OPTICAL UNIT AND IMAGING APPARATUS

• US 20150062699A1
• Filed: 08/12/2014
• Published: 03/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Tsuneo
• Granted Patent: US 9,488,846 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/465
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/286 for controlling or changing the state of polarisation, e.g. transforming one polarisation state into another G02B5/3083 takes precedence; light guide coupling means utilising polarising elements G02B6/34
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/25 using polarisation techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/337 using polarisation multiplexing

Abstract

An optical unit includes a condensing lens which condenses light from an object; a pupil splitting polarization separation element which separately outputs two linearly polarized light beams of which polarizing directions are different from the condensed light using a left eye polarization separation region and a right eye polarization separation region which are formed by having a pupil splitting line which is orthogonal to an optical axis as a border; a polarizing direction conversion element which converts polarizing directions of the two linearly polarized light beams which are output from the pupil splitting polarization separation element; and a rotation driving unit which rotates the pupil splitting polarization separation element and the polarizing direction conversion element in an optical axis rotational direction.

Claims

1. An optical unit comprising:

a condensing lens which condenses light from an object;

a pupil splitting polarization separation element which separately outputs two linearly polarized light beams of which polarizing directions are different from the condensed light using a left eye polarization separation region and a right eye polarization separation region which are formed by having a pupil splitting line which is orthogonal to an optical axis as a border;

a polarizing direction conversion element which converts polarizing directions of the two linearly polarized light beams which are output from the pupil splitting polarization separation element; and

a rotation driving unit which rotates the pupil splitting polarization separation element and the polarizing direction conversion element in an optical axis rotational direction.

2. The optical unit according to claim 1,

wherein the polarizing direction conversion element is configured of a half-wave plate,

wherein a direction of a crystal axis of the half-wave plate when rotation angles of the pupil splitting polarization separation element and the polarizing direction conversion element are initial angles matches an intermediate direction of the two linearly polarized light beams which are output from the pupil splitting polarization separation element, and

wherein the rotation driving unit rotates the polarizing direction conversion element by a rotation angle of a half of a rotation angle of the pupil splitting polarization separation element.

3. The optical unit according to claim 2,

wherein the left eye polarization separation region and the right eye polarization separation region in the pupil splitting polarization separation element are formed using a polarizer, and a transmission axis in the left eye polarization separation region is orthogonal to a transmission axis in the right eye polarization separation region.

4. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an optical unit which includes

a condensing lens which condenses light from an object,

a pupil splitting polarization separation element which separately outputs two linearly polarized light beams of which polarizing directions are different from the condensed light using a left eye polarization separation region and a right eye polarization separation region which are formed by having a pupil splitting line which is orthogonal to an optical axis as a border,

a polarizing direction conversion element which converts the polarizing directions of the two linearly polarized light beams which are output from the pupil splitting polarization separation element, and

a rotation driving unit which rotates the pupil splitting polarization separation element and the polarizing direction conversion element in an optical axis rotational direction; and

an image obtaining unit configured to unit configured to obtain a left eye image and a right eye image by individually receiving the two linearly polarized light beams of which polarizing directions are converted by the polarizing direction conversion element.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

an image rotation processing unit which rotates the left eye image and the right eye image.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the image obtaining unit obtains the left eye image and the right eye image by individually receiving the two linearly polarized light beams using an imaging element in which two polarizing plates of which directions of transmission axes are different from each other are formed on a light receiving face.

7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the image obtaining unit includes a polarization beam splitter which spectrally disperses the two linearly polarized light beams, and two imaging elements which receive one of the two linearly polarized light beams which are spectrally dispersed by the polarization beam splitter, respectively.