Light source apparatus and image projection apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018180976-A1
Application number	US-201715854274-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 26, 2017
Priority date	Dec 28, 2016
Publication date	Jun 28, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A light source apparatus includes a plurality of light sources each having a light emitting area, an optical characteristic converter configured to generate emitting light having a characteristic different from that of incident light from the plurality of light sources, and a first optical system configured to irradiate the incident light on each of a plurality of irradiated areas on the optical characteristic converter. A shape of each irradiation area is non-similar to that of the light emitting area.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A light source apparatus comprising:
a plurality of light sources each having a light emitting area; an optical characteristic converter configured to generate emitting light having a characteristic different from that of incident light from the plurality of light sources; and a first optical system configured to irradiate the incident light on each of a plurality of irradiated areas on the optical characteristic converter, wherein a shape of each irradiation area is non-similar to that of the light emitting area.

2 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the shape of the irradiation area corresponds to a shape made by expanding the shape of the light emitting area in at least one of two directions that are orthogonal to each other.

3 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical system includes, in order from a light source side, a first fly-eye surface and a second fly-eye surface.

4 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical system has refractive powers different from each other on sections that are orthogonal to each other and are parallel to an optical axis of the first optical system.

5 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical system includes a rod integrator.

6 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a collimator lens for each of the plurality of light sources so that light collimated by the collimator lens enters the first optical system.

7 . The light source apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising a light combining element disposed between the collimator lens and the first optical system and configured to combine light beams different from the light from the collimator lens and introduce combined light beam into the first optical system.

8 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of second optical systems, each of which is provided to each irradiated area on the optical characteristic converter, and configured to collimate divergent light as the emitting light,
wherein the optical characteristic converter and the plurality of second optical systems are arranged without intervening spaces between the optical characteristic converter and the second optical systems.

9 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of second optical systems, each of which is provided to each irradiated area on the optical characteristic converter, and configured to collimate divergent light as the emitting light,
wherein the plurality of second optical systems are arranged without intervening spaces among the plurality of second optical systems.

10 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of second optical systems, each of which is provided to each irradiated area on the optical characteristic converter, and configured to collimate divergent light as the emitting light,
wherein a focal length of each second optical systems is shorter than that of the first optical system.

11 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the optical characteristic converter includes a plurality of optical characteristic conversion elements.

12 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the optical characteristic converter includes an integrated optical characteristic conversion element.

13 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical system includes a plurality of optical elements.

14 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical system includes an optical element.

15 . A light source apparatus comprising:
a plurality of light sources; an optical characteristic converter configured to generate emitting light having a characteristic different from that of incident light from the plurality of light sources; and a plurality of optical systems, each of which is provided to each of a plurality of irradiated areas of the incident light from the plurality of light sources on the optical characteristic converter, and configured to collimate divergent light as the emitting light, wherein the optical characteristic converter and the plurality of optical systems are arranged without intervening spaces between the optical characteristic converter and the optical systems.

16 . The light source apparatus according to claim 15 , further comprising a light transmitting substrate provided between the optical characteristic converter and the plurality of optical systems and configured to hold the optical characteristic converter.

17 . A light source apparatus comprising:
a plurality of light sources; an optical characteristic converter configured to generate emitting light having a characteristic different from that of incident light from the plurality of light sources; and a plurality of optical systems, each of which is provided to each of a plurality of irradiated areas of the incident light from the plurality of light sources on the optical characteristic converter, and configured to collimate divergent light as the emitting light, wherein the plurality of optical systems are arranged without intervening spaces among the optical systems.

18 . The light source apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the plurality of optical systems are arranged so that lens surfaces of the optical systems are adjacent to each other.

19 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the optical characteristic converter includes a wavelength conversion element configured to generate the emitting light as wavelength-converted light different in wavelength from the incident light.

20 . The light source apparatus according to claim 19 , further comprising a dichroic surface disposed closer to the plurality of light sources than the optical characteristic converter, and configured to transmit the incident light and to reflect the wavelength-converted light.

21 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the optical characteristic converter includes an angular conversion element configured to convert a light beam angle of the incident light and to generate the emitting light.

22 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical system includes a hologram element.

23 . The light source apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical system includes a prism having a quadrangular pyramid shape.

24 . An image projection apparatus configured to project an image using light modulated by a light modulation element, the image projection apparatus comprising:
a light source apparatus that includes a plurality of light sources each having a light emitting area, an optical characteristic converter configured to generate emitting light having a characteristic different from that of incident light from the plurality of light sources, and a first optical system configured to irradiate the incident light on each of a plurality of irradiated areas on the optical characteristic converter, wherein a shape of each irradiation area is non-similar to that of the light emitting area; and an illumination optical system configured to illuminate the light modulation element by superimposing the emitting light emitted from the optical characteristic converter for each incident light from the plurality of

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Inoko Kazuhiro
• Maeda Yuuki

Classifications

• G03B21/2013 Primary

  Plural light sources · CPC title

• G03B21/206

  Control of light source other than position or intensity · CPC title

• G03B21/204

  using secondary light emission, e.g. luminescence or fluorescence (using different colours G03B33/00; if related to video signals H04N9/3197) · CPC title

• G03B21/208 Primary

  Homogenising, shaping of the illumination light · CPC title

• G03B21/28

  Reflectors in projection beam {(in illumination beam G03B21/2066)} · CPC title