Light measuring device, printing apparatus, and image display apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9316538-B2
Application number	US-201414215723-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 17, 2014
Priority date	Mar 18, 2013
Publication date	Apr 19, 2016
Grant date	Apr 19, 2016

Abstract

A light measuring device can measure, in one place, a plurality of lights guided from different places. The light measuring device includes a spectroscope configured to selectively transmit light having a desired wavelength, a plurality of light guiding units configured to guide measurement target light to the spectroscope, and a light receiving unit configured to receive the light emitted from the spectroscope. The light guiding units are provided in positions where different lights are respectively made incident on incident ends of the light guiding units as the measurement target light and positions where emission ends of the light guiding units respectively emit lights to different positions of the spectroscope. The spectroscope emits the lights, which are made incident from the light guiding units, respectively from different positions. The light receiving unit separately receives the lights emitted from the different positions of the spectroscope.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A light measuring device comprising:
a spectroscope configured to selectively transmit light having a desired wavelength;
a plurality of light guiding units configured to guide measurement target light to the spectroscope; and
a light receiving unit configured to receive the light emitted from the spectroscope, wherein
the plurality of light guiding units are provided in positions where different lights are respectively made incident on incident ends of the plurality of light guiding units and in positions where emission ends of the plurality of light guiding units respectively emit lights to different positions of the spectroscope,
the spectroscope emits lights, which are made incident from the plurality of light guiding units, respectively from different positions, and
the light receiving unit separately receives the lights emitted from the different positions of the spectroscope.

2. The light measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein
the light receiving unit is an area sensor in which a plurality of sensors are arranged, and
the lights made incident on the spectroscope from the plurality of light guiding units are received by different sensors of the area sensor.

3. The light measuring device according to claim 1 , further comprising a control unit configured to control the light measuring device, wherein
the control unit includes:
a wavelength selecting unit configured to select a wavelength transmitted through the spectroscope; and
an acquiring unit configured to acquire, while changing the desired wavelength with the wavelength selecting unit, a light reception result in the light receiving unit to acquire a relation between a wavelength and light intensity of the measurement target light.

4. The light measuring device according to claim 3 , further comprising an output unit configured to output the measurement target light or output a color onto a medium on which light is reflected to be the measurement target light, wherein
the control unit includes an information creating unit configured to create, on the basis of the relation between the wavelength and the light intensity of the measurement target light acquired by the acquiring unit, correction information for correcting the output of the output unit.

5. A printing apparatus that prints an image on a printing medium, the printing apparatus comprising:
the light measuring device according to claim 3 ;
a printing-medium-discrimination-information acquiring unit configured to acquire printing medium discrimination information that associates information specifying a printing medium with respect to a plurality of printing media and a relation between a wavelength and light intensity of light reflected on the printing medium; and
a printing-medium discriminating unit configured to discriminate a type of the printing medium on the basis of the printing medium discrimination information and the relation between the wavelength and the light intensity of the measurement target light acquired by the acquiring unit.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the light guiding unit guides diffused reflected light of the printing medium and regular reflection light of the printing medium or transmitted light of the printing medium to the spectroscope.

7. A printing apparatus that prints an image on a printing medium, the printing apparatus comprising the light measuring device according to claim 4 , wherein
the output unit ejects ink to the printing medium,
the light receiving unit receives light reflected on the printing medium to which the ink is ejected by the output unit, and
the information creating unit creates, as the correction information, information specifying a relation between a color value and an ink amount on the printing medium.

8. The printing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the plurality of light guiding units are provided in positions where lights reflected in different positions on the printing medium can be simultaneously acquired.

9. An image display apparatus that causes a display unit, which is a display screen or a projection surface, to display an image, the image display apparatus comprising:
the light measuring device according to claim 4 ; and
an acquiring unit configured to acquire image data,

wherein
the output unit causes the display unit to display a predetermined color,
the light guiding unit emits the predetermined color displayed on the display unit to the spectroscope as the measurement target light, and
the information creating unit creates correction data used for color correction performed when the output unit outputs the image data.

10. The image display apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein
the light guiding unit emits, together with the predetermined color, light of external lighting to the spectroscope as the measurement target light, and
the information creating unit creates the correction data on the basis of the light of the external lighting.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Kanai Masashi

Classifications

• G01J3/027

  Control of working procedures of a spectrometer; Failure detection; Bandwidth calculation · CPC title

• G09G5/02

  characterised by the way in which colour is displayed {(details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607)} · CPC title

• G01J3/0218 Primary

  using optical fibers · CPC title

• G09G2320/08

  Arrangements within a display terminal for setting, manually or automatically, display parameters of the display terminal · CPC title

• G01J3/26

  using multiple reflection, e.g. Fabry-Perot interferometer, variable interference filters · CPC title