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US 6,650,377 B2Granted
Two panel projection systems
AssigneeColorLink, Inc.
InventorsMichael G. Robinson, Gary D. Sharp
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus that includes a first panel that receives image information for a first color, a second panel that receives image information for a second color and a third color, a temporal modulator and polarizing unit that receives light that includes a first color light, a second color light, and a third color light, and passes either said first color light and said second color light or said first color light and said third color light, and a single beamsplitting and combining device for directing said first color light to said first panel and said second or third color light to said second panel.
Claims69
A two-panel color modulation device comprising:
- a beam splitting element;
- an input polarization rotation element that rotates a first light spectrum's polarization differently than a second light spectrum's polarization;
- a chromatic polarizer optically coupled to the beamsplitting element,
- wherein the input polarization rotation element and the chromatic polarizer separate the polarization of the first light spectrum from the polarization of the second light spectrum such that the beam splitting element is operable to direct one of the first and second light spectrums in a first direction and is operable to direct the other of the first and second light spectrums in a second direction;
- a first panel which is operable to receive the one of the first and second light spectrums directed in the first direction from the beam splitting element;
- and
- a second panel which is operable to receive the other of the first and second light spectrums directed in the second direction from the beam splitting element,
- wherein one of the first and second panels sequentially modulates one of the first and second spectrums.
5 more elements
A two-panel color modulation device for modulating light comprising:
- a beam splitting element;
- an input polarization rotation element that rotates a first light spectrum's polarization differently than a second light spectrum's polarization, wherein the input polarization rotation element separates the polarization of the first light spectrum from the polarization of the second light spectrum such that the beam splitting element is operable to direct one of the first and second light spectrums in a first direction and is operable to direct the other of the first and second light spectrums in a second direction;
- a first panel which is operable to receive the one of the first and second light spectrums directed in the first direction from the beam splitting element;
- a second panel which is operable to receive the other of the first and second light spectrums directed in the second direction from the beam splitting element,
- wherein one of the first and second panels sequentially modulates one of the first and second spectrums;
- and
- an output stack filter that rotates light polarization such that light of the first and second spectrums have substantially the same polarization when combined into an image.
4 more elements
A two-panel color modulation device for modulating light comprising:
- a beam splitting element;
- an input polarization rotation element that rotates a first light spectrum's polarization differently than a second light spectrum's polarization, wherein the input polarization rotation element separates the polarization of the first light spectrum from the polarization of the second light spectrum such that the beam splitting element is operable to direct one of the first and second light spectrums in a first direction and is operable to direct the other of the first and second light spectrums in a second direction;
- a first panel which is operable to receive the one of the first and second light spectrums directed in the first direction from the beam splitting element;
- a second panel which is operable to receive the other of the first and second light spectrums directed in the second direction from the beam splitting element,
- wherein one of the first and second panels sequentially modulates one of the first and second spectrums;
- and
- an output stack filter and a neutral polarizer, or
- an output chromatic polarizer.
5 more elements
A two-panel color modulation device comprising:
- a beam splitting element;
- a polarization stack filter that comprises a stack of birefringent layers and at least one active liquid crystal cell;
- an input polarization rotation element that rotates a first light spectrum's polarization differently than a second light spectrum's polarization, wherein the input polarization rotation element separates the polarization of the first light spectrum from the polarization of the second light spectrum such that the beam splitting element is operable to direct one of the first and second light spectrums in a first direction and is operable to direct the other of the first and second light spectrums in a second direction;
- a first panel which is operable to receive the one of the first and second light spectrums directed in the first direction from the beam splitting element;
- and
- a second panel which is operable to receive the other of the first and second light spectrums directed in the second direction from the beam splitting element,
- wherein one of the first and second panels sequentially modulates one of the first and second spectrums.
4 more elements
A two-panel color modulation device comprising:
- a beam splitting element;
- an input polarization rotation element that rotates a first light spectrum's polarization differently than a second light spectrum's polarization, wherein the input polarization rotation element separates the polarization of the first light spectrum from the polarization of the second light spectrum such that the beam splitting element is operable to direct one of the first and second light spectrums in a first direction and is operable to direct the other of the first and second light spectrums in a second direction;
- a first panel which is operable to receive the one of the first and second light spectrums directed in the first direction from the beam splitting element;
- a second panel which is operable to receive the other of the first and second light spectrums directed in the second direction from the beam splitting element,
- wherein one of the first and second panels sequentially modulates one of the first and second spectrums;
- and
- a dynamic filter that receives and modulates images from the first and second panels that have been combined by the beamsplitting element.
4 more elements
A two-panel color modulation device comprising:
- a beam splitting element;
- an input polarization rotation element that rotates a first light spectrum's polarization differently than a second light spectrum's polarization, wherein the input polarization rotation element separates the polarization of the first light spectrum from the polarization of the second light spectrum such that the beam splitting element is operable to direct one of the first and second light spectrums in a first direction and is operable to direct the other of the first and second light spectrums in a second direction;
- a first panel which is operable to receive the one of the first and second light spectrums directed in the first direction from the beam splitting element;
- a second panel which is operable to receive the other of the first and second light spectrums directed in the second direction from the beam splitting element, wherein one of the first and second panels sequentially modulates one of the first and second spectrums;
- and
- a second input polarization rotation element;
- a first filter and a second filter, the first filter being optically before the beamsplitting element and the second filter being optically after the beamsplitting element;
- and
- a clean up polarizer after the beamsplitting element,
- wherein at least one of the input polarization rotation element and the second input polarization rotation element is dynamic and provides polarization rotation to a portion one of the first and second spectrums, and
- wherein the first and second filters rotate one of the first and second spectrums.
8 more elements
A sequential two-panel color modulation device comprising:
- a beamsplitting element;
- a first reflective panel which receives a first light spectrum from the beam splitting element;
- a second reflective panel which receives a second light spectrum from the beam splitting element;
- and
- an output polarization rotation element that rotates a polarization of the first light spectrum differently than a polarization of the second light spectrum,
- wherein the first and second spectrums of light combined include three different primary colors,
- wherein one of the first and second reflective panels sequentially modulates one of the first and second spectrums, and
- wherein the output polarization rotation element substantially comports the polarization of the first light spectrum and the polarization of the second light spectrum.
5 more elements
A sequential two-panel color modulation device comprising:
- a beam splitting element;
- a first reflective panel which receives a first light spectrum from the beam splitting element;
- a second reflective panel which receives a second light spectrum from the beam splitting element;
- and
- an input polarization rotation element and an output polarization rotation element that rotate a polarization of the first light spectrum differently than a polarization of the second light spectrum,
- wherein the first and second spectrums of light combined include three different primary colors,
- wherein one of the first and second reflective panels sequentially modulates one of the first and second spectrums,
- wherein the input polarization rotation element separates the polarization of the first light spectrum from the polarization of the second light spectrum such that the beam splitting element directs one of the first and second light spectrums to the first reflective panel and directs the other of the first and second light spectrums to the second reflective panel, and
- wherein the output polarization rotation element substantially comports the polarization of the first light spectrum and the polarization of the second light spectrum.
6 more elements
A method for projecting a full color display from a sequential two-panel color modulation device comprising:
- splitting the input light beam into first and second light beams, the first light beam including the first light spectrum and the second light beam including the second light spectrum;
- modulating the first light beam to form a first modulated light beam;
- modulating the second light beam such that different portions of the second spectrum are sequential displayed to form a second modulated light beam;
- rotating a polarization of the first modulated light beam and rotating a polarization of the second modulated light beam rotation element by different amounts such that rotated polarization of the first modulated light beam substantially comports to the rotated polarization of the second light beam.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.