Projection optical system

• US 20060114430A1
• Filed: 11/18/2005
• Published: 06/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta OPTO Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta OPTO Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Masubuchi, Tomokazu, Ishihara, Jun, Imaoka, Masayuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,503,661 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 353/99
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/10 Projectors with built-in or built-on screen
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/28 Reflectors in projection beam in illumination beam G03B21/2066

Abstract

In a projection optical system for obliquely performing enlargement projection of an image formed on a display device surface onto a screen surface, a plurality of reflective surfaces are provided, at least one of which is a curved reflective surface having an optical power. Letting the curved reflective surface, out of said at least one curved reflective surface, having the largest effective optical region be the largest curved reflective surface, the reflective surface other than the largest curved reflective surface is slightly decentered with the largest curved reflective surface kept in a fixed state so as to perform pixel shift on the screen surface in a vertical direction, or a horizontal direction, or an oblique direction, or vertical and horizontal directions within the range of a pixel pitch.

Claims

1. A projection optical system for obliquely performing enlargement projection of an image formed on a display device surface onto a screen surface,

wherein a plurality of reflective surfaces are provided, at least one of which is a curved reflective surface having an optical power, and

wherein, letting the curved reflective surface, out of said at least one curved reflective surface, having a largest effective optical region be the largest curved reflective surface, the reflective surface other than the largest curved reflective surface is slightly decentered with the largest curved reflective surface kept in a fixed state so as to perform pixel shift on the screen surface in a vertical direction, or a horizontal direction, or an oblique direction, or vertical and horizontal directions within a range of a pixel pitch.

2. The projection optical system according to claim 1,

wherein, letting the reflective surface to be slightly decentered be a slightly decentered reflective surface, the slightly decentered reflective surface is arranged next to the largest curved reflective surface on a reduction side thereof.

3. The projection optical system according to claim 1,

wherein, letting the reflective surface to be slightly decentered be a slightly decentered reflective surface and a ray emitted from an image center of the display device surface and passing through a center of an aperture stop be a basic ray, a plane including an incidence ray and a reflecting ray formed by the basic ray with respect to the slightly decentered reflective surface and a plane including an incidence ray and a reflecting ray formed by the basic ray with respect to the largest curved reflective surface are orthogonal to each other.

4. The projection optical system according to claim 2,

wherein, letting a ray emitted from an image center of the display device surface and passing through a center of an aperture stop be a basic ray, a plane including an incidence ray and a reflecting ray formed by the basic ray with respect to the slightly decentered reflective surface and a plane including an incidence ray and a reflecting ray formed by the basic ray with respect to the largest curved reflective surface are orthogonal to each other.

5. The projection optical system according to claim 1,

wherein, letting the reflective surface to be slightly decentered be a slightly decentered reflective surface, at least one curved reflective surface is arranged between the largest curved reflective surface and the slightly decentered reflective surface.

6. The projection optical system according to claim 5,

wherein an aperture stop and the slightly decentered reflective surface are arranged in order from a reduction side.

7. The projection optical system according to claim 5,

wherein the slightly decentered reflective surface and an aperture stop are arranged in order from a reduction side.

8. The projection optical system according to claim 1,

wherein, as said curved reflective surfaces, a total of four surfaces are provided.

9. The projection optical system according to claim 2,

wherein, as said curved reflective surfaces, a total of four surfaces are provided.

10. The projection optical system according to claim 3,

wherein, as said curved reflective surfaces, a total of four surfaces are provided.

11. The projection optical system according to claim 4,

wherein, as said curved reflective surfaces, a total of four surfaces are provided.

12. The projection optical system according to claim 5,

wherein, as said curved reflective surfaces, a total of four surfaces are provided.

13. The projection optical system according to claim 6,

wherein, as said curved reflective surfaces, a total of four surfaces are provided.

14. The projection optical system according to claim 7,

wherein, as said curved reflective surfaces, a total of four surfaces are provided.

15. An image projection apparatus comprising:

a display device; and

a projection optical system for obliquely performing enlargement projection of an image formed on a display device surface onto a screen surface, wherein a plurality of reflective surfaces are provided, at least one of which is a curved reflective surface having an optical power, and wherein, letting the curved reflective surface, out of said at least one curved reflective surface, having a largest effective optical region be the largest curved reflective surface, the reflective surface other than the largest curved reflective surface is slightly decentered with the largest curved reflective surface kept in a fixed state so as to perform pixel shift on the screen surface in a vertical direction, or a horizontal direction, or an oblique direction, or vertical and horizontal directions within a range of a pixel pitch.

16. The image projection apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a screen,

wherein the image projection apparatus is a rear-projection-type image forming apparatus that projects an image to be projected on the screen surface from an opposite side of an observer.