Optical illumination system and projection display apparatus using the same

• US 5,418,583 A
• Filed: 03/30/1993
• Issued: 05/23/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Masumoto, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dowling, William C.
• Application Number:
  US08/039,770
• Time in Patent Office: 784 Days
• Field of Search: 353/38, 353/31, 353/33, 353/34, 353/37, 353/69, 353/102, 362/309, 362/331, 362/333, 362/268, 359/48, 359/49
• US Class Current: 353/38
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0031 Replication or moulding, e.g. hot embossing, UV-casting, injection moulding
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0043 Inhomogeneous or irregular arrays, e.g. varying shape, size, height
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0056 arranged along two different directions in a plane, e.g. honeycomb arrangement of lenses G02B3/0043 takes precedence; miniaturised objectives for electronic devices employing wafer level optics G02B13/0085
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0062 Stacked lens arrays, i.e. refractive surfaces arranged in at least two planes, without structurally separate optical elements in-between
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1336 Illuminating devices
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/2026 Gas discharge type light sources, e.g. arcs
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/208 Homogenising, shaping of the illumination light
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 33/12 using beam-splitting or beam-combining systems, e.g. dichroic mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/315 Modulator illumination systems general applications of lighting devices F21V; general optical systems G02B; lamp houses for projectors not peculiar to the presence of an electronic spatial light modulator G03B21/20

Abstract

An optical illumination system includes a radiation source, a condensor, a first lens array including a plurality of first lenses, and a second lens array including a plurality of second lenses. The first lens array converges partial luminous fluxes, the number of which is the same as the number of first lenses, onto the second lenses paired with the first lenses. The second lens array transmits each of the partial luminous fluxes to an object region to be illuminated in such a manner that the partial luminous fluxes are superimposed on each other at the object region. Configurations of the apertures of the second lenses are different from each other and the second lenses are arranged in close contact with each other with the effective region of the second lens array approximating the smallest possible circle.

Claims

1. An optical illumination system comprising:

a radiation source;

condensing means for converting beams of light radiating from the radiation source into a single luminous flux;

a first lens array comprising a plurality of first lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array; and

a second lens array comprising a plurality of second lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array and paired with said first lenses, respectively,

the first lens array being optically disposed between said condensing means and said second lens array so as to divide the single luminous flux formed by the condensing means into a plurality of partial luminous fluxes of the same number as that of the first lenses, and so that each of the first lenses converges a respective one of the partial luminous fluxes onto an aperture of the second lens paired therewith, each of the second lenses having a magnification which causes the partial luminous fluxes to be magnified onto superimposed finite regions to be illuminated, each of the second lenses having an aperture larger than the cross section of the partial luminous flux converged onto the second lens, the aperture of at least one of the second lenses having a different configuration than that of the aperture of another one of the second lenses, and the effective region of the second lens array, formed by all of the apertures of the second lenses, approximately inscribing a circle.

2. The optical illumination system as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said first lenses has a height (H), said height (H) being the distance between the center of the aperture of the first lens and the optical axis of the condensing means, and for at least some of the second lenses and the first lenses paired therewith, the larger the height (H) of the first lens, the smaller the area of the aperture of the second lens paired with the first lens.

3. The optical illumination system as defined in claim 1, wherein said condensing means consists of a concave mirror, and the radiation source has a major axis substantially coincident with the optical axis of the condensing means.

4. The optical illumination system as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the first lenses consists of a plano-convex lens, the convex surface of which being the incident side thereof.

5. The optical illumination system as defined in claim 1, wherein an optical surface of each of the lenses of at least one of said lens arrays is spherical.

6. The optical illumination system as defined in claim 1, wherein the shape of the aperture of each of the first lenses is substantially similar to the shape of the object finite region to be illuminated.

7. The optical illumination system as defined in claim 1, and further comprising a return mirror disposed on an optical path between the first lens array and the second lens array, and a concave lens disposed on an optical path downstream of the second lens array.

8. The optical illumination system as defined in claim 1, wherein the radiation source consists of a metal halide lamp.

9. An optical illumination system comprising:

a radiation source;

condensing means for converting beams of light radiation from the radiation source into a single luminous flux;

a first lens array comprising a plurality of first lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array; and

a second lens array comprising a plurality of second lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array and paired with said first lenses, respectively,

the first lens array being optically disposed between said condensing means and said second lens array so as to divide the single luminous flux formed by the condensing means into a plurality of partial luminous fluxes of the same number as that of the first lenses, and so that each of the first lenses converges a respective one of the partial luminous fluxes onto an aperture of the second lens paired therewith, each of the second lenses having a magnification which causes the partial luminous fluxes to be magnified onto superimposed finite regions to be illuminated, at least one of said lens arrays having a substrate, and at least some of the lenses of said one of the lens arrays having convex surfaces, adjacent ones of said convex surfaces in the array being alternately disposed on opposite sides of said substrate.

10. The optical illumination system as defined in claim 9, wherein an optical surface of each of the lenses of at least one of said lens arrays is spherical.

11. The optical illumination system as defined in claim 9, wherein the shape of the aperture of each of the first lenses is substantially similar to the shape of the superimposed object finite regions to be illuminated.

12. An optical illumination system comprising:

a radiation source;

condensing means for converting beams of light radiating from the radiation source into a single luminous flux;

a first lens array comprising a plurality of first lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array; and

a second lens array comprising a plurality of second lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array and paired with said first lenses, respectively,

the first lens array being optically disposed between said condensing means and said second lens array so as to divide the single luminous flux formed by the condensing means into a plurality of partial luminous fluxes of the same number as that of the first lenses, and so that each of the first lenses converges a respective one of the partial luminous fluxes onto an aperture of the second lens paired therewith, each of the second lenses having a magnification which causes the partial luminous fluxes to be magnified onto surperimposed finite regions to be illuminated, and each of said lenses of the second lens array consisting of a Fresnel lens.

13. The optical illumination system as defined in claim 12, wherein second lens array includes a substrate, and the optical surfaces of adjacent ones of the Fresnel lenses in the array being alternately disposed on opposite sides of the substrate.

14. An optical illumination system comprising:

a radiation source;

condensing means for converting beams of light radiating from the radiation source into a single luminous flux;

a first lens array comprising a plurality of first lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array; and

a second lens array comprising a plurality of second lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array and paired with said first lenses, respectively,

the first lens array being optically disposed between said condensing means and said second lens array so as to divide the single luminous flux formed by the condensing means into a plurality of partial luminous fluxes of the same number as that of the first lenses, and so that each of the first lenses converges a respective one of the partial luminous fluxes onto an aperture of the second lens paired therewith, each of the second lenses having a magnification which causes the partial luminous fluxes to be magnified onto superimposed finite regions to be illuminated, and one of said lens arrays being formed of transparent silicon rubber.

15. A projection display apparatus comprising:

an optical illumination system including a radiation source, condensing means for converting beams of light radiating from the radiation source into a single luminous flux, a first lens array comprising a plurality of first lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array, and a second lens array comprising a plurality of second lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array and paired with said first lenses, respectively; and

an optical projection system including a light modulator on which an optical image illuminated by said optical illumination system is produced, and optical projection means for enlarging the illuminated optical image on the light modulator and for projecting the enlarged optical image onto a screen,

the first lens array being optically disposed between said condensing means and said second lens array so as to divide the single luminous flux formed by the condensing means into a plurality of partial luminous fluxes of the same number as that of the first lenses, and so that each of the first lenses converges a respective one of the partial luminous fluxes onto an aperture of the second lens paired therewith, each of the second lenses having a magnification which causes the partial luminous fluxes to be magnified onto superimposed finite display regions of said light modulator, each of the second lenses having an aperture larger than the cross section of the partial luminous flux converged onto the second lens, the aperture of at least one of the second lenses having a different configuration than that of the aperture of another one of the second lenses, and the effective region of the second lens array, formed by all of the apertures of the second lenses, approximately inscribing a circle.

16. The projection display apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein said light modulator consists of a liquid crystal panel.

17. A projection display apparatus comprising:

radiation source means for radiating beams of light including at least the three primary colors;

condensing means for converting the beams of light radiating from the radiation source into a single luminous flux;

a first lens array comprising a plurality of first lenses arrayed in two dimensions;

a second lens array comprising a plurality of second lenses disposed in a two-dimensional array and paired with said first lenses, respectively;

color separating means for separating beams transmitted through the second lens array into beams of light each of a respective one of the three primary colors;

three light modulating means for forming three optical images each corresponding to a respective one of the three primary colors;

optical projection means for synthesizing and enlarging the optical images formed on the three light modulating means and for projecting the enlarged synthesized optical image onto a screen; and

a mirror disposed in an optical path between said first lens array and said second lens array,

the lengths of the optical paths between the second lens array and each of said three light modulating means being equal, the first lens array being optically disposed between said condensing means and said second lens array so as to divide the single luminous flux formed by the condensing means into a plurality of partial luminous fluxes of the same number as that of the first lenses, and so that each of the first lenses converges a respective one of the partial luminous fluxes onto an aperture of the second lens paired therewith, each of the second lenses having a magnification which causes the partial luminous fluxes to be magnified onto superimposed finite display regions of each of the light modulating means, each of the second lenses having an aperture larger than the cross section of the partial luminous flux converged onto the second lens, the aperture of at least one of the second lenses having a different configuration than that of the aperture of another one of the second lenses, and the effective region of the second lens array, formed by all of the apertures of the second lenses, approximately inscribing a circle.

18. The projection display apparatus as defined in claim 17, and further comprising a concave lens disposed in each of the optical paths between the second lens array and the three light modulating means.