Light source device and image display device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10514540-B2
Application number	US-201816013981-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 21, 2018
Priority date	Jul 11, 2017
Publication date	Dec 24, 2019
Grant date	Dec 24, 2019

Abstract

The disclosure provides a light source device and an image display device. The light source device includes a laser light source configured to emit laser light having a wavelength in a range from 635 nm to 645 nm inclusive, a temperature sensor configured to detect temperature around the light source device, and a laser control circuit configured to control the laser light source. The laser control circuit approximates, with use of a quartic expression, change in threshold current of the laser light source relative to temperature, and approximates, with use of a quadratic expression, change in slope efficiency of the laser light source relative to temperature, to obtain threshold current and slope efficiency of the laser light source corresponding to detection temperature of the temperature sensor, and controls the laser light source in accordance with the threshold current and the slope efficiency thus obtained.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A light source device comprising:
a laser light source configured to emit laser light having a wavelength in a range from 635 nm to 645 nm inclusive;
a temperature sensor configured to detect temperature around the laser light source; and
a laser control unit configured to control the laser light source,
wherein the laser control unit approximates, with use of a quartic expression, change in threshold current of the laser light source relative to temperature, and approximates, with use of a quadratic expression, change in slope efficiency of the laser light source relative to temperature, to obtain the threshold current and the slope efficiency of the laser light source corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and controls the laser light source in accordance with the threshold current and the slope efficiency thus obtained.

2. The light source device according to claim 1 , wherein the laser control unit applies the slope efficiency approximated with use of the quadratic expression for predetermined temperature around normal temperature to a range of temperature equal to or less than the predetermined temperature, to approximate the slope efficiency in the temperature range.

3. The light source device according to claim 1 , wherein the laser control unit receives setting for changing a constant term in the quartic expression for approximation of the change in the threshold current and a constant term in the quadratic expression for approximation of the change in the slope efficiency.

4. The light source device according to claim 1 , further comprising an additional laser light source configured to emit laser light having a wavelength in a range other than the range from 635 nm to 645 nm inclusive,
wherein the laser control unit approximates, with use of a linear expression, change in threshold current of the additional laser light source relative to temperature, and approximates, with use of a linear expression, change in slope efficiency of the additional laser light source relative to temperature, to obtain the threshold current and the slope efficiency of the additional laser light source corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and controls the additional laser light source in accordance with the threshold current and the slope efficiency thus obtained.

5. The light source device according to claim 4 , wherein the laser control unit receives setting for changing a constant term in the linear expression for approximation of the change in the threshold current and a constant term in the linear expression for approximation of the change in the slope efficiency.

6. The light source device according to claim 4 , wherein the temperature sensor is disposed closer to the laser light source than the additional laser light source.

7. The light source device according to claim 4 , wherein the laser control unit provides an upper limit value to driving current applied to each of the laser light source and the additional laser light source when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is included in a predetermined first temperature range, and provides an upper limit value to light emission power of each of the laser light source and the additional laser light source when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is included in a predetermined second temperature range lower than the first temperature range.

8. The light source device according to claim 4 , further comprising a heater configured to heat peripheries of the laser light source and the additional laser light source,
wherein the laser control unit drives the heater when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is lower than a predetermined threshold.

9. The light source device according to claim 4 , wherein the additional laser light source includes two laser light sources configured to respectively emit laser light having a wavelength in a range from 510 nm to 530 nm inclusive and laser light having a wavelength in a range from 440 nm to 460 nm inclusive.

10. An image display device comprising:
the light source device according to claim 9 ;
a screen scanned two-dimensionally by laser light beams having different wavelengths and emitted from the light source device, to allow an image to be drawn on the screen;
a scanning unit configured to cause the laser light beams having the different wavelengths to scan the screen;
a drive unit configured to drive the scanning unit; and
an optical system configured to generate a virtual image of the image drawn on the screen,
wherein the laser control unit controls each of the laser light sources in accordance with the threshold current and the slope efficiency thus obtained for each of the laser light source and the two laser light sources.

11. An image display device comprising the light source device according to claim 10 , wherein the laser control unit adjusts luminance and white balance of a display image in accordance with the threshold current and the slope efficiency thus obtained for each of the laser light sources.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kurozuka Akira
• Yamamoto Yuta
• Uragami Susumu
• Furuya Hiroyuki

Classifications

• G02B27/30

  Collimators · CPC title

• G02B27/141

  using dichroic mirrors · CPC title

• G02B27/0101 Primary

  characterised by optical features (G02B27/0172 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G03B21/2053

  Intensity control of illuminating light (controlled by video signal processing H04N5/74 or H04N9/31) · CPC title

• H01S5/06804 Primary

  by monitoring an external parameter, e.g. temperature · CPC title