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AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsRaymond Gordon Fielding, Martin Kavanagh, Graham Harry Moss
Estimating the term…
A projection device includes one or more deformable mirror arrays (803) arranged to spatially modulate incident light. A totally internally reflecting surface (809) is arranged to direct light to and from the deformable mirror array (803). The device may include one or more dichroic layers (805) arranged such that the light incident on each dichroic layer (805) is substantially normal incidence to the layer.
A projection device comprising a light source, at least one deflectable mirror array effective to spatially modulate light from the light source and a prism system arranged in the light path between the light source and the deflectable mirror array, the prism system including at least one totally internally reflecting surface for light incident on the surface at greater than a critical angle, the surface being effective to transmit light incident on the surface at less than said critical angle, the surface being at a boundary between two members of different refractive indices within the prism system, the totally internally reflective surface being arranged to transmit light from the light source to the deflectable mirror array, and to reflect spatially modulated light from the deflectable mirror array such that no spatially modulated light traverses the boundary.
A projection device comprising a light source, at least one spatial light modulator effective to spatially modulate light from the light source and a prism system arranged in the light path between the light source and the spatial light modulator, the prism system including at least one totally internally reflecting surface for light incident on the surface at greater than a critical angle, the surface being effective to transmit light incident on the surface at less than said critical angle, the surface being at a boundary between two members of different refractive indices within the prism system, the totally internally reflective surface being arranged to transmit light from the light source to the spatial light modulator, and to reflect spatially modulated light from the spatial light modulator such that no spatially modulated light traverses the boundary.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Using two-dimensional electronic spatial light modulators: for displaying all colours simultaneously, e.g. by using two or more electronic spatial…
By means of one or more reflecting elements: the reflecting element being a micromechanical device, e.g. a MEMS mirror, DMD
Pictorial communication
Optical elements, systems or apparatus
Term ended 2 Mar 2018 (estimated)
This invention relates to a projection device. In particular, the invention relates to a projection device for use in a projection system in which a projected image is formed by spatially modulating light using one or more spatial light modulator devices, and then projecting the spatially modulated light on to a display.
A spatial light modulator is an optical component which is controllable to spatially modulate an incident light beam. One class of spatial light modulators are active matrix devices, which comprise a matrix of individually addressed light modulators each effective to modulate the part of a light beam corresponding to a pixel of the projected image.
Each light modulator may be a liquid crystal, for example as shown in EP 0401912.
A number of embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows schematically the functioning of a deformable mirror array;
FIG. 2 shows schematically the optical illumination of a mirror within the array of FIG. 1;
Overall Operation of Projection System
Referring to FIG. 1, a deformable mirror device array for use in a projection device in accordance with the invention comprises an array 10 of m×n deflectable mirrors M11-Mmn. Typically, there will be in the order of 500×500 mirrors for a low resolution display, and 2000×2000 mirrors for a high resolution display. The array 10 is connected to an electrical address circuit 12 which receives a signal from an input circuit indicated as 14 to which a colour video signal is input. The address circuit 12 addresses the electrodes (not shown) of each of the respective mirror devices M11-Mmn, as described in our earlier International application number WO92/12506, (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference).
Each mirror device is pivoted for rotational movement about a pair of hinges 13 at the diagonal corners of the mirrors as illustrated schematically in relation to mirror M11.