Light modulating engine

• US 20050168789A1
• Filed: 04/09/2003
• Published: 08/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Signtronic AG
• Original Assignee: Signtronic AG
• Inventors: Glent-Madsen, Henrik
• Granted Patent: US 7,145,708 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/237
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/2057 using an addressed light valve, e.g. a liquid crystal device
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70058 Mask illumination systems
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70275 Multiple projection paths, e.g. array of projection systems, microlens projection systems or tandem projection systems
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70283 Mask effects on the imaging process
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70291 Addressable masks, e.g. spatial light modulators [SLMs], digital micro-mirror devices [DMDs] or liquid crystal display [LCD] patterning devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7416 involving the use of a spatial light modulator, e.g. a light valve, controlled by a video signal

Abstract

The invention relates to a light illumination apparatus comprising at least one exposure head (12) and at least two light modulating arrangements (20), each of said two light modulating arrangements (20) comprising a spatial light modulator (31, 32) and an associated light emitter arranged for illumination of an illumination surface (15) via said spatial light modulator (31, 32), each of said two light modulating arrangements (20) being digitally controlled, said apparatus comprising means for performing a relative movement between said at least one exposure head and said illumination surface (15) in at least one direction (x;y).

Claims

1. Light illumination apparatus comprising:

at least one exposure head;

at least two light modulating arrangements,

each of said two light modulating arrangements comprising a spatial light modulator and an associated light emitter arranged for illumination of an illumination surface via said spatial light modulator;

each of said two light modulating arrangements being digitally controlled;

said apparatus further comprising means for performing a relative movement between said at least one exposure head and said illumination surface in at least one direction.

2. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least two light modulating arrangements are arranged on a single exposure head.

3. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said relative movement is a scanning movement.

4. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said relative movement is established by moving the at least one exposure head relative to said illumination surface.

5. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said relative movement is established by moving said illumination surface relative to the at least one exposure head.

6. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one exposure head comprises the two light modulating arrangements.

7. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light modulating arrangements are arranged on at least two different exposure heads and where said exposure heads perform scanning movements over the illumination surface.

8. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said spatial light modulators are arranged so as to illuminate at least two substantially separate sub-areas of said illumination surface.

9. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said spatial light modulating arrangements are aligned so that rows of both light modulators are parallelly oriented.

10. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said spatial light modulating arrangements are aligned so that neighboring rows of the at least two spatial light modulators are positioned substantially so that a distance between the neighboring rows of the at least two spatial light modulators is substantially the same as a distance between rows of the individual light modulators.

11. Light illumination apparatus according to claims 1, wherein an “

x-projection”

of a distance between centers of at least two of the spatial light modulators is less than approximately 200 millimeters.

12. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a “

y-projection”

of a distance between centers of two of the spatial light modulators is less than approximately 50 millimeters.

13. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, 4, wherein a distance between centers of two of the spatial light modulators is substantially 122.7 millimeters or 121.73 millimeters when applying SXGA and XGA respectively.

14. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said exposure head comprises cooling means.

15. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each spatial light modulating arrangement comprises individual cooling means.

16. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said substantially separate sub-areas comprise neighboring surfaces of said illumination surface.

17. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one direction is substantially transverse to a relative movement of said illumination surface.

18. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one direction establishes that an illuminated pixel on said illumination surface is illuminated by means of a least two light modulators of said spatial light modulator.

19. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one direction establishes that an illuminated pixel on said illumination surface is illuminated by means of at least one modulator row of said spatial light modulator.

20. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said exposure head is movable in at least two directions with respect to said illumination surface.

21. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light emitter comprises a light source.

22. Light illumination apparatus according claim 1, wherein said light emitter comprises at least one light emitting end of an optical guide coupled to a light source.

23. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light emitter comprises a lamp.

24. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light emitter comprises an a LED matrix.

25. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said spatial light modulator comprises a DMD chip.

26. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said spatial light modulator comprises a micro-mechanical transmissive light modulator.

27. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said illumination surface comprises a printing plate.

28. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said illumination surface comprises a light sensitive material.

29. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposure head is adapted for scanning in two transverse opposite directions.

30. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an x-direction between centers of the spatial light modulating arrangement is less than 150 mm.

31. Light illumination apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the x-direction between centers of the spatial light modulating arrangement is substantially.

35. Method of illuminating an illumination surface, whereby the illumination is performed by a light illumination apparatus according to claim 1.

32. Method of illuminating an illumination surface, whereby at least two light modulating arrangements arranged on at least one exposure head, each comprising a spatial light modulator illuminate an illumination surface by a scanning movement.

33. Method of illuminating an illumination surface according to claim 32,

whereby said at least two light modulating arrangements are arranged on a single exposure head.

34. Method of illuminating an illumination surface according to claim 32, whereby said at least two light modulating arrangements are arranged on different free-running exposure heads.