Light emitting apparatus and projector

• US 20060007407A1
• Filed: 05/17/2005
• Published: 01/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Matsui, Shinzo
• Granted Patent: US 7,322,703 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 353/84
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/008 in the form of devices for effecting sequential colour changes, e.g. colour wheels
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/14 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 33/08 Sequential recording or projection G03B33/02, G03B33/04, G03B33/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/80 Light emitting diode
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 385/901 Illuminating or display apparatus

Abstract

An light emitting apparatus which illuminates an illumination area has a first light source which emits a first light, a second light source which emits a second light, a wheel which is provided with a transmission filter area which transmits the first light, and a reflection area which reflects the second light, a wheel driving unit which controls a rotation of the wheel, and drives the wheel, a light emitting optical unit which leads the first light which transmits the transmission filter area, or the second light which is reflected by the reflection area to the illumination area, in which the light which is led to the illumination area by the light emitting optical unit is at least two colors of light which are successively changed over in the time series.

Claims

1. A light emitting apparatus which illuminates an illumination area, comprising:

a first light source which emits a first light;

a second light source which emits a second light;

a wheel which is provided with a transmission filter area which transmits the first light, and a reflection area which reflects the second light;

a wheel driving unit which controls a rotation of the wheel, and drives the wheel; and

a light emitting optical unit which leads the first light which transmits the transmission filter area, or the second light which is reflected by the reflection area to the illumination area,

wherein the light which is led to the illumination area by the light emitting optical unit is at least two colors of light which are successively changed over in a time series.

2. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the first light source is a lamp, and the second light source is a light emitting diode.

3. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the first light which is emitted from the lamp is white, and the transmission filter area has at least one color among a red color, a green color, and a blue color.

4. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein a central wavelength of the light which is transmitted at the transmission filter area is the central wavelength which is not coincident with a central wavelength of the second light.

5. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the light emitting diodes are composed of two varieties of light emitting diodes which emit different color light.

6. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second light source is a light emitting diode, and

a light emitting diode lighting unit which controls the second light which is emitted by lighting the light emitting diode is provided,

the light emitting diode lighting unit performs pulse lighting of the light emitting diode synchronizing with rotation of the wheel, while the light emitting diode is controlled so that quantity of light of the second light which is emitted becomes maximum at a timing in which the second light emitted from the light emitting diode is reflected in the reflection area.

7. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second light source is a light emitting diode, and

a light emitting diode lighting unit which controls the second light which is emitted by lighting the light emitting diode is provided,

the light emitting diode lighting unit performs lighting of the light emitting diode synchronizing with rotation of the wheel, while the light emitting diode is controlled so that the light emitting diode is put out light at a timing in which the second light emitted from the light emitting diode is not reflected in the reflection area.

8. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the wheel is composed of the transmission filter area and the reflection area which are arranged within the same plane.

9. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the wheel is composed of the transmission filter area and the reflection area which are arranged so that the transmission filter area and the reflection area are maintained at a predetermined angle with regard to an axis which is rotated and driven.

10. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 8 or 9,

wherein an angle between a straight line connecting a central position of area in which the first light passes through the transmission filter area and a central position of the first light source and the surface of the transmission filter area is set at 45 degrees.

11. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 8 or 9,

wherein an angle between a straight line connecting a central position of area in which the second light is reflected by the reflection area and a central position of the second light source and the surface of the transmission filter area is set at 45 degrees.

12. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a total internal reflection prism is provided at a position in which the second light which is emitted from the second light source is entered into the reflection area, while the second light which is reflected by the reflection area passes through, and at a position at which the first light which is emitted from the first light source and passes through the transmission filter area is entered into the light emitting optical unit.

13. A light emitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second light source comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes which are arranged on the circumference of a circle, a light emitting diodes lighting unit which makes the plurality of light emitting diodes light in order of being arranged on the circumference of the circle during different period in a time series, a rotation optical unit which is rotatably arranged with a rotation center which is a center of the circumference of the circle, in which each light which is emitted from the plurality of light emitting diodes is entered from the light entering end while rotating, and the light thereof is emitted from the light emitting end,

wherein the wheel driving unit and the rotation optical unit are controlled so that the wheel driving unit and the rotation optical unit rotate in synchrony.

14. An light emitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the reflection area reflects the second light, while the reflection area shades the first light so that the first light is not led to the light emitting optical unit.

15. An light emitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the light emitting optical unit is set so that the light emitting optical unit leads two colors of light consisting of a first color and a second color to the illumination area, and the reflection area is formed by a dichroic surface which transmits the first colored light, and reflects the second colored light.

16. A projector which projects the image according to the image information which is inputted, comprising:

the light emitting apparatus according to claim 1;

a space modulation unit which modulates the light led by the light emitting optical unit according to the image information, and generates the projecting light; and

a projection optical unit which projects the projecting light generated by the space modulation unit.