Methods and apparatus for light efficient programmable headlamp with anamorphic optics
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A headlamp, comprising:
- an illumination module configured to output a light beam;
illumination optics optically coupled to the illumination module, the illumination optics configured to receive the light beam and to output non-uniform illumination;
a programmable spatial light modulator optically coupled to the illumination optics, the programmable spatial light modulator configured to receive the non-uniform illumination and to output non-uniform patterned light; and
projection optics including a lens, the projection optics optically coupled to the programmable spatial light modulator, and the projection optics configured to receive the non-uniform patterned light and to output the non-uniform patterned light through the lens;
at least one of the illumination optics or the projection optics including an anamorphic optical element, the anamorphic optical element configured to shape at least one of the non-uniform illumination or the non-uniform patterned light.
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Abstract
In described examples of a headlamp to project a beam of light from a lens, the headlamp includes: an illumination module to output a light beam to an illumination path; and illumination optics to receive the light beam and to provide illumination to a programmable spatial light modulator. The programmable spatial light modulator is arranged to receive the illumination and to output non-uniform illumination as patterned light to projection optics. The projection optics are arranged to receive the patterned light and to output the patterned light through the lens. At least one of the illumination optics and the projection optics includes an anamorphic lens to shape the light beam.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A headlamp, comprising:
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an illumination module configured to output a light beam; illumination optics optically coupled to the illumination module, the illumination optics configured to receive the light beam and to output non-uniform illumination; a programmable spatial light modulator optically coupled to the illumination optics, the programmable spatial light modulator configured to receive the non-uniform illumination and to output non-uniform patterned light; and projection optics including a lens, the projection optics optically coupled to the programmable spatial light modulator, and the projection optics configured to receive the non-uniform patterned light and to output the non-uniform patterned light through the lens; at least one of the illumination optics or the projection optics including an anamorphic optical element, the anamorphic optical element configured to shape at least one of the non-uniform illumination or the non-uniform patterned light. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of projecting light from a spatial light modulator, the method comprising:
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receiving a light beam with an aspect ratio greater than an aspect ratio of the spatial light modulator; outputting a non-uniform light beam with an aspect ratio that is approximately equal to the aspect ratio of the spatial light modulator; receiving the non-uniform light beam at the spatial light modulator, pixelating the non-uniform light beam with the spatial light modulator, and reflecting the pixelated non-uniform light beam from the spatial light modulator; receiving the reflected pixelated non-uniform light beam from the spatial light modulator into projection optics; and outputting the reflected pixelated non-uniform light beam from the projection optics, wherein the outputted reflected pixelated non-uniform light beam has an aspect ratio greater than the aspect ratio of the spatial light modulator. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification