit, based on information on a plurality of projection images acquired by the acquiring unit.

A dynamic display projection lamp of the present invention includes plural projection units fixed to a fixing assembly. The fixing assembly includes a lens holder and a film holder for fixing a film. A plurality of penetrating holes are defined in the lens holder, and clamping grooves for clamping plural lenses of plural lens groups are formed in inner walls defining the penetrating holes. The film holder is fixed in the lens holder or at least a portion of the film holder is inserted between the lenses through an opening of the lens holder. All the projection units disposed in a single row or two rows up and down are fixed by using the lens holder and the film holder. The projection units are allowed to project patterns in sequence by using a controller, thus producing a dynamic pattern projection effect.

A lens module adapted to provide an image light beam is provided. The lens module includes a position-limiting element, a first lens, a second lens and a third lens. The first lens is disposed at one side of the position-limiting element. The second lens is disposed at another side of the position-limiting element. The second lens is located between the position-limiting element and the third lens. The periphery of each of the position-limiting element, the second lens and the third lens includes at least one connecting structure. The first lens, the position-limiting element, the second lens and the third lens fit with each other by the at least one connecting structures to stack and form a lens module. In the invention, the volume of the lens module is reduced in order to reduce the weight of a projection device.

An HUD includes: a projection display unit that spatially modulates light emitted from a light source on the basis of image information and projects image light obtained as a result of spatial modulation onto a windshield to display an image; a housing that accommodates the projection display unit and has an opening portion K through which the image light exits; an object removing mechanism that removes an object adhered to a front surface of a cover covering the opening portion by scraping the front surface of the cover; a region detecting unit that detects an object adhesion region in which the object is adhered to the cover; and an object removal control unit that activates the object removing mechanism in a case where important display content is included in a portion of the image light, the portion being blocked due to the object adhesion region.