Portable projection capture device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9521276-B2
Application number	US-201114233893-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 29, 2011
Priority date	Aug 2, 2011
Publication date	Dec 13, 2016
Grant date	Dec 13, 2016

Abstract

In one example, a portable projection capture device includes a digital camera and a projector mounted below the camera. The camera defines a capture area on a work surface within which the camera is configured to capture still and video images. The projector defines a display area on the work surface overlapping the capture area. The projector is configured to project into the capture area both images captured by the camera and white light for illuminating real objects in the capture area for camera image capture.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A projection capture device comprising:
a camera supported by a base over a flat, horizontal work surface, the camera defining a three dimensional capture space bounded in two dimensions by a capture area on the work surface within which a camera sensor included in the camera is to capture visible light of images focused on the camera sensor by a shift lens included in the camera that shifts the visible light of still and video images in a Y-direction relative to the camera sensor, wherein the camera is positioned in a Z-direction over the capture area at a location offset in at least the Y-direction from a center of the capture area with the camera sensor facing the capture area;
a projector supported by the base below the camera, the projector defining a three dimensional display space bounded in two dimensions by a display area on the work surface overlapping at least part of the capture area; and
a controller supported by the base to: with the projector, illuminate objects in the capture space; with the camera, capture visible light of images of objects in the capture space illuminated by the projector; and, with the projector, project visible light representative of the images of the objects captured by the camera into the display space;
a mirror positioned in the Z-direction over the capture space, and wherein the camera is placed in front of the mirror so that it does not block the projector's light path.

2. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a housing having a first part housing the camera over the base and a second part housing the projector and the controller on the base.

3. The device of claim 2 , further comprising a mirror housed together with the camera in the first part of the housing, the projector and the mirror positioned with respect to one another such that light from the projector reflected off the mirror illuminates the capture space.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the projector is to project white light of at least 200 lumens into the capture area with red, green and blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) synchronized with a video frame rate of the camera.

5. The device of claim 4 , wherein a refresh rate of the projector and a refresh period of each LED sub-frame is an integral number of an exposure time of the camera for each captured frame.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the projector is positioned below the camera outside a volume bounded in two dimensions by the display area.

7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the projector is to project light into the display area along a light path that is longer than a height of the camera above the work surface.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the camera and the projector are operatively connected to one another through the controller to project a graphical user interface into the display space.

9. The device of claim 1 , further comprising an electronic display housed together with the controller, the projector and the camera, the display operatively connected to the controller to display an image captured by the camera.

10. The device of claim 1 further comprising a user input device operatively connected to the controller to enable a user to interact with the device in the display space.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the user input device includes an infrared digital stylus and an infrared camera housed together with the controller, the projector, and the camera for capturing infrared light emitted by the stylus in a capture space of the infrared camera that is coincident with the display space.

12. The device of claim 11 , wherein the infrared camera is integrated into the light path of the projector light such that a field-of-view of the projector and a field-of-view of the infrared camera are coincident.

Assignees

• Short David Bradley
• Mayne Geoffrey C
• Hewlett Packard Development Co Lp

Inventors

• Short David Bradley
• Mayne Geoffrey C

Classifications

• H04N23/56

  provided with illuminating means · CPC title

• H04N23/20

  for generating image signals from infrared radiation only · CPC title

• G03B2215/0567

  Solid-state light source, e.g. LED, laser · CPC title

• H04N1/0044

  for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet · CPC title

• G03B15/05

  Combinations of cameras with electronic flash apparatus; Electronic flash units · CPC title