Image projecting systems and methods
A projection system for projecting sewing patterns onto a surface comprises a vertical beam, a projector, and a cart. The vertical beam includes (a) a floor engaging portion at a bottom end and (b) a ceiling engaging portion at a top end, the ceiling engaging portion being vertically movable with respect to the floor engaging portion such that, when in use, the floor engaging portion and the ceiling engaging portion engage a floor and a ceiling, respectively, to anchor the projection system adjacent the surface. The projector is configured to receive data representing the sewing patterns and to project the sewing patterns. The cart is operably attached to the projector and slidably attached to the vertical beam, wherein sliding the cart vertically adjusts a height of the projector above the surface.
1. A projection system for projecting sewing patterns onto a surface, comprising:
a vertical beam including (a) a floor engaging portion at a bottom end and (b) a ceiling engaging portion at a top end, the ceiling engaging portion being vertically movable with respect to the floor engaging portion such that, when in use, the floor engaging portion and the ceiling engaging portion engage a floor and a ceiling, respectively, to anchor the projection system adjacent the surface;
a projector configured to receive data representing the sewing patterns and to project the sewing patterns;
a cart slidably attached to the vertical beam, wherein the projector is rotatably attached to the cart and rotation of the projector to an angle of rotation relative to the cart disconnects the projector from the cart; and
wherein sliding the cart vertically adjusts a height of the projector above the surface.
2. The projection system of claim 1 , wherein the cart or the vertical beam includes a cart locking mechanism operable between a locked mode in which the cart locking mechanism resists vertical sliding of the cart along the vertical beam and a sliding mode in which the cart locking mechanism does not resist vertical sliding of the cart along the vertical beam.
3. The projection system of claim 1 , wherein the cart has a friction fit with the vertical beam in which the friction resists vertical sliding of the cart along the vertical beam.
4. The projection system of claim 1 , further comprising a computing device having a plurality of patterns stored thereon, wherein the computing device communicates selected patterns to the projector for projection.
5. The projection system of claim 4 , wherein the patterns stored on the computing device comprise at least one calibration pattern and at least one sewing pattern.
6. The projection system of claim 4 , wherein the computing device is configured to connect to a Wi-Fi access point on a computer network, and the computing device is further configured to connect to the projector via a Bluetooth interface and provide credentials for the Wi-Fi access point to the projector via the Bluetooth interface.
7. The projection system of claim 6 , wherein the computing device is configured to transmit patterns to the projector via the Wi-Fi access point.
8. The projection system of claim 1 , wherein the vertical beam includes an electrical power path that transfers electrical power along the length of the vertical beam to the cart, the electrical power path including electrical rails that transfer electrical power to the cart while allowing vertical sliding of the cart along the vertical beam, and wherein the cart couples the electrical power to the projector.
9. The projection system of claim 8 , wherein the vertical beam includes a power switch configured to interrupt electrical power flow to the projector.
10. The projection system of claim 1 , further comprising a spirit level slidably attached to the vertical beam and configured to slide vertically along the vertical beam, the spirit level configured to indicate whether the vertical beam is plumb.
11. The projection system of claim 1 , wherein the projector is rotatably attached to the cart such that the projector is rotatable from a vertical orientation in which an axis of projection is parallel to a length of the vertical beam to a horizontal orientation in which the axis of projection is perpendicular to the length of the vertical beam.
12. The projection system of claim 1 , wherein the vertical beam is separable into two portions to facilitate storage or transport of the projection system.
13. The projection system of claim 1 , wherein the vertical beam further comprises a spring-biased telescoping portion to bias the vertical beam against the floor and ceiling.
14. The projection system of claim 13 , wherein the floor engaging portion is disposed on the spring-biased telescoping portion.
15. The projection system of claim 1 , further comprising a cutting mat having visible features for assisting in positioning of the projector at a desired distance from the surface.
16. The projection system of claim 15 , further comprising a computing device which is configured to cause the projector to project a calibration pattern onto the visible features for assisting in positioning of the projector at a desired distance from the surface.
17. The projection system of claim 1 , further comprising a computing device having a transform library stored thereon, wherein the computing device applies a projector transform from the transform library to a selected pattern prior to communicating the transformed selected pattern to the projector for projection.
18. The projection system of claim 17 , wherein the computing device generates the projector transform from a camera image including first optical features from a physical calibration guide and second optical features from a projected calibration pattern.
19. A projection system for projecting sewing patterns onto a surface, comprising:
a vertical beam including (a) a floor engaging portion at a bottom end and (b) a ceiling engaging portion at a top end, the ceiling engaging portion being vertically movable with respect to the floor engaging portion such that, when in use, the floor engaging portion and the ceiling engaging portion engage a floor and a ceiling, respectively, to anchor the projection system adjacent the surface;
a projector configured to receive data representing the sewing patterns and to project the sewing patterns;
a cart slidably attached to the vertical beam, wherein the projector is attached to the cart, and wherein sliding the cart vertically adjusts a height of the projector above the surface; and
a computing device having a transform library stored thereon, wherein the computing device applies a projector transform from the transform library to a selected pattern prior to communicating the transformed selected pattern to the projector for projection; and wherein the computing device generates the projector transform from a camera image including first optical features from a physical calibration guide and second optical features from a projected calibration pattern.
20. The projection system of claim 19 , further wherein the computing device has a plurality of patterns stored thereon, wherein the computing device communicates selected patterns to the projector for projection.
21. The projection system of claim 20 , wherein the patterns stored on the computing device comprise at least one calibration pattern and at least one sewing pattern.
22. The projection system of claim 20 , wherein the computing device is configured to connect to a Wi-Fi access point on a computer network, and the computing device is further configured to connect to the projector via a Bluetooth interface and provide credentials for the Wi-Fi access point to the projector via the Bluetooth interface.
23. The projection system of claim 22 , wherein the computing device is configured to transmit patterns to the projector via the Wi-Fi access point.