MULTI-SCREEN SYSTEM COMPRISING REFLECTIVE SURFACE

Abstract

The present invention provides a multi-projection system with a reflective surface, and the multi-projection system includes an image reproduction unit for visually reproducing image content and a reflective surface for reflecting an image reproduced by the image reproduction unit toward an auditorium, thus providing images to the auditorium in multiple directions.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a multi-projection system comprising a reflective surface and, more particularly, to a multi-projection system which can implement a multi-projection environment with a simplified structure using a reflective surface.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, in order to reproduce images such as movies, advertisements, etc., two-dimensional images are projected on a single screen arranged in front of a theater. However, audiences can only watch two-dimensional (2D) images under such a system.

Three-dimensional (3D) image technologies for providing the audience with 3D images have recently been developed. 3D image technologies use the principle of allowing an audience to feel the 3D effect even from a flat image when different images are presented to the left and right eyes of the audience and combined in the brain. In detail, two cameras equipped with different polarizing filters are used during filming, and the audience wears glasses with polarizing filters such that different images are presented to the left and right eyes during watching.

However, while these 3D technologies can provide the audience with 3D images, the audience just watches the images reproduced on a single screen, which may reduce the degree of involvement in the images. Moreover, the direction of the 3D effect that the audience feels is limited to the direction of the single screen.

Furthermore, according to the conventional 3D technologies, the audience must wear the glasses equipped with polarizing filters during watching, which may make the audience feel inconvenient, and different images are artificially presented to the left and right eyes, which may make some sensitive audiences feel dizzy or nausea.

Therefore, a so-called “multi-projection system” which can solve the problems of the conventional projection systems based on a single screen has been proposed. The “multi-projection system” refers to a technology in which a plurality of image re-production units (e.g., display devices, projection surfaces, etc.) are arranged around an auditorium such that synchronized images are reproduced on the plurality of image re-production units, thus providing the audience with the three-dimensional effect and immersion. For example, in the “multi-projection system”, the plurality of image re-production units (e.g., display devices, projection surfaces, etc.) are arranged on a front side, a left side, a right side, an upper side, a lower side, etc. with respect to the auditorium such that images are provided to the auditorium in multiple directions, thus providing the audience with the three-dimensional effect and immersion.

Meanwhile, in order to implement the “the multi-projection system”, it is necessary to arrange the plurality of image reproduction units around the auditorium, for example, in a manner to (i) arrange a plurality of display devices (e.g., LCDs, LEDs, etc.) on the front side, the left side, the right side, the upper side, the lower side, etc. of the auditorium or (ii) arrange a plurality of projection surfaces on the front side, the left side, the right side, the upper side, the lower side, etc. of the auditorium and, at the same time, arrange a plurality of projection devices for projecting images on the projection surfaces on opposite sides of the projection surfaces.

However, it is not practically easy to install the plurality of large-area display devices around the auditorium, and when a multi-projection environment is implemented using the plurality of projection surfaces and the plurality of projection devices, the plurality of projection devices are installed in a complex manner, and thus the structure of the multi-projection system is very complicated. Moreover, when the image reproduction units, which are arranged on the left side, the right side, the upper side, the lower side, etc. other than the front side, are to be used for auxiliary purposes (e.g., to provide special effects only at some times for the entire screening time), it is impossible to utilize all IT resources used in the construction of the system, which is very inefficient in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Therefore, there is a need to develop a technology that can implement a multi-projection environment with a simplified structure and can significantly reduce construction costs of the multi-projection environment.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

An object of the present invention is to implement a “multi-projection system” which can provide images to the auditorium in multiple directions.

Moreover, another object of the present invention is to provide a “multi-projection system” with a simplified structure using a reflective surface.

Solution to Problem

To achieve the above object, a multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise: an image reproduction unit for visually reproducing image content; and a reflective surface for reflecting an image reproduced by the image reproduction unit toward an auditorium, wherein the multi-projection system provides images to the auditorium in multiple directions.

The multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise a plurality of image reproduction units, and the plurality of image reproduction units and the reflective surface may be arranged around the auditorium.

The multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise a plurality of reflective surfaces, and the image reproduction unit and the plurality of reflective surfaces may be arranged around the auditorium.

The multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise a plurality of image reproduction units and a plurality of reflective surfaces, and the plurality of image reproduction units and the plurality of reflective surfaces may be arranged around the auditorium.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the image reproduction unit may be a display device.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the image reproduction unit may comprise a projection surface on which an image is projected by a projection device.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the reflective surface may be arranged to face the image reproduction unit and the auditorium.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the reflective surface may be provided in the form of a flat surface or a curved surface.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the reflective surface and the image reproduction unit may be provided in the form of a flat surface and arranged in parallel to each other or arranged at an acute angle to each other.

The multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may further comprise: a reflective surface blocking unit for blocking external exposure of the reflective surface; and a management device for controlling the operation of the reflective surface blocking unit.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the reflective surface blocking unit may change an area, in which the reflective surface is exposed to the outside, under the control of the management device.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the reflective surface blocking unit may comprise two or more partial reflective surface blocking units, each partial reflective surface blocking unit blocking a partial region of the reflective surface.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the management device may independently control the two or more partial reflective surface blocking units.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the management device may comprise control information of the reflective surface blocking unit, the control information containing operation time information and exposure area information.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the operation time information may be generated based on time code information of the image content reproduced by the image reproduction unit.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the reflective surface may have a reflectance that is changed by applied voltage.

The multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may further comprise a management device for controlling the voltage applied to the reflective surface, the management device controlling the reflectance of the reflective surface by controlling the voltage applied to the reflective surface.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the reflective surface may comprise two or more partial reflective surfaces and the management device independently may control the voltage applied to the two or more partial reflective surfaces.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, when a reflected image is exposed through the reflective surface, the management device may implement an additional effect depending on the reflected image and change the additional effect depending on the formation direction of the reflective surface.

To achieve the above object, a multi-projection method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise the steps of: (a) visually reproducing, at an image reproduction unit, image content; (b) reflecting, at a reflective surface, an image reproduced by the image reproduction unit; and (c) allowing the image reflected by the reflective surface to be provided to an auditorium, wherein the multi-projection method provides images to the auditorium in multiple directions.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The present invention can provide images to the auditorium in multiple directions (from the front surface, left surface, right surface, upper surface, lower surface, etc.), thus providing the audience with the three-dimensional effect and maximizing the immersion of the audience in image content.

Moreover, the present invention can implement a multi-projection environment with a simplified structure. Specifically, the present invention can maximize the multi-projection effect using a reflective surface without having to arrange the image reproduction units (e.g., display devices such as LCDs, LEDs, etc., projection surfaces on which images of projection devices are projected, etc.) in all directions that surround the auditorium. Therefore, it is possible to provide the multi-projection environment using the simplified structure that utilizes a minimum of IT resources.

Furthermore, the present invention can selectively block the external exposure of the reflective surface included in the system. Therefore, the present invention can expose the reflective surface only when the multi-projection effect is to be implemented and block the external exposure of the reflective surface to prevent the generation of any unexpected reflected images when the multi-projection effect is not to be implemented.

In addition, the present invention can change the external exposure region (area) of the reflective surface. Therefore, it is possible to implement a dynamic effect by the change of the external exposure region (area) even when a static image is reflected.

Additionally, the present invention can divide the reflective surface into sub-regions and independently control the external exposure of the reflective surface in units of divided sub-regions. Therefore, the present invention can provide various types of reflective surfaces by the independent control in units of sub-regions, thus providing the multi-projection effect more dramatically using the various types of reflective surfaces.

Also, the present invention can electronically control the reflectance of the reflective surface. For example, the present invention can configure the reflective surface having a reflectance that is changed by applied voltage. Therefore, the present invention can selectively block the external exposure of the reflective surface by voltage control without providing any blocking layers for blocking the external exposure of the reflective surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing the structure of a multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of main components a multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3 to 5 are diagrams showing exemplary structures of a multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams showing the operation of a reflective surface blocking unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams showing the operation of a reflective surface blocking unit in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of main components a multi-projection system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing how to control the reflectance of a reflective surface.

MODE FOR THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a multi-projection system and method comprising a reflective surface according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are provided only for illustrative purposes so that those skilled in the art can fully understand the spirit of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereby. Moreover, it is to be understood that all matters herein set forth in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative and may be in different forms from those actually implemented.

Meanwhile, components described below are merely examples to implement the present invention. Therefore, other components may be used in other embodiments without departing from the idea and scope of the invention. Moreover, each component may be implemented only in hardware, or only in software, or in various combinations of hardware and software performing the same functions.

Moreover, the term “comprising” specific components is an “open-ended term” that simply means that the corresponding components are present and should not be understood to exclude other additional components.

Next, a multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may provide an N number of multi-projection images in all directions that surround the auditorium (e.g., from a front side, a left side, a right side, an upper side, a lower side, etc. with respect to the auditorium) using a N-K number of image reproduction units 100 and a K number of reflective surfaces 200 without having to install the N number of image reproduction units 100.

That is, the multi-projection system according to the present invention may provide some images, required to implement the multi-projection images, using the reflective surface 200 instead of the image reproduction unit 100.

Therefore, the multi-projection system according to the present invention can efficiently implement the multi-projection images even with a minimal number of image reproduction units 100, simplify the structure of the system by reducing the number of image reproduction units 100 to be installed, and significantly reduce system construction costs.

Referring to FIG. 1, the multi-projection system according to the present invention may comprise an image reproduction unit 100 for visually reproducing image content and a reflective surface 200 for reflecting an image reproduced by the image reproduction unit 100 toward the auditorium, thus providing images to the audience in multiple directions using the image reproduction unit 100 and the reflective surface 200.

Here, the image reproduction unit 100 is configured to visually reproduce image content. The image reproduction unit 100 may be implemented with various image supply devices such as (1) a display device 130 or (2) a projection device 110 and a projection surface.

When the image reproduction unit 100 is implemented using the display device 130, the display device 130 may be implemented with various types of devices. For example, the display device 130 may be implemented with various display devices including a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED), etc. It is preferable that the display device 130 is formed with a large area and installed on a front side, a left side, a right side, an upper side, a lower side, or a rear side with respect to the auditorium to provide an image to the audience.

When the image reproduction unit 100 is implemented using the projection device 110 and the projection surface, various types of projection devices 110 and projection surfaces may also be used. First, the projection device 110 may be implemented in various ways by including an optical system and a heating unit. For example, the projection devices 110 may be implemented in various ways, such as by using a cathode ray tube (CRT), using a liquid crystal display (LCD), by digital light processing (DLP) using a digital micromirror device (DMD) chip, by liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS), etc. and may also be implemented in various other ways. Moreover, the projection surface may be formed of various materials and types that can form the image projected by the projection device 110 on the surface. For example, the projection surface may be of various types such as a screen, an interior surface of a theater, an internal fixture of the theater, etc. Here, the screen may be formed of various materials such as a matte screen, a lenticular screen, a glass beaded screen, a silver screen, a high-gain screen, etc. Moreover, the screen may be of various types such as an embedded electric screen, an exposed electric screen, a wall-mounted screen, a tripod screen, a road warrior screen, a high-brightness screen, a sound screen, etc. Furthermore, the screen may include a water screen, a fog screen, a holographic screen, a miracle screen (using magic glass), etc. as well as other various types of screens. In addition, the screen may include various other components whose names are not the screen and which can form the projected image on the surface. Meanwhile, the interior surface of the theater or the internal fixture of the theater may include various interior surfaces or fixtures having a predetermined surface area such as a wall, floor, ceiling, passage, curtain, panel, etc. and these components may also be used as the projection surfaces.

The reflective surface 200 is configured to reflect an image reproduced by the image reproduction unit 100 toward the auditorium. The reflective surface 200 may be arranged to face the image reproduction unit 100 with the auditorium interposed therebetween (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3), arranged to face the image reproduction unit 100 at an acute angle (as shown in FIG. 4), or arranged to face the image reproduction unit 100 in a state where their edges are connected (or adjacent) to each other (as shown in FIG. 5). With these structures, the reflective surface 200 can reflect the image reproduced by the image reproduction unit 100 toward the auditorium.

Moreover, the reflective surface 200 may be implemented in the form of a mirror, reflective film, etc. and may preferably be implemented using various materials having a reflectance of 80% or higher.

Furthermore, the reflective surface 200 may be provided in the form of a flat surface (FIG. 4) or in the form of a curved surface and may be configured in various other forms.

In addition, the reflective surface 200 may be spaced apart from the image reproduction unit 100 (FIG. 4) or connected to each other (for example, their edges are connected to each other (as shown in FIG. 5). In any cases, the image reproduction unit 100 needs to be arranged to face the auditorium (so as to reflect the image of the image reproduction unit toward the auditorium).

Meanwhile, the reflective surface 200 may comprise a reflective surface blocking unit 210 that can selectively block external exposure of the reflective surface 200, and the reflective surface 200 may or may not be exposed to the outside by the operation of the reflective surface blocking unit 210.

The multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise one or more image projection units 100 and one or more reflective surfaces 200 so as to implement the multi-projection environment. Specifically, the multi-projection system according to the present invention may implement the multi-projection environment (i) using a single image projection unit 100 and a single reflective surface 200 which are arranged to surround the auditorium (arranged on the front side, the left side, the right side, the upper side, the lower side, the rear side, etc. with respect to the auditorium), (ii) using a single image projection unit 100 and a plurality of reflective surfaces 200 arranged to surround the auditorium, (iii) using a plurality of image reproduction units 100 and a single projection surface 200, or (iv) using a plurality of image reproduction units 100 and a plurality of projection surfaces 200.

Meanwhile, the multi-projection system according to the present invention may further comprise a management device 300 for controlling the system. Here, the management device 300 may be connected to the image reproduction unit 100 in a wired or wireless manner to control the operation of the image reproduction unit 100.

Specifically, the management device 300 may generally manage the images projected by the display device 130 or the projection device 110. For example, the management device 300 may transmit image content to be projected by the display device 130 or the projection device 110 to the corresponding device or may perform a process of correcting the image content. Moreover, the management device 300 may control the plurality of image reproduction units 100 (i.e., the display devices 130 or the projection devices 110) to reproduce the images in synchronization with each other. For example, the management device 300 may synchronize the plurality of image reproduction units 100 by controlling the operation thereof in real time or by transmitting synchronization information to all of the plurality of image reproduction units 100.

Moreover, when the reflective surface blocking unit 210 is additionally installed on the reflective surface 200, the management device 300 may control the operation of the reflective surface blocking unit 210. Therefore, the management device 300 may or may not expose the surface of the reflective surface 200 to the audience by controlling the operation of the reflective surface 200.

Furthermore, the management device 300 may control the operation of the reflective surface blocking unit 210 based on the image reproduced by the image reproduction unit 100. For example, the management device 300 may control the operation of the reflective surface blocking unit 210 in a predetermined way at a predetermined time in a time code. In this case, the management device 300 may comprise control information for controlling the reflective surface blocking unit 210, and the control information may contain operation time information of the reflective surface blocking unit 210, exposure area information of the reflective surface 200, etc. Moreover, the operation time information may be generated based on various time information, but may preferably be generated based on time code information of image content reproduced by the image reproduction unit 100.

Meanwhile, the management device 300 may be implemented with various electronic devices. For example, the management device 300 may be implemented in a single server or in such a manner that two or more servers are interconnected. Moreover, the management device 300 may be implemented in such a manner that a server and other electronic devices are interconnected or implemented in arithmetic units other than the server. The management device 300 may comprise at least one arithmetic means and a storage means, and the arithmetic means may be a general central processing unit (CPU), but may be a programmable logic device (e.g., CPLA, FPGA, etc.), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a microcontroller chip, which is implemented for a specific purpose. Moreover, the storage means may be a volatile memory device, a non-volatile memory device, a non-volatile electromagnetic storage device, or a memory in the arithmetic means.

Next, exemplary structures of a multi-projection system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the reflective surface 200 is arranged to face the image reproduction unit 100 with the auditorium interposed therebetween (preferably, to face in parallel to the image reproduction unit 100).

Referring to FIG. 3, the multi-projection system according to the present invention may comprise a plurality of image reproduction units 100 arranged on the front side, the left side, and the upper side with respect to the auditorium and a plurality of reflective surfaces 200 arranged on the right side and the lower side with respect to the auditorium. Here, the reflective surface 200 arranged on the right side is provided to face the image reproduction unit 100 arranged on the left side (preferably, to face in parallel to the image reproduction unit 100), and the reflective surface 200 arranged on the lower side is provided to face the image reproduction unit 100 arranged on the upper side (preferably, to face in parallel to the image reproduction unit 100).

Therefore, when it is assumed that the image reproduction unit 100 on the front side included in the multi-projection system reproduces a main image, the image reproduction unit 100 on the left side reproduces image I, and the image reproduction unit 100 on the upper side reproduces image II, the reflective surface 200 on the right side can reflect image Ito the auditorium and the reflective surface 200 on the lower side can reflect image II to the auditorium, thus providing the audience with multi-projection images comprising a front side image (i.e., reproduced main image), a left side image (i.e., reproduced image I), a right side image (i.e., reflected image I), an upper surface image (i.e., reproduced image II), and a lower surface image (i.e., reflected image II).

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the reflective surface 200 is arranged to form an acute angle with the image reproduction unit 100 with the auditorium interposed therebetween. The multi-projection system according to the present invention may implement the multi-projection environment using the acute angle structure without having to arrange the image reproduction unit 100 and the reflective surface 200 in parallel to each other (as shown in the top of FIG. 4). Moreover, the multi-projection system according to the present invention may generate two or more reflected images facing the auditorium using images reproduced by a single image reproduction unit 100 (as shown in the bottom of FIG. 4).

Referring to the top of FIG. 4, the multi-projection system may comprise an image reproduction unit 100 arranged in front of the auditorium and a reflective surface 200 arranged on the upper side at an acute angle with the image reproduction unit 100. In this embodiment, the image reproduction unit 100 provides an image in front of the auditorium, and the reflective surface 200 provides a reflected image by reflecting the image of the image reproduction unit 100 (from the upper side of the auditorium to the auditorium) using the acute angle structure. Therefore, the multi-projection environment can be implemented using the plurality of images.

Referring to the bottom of FIG. 4, the multi-projection system may comprise an image reproduction unit 100 arranged in front of the auditorium, a reflective surface 200 arranged on the left side at an acute angle with the image reproduction unit 100, and a reflective surface 200 arranged on the right side at an acute angle with the image reproduction unit 100. In this embodiment, the image reproduction unit 100 provides an image in front of the auditorium, the reflective surface 200 arranged on the left side provides a reflected image by reflecting the image of the image reproduction unit 100 (from the left side of the auditorium to the auditorium) using the acute angle structure, and the reflective surface 200 arranged on the right side provides a reflected image by reflecting the image of the image reproduction unit 100 (from the right side of the auditorium to the auditorium) using the acute angle structure. Therefore, the multi-projection environment can be implemented using the single reproduced image and a plurality of images created based on the single reproduced image.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the reflective surface 200 and the image reproduction unit 100 are formed with a curved surface. Specifically, FIG. 5 shows an example in which the reflective surface 200 and the image reproduction unit 100 are formed with a curved surface in a dome-shaped theater and arranged to face each other (e.g., the reflective surface 200 is arranged to face the image reproduction unit 100 so as to reflect the image of the image reproduction unit 100).

In this case, the reflective surface 200 is arranged to obliquely face the image reproduction unit 100 and also arranged to face the auditorium, thus reflecting the image of the image reproduction unit 100 to the auditorium. Therefore, a plurality of images (including the reproduced image and the reflected image) can reach the auditorium of the theater from “a direction that the image reproduction unit 100 is arranged” and from “a direction that the reflective surface 200 is arranged”.

Meanwhile, the reflective surface 200 and the image reproduction unit 100 may be arranged in various forms as long as they face each other. For example, the reflective surface 200 and the image reproduction unit 100 may be arranged in a manner that their edges are connected to each other, adjacent to each other, or spaced apart from each other as shown in FIG. 5.

FIGS. 3 to 5 are merely examples showing the typical arrangement structures. Therefore, the arrangement structures of the reflective surface 200 according to the present invention are not limited to those in FIGS. 3 to 5, and the reflective surface 200 may be configured with other structures that can provide the reflected image toward the auditorium.

Next, an example of the reflective surface blocking unit 210 that may be included in the multi-projection system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

Referring to FIG. 6, the multi-projection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise the reflective surface blocking unit 210 that can selectively block the external exposure of the reflective surface 200.

The reflective surface blocking unit 210 is configured to selectively block the external exposure of the reflective surface 200 and serves as a lid or cover of the reflective surface 200.

The reflective surface blocking unit 210 may be arranged in a space between the reflective surface 200 and the auditorium while being spaced apart from the reflective surface 200 or installed on the surface of the reflective surface 200 and may be configured into various forms such as a panel, fabric, etc. which has a reflectance of 20% or less.

Moreover, it is preferable that the reflective surface blocking unit 210 is movably installed. Specifically, it is preferable that the reflective surface blocking unit 210 is installed to move in a direction such as up and down, left and right, diagonally, etc. as shown in FIG. 6, thus changing the area (region) in which the reflective surface 200 is exposed to the auditorium through this movement. Meanwhile, the movement of the reflective surface blocking unit 210 may comprise various types of movements such as moving its body in a certain direction, changing the area of the body in a certain direction, etc., thus changing the exposure area (region) of the reflective surface 200 through these various movements.

Referring to FIG. 7, the operation of the reflective surface blocking unit 210 and a multi-projection environment which may be implemented by the operation of the reflective surface blocking unit 210 are shown.

FIG. 7A shows a multi-projection system comprising an image reproduction unit 100 installed on the front side, an image reproduction unit 100 installed on the left side, and a reflective surface 200 installed on the right side. However, in this case, the external exposure of the reflective surface 200 is completely blocked by the reflective surface blocking unit 210, and thus no reflected image is provided to the auditorium. Therefore, the audience can enjoy only multi-projection images provided from the front side and the left side.

FIG. 7B also shows a multi-projection system comprising an image reproduction unit 100 installed on the front side, an image reproduction unit 100 installed on the left side, and a reflective surface 200 installed on the right side. However, in this case, a partial region of the reflective surface 200 is exposed to the outside by the movement of the reflective surface blocking unit 210, and thus some of the image reproduced on the left side is reflected to the auditorium using the externally exposed region. Therefore, the audience can enjoy multi-projection images including a reproduced image provided from the front side, an image provided from the left side, and a reflected image provided from the right side (i.e., an image reflected from some of the image reproduced on the facing left side).

FIG. 7C shows a multi-projection system comprising an image reproduction unit 100 installed on the front side, an image reproduction unit 100 installed on the left side, a reflective surface 200 installed on the right side, a reflective surface 200 installed on the lower side, and a reflective surface 200 installed on the upper side. In this case, the upper region of the reflective surface 200 installed on the right side is exposed to the outside by the movement of the reflective surface blocking unit 210, and thus the image in the upper region reproduced on the left side is reflected to the auditorium using the externally exposed upper region. Moreover, a partial region of the reflective surface 200 installed on the upper side is exposed to the outside by the movement of the reflective surface blocking unit 210, and thus the image reproduced on the lower side is reflected to the auditorium using the externally exposed region. Therefore, the audience can enjoy multi-projection images including a reproduced image provided from the front side, a reproduced image provided from the left side, a reflected image provided from the right side, a reproduced image provided from the lower side, and a reflected image provided from the upper side.

The above-described reflective surface blocking unit 210 may generally be controlled by the management device 300. For example, the reflective surface blocking unit 210 may be connected to the management device 300 in a wired or wireless manner according to ISO, ITU, IEC, and IEEE standards for electrical connection and may generally be controlled by the management device 300 based on this connection.

Next, another example of the reflective surface blocking unit 210 that may be included in the multi-projection system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the reflective surface blocking unit 210 that may be included in the multi-projection system according to the present invention may comprise at least two partial reflective surface blocking units 212.

Here, the partial reflective surface blocking unit 212 is responsible for a partial region of the reflective surface 200 divided and is configured to selectively block the external exposure of the partial region for which it is responsible. Therefore, in this embodiment, the external exposure of the reflective surface 200 may be controlled for each divided region, and the two or more partial reflective surface blocking units 212, which are responsible for the respective divided regions, constitute the entire reflective surface blocking unit 210.

Meanwhile, the partial reflective surface blocking unit 212 also serves as a partial lid or cover of the reflective surface 200. Moreover, the partial reflective surface blocking unit 212 may be arranged in a space between the reflective surface 200 and the auditorium while being spaced apart from the reflective surface 200 or installed on the surface of the reflective surface 200 and may be configured into various forms such as a panel, fabric, etc. which has a reflectance of 20% or less.

Moreover, it is preferable that each of the two or more partial reflective surface blocking units 212 is installed to move independently. Specifically, each partial reflective surface blocking unit 212 may be installed to move in a direction such as up and down, left and right, diagonally, etc., thus changing the area (region) in which the reflective surface 200 (i.e., the divided reflective surface 200 for which it is responsible) is exposed to the auditorium through this movement. For reference, the movement of each partial reflective surface blocking unit 212 may comprise various types of movements such as moving its body in a certain direction, changing the area of the body in a certain direction, etc., thus independently changing the exposure area (region) of the reflective surface 200, for which it is responsible, through these various movements.

Referring to FIG. 8, an example in which the reflective surface blocking unit 210 comprises the two or more partial reflective surface blocking unit 212 is shown.

The colored regions in FIG. 8 represent a state where the partial reflective surface blocking units 212 block the external exposure of the reflective surface 200, and the uncolored regions represent a state where the partial reflective surface blocking units 212 expose the reflective surface 200 to the outside.

As can be seen from the figure, the reflective surface blocking unit 210 comprises two or more partial reflective surface blocking units 212, and these two or more partial reflective surface blocking units 212 are responsible for the entire region of the reflective surface 200 in a dividing manner. Moreover, each reflective surface blocking unit 212 may independently block or expose the divided region for which it is responsible and may expose only some of the entire area.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the shape of the reflective surface 200 can be configured in various ways by controlling the operation of each reflective surface blocking unit 212, and various types of reflected images can be implemented using the reflective surfaces 200 of various shapes (even when the reproduced images are the same).

Referring to FIG. 9, an example in which the two or more partial reflective surface blocking units 212 implement different reflected images with respect to the same reproduced image is shown. Specifically, even when the reproduced images reproduced on the image reproduction unit 100 on the left side are the same, different reflected images are implemented on the right side by controlling the operation of the two or more partial reflective surface blocking units 212.

Meanwhile, the operation of the above-described two or more partial reflective surface blocking units 212 may also generally be controlled by the management device 300. For example, the two or more partial reflective surface blocking units 212 may also be connected to the management device 300 in a wired or wireless manner according to ISO, ITU, IEC, and IEEE standards and may generally be controlled by the management device 300 based on this connection.

Next, a multi-projection system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

In the above-described embodiments, the external exposure of the reflective surface 200 is controlled by the reflective surface blocking unit 210.

However, in the embodiment described below, the external exposure of the reflective surface 200 may be controlled by constructing a system that can electronically control the reflectance of the reflective surface 200 without having to install the reflective surface blocking unit 210. Specifically, in the embodiment described below, when the reflective surface 200 is to be exposed to the audience, the reflectance of the reflective surface 200 may be increased by electronic control, and when the reflective surface 200 is not to be exposed to the audience, the reflectance of the reflective surface 200 may be reduced by electronic control, thus selectively controlling the exposure of the reflective surface 200.

Meanwhile, the embodiment described below is different from the above-described embodiments in that the selective exposure of the reflective surface 200 is achieved by electronic control, but the technical features other than this difference may be applied to the above-described embodiments. Therefore, the above-described features may be applied to the embodiment described below without any contradiction.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, the multi-projection system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention may be configured in a manner that the reflectance of the reflective surface 200 is changed by electronic control. For example, the reflectance of the reflective surface 200 included in the system may be changed by input voltage.

Here, the reflective surface 200 may be configured into various forms under conditions that the reflectance can be changed by electronic control. For example, the reflective surface 200 may comprise a “liquid crystal anti-glare mirror in which a liquid crystal device is disposed on the bottom of a glass surface and the arrangement of liquid crystal changes with a change in applied voltage, thus controlling the reflectance of the glass surface”. In this case, it is preferable that the liquid crystal comprises a cholesteric liquid crystal with negative dielectric anisotropy and long helical pitch, prepared by adding 2 wt % chiral nematic liquid crystal and 1 wt % nematic liquid crystal to 97 wt % cholesteric liquid crystal. Moreover, it is preferable that an alignment layer is disposed on a front glass and a rear glass and the alignment layer is vertically aligned with organosilane.

In the multi-projection system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the management device 300 does not control the operation of the reflective surface blocking unit 210, but may selectively block the external exposure of the reflective surface 200 by controlling the voltage applied to the reflective surface 200. For example, (1) when a reflected image is to be provided using the reflective surface 200, the reflectance of the reflective surface 200 may be increased by controlling the voltage applied to the reflective surface 200, whereas (2) when the external exposure of the reflective surface 200 is to be blocked, the reflectance of the reflective surface 200 may be reduced by controlling the voltage applied to the reflective surface 200.

Therefore, the multi-projection system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention may further comprise a power unit 230 for supplying power to the reflective surface 200, and the power unit 230 may be controlled by the management device 300.

Meanwhile, the multi-projection system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention may generally control the reflectance of the entire reflective surface 200 or may divide the entire reflective surface 200 into sub-regions and control the reflectance for each divided region. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11A, it is possible to generally change the reflectance of the entire reflective surface 200 by generally controlling the voltage applied to the entire reflective surface 200, or as shown in FIG. 11B, it is possible to divide the entire reflective surface 200 into sub-regions and independently control the reflectance for each sub-region by independently controlling the voltage for each sub-region.

Therefore, in the latter case (FIG. 11B), the operation similar to the embodiment including the above-described partial reflective surface blocking units 212 can be achieved.

Moreover, when a reflected image is provided, the multi-projection system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention may further comprise an additional effect device for providing separate additional effects (e.g., a wind effect, a smoke effect, a heat effect, a scent effect, a leaser effect, a sound effect, etc.) to maximize the effect of the reflected image. Here, the additional effect device may comprise a fog machine, a scent machine, a laser device, a heater, an air blower, a speaker, an LED, etc. as well as various other devices.

Meanwhile, when a reflected image is exposed through the reflective surface 200, the multi-projection system may implement an additional effect that matches the reflected image and may change the direction of the additional effect depending on the arrangement/formation direction of the reflective surface 200.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7B, when a forest path is exposed through the reflective surface, the multi-projection system may operate a scent machine that provides the scent of grass and operate an air blower in the formation direction of the reflective surface, thus providing the wind effect and the scent effect. As a result, it is possible to maximize the effect of the reflected image.

Next, a multi-projection method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention which can provide images to the auditorium in multiple directions will be described.

The multi-projection method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise the step of visually reproducing, at an image reproduction unit, image content (step a).

Moreover, the multi-projection method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise the step of, after step a, reflecting, at a reflective surface, an image reproduced by the image reproduction unit (step b).

Furthermore, the multi-projection method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may comprise the step of, after step b, allowing the image reflected by the reflective surface to be provided to the auditorium (step c).

The above-described multi-projection method according to the present invention is in a different category from the multi-projection system, but may have substantially the same features as the multi-projection system. Therefore, although the multi-projection method has not been described in detail to avoid repetitive description, the above-described features associated with the multi-projection system may also be applied to the multi-projection method.

The invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A multi-projection system comprising:

an image reproduction unit for visually reproducing image content; and

a reflective surface for reflecting an image reproduced by the image reproduction unit toward an auditorium,

wherein the multi-projection system provides images to the auditorium in multiple directions.

2. The multi-projection system of claim 1, comprising a plurality of image reproduction units,

wherein the plurality of image reproduction units and the reflective surface are arranged around the auditorium.

3. The multi-projection system of claim 1, comprising a plurality of reflective surfaces,

wherein the image reproduction unit and the plurality of reflective surfaces are arranged around the auditorium.

4. The multi-projection system of claim 1, comprising a plurality of image reproduction units and a plurality of reflective surfaces,

wherein the plurality of image reproduction units and the plurality of reflective surfaces are arranged around the auditorium.

5. The multi-projection system of claim 1, wherein the image reproduction unit is a display device.

6. The multi-projection system of claim 1, wherein the image reproduction unit comprises a projection surface on which an image is projected by a projection device.

7. The multi-projection system of claim 1, wherein the reflective surface is arranged to face the image reproduction unit and the auditorium.

8. The multi-projection system of claim 7, wherein the reflective surface is provided in the form of a flat surface or a curved surface.

9. The multi-projection system of claim 8, wherein the reflective surface and the image reproduction unit are provided in the form of a flat surface and arranged in parallel to each other or arranged at an acute angle to each other.

10. The multi-projection system of claim 1, further comprising:

a reflective surface blocking unit for blocking external exposure of the reflective surface; and

a management device for controlling the operation of the reflective surface blocking unit.

11. The multi-projection system of claim 10, wherein the reflective surface blocking unit changes an area, in which the reflective surface is exposed to the outside, under the control of the management device.

12. The multi-projection system of claim 10, wherein the reflective surface blocking unit comprises two or more partial reflective surface blocking units, each partial reflective surface blocking unit blocking a partial region of the reflective surface.

13. The multi-projection system of claim 12, wherein the management device independently controls the two or more partial reflective surface blocking units.

14. The multi-projection system of claim 10, wherein the management device comprises control information of the reflective surface blocking unit, the control information containing operation time information and exposure area information.

15. The multi-projection system of claim 14, wherein the operation time information is generated based on time code information of the image content reproduced by the image reproduction unit.

16. The multi-projection system of claim 1, wherein the reflective surface has a reflectance that is changed by applied voltage.

17. The multi-projection system of claim 16, further comprising a management device for controlling the voltage applied to the reflective surface, the management device controlling the reflectance of the reflective surface by controlling the voltage applied to the reflective surface.

18. The multi-projection system of claim 16, wherein the reflective surface comprises two or more partial reflective surfaces and the management device independently controls the voltage applied to the two or more partial reflective surfaces.

19. The multi-projection system of claim 10, wherein when a reflected image is exposed through the reflective surface, the management device implements an additional effect depending on the reflected image and changes the additional effect depending on the formation direction of the reflective surface.

20. A multi-projection method comprising the steps of:

(a) visually reproducing, at an image reproduction unit, image content;

(b) reflecting, at a reflective surface, an image reproduced by the image reproduction unit; and

(c) allowing the image reflected by the reflective surface to be provided to an auditorium,

wherein the multi-projection method provides images to the auditorium in multiple directions.