Optical device, projector and manufacturing method of the optical device

A projector, comprising:

• a light source device;
• and
• an optical device,
• the optical device including:
• an electro-optic device having a plurality of optical modulators that modulate a plurality of color lights irradiate by the light source device in accordance with image information and a color-combining optical device that has a plurality of light incident surfaces where the plurality of optical modulators are attached and combines the lights respectively modulated by the plurality of optical modulators to form an optical image;
• and
• a projection optical device that projects an optical image formed by the electro-optic device in an enlarged manner,
• the supporting structure including:
• a supporting structure body having an opening for passing the optical image irradiated from the electro-optic device and attached to a base end of the projection optical device;
• mounts respectively fixed on end surfaces intersecting the plurality of light incident surfaces of the color-combining optical device;
• and
• spacers interposed between the supporting structure body and the mounts, wherein
• the light irradiation surface of the color-combining optical device is a planar rectangle, and
• the spacers are respectively disposed between the supporting structure body and the mounts near four corners of light irradiation surfaces of the color-combining optical device.

A manufacturing method of an optical device for manufacturing the optical device,

• the optical device including:
• an electro-optic device having a plurality of optical modulators that modulate a plurality of color lights in accordance with image information and a color-combining optical device that has a plurality of light incident surfaces where the plurality of optical modulators are attached and combines the lights respectively modulated by the plurality of optical modulators to form an optical image;
• a projection optical device that projects an optical image formed by the electro-optic device in an enlarged manner;
• and
• a supporting structure that unitizes the electro-optic device and the projection optical device,
• the supporting structure including:
• a supporting structure body having an opening for passing the optical image irradiated from the electro-optic device and attached to a base end of the projection optical device;
• mounts respectively fixed on end surfaces intersecting the plurality of light incident surfaces of the color-combining optical device;
• and
• four triangle columnar spacers interposed between the supporting structure and the mounts, wherein
• projections are formed on a light incident surface of the supporting structure body so that the projections project on the light incident surface toward a light incident side at positions corresponding to the mounts, the projections having supporting surfaces for respectively supporting the two spacers, and
• the mounts are chamfered at respective corners near the four corners on a planar rectangular light irradiation surface of the color-combining optical device and respectively have spacer setting portions where the spacers are set,
• the method, comprising the steps of:
• a first block assembling step for assembling a first block by unitizing the plurality of optical modulators, the color-combining optical device and the mounts;
• a second block assembling step for assembling a second block by unitizing the projection optical device and the supporting structure body;
• a spacer setting step for, while a heat-curing adhesive or a light-curing adhesive is applied to outer peripheries of the four spacers, setting the four spacers respectively on the supporting surfaces of the projections of the supporting structure body of the second block so that the column axis direction of the spacers is orthogonal to the supporting surfaces and cross-section areas thereof gradually become smaller as the two spacers come closer to each other on the supporting surfaces;
• a second block setting step for setting the second block at a predetermined position;
• a first block setting step for holding the first block with an aspect ratio adjusting jig and setting the first block so that the four spacers are respectively abutted on the spacer setting portions of the mounts of the first block on the light incident side of the supporting structure body of the second block;
• a light beam introducing step for introducing a light beam to the plurality of optical modulators of the first block;
• an image forming step for projecting an optical image which is combined by the color-combining optical device via the plurality of optical modulators and projected by projection optical device of the second block on an image formation portion in an enlarged manner to form a projection image;
• an aspect ratio adjusting step for adjusting a position of the electro-optic device of the first block relative to the projection optical device of the second block by moving the aspect ratio adjusting jig according to the projection image formed by the image forming step;
• and
• an adhering and fixing step for fixing the supporting structure body and the mounts via the spacers by curing the heat-curing adhesive or the light-curing adhesive after the aspect ratio adjusting step.