Projector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9285667-B2
Application number	US-201214001295-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 2, 2012
Priority date	Mar 11, 2011
Publication date	Mar 15, 2016
Grant date	Mar 15, 2016

Abstract

A projector including a light source apparatus that includes a fluorescent layer that produces fluorescence by irradiation of an excitation light emitted from a solid-state light source, a polarization conversion element that converts the light from the light source apparatus into polarized light, and a reflector that is disposed between the light source apparatus and the polarization conversion element, transmits light in the vicinity of the optical axis of the light source apparatus, and reflects peripheral light apart from the optical axis of the light source apparatus toward the fluorescent layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A projector comprising:
an illuminator including a light source apparatus that includes the following components and outputs parallelized light: a solid-state light source that produces excitation light, a fluorescent layer that produces fluorescence from a part of the excitation light emitted from the solid-state light source, and a collimator system that parallelizes a light from the fluorescent layer;
a light modulator that modulates a light from the illuminator in accordance with image information; and
a projection system that projects a light from the light modulator, wherein the illuminator further includes
a polarization conversion element that converts a light from the light source apparatus into a polarized light, and
a reflector that is disposed between the light source apparatus and the polarization conversion element, transmits light in the vicinity of an optical axis of the light source apparatus, and reflects peripheral light apart from the optical axis of the light source apparatus toward the fluorescent layer,
wherein the collimator system is formed of at least two collimator lenses, and at least one surface among surfaces of the at least two collimator lenses s an aspheric surface.

2. The projector according to claim 1 ,
wherein the reflector has a light transmitting section including the optical axis of the light source apparatus and a light reflecting section having a reflection mirror that surrounds the light transmitting section.

3. The projector according to claim 2 ,
wherein the light transmitting section has a rectangular shape,
the rectangular shape has a center that coincides with the optical axis of the illuminator, and
the rectangular shape has a diagonal length ranging from 70% of an effective diameter of the collimator system to 110% thereof.

4. The projector according to claim 1 ,
wherein the light modulator is a single transmissive light modulator.

5. The projector according to claim 4 ,
wherein the light modulator has a color filter.

6. The projector according to claim 5 ,
wherein the color filter is formed of reflective dichroic filters.

7. The projector according to claim 6 ,
wherein the color filter is formed of color filters disposed in a Bayer arrangement.

8. The projector according to claim 1 ,
wherein an optical system ranging from the solid-state light source to the projection system is arranged along a straight line when the optical system is viewed in at least one direction among directions perpendicular to the optical axis of the illuminator.

9. The projector according to claim 1 ,
wherein the light source apparatus includes a white-light emitting diode formed of the solid-state light source and the fluorescent layer.

10. The projector according to claim 1 , wherein the collimator system outputs light having a substantially uniform flux density distribution.

11. A projector comprising:
a light source apparatus that includes a solid-state light source, a fluorescent layer that produces fluorescence from part of excitation light emitted from the solid-state light source, and a collimator system that parallelizes light from the fluorescent layer;
a polarization conversion element including a polarization separation layer, a reflection layer, and a wave plate, the polarization conversion element receiving light emitted from the light source apparatus;
a light modulator that modulates light from the polarization conversion element in accordance with image information;
a projection system that projects light from the light modulator; and
a reflector disposed between the light source apparatus and the polarization conversion element, the reflector including a light transmitting section and a light reflection section,
wherein the light transmitting section transmits a first component of the light emitted from the light source apparatus, the first component travelling toward the polarization separation layer, and
wherein the light reflecting section reflects a second component of the light emitted from the light source apparatus, the second component travelling toward an area other than the polarization separation layer.

12. The projector according to claim 11 , wherein the collimator system is formed of at least two collimator lenses, and at least one surface among surfaces of the at least two collimator lenses is an aspheric surface.

13. The projector according to claim 11 , wherein the collimator system outputs light having a substantially uniform flux density distribution.

14. The projector according to claim 11 ,
wherein the light modulator is a single transmissive light modulator.

15. The projector according to claim 11 ,
wherein the light source apparatus includes a white-light emitting diode formed of the solid-state light source and the fluorescent layer.

Assignees

• Akiyama Koichi
• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Akiyama Koichi

Classifications

• G02B27/285

  comprising arrays of elements, e.g. microprisms · CPC title

• H04N9/3167

  for polarizing the light beam (polarizing optical systems per se G02B27/28) · CPC title

• G03B21/2073 Primary

  Polarisers in the lamp house (peculiar to electronic spatial light modulators H04N9/3197) · CPC title

• G02B27/0927 Primary

  Systems for changing the beam intensity distribution, e.g. Gaussian to top-hat · CPC title

• H04N9/3173

  wherein the projection device is specially adapted for enhanced portability · CPC title