BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a digital projector. One application is a digital projector that projects food or drink menu ordering options onto a table.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Digital projection systems, including those specifically for projecting food or drink menu ordering options onto a table are known from WO 2008/071979, WO 2011/064599 and WO 2011/124928, the contents of which are incorporated by reference.

WO 2011/064599 describes using a digital projector to display food or drink menu ordering options onto a table, and a separate web cam to view and detect the presence of certain objects on the table top that can be moved by a user to generate control inputs, such as selecting a specific menu item.

One disadvantage of this arrangement is that it is time consuming to set-up.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the invention is a digital projector including a digital projection system, a digital video camera and a computer that controls both the digital projection system and the digital video camera, all integrated within a housing that is configured for ceiling mounting.

By integrating the projector and camera together into a single housing, set-up is much faster and easier than if there is a separate web-cam to mount close to the projector. Operation and management is easier too.

Features in an implementation include the following:

• An additional computer in the housing enables remote management of both the video projector and the video camera.

• A wireless access point is included in the housing to control both the projector and the video camera.

• An integrated power supply in the housing provides power for both the video camera and the projector, so that the housing unit needs just a single power cable, a significant advantage when installing the system.

• A ceiling mount is provided for the housing, instead of separate ceiling mounts for the projector and the web-cam.

• A cooling system in the housing cools both the video camera and the projector. • The projector and camera can also be managed and controlled using the same main computer (or 'controlling computer') and hence the same software suite; zoom and focus for both the projector lens and the video camera lens can all be controlled using an integrated software package.

Hence, there can be numerous practical advantages to integrating a digital projection system, a digital video camera and a computer all within a single ceiling mounted housing.

Other optional features of the invention are the following:

• Projector includes or is attachable to a standard VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) ceiling mount.

• Camera is an infra-red camera.

• Combining the digital projection system and a digital camera into a single unit enables interactivity between what is viewed by the digital video camera and what is displayed by the projection system.

• Computer manages and controls both the video camera and also the digital projector.

• Video camera provides a video feed to the computer and the computer processes that video feed to track and/or recognise objects.

• Video camera provides a video feed to the computer and the computer processes that video feed to track and/or recognise objects and control or alter the image displayed by the projection system to enable interactivity.

• Video camera is optimised for IR and provides a video feed to the computer and the computer processes that video feed to track a clicker or puck or other object designed to be seen in IR.

• Gesture-based control inputs are viewed by the camera and interpreted by the computer and lead to the images being displayed by the projector being controlled; option buttons or regions displayed by the projector can be selected by the user through gestures.

• Video camera is enabled for remote control of zoom, focus and filter lens.

• The projection system and the video camera share the same lens or imaging system (e.g. using a 45° angle pellicle or semi-silvered mirror that the projector beams straight through; the camera then receives light reflected from the 45° angle pellicle or semi-silvered mirror)

The projection system and the video camera use a different lens or imaging system.

Digital projector projects images onto a horizontal surface, such as a table or desk.

Digital projector projects images onto a vertical surface, such as a wall or projection screen.

Digital projector is used in a restaurant to project an interactive food and/or drink ordering menu.

Digital projector is used in a school to project interactive educational content. Digital projector is used in a retail or commercial environment to project entertainment or information content. • Digital projector receives control inputs from a user to control the position of a cursor displayed by the projector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention is implemented in a system called the E-Table Projector. Figure 1 is a side view of the E-Table Projector;

Figure 2 shows the bottom of the E-Table Projector, which in use would face towards a table or other surface; the projector lens and the camera lens are visible.

Figure 3 shows the top of the E-Table Projector;

Figure 4 shows the top of the E-Table Projector, including the VESA ceiling mounting; Figure 5 shows a serial port data forwarding schematic;

Figure 6 shows a network connectivity schematic.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This section is the detailed product specification for an implementation of the invention, called the E-Table Projector.

The E-Table projector is shown in Figure 1: the housing 1 is a metal box that includes a digital projection system, a digital video camera and a computer, all integrated within the housing 1. The housing includes a VESA ceiling mounting 3. The video projector lens 2 is shown extending from the base of the housing 1. Figure 2 shows the centrally placed projector lens; above it is the smaller IR camera lens. To the left of the centrally placed projector lens are a pair of vents for the cooling fans. Figure 3 shows the top of housing without the VESA ceiling mounting; Figure 4 shows the housing including the VESA ceiling mounting.

1. GENERAL & MECHANICAL

PROJECTOR SPECIFICATION:

• LED based projector with 3,000 lumens (Max) and 50,000 hours lamp life

• Native Resolution Full HD 1080p - 1920x1080

• Projector image orientation aligned with case: landscape orientation along the long side

• Throw ratio:

• With 0.65 conversion lens: 0.75 to 0.88 (Optional)

• With 0.8 conversion lens: 0.92 to 1.09 (Optional)

•Standard: 1.15 to 1.36

• With 1.2 conversion lens: 1.38 to 1.63 (Optional)

POWER REQUIREMENTS:

• 110-240VAC/47-63HZ 650W Power Supply

• 360W (estimated)

ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES:

+5°C to +40°C operating temperature

Certification: CE, WEEE, RoHS

UNIT MECHANICAL VALUES

• Dimensions

o 440mm x 365mm x 262mm [L x W x H]

• Interface

o Mounting: VESA 100 interface plate

• Able to adjust the image position in X & Y via optional ceiling mount

• Mass 17kg [estimate]

IMAGE AND CAMERA CONTROLS:

• Ability to control by software (motorized controls) the following:

o Projector zoom and focus

o IR camera zoom, focus and filter lens • All control motors are fitted with end switches to prevent damage to the lens mechanisms

SOFTWARE CONTROLS:

• Current settings retained in the event of power loss (e.g. zoom and focus levels)

• Projector can be switched ON/OFF by software

• Operating temperature monitored and controlled automatically by cooling system

PC AND ACCESS POINT SPECIFICATION:

• Intel ^® Core™ Ϊ3-4110Ε, 2-Core, 2.6GHz, 3M Cache, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD hard drive

• Windows 7 OEM installed (Windows 10 OEM optional)

• 802.11ac/a/n 5GHz wireless router

CONNECTIONS AND I/O:

• 2x external USB 3.0 ports

• lx external USB port for projector reprogramming

• 2x external 1000BASE-T Ethernet ports

• lx DVI video input

• lx VGA video output

• lx IEC mains power socket with ON/OFF switch to power supply

2. CONTROL BOARD

The E-table custom control board is a custom PCB interfacing different PC peripherals and controlling the power state of the different parts. In addition this electronics provides the power supply to the projectors power LEDs in an efficient way.

These are the internal interfaces provided by the control board:

• System power:

o ATX PSU interface

o Projector 5VDC power and RGB LED PWM input

o Wireless Router 12VDC Power

o PC status, power button detection and 12VDC power input o Raspberry Pi 5VDC power

• Four serial interfaces with:

o Raspberry Pi

o Embedded PC

o Projector

o Wireless Access Point

• Five stepper motor interfaces:

o 2x Projector Zoom and Focus

o 3x IR camera Zoom, Focus and IR filter • Up to 4 PWM Fan control

• Up to 4 thermocouple inputs

• Video interfaces

o DVD-D I n and Out

o HDMI In and Out

• Multiple on-board Status LEDs

• I nterface to connect control panel with User buttons and I R remote control sensor

The control board provides the following functions:

• Controlled power up and down including handling of the PC Sleep, PC Wake- up and PC Shutdown events.

• Serial port data forwarding feature, as shown in Figure 5.

• System temperature monitoring and cooling function control

• System status monitoring and control

• I n Application Firmware Update

• User I nterface via Control Panel and I R remote control, allowing:

o Power on/off (PC and Projector only)

o Projector Zoom in (+), Zoom out (-), Focus in (+), Focus out (-)

o Projector source, Menu, Enter, Up, Down, Left, Right

3. PROJECTOR

OPTICAL PERFORMANCE

Throw ratio:

• With 0.65 conversion lens: 0.75 to 0.88

• With 0.8 conversion lens: 0.92 to 1.09

• Standard: 1.15 to 1.36 (Measured)

• With 1.2 conversion lens: 1.38 to 1.63

PROJECTOR MODULE

Epson D7 3*LCD, with 1920 x 1080 native resolution

OPTIONAL CONVERSION LENSES Factor 0.8 0.65

Va iance +25% +50%

Dimension dxL (cm) 8.3x5,0 9.8x7.9

4. INFRA RED CAMERA MODULE

IR CAMERA

PointGrey Firefly MV - FMVU-03MTM-CS:

• 0.3MP

β Color

β Imaging Sensor:

o MicronMR9V022CMOS,l/3",6.( m

o Global Shutter

o 752x480at60FPS

• A/D Converter: OnchiplO-bit/12-bit

• image Data Output: 8, 16-bitdigita! data

• Image Data Formats: Y8,Y16 (mono), 8-bitandl6-bitraw Bayer data (colour)

• Partial image Modes: Pixel binning and region of interest (ROI) modes

• Image Processing: Gamma, lookup table, hue, saturation, and sharpness

• Gain: Automatic/Manual Gain modes OdB tol2dB (FMVU-03MT)/0dB to24dB

(FMVU-13S2)

^• Gamma: 0 to l(FMVU-03MT)/0.50 to 4.00(FMVU-13S2)

• White Balance: Automatic/manual modes, programmable via software

• Colour Processing: On-camera in YUV or RGB format, or on-PC in Raw format

• Digital interface: 5-pinMini-B USB2.0 for camera control, video data, and power

• Tra sfer Rates 480Mb/s

• GPIO: 7-pin JST GPIO connector, 4 pins for trigger and strobe, 1 pin÷3.3V, 1 VEXT pin for external power

• External Trigger Modes: HDC Trigger Modes 0 and 3

• Synchronization Via external trigger

• Shutter: Global Shutter (FMVU-03MT)/Rolling Shutter (FMVU-13S2)

Automatic/Manual modes 0.12ms to512ms (FMVU-03 T)/0.03ms to 8000ms (FMVU-13S2)

• Memory Channels: 2memory channels for custom camera settings

• Flash Memory: M/A

• Dimensions 24,4x44x34mm (excluding lens holder and connectors)

• Mass 37g (without optics or tripod mounting bracket)

• Power Consumption: 4.75V to 5.25V via GPIO or USB 2.0 interface, less thanlW

• Camera Specification: MDCvl.31

• Camera Control: via Fly Capture SDK, CSRs, or third party software β Camera Updates in-field firmware updates ^β Lens Mount: CS-mount

* Operating Temperature: 0°to45°C

* Storage Temperature: -30°to60°C

* Emissions Compliance: CE, FCC, RoHS

β Operating System : Windows XPSP1

I R CAMERA LENS

The E-Table projector incorporates a Fujifiim lens for the I R camera, with 2.8mm - 8mm focal length

5. NETWORK CONNECTIVITY

5.1. INTERNAL NETWORK DIAGRAM

The E-Table system has two RJ45 ports. The first port connects directly to the internal PC, the second port connects to the internal Wireless Access Point Router, the router also provides Ethernet connection with the internal Raspberry Pi. The internal network diagram is shown at Figure 6.

5.2. WIRELESS ACCESS POINT

The E -Table system contains the RB953GS-5HnT-RP Wireless Access Point Router from Mikrotik. RouterBOARD 953GS-5HnT-RP is the first product with 5GHz 3x3 MIMO Triple Chain support. It has a powerful (up to 1600mW) Atheros QCA9558 CPU 802.11a/n wireless support with three RPSMA connectors.

RB953GS-5HnT is equipped with a new Scorpion 720Mhz CPU, 128MB RAM and three Gigabit Ethernet ports, to take advantage of high-speed 3x3 MI MO wireless. Moreover, it comes with two SFP cages to accommodate FTTH and fiber ring requirements. Handy additions are two miniPCI-express slots and two SIM slots, for multiple 3G/4G connections or wireless expansion. The unit comes with preinstalled RouterOS Levels license.

5.3. WIRELESS MODULE - 5GHZ

Routerboard - Rlie~5HacD

Rlle-5HacD is a 802.11ac card in miniPCI-express format, perfect for any RouterBOARD with miniPCIe slot, such as RB953, RB912, RB922, RB800 or x86 devices with RouterOS. The card features built-in LED indicators for wireless mode, connection status (connected, searching, disabled), TX and RX activity and wireless signal strength - just looking at the card will help with installation and alignment.

6. RASPBERRY PI

The E-Table system also incorporates a Raspberry Pi to assist with remote management of the system, its specification is as follows:

* 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU

* 1GB RAM

* 4 USB ports

* 40 GPIO pins

* Full HDMI port

* Ethernet port * Combined 3.5mm audio jack and composite video

• Camera interface (CS!)

• Display interface (DSI)

* Micro SD card slot

* VideoCore iV 3D graphics core

7. CONTROLLING PC

Embedded PC - Avalue ECM-QM87 -4110E:

3,5" micro module with I ntel ^® OJV187 chipset

Features:

• I ntel ^® 4th Generation Core™ Haswel!-Refresh i5/i3 processor

• 1 x 204-pin DDR3L SODI MM Up to 8Gb 1333/1600 SDRAM

* Dual-channel 18/24 bit LVDS, HD5VSI, VGA

• Realtek ALC892 supports 5.1-CH audio

• Dual Gigabit Ethernet

* Triple Display

* 2 SATA Ml, 1 Mini PCIe Card (support mSATA)

• 6 USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0, 2 COM, 8-bit DIO

* iAMT 9.0

7.1. HEATSINK FOR QM87R

E1961121470000R

CPU Cooler 4P/12V/Fan 60*6034.5 CU 47W

ECM-QM87 5300PRM

7.2. DATA STORAGE2.5" SSD

Transcend TS64GSSD370 (EAM 0760557829478)-64GB, 2.5" SSD, SATA3

8. POWER SUPPLY UNIT

Corsair RM Series™ RM650— 650 Watt 80 PLUS ^® Gold Certified Fully Modular PSU :

* Model : CP-9020054-NA

• Weigh ! 3.16 kg

• MTBF: 100,000 hours

* Power: 650 Watts

• Fanless mode: Yes

• Fan bearing technology: Rifled

* Fan size: 140mm

* C-Link: Digital Basic * Continuous output rated temperature: 40°C

* ATX Connector: 150mm x 86mm x 160mm

9 Modular: Fully

* Sleeved cables: Low-Profile, Ail Black

* ATX Connector: 1

* EPS Connector: 1

* Floppy Connector: 2

* Four Pin Peripheral Connector: 7

* PCI Connector: 4

β SATA Connector: 8

9. AIR HANDLING

9.1. COOLING FANS [2 FITTED]

ARCTIC F8 PWM Low Noise Impeller - High Airflow and static Pressure

4-Pin PWM fan with standard case:

Air flow: 31 CFM / 52.7 m ^» /h (@ 2,000RPM)

Noise level: 03 Sone (@ 2,000RPM)

Electrical Characteristics:

Typical Voltage: 12V DC

Start-up Voltage: 6.0V DC {@ 100% PWM)

Connection:

Motherboard: +12V DC PWM control signal 4-pin socket

10. CEILING MOUNT

These are the main features of the ceiling mount designed:

* VESA 100 compatible mount

β Provided in black powder coated

* Designed to support the projector weight

* The projector can be freely hung and removed (using securing bolts to avoid inadvertent removal) - Security Bolts supplied.

* Variety of ceiling mount holes to aid the fitter depending on what surface they are fixing the mount to (no ceiling fixings supplied)

* It can be adjusted in both Y and Y directions by up to ÷/- 25mm

β It can be freely rotated 360 degrees.

* Position can be locked out once a desired position is established by tightening 2 bolts

* There is no height adjustment (Z) * it has built in vibration isolation to remove small vibrations that should closely resemble this in X,Y and Z Axis as per the chart below.

* The design incorporates a detachable 400mm galvanized safety cable - certified to 100KG static load