JP2012203262A - Projection device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of light attenuated in a light source unit as much as possible and efficiently guide light from a light emitting element to an image display element to form a bright light image.
At least one of a blue LD 61 for green light excitation, a red LED 80, a blue LED 81, and a dichroic mirror for transmitting or reflecting the light incident thereon from the transmitting unit, the reflecting unit, and the wavelength of the light. A light source that includes two dichroic wheels 65 and 72 formed on the peripheral surface and rotation driving units 70 and 79 thereof, and sequentially emits a plurality of types of light having different wavelengths in accordance with time-division emission driving of the LD 61 and LEDs 80 and 81 The light source unit 15-2 includes a unit 15-2, an input unit (11) for inputting an image signal, and a micromirror element (14) for displaying an image according to the image signal input by the input unit (11). A projection processing unit (13) and a projection lens unit (17) for reflecting or transmitting the light to form a light image and emitting the formed light image toward the projection target.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a projection apparatus suitable for, for example, a DLP (Digital Light Processing) (registered trademark) type projector apparatus using a semiconductor light emitting element.

  A color sequential projection device that uses a plurality of types of semiconductor light emitting elements with different emission wavelengths as a light source, irradiates each color light onto a single-plate display element in a time-sharing manner, forms a color light image, and projects a color image. Is considered and commercialized. (For example, Patent Document 1)

JP 2011-013320 A

  In the light source using the plural types of semiconductor light emitting elements having different emission wavelengths as described above, including the technology described in the above patent document, a dichroic mirror that switches between transmission and reflection according to the wavelength band of light in the passing optical path is provided. The configuration is arranged in multiple places. This dichroic mirror attenuates approximately 10% of the amount of transmitted light. Therefore, for example, in a configuration in which the light path from the light source reaches a display element such as a micromirror element via a dichroic mirror at two points along the way, the rate at which the light amount of the light source is attenuated by the dichroic mirror of the light source section is 20% It became a major factor for reducing the light amount of the light source, such as becoming weak.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to reduce the amount of light attenuated in the optical path in the light source as much as possible, and efficiently use the light emitted from the light emitting element as an image display element. An object of the present invention is to provide a projection device that can be guided to form a bright light image.

  One embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of types of light sources having different emission wavelengths, a transmission unit that transmits light incident from the plurality of types of light sources regardless of the wavelength of the light, and regardless of the wavelength of the light. A dichroic wheel in which at least two of a reflecting part to be reflected and a dichroic mirror part to be transmitted or reflected according to the wavelength of the light are formed on the peripheral surface, and the dichroic wheel for time-division light emission driving of the plurality of types of light sources. A light source unit that sequentially emits a plurality of types of light having different wavelengths in accordance with the time-division emission driving of the plurality of types of light sources, and an input unit that inputs an image signal. The light from the light source part is reflected or transmitted to a display element that displays an image corresponding to the image signal input from the input part, and a light image is formed. Only characterized by comprising a projection unit for emitting.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the amount of light attenuated in the optical path in the light source unit as much as possible, and efficiently guide the light emitted from the light emitting element to the image display element to form a bright light image.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a data projector apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the 1st structural example of the light source part which concerns on the embodiment. 6 is a timing chart showing an operation in the first configuration example of the light source unit according to the embodiment. The figure which shows the 2nd structural example of the light source part which concerns on the same embodiment. The timing chart which shows the operation | movement in the 2nd structural example of the light source part which concerns on the embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a combination structure of the surrounding surface of the 1st dichroic wheel corresponding to the projection period of each light source color which concerns on the same embodiment, and a 2nd dichroic wheel. The figure which shows the structure of the 1st and 2nd dichroic wheel which considered the spoke period which concerns on the embodiment, and the timing chart which illustrates the operation timing. The figure which shows the modification of the 2nd structure of the light source part which concerns on the embodiment.

  An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a DLP (registered trademark) data projector apparatus will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a data projector apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. In the following description, when it is described that the light is “reflected” by the “mirror”, in principle, the mirror totally reflects the incident light.
The input unit 11 includes, for example, a pin jack (RCA) type video input terminal, a D-sub 15 type RGB input terminal, and the like. Analog image signals of various standards input to the input unit 11 are digitized by the input unit 11 and then sent to the image conversion unit 12 via the system bus SB.

  The image conversion unit 12 is also referred to as a scaler, and the input image data is unified into image data of a predetermined format suitable for projection and sent to the projection processing unit 13.

  At this time, data such as symbols indicating various operation states for OSD (On Screen Display) is also superimposed on the image data by the image conversion unit 12 as necessary, and the processed image data is sent to the projection processing unit 13.

  The projection processing unit 13 multiplies a frame rate according to a predetermined format, for example, 60 [frames / second], the number of color component divisions, and the number of display gradations according to the transmitted image data. The micromirror element 14 that is a spatial light modulation element is driven to display by the time-division driving.

  This micromirror element 14 is turned on / off individually at a high speed for each inclination angle of a plurality of micromirrors arranged in an array, for example, WXGA (Wide eXtended Graphics Array) (horizontal 1280 pixels × vertical 800 pixels). By displaying the image, an optical image is formed by the reflected light.

  On the other hand, light of a plurality of colors including primary color lights of R, G, and B is sequentially emitted in a time division manner from the light source unit 15 in a time division manner. The light from the light source unit 15 is totally reflected by the mirror 16 and applied to the micromirror element 14.

  Then, an optical image is formed by the reflected light from the micromirror element 14, and the formed optical image is projected and displayed on a screen (not shown) to be projected via the projection lens unit 17.

  The CPU 18 controls all the operations of the above circuits. The CPU 18 is directly connected to the main memory 19 and the program memory 20. The main memory 19 is composed of, for example, an SRAM and functions as a work memory for the CPU 18. The program memory 20 is composed of an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory, and stores an operation program executed by the CPU 18 and various fixed data. The CPU 18 uses the main memory 19 and the program memory 20 to execute control operations in the data projector device 10.

The CPU 18 performs various projection operations according to key operation signals from the operation unit 21.
The operation unit 21 includes a key operation unit provided in the main body of the data projector device 10 and an infrared light receiving unit that receives infrared light from a remote controller (not shown) dedicated to the data projector device 10. A key operation signal based on a key operated by the key operation unit or the remote controller is directly output to the CPU 18.

  The CPU 18 is further connected to the audio processing unit 22 via the system bus SB. The sound processing unit 22 includes a sound source circuit such as a PCM sound source, converts the sound data given during the projection operation into an analog signal, drives the speaker unit 23 to emit a loud sound, or generates a beep sound or the like as necessary.

[First Configuration Example of Light Source Unit]
The configuration of the optical system when the light source unit 15 is configured using two light emitting elements will be described with reference to FIG.

The light source unit 15-1 includes an LD (laser diode, semiconductor laser) 31 which is a semiconductor light emitting element that emits blue laser light as a light source.
For example, a total of 32 LDs 31 of 8 × 4 (vertical direction in the drawing) are arranged in an array. The blue laser light emitted from the LD 31 is reflected at an angle of 90 ° by the mirrors 32 arranged in a stepped manner so as to face the LD 31, collected by the lenses 33 and 34, and converted into a parallel light beam. The light passes through one dichroic wheel 35 and is irradiated onto the peripheral surface of a fluorescent wheel 38 as a part of the light source through lenses 36 and 37.

  The fluorescent wheel 38 is rotated by driving a motor (M) 39 that is a rotation driving unit, and a diffusion plate for transmission and a phosphor layer are arranged on a peripheral surface in divided regions. The rotation synchronization of the fluorescent wheel 38 is controlled by the projection processing unit 13 detecting and rotating the marker formed on the peripheral surface (not shown). At the peripheral surface position where the phosphor layer of the phosphor wheel 38 is located, the phosphor is applied to the surface irradiated with the laser light from the LD 31 to form the phosphor layer, and the back surface of the surface on which the phosphor layer is formed Is provided with a reflector so as to overlap the phosphor layer. When the phosphor layer of the phosphor wheel 38 is on the optical path of the laser beam from the LD 31, the phosphor layer is excited by the irradiation of the blue laser beam and emits green light.

  The green light emitted from the fluorescent wheel 38 is uniformly guided to the lenses 36 and 37 by the reflecting plate formed on the back side of the fluorescent wheel 38 and reflected by the first dichroic wheel 35. The first dichroic wheel 35 is rotated by a motor (M) 40, and the projection processing unit 13 detects the rotation of a marker (not shown) formed on the peripheral surface to control rotation synchronization.

  The green light reflected by the first dichroic wheel 35 is reflected by the second dichroic wheel 42 via the lens 41, and then passes through the integrator 44 via the lens 43 to become a light flux having a uniform luminance distribution. . The green light emitted from the integrator 44 is further reflected by the mirror 46 via the lens 45, reflected by the mirror 16 via the lens 47, and then irradiated to the micromirror element 14 via the lens 48.

  An optical image is formed by the reflected light from the micromirror element 14 toward the projection lens unit 17, and the optical image is not projected by the projection lens unit 17 via the lens 48. Irradiated to the screen. The second dichroic wheel 42 is rotated by a motor (M) 49, and the projection processing unit 13 detects the rotation of a marker (not shown) formed on the peripheral surface to control the rotation synchronization.

  Further, when there is a diffusion plate of the fluorescent wheel 38 on the optical path of the laser light from the LD 31, the blue light that has been diffused and transmitted through the diffusion plate is reflected by the mirror 51 through the lens 50, and the lens After being further reflected by the mirror 53 via 52, the light passes through the second dichroic wheel 42, passes through the integrator 44 via the lens 43, and becomes a luminous flux having a uniform luminance distribution. The blue light emitted from the integrator 44 is further reflected by the mirror 46 via the lens 45 and reaches the mirror 16 via the lens 47.

Furthermore, the light source unit 15-1 includes an LED (light emitting diode) 55, which is a semiconductor light emitting element that emits red light, as a light source.
The red light emitted from the LED 55 is transmitted through the first dichroic wheel 35 through the lenses 56 and 57, reflected by the second dichroic wheel 42 through the lens 41, and then through the lens 43. The luminous flux having a uniform luminance distribution is made through the integrator 44. The red light emitted from the integrator 44 is further reflected by the mirror 46 via the lens 45 and reaches the mirror 16 via the lens 47.

  The motor 40 for rotating the first dichroic wheel 35 and the motor 49 for rotating the second dichroic wheel 42 are positioned on the upper side along the direction perpendicular to the drawing with respect to the other optical members. As shown, it is indicated by a broken line as shown. That is, the motor 40 and the motor 49 are arranged so as not to overlap each optical path of light emitted from each light source unit.

  On the other hand, the motor 39 that rotates the fluorescent wheel 38 is disposed on the same plane as other optical members including the position on the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 38 to which the blue light from the LD 31 is irradiated. It is shown by a solid line as shown.

[Operation in First Configuration Example of Light Source Unit]
The operation of the light source unit 15-1 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The operation of the light source unit 15-1 is executed by the projection processing unit 13 under the control of the CPU 18, and the light emission timings of the blue light emitting LD 31 and the red light emitting LED 55, which are light source elements, are described above. The rotation timings of the fluorescent wheel 38, the first dichroic wheel 35, and the second dichroic wheel 42 synchronized with the light emission timing are all controlled by the projection processing unit 13.

  FIG. 3 shows the operation timing during one frame of the image projection period. As shown in FIG. 5A, the one frame is composed of a total of five fields, that is, an R field, a G field, a B field, an M (magenta) field, and a Y (yellow) field. For ease of explanation, the length of each field period is illustrated as being equal.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the red light emitting LED 55 is driven by the projection processing unit 13 so as to emit light in each period of the R field, the M field, and the Y field.
As shown in FIG. 3C, the LD 31 that emits blue light is driven by the projection processing unit 13 so as to emit light in each period of the G field, B field, M field, and Y field other than the R field. .
In the R field, as described above, only the LED 55 emits light as the light emitting element. The peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 is, for example, a fan-shaped notch having a central angle of 72 ° in accordance with the light emission period of the LED 55, and further prevents the weight balance of the first dichroic wheel 35 as a rotating body from being lost. Therefore, in order to balance the rotational weight of the first dichroic wheel 65, an arcuate frame 35F1 (outer frame) is provided at the outermost peripheral position as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 5H, reference numeral 35m denotes a marker for detecting the rotation synchronization of the first dichroic wheel 35. That is, this portion becomes a transmissive portion that transmits light, and this transmissive portion is a notch provided in a part of the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35, and an arcuate frame 35F1 disposed on the outer periphery of the notch. It consists of.

  The red light emitted from the LED 55 is transmitted through the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 that is transparent, and is irradiated to the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 through the lens 41. At this time, the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 is a mirror up to the period position of the subsequent G field as shown in FIGS. In FIG. 4I, reference numeral 42m denotes a marker for detecting when the second dichroic wheel 42 rotates.

  Therefore, the red light reflected by the mirror of the second dichroic wheel 42 is averaged by the integrator 44 via the lens 43, then reflected by the mirror 46 via the lens 45, and further reflected by the lens 47. The micromirror element 14 is irradiated as red light source light through the lens 48 and reflected by the mirror 16.

  In the R field, in the micromirror element 14, a red component image is displayed by the projection processing unit 13, an optical image is formed by the reflected light, and is projected toward the projection target by the projection lens unit 17.

  In the subsequent G field, only the LD 31 emits light as the light emitting element as described above. The peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 is, for example, a fan-shaped dichroic mirror (DM) having a central angle of 72 ° in accordance with the light emission period of the LD 31, and transmits blue light while reflecting green light.

  The blue light oscillated by the LD 31 passes through the peripheral surfaces of the first dichroic wheel 35 on which the dichroic mirror is disposed after passing through the lenses 33 and 34, and passes through the lenses 36 and 37 to the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 38. Irradiated.

  As shown in FIGS. 3D and 3G, the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 38 is provided with a reflector on the back side up to the G field, and a phosphor layer is formed. Excited. In FIG. 3G, reference numeral 38 m denotes a marker for synchronizing the rotation of the fluorescent wheel 38. The green light excited by the fluorescent wheel 38 is emitted toward the lenses 37 and 36 like reflected light, and is reflected by the dichroic mirror on the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 via the lenses 37 and 36. The surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 is irradiated through the lens 41.

  As shown in FIGS. 3F and 3I, a mirror is formed on the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 up to the G field, reflects the irradiated green light, and passes through the lens 43 to the integrator. After the luminance density is averaged at 44, it is reflected by the mirror 46 via the lens 45, further reflected by the mirror 16 via the lens 47, and as green light source light to the micromirror element 14 via the lens 48. Irradiated.

  In the G field, in the micromirror element 14, an image of a green component is displayed by the projection processing unit 13, an optical image is formed by the reflected light, and is projected toward the projection target by the projection lens unit 17.

  In the next B field, as described above, only the LD 31 emits light as the light emitting element. The peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 is, for example, a fan-shaped notch having a convenient central angle of 144 ° according to the light emission period of the LD 31, and the weight balance of the first dichroic wheel 35 as a rotating body is lost. In order to prevent this, that is, to balance the rotational weight of the first dichroic wheel 65, an arcuate frame 35F2 (outer frame) is provided at the outermost peripheral position as shown in FIG. That is, this portion becomes a transmissive portion that transmits light, and this transmissive portion is a notch provided in a part of the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 and an arcuate frame 35F2 disposed on the outer periphery of the notch. It consists of.

  The blue light oscillated by the LD 31 passes through the notched peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 after passing through the lenses 33 and 34, and irradiates the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 38 via the lenses 36 and 37. Is done.

  As shown in FIGS. 3D and 3G, the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 38 is provided with a reflector on the back side up to the G field, and is excited by the blue light irradiation. Emits green light. In FIG. 3G, reference numeral 38 m denotes a marker for synchronizing the rotation of the fluorescent wheel 38. The green light emitted from the fluorescent wheel 38 is reflected by a reflecting plate formed on the back surface side of the fluorescent wheel 38, is emitted to the lenses 37 and 36, and the first dichroic wheel is transmitted through the lenses 37 and 36. The light is reflected by the dichroic mirror 35 on the peripheral surface and is irradiated onto the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 via the lens 41.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (I), the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 is a sector-shaped notch having a central angle of 72 ° only in the B field portion, and the weight of the second dichroic wheel 42 as a rotating body. In order to prevent the balance from being lost, that is, to balance the rotational weight of the second dichroic wheel 42, an arcuate frame 42F1 (outer frame) is provided at the outermost peripheral position. That is, this portion becomes a transmission portion that transmits light, and includes a notch provided in a part of the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 and an arcuate frame 42F1 disposed on the outer periphery of the notch.

  Therefore, the blue light transmitted through the notched portion of the second dichroic wheel 42 is reflected by the mirror 46 via the lens 45 after the luminance density is averaged by the integrator 44 via the lens 43, and further the lens. The light is reflected by the mirror 16 via 47 and is irradiated as blue light source light onto the micromirror element 14 via the lens 48.

  In the B field, in the micromirror element 14, an image of a blue component is displayed by the projection processing unit 13, an optical image is formed by the reflected light, and is projected toward the projection target by the projection lens unit 17.

  In the subsequent M field, as described above, both the LD 31 and the LED 55 emit light simultaneously as light emitting elements.

  The peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 is notched continuously from the previous B field in accordance with the light emission period of the LD 31. Therefore, the blue light oscillated by the LD 31 passes through the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 after passing through the lenses 33 and 34 and passes through the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 38 via the lenses 36 and 37. Is irradiated.

  As shown in FIGS. 3D and 3G, a diffusion plate is formed on the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 38 from the previous B field, and the blue light is transmitted while diffusing. The transmitted blue light is reflected by the mirror 51 via the lens 50 located on the back side of the fluorescent wheel 38, further reflected by the mirror 53 via the lens 52, and then the second dichroic wheel via the lens 54. 42 is irradiated to the peripheral surface.

  As shown in FIG. 3I, only the M field portion of the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 is a dichroic mirror, which transmits blue light while reflecting red light.

  Accordingly, the blue light applied to the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 passes through the second dichroic wheel 42.

  On the other hand, the red light emitted from the LED 55 passes through the notch on the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 through which the light passes, and is irradiated onto the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 via the lens 41. At this time, the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 is a dichroic mirror as described above.

  Therefore, the red light reflected by the dichroic mirror of the second dichroic wheel 42 becomes magenta color light by mixing with the blue light transmitted through the dichroic mirror of the second dichroic wheel 42, and the integrator 44 passes through the lens 43. After the luminance density is averaged, the light is reflected by the mirror 46 through the lens 45, is further reflected by the mirror 16 through the lens 47, and passes through the lens 48 to the micromirror element 14 as magenta light source light. Irradiated.

  In the M field, in the micromirror element 14, an image of a magenta color component is displayed by the projection processing unit 13, an optical image is formed by the reflected light, and is projected toward the projection target by the projection lens unit 17.

  In the next Y field, as described above, both the LD 31 and the LED 55 emit light simultaneously as light emitting elements.

  The peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 is a dichroic mirror in accordance with the light emission period of the LD 31. Therefore, the blue light oscillated by the LD 31 passes through the lenses 33 and 34 and then passes through the dichroic mirror of the first dichroic wheel 35 and is irradiated to the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 38 through the lenses 36 and 37.

  As shown in FIGS. 3D and 3G, a fluorescent material layer is formed on the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 38, and is excited by the irradiation of the blue light to emit green light. The emitted green light is reflected by a reflecting plate formed on the back surface side of the fluorescent wheel 38, is emitted to the lens 37, 36 side, and the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 through the lens 37, 36. Reflected by the dichroic mirror.

  On the other hand, the red light emitted from the LED 55 passes through the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 serving as a dichroic mirror.

  Therefore, the red light transmitted through the first dichroic wheel 35 becomes yellow light due to color mixing together with the green light reflected by the first dichroic wheel 35, and the second dichroic wheel 42 is rotated through the lens 41. The surface is irradiated. At this time, the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 is a mirror.

  Therefore, the yellow light reflected by the mirror of the second dichroic wheel 42 is averaged by the integrator 44 via the lens 43 and then reflected by the mirror 46 via the lens 45, and further passes through the lens 47. The micromirror element 14 is irradiated as yellow light source light through the lens 48 and reflected by the mirror 16.

  In the Y field, in the micromirror element 14, an image of a yellow component is displayed by the projection processing unit 13, an optical image is formed by the reflected light, and is projected toward the projection target by the projection lens unit 17.

  As described above in detail, when the light source unit 15 is configured by using two light emitting elements, the first dichroic wheel 35 and the second dichroic wheel 42 are aligned together and configured by a dichroic mirror in any field. However, in a field where only one wavelength of light is required, transmission is performed by notching, and reflection is handled by a mirror.

  Therefore, the amount of light attenuated in the optical path in the light source unit 15-1 is reduced as much as possible, and the light emitted from the blue light emitting LD 31 and the red light emitting LED 55 is efficiently guided to the micromirror element 14 which is an image display element. Thus, a bright light image can be formed.

[Second Configuration Example of Light Source Unit]
The configuration of the optical system in the case where the light source unit 15 is configured using three light emitting elements will be described with reference to FIG.

The light source unit 15-2 includes an LD 61 that is a semiconductor light emitting element that emits blue laser light.
For example, a total of 32 LDs 61 of 8 × 4 (vertical direction in the drawing) are arranged in an array. The blue laser light emitted from the LD 61 is reflected at a 90 ° angle by the mirrors 62 arranged in a stepped manner so as to face the LD 61, and is condensed by the lenses 63 and 64 into a parallel light beam. The light passes through one dichroic wheel 65 and irradiates the peripheral surface of a fluorescent wheel 68 as a part of the light source through lenses 66 and 67.

  The fluorescent wheel 68 is rotated by driving a motor (M) 69 which is a rotation driving unit, and a phosphor layer is formed on the entire peripheral surface. The entire peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 38 with the phosphor layer is coated with a phosphor to form a phosphor layer, and the back surface thereof is provided with a reflector overlapping the phosphor layer. When the laser beam from the LD 61 is irradiated, the phosphor layer is excited by the irradiation of the blue laser beam and emits green light.

  The green light emitted from the fluorescent wheel 68 is uniformly guided to the lenses 66 and 67 by the reflecting plate formed on the back side of the fluorescent wheel 68 and reflected by the first dichroic wheel 65. The first dichroic wheel 65 is rotated by a motor (M) 70, and the projection processing unit 13 detects the rotation of a marker (not shown) formed on the peripheral surface to control rotation synchronization.

  The green light reflected by the first dichroic wheel 65 is reflected by the second dichroic wheel 72 via the lens 71, and then passes through the integrator 74 via the lens 73 to become a light flux having a uniform luminance distribution. . The green light emitted from the integrator 74 is further reflected by the mirror 76 via the lens 75, reflected by the mirror 16 via the lens 77, and then irradiated to the micromirror element 14 via the lens 78.

  An optical image is formed by the reflected light from the micromirror element 14 toward the projection lens unit 17, and the optical image is projected by the projection lens unit 17 through the lens 78. Irradiated to the screen. The second dichroic wheel 72 is rotated by a motor (M) 79, and the projection processing unit 13 detects the rotation of a marker (not shown) formed on the peripheral surface to control rotation synchronization.

Furthermore, the light source unit 15-2 includes an LED 80 that emits red light and an LED 81 that emits blue light as part of the light source.
The red light emitted from the LED 80 passes through the first dichroic wheel 65 through the lenses 82 and 83, is reflected by the second dichroic wheel 72 through the lens 71, and then passes through the lens 73. A light beam having a uniform luminance distribution passes through the integrator 74. The red light emitted from the integrator 74 is further reflected by the mirror 76 via the lens 75 and reaches the mirror 16 via the lens 77.

  The blue light emitted from the LED 81 is applied to the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 through the lenses 84 to 86. The blue light applied to the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 is transmitted through the second dichroic wheel 72, passes through the integrator 74 via the lens 73, and becomes a light flux having a uniform luminance distribution. The blue light emitted from the integrator 74 is further reflected by the mirror 76 via the lens 75 and reaches the mirror 16 via the lens 77.

  The motor 70 for rotating the first dichroic wheel 65 and the motor 79 for rotating the second dichroic wheel 72 are positioned on the upper side along the direction perpendicular to the drawing with respect to the other optical members. As shown, it is indicated by a broken line as shown. That is, the motor 70 and the motor 79 are arranged so as not to overlap each optical path of light emitted from each light source unit.

  On the other hand, the motor 69 that rotates the fluorescent wheel 68 is disposed on the same plane as other optical members including the position on the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 68 to which the blue light from the LD 61 is irradiated. It is shown by a solid line as shown.

[Operation in Second Configuration Example of Light Source Unit]
The operation of the light source unit 15-2 shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. The operation of the light source unit 15-2 is executed by the projection processing unit 13 under the control of the CPU 18, and the light source element LD 61 for green excitation blue light emission, the LED 80 for red light emission, and the blue light emission. The projection processing unit 13 controls the light emission timings of the LEDs 81 and the rotation timings of the fluorescent wheel 68, the first dichroic wheel 65, and the second dichroic wheel 72 synchronized with the light emission timing.

  FIG. 5 shows the operation timing during one frame of the image projection period. As shown in FIG. 4A, the one frame is composed of a total of four fields, an R field, a G field, a W (white) field, and a B field. For ease of explanation, the length of each field period is illustrated as being equal.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the red light emitting LED 80 is driven by the projection processing unit 13 so as to emit light in each period of the R field and the W field.
As shown in FIG. 5C, the LD 61 that emits blue light for green excitation is driven by the projection processing unit 13 so as to emit light in each period of the G field and the W field.
As shown in FIG. 5D, the LED 81 that emits blue light is driven by the projection processing unit 13 so as to emit light in each period of the W field and the B field.
In the R field, as described above, only the LED 80 emits light as the light emitting element. The peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 is, for example, a fan-shaped notch with a central angle of 90 ° in accordance with the light emission period of the LED 80, and further prevents the weight balance of the first dichroic wheel 65 as a rotating body from being lost. Therefore, in order to balance the rotational weight of the first dichroic wheel 65, an arcuate frame 65F (outer frame) is provided at the outermost peripheral position as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6G, 65 m is a marker for detecting the rotation synchronization of the first dichroic wheel 65. That is, this portion becomes a transmissive portion that transmits light, and this transmissive portion includes a notch provided in a part of the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 and an arcuate frame 65F disposed on the outer periphery of the notch. It consists of.

  The red light emitted from the LED 80 is transmitted through the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 that is transparent, and is irradiated onto the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 through the lens 71. At this time, the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 is used as a mirror up to the period position of the subsequent G field as shown in FIGS. In FIG. 7H, 72m is a marker for detecting the rotation synchronization of the second dichroic wheel 72.

  Therefore, the red light reflected by the mirror of the second dichroic wheel 72 is reflected by the mirror 76 via the lens 75 after the luminance density is averaged by the integrator 74 via the lens 73, and further passed through the lens 77. The micromirror element 14 is irradiated as red light source light through the lens 78.

  In the R field, in the micromirror element 14, a red component image is displayed by the projection processing unit 13, an optical image is formed by the reflected light, and is projected toward the projection target by the projection lens unit 17.

  In the subsequent G field, only the LD 61 emits light as the light emitting element as described above. In accordance with the light emission period of the LD 61, the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 is a dichroic mirror (referred to as “GRM” in the figure) that transmits red light and blue light. Reflect.

  The blue light oscillated by the LD 31 passes through the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 on which the dichroic mirror is disposed after passing through the lenses 63 and 64 and passes through the peripheral surfaces of the fluorescent wheel 68 through the lenses 66 and 67. Is irradiated.

  The fluorescent wheel 38 is formed on its entire surface with a phosphor layer provided with a reflector on the back side, and is excited by the blue light irradiation to emit green light. The emitted green light is reflected by a reflecting plate formed on the back surface side of the fluorescent wheel 38, is emitted to the lens 67, 66 side, and the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 through the lens 67, 66. Are reflected by the dichroic mirror and irradiated onto the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 via the lens 71.

  On the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72, mirrors are formed up to the G field as shown in FIGS. Therefore, the irradiated green light is reflected by the mirror on the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72, the luminance density is averaged by the integrator 74 via the lens 73, and then reflected by the mirror 76 via the lens 75. Further, the light is reflected by the mirror 16 through the lens 77, and irradiated to the micromirror element 14 through the lens 48 as green light source light.

  In the G field, in the micromirror element 14, an image of a green component is displayed by the projection processing unit 13, an optical image is formed by the reflected light, and is projected toward the projection target by the projection lens unit 17.

  In the next W field, the LD 61 and the LEDs 80 and 81 emit light simultaneously as light emitting elements as described above.

  The peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 is a dichroic mirror that transmits red light continuously from the previous G field in accordance with the light emission period of the LD 61. Therefore, the blue light oscillated by the LD 61 passes through the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 after passing through the lenses 63 and 64 and passes through the peripheral surface of the fluorescent wheel 68 through the lenses 66 and 67. Is irradiated.

  The fluorescent wheel 38 is formed on its entire surface with a phosphor layer provided with a reflector on the back side, and is excited by the blue light irradiation to emit green light. The emitted green light is reflected by a reflecting plate formed on the back side of the fluorescent wheel 38, is emitted to the lens 67, 66 side, and passes through the lens 67, 66 to the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65. Irradiated.

  The peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 is a dichroic mirror (referred to as “BTM” in the figure) that reflects red light only in the W field portion as shown in FIGS. 5 (F) and (I). While transmitting blue light and green light, it reflects both red light and green light.

  Accordingly, the green light irradiated on the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 42 is reflected by the second dichroic wheel 42.

  On the other hand, the red light emitted from the LED 80 passes through the dichroic mirror on the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 35 and is applied to the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 via the lens 71. At this time, since the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 is a dichroic mirror as described above, red light is reflected.

  Further, the blue light emitted from the LED 81 is applied to the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 via the lenses 84 to 86. Since the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 is a dichroic mirror as described above, blue light is transmitted.

  Thus, the green light, the red light, and the red light emitted from the second dichroic wheel 72 become white light due to the mixed color, and after the luminance density is averaged by the integrator 74 via the lens 73, the light passes through the lens 75. Then, the light is reflected by the mirror 76, further reflected by the mirror 16 through the lens 77, and irradiated to the micromirror element 14 through the lens 78 as white light source light.

  In the W field, in the micromirror element 14, an image corresponding to the luminance signal is displayed by the projection processing unit 13, an optical image is formed by the reflected light, and is projected toward the projection target by the projection lens unit 17.

  In the subsequent B field, as described above, only the LED 81 emits light as the light emitting element. The peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 is, for example, a fan-shaped notch having a central angle of 90 ° according to the light emission period of the LED 81, and the weight balance of the second dichroic wheel 72 as a rotating body is lost. In order to prevent this, that is, to balance the rotational weight of the second dichroic wheel 72, an arcuate frame 72F (outer frame) is provided at the outermost peripheral position as shown in FIG. That is, this portion becomes a transmissive portion that transmits light, and this transmissive portion includes a notch provided in a part of the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 and an arcuate frame 72F disposed on the outer periphery of the notch. It consists of.

  The blue light oscillated by the LED 81 passes through the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 after passing through the lenses 84 to 86, and the luminance density is averaged by the integrator 74 via the lens 73. Later, the light is reflected by the mirror 76 through the lens 75, further reflected by the mirror 16 through the lens 77, and irradiated to the micromirror element 14 through the lens 78 as blue light source light.

  In the B field, in the micromirror element 14, an image of a blue component is displayed by the projection processing unit 13, an optical image is formed by the reflected light, and is projected toward the projection target by the projection lens unit 17.

  As described above in detail, when the light source unit 15 is configured by using three light emitting elements, the first dichroic wheel 65 and the second dichroic wheel 72 are aligned together in each primary color field except the W field, and the dichroic mirror. It is not composed of.

  The W field is positioned as a field for causing the three light emitting elements to emit light at the same time and increasing (brightening) the brightness of an image projected by white light that is a mixed color of them.

  Therefore, since the amount of light is significantly higher than the field in which the primary color light image is projected by other monochromatic light, the red light and green light transmitted through the two dichroics in the W field are in the R field and G field. Although it is attenuated more in comparison, it is considered that the influence of a decrease in the amount of light in the color light image obtained as a whole is small.

  In the second configuration example, a case where one frame for projecting a color image is configured with a total of four fields of an R field, a G field, a W (white) field, and a B field is described. By emitting two of the primary color light sources simultaneously, complementary light sources may be projected together in one frame.

  FIG. 6 shows a combination configuration example of the peripheral surfaces of the first dichroic wheel 65 and the second dichroic wheel 72 corresponding to the projection period of each light source color. As shown in the figure, the second configuration example includes independent light sources for the three primary colors, so that in addition to the R field, G field, B field, and W (white) field described above, a Y (yellow) field. , M (magenta) field, and C (cyan) field can be further provided.

  In the Y field, by simultaneously driving the LD 61 that emits blue light for green excitation and the LED 80 that emits red light, yellow light is generated as the mixed color light. In this case, the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 is configured by a dichroic mirror that transmits red light and blue light while reflecting green light, and the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 is configured by a mirror.

  In the M (magenta) field, the LED 80 that emits red light and the LED 81 that emits blue light are simultaneously driven to generate magenta (red purple) light as the mixed color light. In that case, the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 is configured as a fan-shaped notch, and an arcuate shape is formed at the outermost peripheral position in order to prevent the weight balance of the first dichroic wheel 65 as a rotating body from being lost. A frame (outer frame) is provided. That is, this portion becomes a transmission portion that transmits light, and this transmission portion includes a notch provided in a part of the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel and an arc-shaped frame disposed on the outer periphery of the notch. Become.

  And the surrounding surface of the 2nd dichroic wheel 72 is comprised with the dichroic mirror which permeate | transmits blue light, while reflecting red light.

  In the C (cyan) field, by simultaneously driving the LD 61 emitting blue light for green excitation and the LED 81 emitting blue light, cyan (blue-green) color light is generated as the mixed color light. In that case, the peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 is composed of a dichroic mirror that transmits blue light while reflecting green light, and the peripheral surface of the second dichroic wheel 72 reflects green light. It is composed of a dichroic mirror that transmits blue light.

  In the second configuration example, each color light source is turned on / off in synchronization with the switching timing of each field constituting one frame of the image, while both the first dichroic wheel 65 and the second dichroic wheel 72 are used. In the above description, the case where the peripheral surface has a dichroic mirror suitable for each field has been described.

  However, when the lighting of a new field light source element is started at the switching timing between the fields, the beam spot of the light source light has a substantially circular cross section, and the dichroic wheels 65 and 72 each have two different peripheral surfaces. (2 of the dichroic mirror, mirror, and threading portion) is irradiated to the boundary position, and approximately half of the luminous flux may not be used for optical image formation.

  Therefore, if the boundary portion between the above-mentioned fields is referred to as a “spoke” period, for example, a configuration of the dichroic wheels 65 and 72 in consideration of the spoke period is necessary.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the first dichroic wheel 65 and the second dichroic wheel 72 in consideration of the spoke period and the operation timing thereof. In FIGS. 4A to 4F, a range indicated by a dotted line across the switching timing of each field is a spoke period, and is set with a width corresponding to the spot diameter of the emitted light source light. In the figure, for the sake of explanation, the spoke period has a very large width with respect to the field period.

  Compared to the case shown in FIG. 5, in the first dichroic wheel 65, the dichroic mirror for the G field to the B field that reflects green light and transmits red light and blue light has a front R It is assumed that the peripheral surface extends to correspond to the spoke period with the field and each spoke period with the next R field.

  That is, in the first dichroic wheel 65, the first spoke dichroic mirror unit that reflects green light and transmits red light and blue light according to the spot diameter of light incident on the first dichroic wheel 65. 100 corresponds to the boundary portion between the fan-shaped notch portion corresponding to the R field of the first dichroic wheel 65 and the dichroic mirror portion corresponding to the G field, and the dichroic mirror portion corresponding to the B field and the R field. It is arranged at the boundary part with the fan-shaped notch part.

  On the other hand, the second dichroic wheel 72 includes a dichroic mirror that reflects red light and green light and transmits blue light only during the spoke period in which the B field in the previous one frame is switched to the current R field at the top of one frame. It is supposed to be configured on the peripheral surface.

  Similarly, in the second dichroic wheel 72, the same dichroic mirror for the W field extends to correspond to the spoke period with the previous G field and each spoke period with the next B field. It is supposed to be configured.

  That is, in the second dichroic wheel 72, a second dichroic mirror unit for spokes that reflects red light and green light and transmits blue light according to the spot diameter of light incident on the second dichroic wheel 72. 101 is disposed at a boundary portion between the mirror portion corresponding to the R field of the second dichroic wheel 72 and the fan-shaped notch portion corresponding to the B field.

  Further, the dichroic wheel 72 further includes a second spoke dichroic mirror section 101 having a boundary portion between a mirror portion corresponding to the G field and a dichroic mirror portion corresponding to the W field, or a sector type corresponding to the B field. Is arranged at a boundary portion between the notch portion and the dichroic mirror portion corresponding to the W field.

  In this way, by constructing a dichroic mirror for spokes on each peripheral surface of the first dichroic wheel 65 and the second dichroic wheel 72 in consideration of the spoke period according to the spot diameter of the light source light, each light source emits light. Light can be used to form an optical image without loss.

  In the second configuration example of the light source unit, a motor 70 for rotating the first dichroic wheel 65 and a motor 79 for rotating the second dichroic wheel 72 are provided in the light source unit 15-2. Although described, these motors 70 and 79 may be shared and configured by one.

  FIG. 8 shows a configuration of a light source unit 15-2 ′ that replaces FIG. As shown in the figure, the first dichroic wheel 65 and the second dichroic wheel 72 are coaxially arranged and rotated by a motor (M) 91.

  Since the first dichroic wheel 65 and the second dichroic wheel 72 have the same rotation period, the motor for driving them can be shared.

  In this way, the configuration of the light source unit 15-2 ′ can be further simplified by composing the two motors in common to form the single motor 91.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 8, the first dichroic wheel 65 and the second dichroic wheel 72 are coaxially arranged and directly driven by the motor 91. It is also possible to share a motor 69 for rotating the fluorescent wheel 68 using a drive mechanism, a timing belt, a gear mechanism, or the like.

  As described above in detail, the configuration and operation of the first light source unit 15-1 and the second light source unit 15-2, according to the present embodiment, the amount of light attenuated in the optical path in the light source unit is reduced as much as possible to emit light. The light emitted from the element can be efficiently guided to the image display element to form a bright light image.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, a portion (transmission portion) that transmits light by the dichroic wheel has a notch provided in a part of the peripheral surface of the dichroic wheel, and an arc shape disposed on the outer periphery of the notch. Since the outer frame is used, the dichroic wheel can be stably rotated by the light beam.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Further, the functions executed in the above-described embodiments may be combined as appropriate as possible. The above-described embodiment includes various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by an appropriate combination of a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if several constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, if an effect is obtained, a configuration from which the constituent requirements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

The invention described in the claims of the present application of the present application will be appended below.
The invention according to claim 1 relates to a plurality of types of light sources having different emission wavelengths, a transmission unit that transmits light incident from the plurality of types of light sources regardless of the wavelength of the light, and the wavelength of the light. A dichroic wheel in which at least two of a reflecting part to be reflected without reflection and a dichroic mirror part to be transmitted or reflected according to the wavelength of the light are formed on the peripheral surface, and time-division emission driving of the dichroic wheel by the plural types of light sources A light source unit that sequentially emits a plurality of types of light having different wavelengths in accordance with the time-division emission driving of the plurality of types of light sources, and an input unit that inputs an image signal Then, a light image is formed by reflecting or transmitting light from the light source unit on a display element that displays an image corresponding to an image signal input by the input unit, and the formed light image is projected to the projection element. Characterized by comprising a projection unit for emitting toward the.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the transmission part of the dichroic wheel is arranged on a notch provided in a part of a peripheral surface of the dichroic wheel and on an outer periphery of the notch. The transmissive portion transmits light incident from the light source through the transparent portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the dichroic wheel includes the transmissive portion, the reflective portion, and the reflective portion according to a spot diameter of light incident on the dichroic wheel. It further has a spoke dichroic mirror portion provided at a boundary position with an adjacent portion of the dichroic mirror portion.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light source section includes a plurality of the dichroic wheels, and the plurality of dichroic wheels are arranged coaxially. It is characterized by sharing the rotation drive part of the wheel.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the plurality of types of light sources include at least one of a laser diode and a light emitting diode.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the fluorescent wheel according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the plurality of types of light sources are provided with a phosphor layer that emits light when excited by light emitted from a laser diode. It is characterized by including.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Data projector apparatus, 11 ... Input part, 12 ... Image conversion part, 13 ... Projection process part, 14 ... Micromirror element, 15, 15-1, 15-2, 15-2 '... Light source part, 16 ... Mirror , 17 ... Projection lens unit, 18 ... CPU, 19 ... Main memory, 20 ... Program memory, 21 ... Operation unit, 22 ... Audio processing unit, 23 ... Speaker unit, 31 ... (for blue light emission) LD, 32 ... Mirror, 33, 34 ... lens, 35 ... first dichroic wheel, 36, 37 ... lens, 38 ... fluorescent wheel, 39, 40 ... motor (M), 41 ... lens, 42 ... second dichroic wheel, 43 ... lens, 44 ... Integrator, 45 ... Lens, 46 ... Mirror, 47, 48 ... Lens, 49 ... Motor (M), 50 ... Lens, 51 ... Mirror, 52 ... Lens, 53 ... Mirror, 4 ... lens, 55 ... (for red light emission) LED, 56, 56 ... lens, 61 ... (green example for blue light emission) LD, 62 ... mirror, 63, 64 ... lens, 65 ... first dichroic wheel, 66 , 67 ... lens, 68 ... fluorescent wheel, 69, 70 ... motor (M), 71 ... lens, 72 ... second dichroic wheel, 73 ... lens, 74 ... integrator, 75 ... lens, 76 ... mirror, 77, 78 ... Lens, 79 ... Motor (M), 80 ... (Red light emission) LED, 81 ... (Blue light emission) LED, 82-86 ... Lens, 91 ... Motor (M).

Claims (6)

A plurality of types of light sources having different emission wavelengths;
A transmissive portion that transmits light incident from the plurality of types of light sources regardless of the wavelength of the light, a reflective portion that reflects regardless of the wavelength of the light, and a dichroic that transmits or reflects light according to the wavelength of the light A dichroic wheel having at least two of the mirror portions formed on the peripheral surface;
A rotation drive unit that rotates the dichroic wheel so as to synchronize with the time-division light emission drive of the plurality of types of light sources, and a plurality of types of light having different wavelengths according to the time-division light emission drive of the plurality of types of light sources. A light source that sequentially emits;
An input unit for inputting an image signal;
Projection in which a light image is formed by reflecting or transmitting light from the light source unit on a display element that displays an image corresponding to an image signal input by the input unit, and the formed light image is emitted toward a projection target A projection apparatus. The transmission part of the dichroic wheel is
A notch provided in a part of the peripheral surface of the dichroic wheel, and an arc-shaped outer frame disposed on the outer periphery of the notch,
The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits light incident from the light source through the light.   The dichroic wheel is for spokes provided at a boundary position between adjacent parts of the transmission part, the reflection part, and the dichroic mirror part according to the spot diameter of light incident on the dichroic wheel. The projection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a dichroic mirror unit. The light source unit has a plurality of the dichroic wheels,
4. The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of dichroic wheels are coaxially arranged to share a rotation drive unit of the plurality of dichroic wheels. 5.   5. The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of light sources include at least one of a laser diode and a light emitting diode.   6. The projection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of light sources include a fluorescent wheel provided with a phosphor layer that emits light when excited by light irradiated from a laser diode.

Images