Presentation system with overhead projector

• US 5,889,614 A
• Filed: 12/20/1995
• Issued: 03/30/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines SA (International Business Machines Corporation), US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Cobben, Louis M. H., Stroomer, Martinus V. C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hellner, Mark
• Application Number:
  US08/575,538
• Time in Patent Office: 1,196 Days
• Field of Search: 359/237, 359/483, 359/486, 349/10, 349/6, 353/20
• US Class Current: 359/484.09
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/132 Overhead projectors, i.e. capable of projecting hand-writing or drawing during action epidiascopic projectors G03B21/08

Abstract

A presentation system comprising an image projection screen and an overhead projector is described. The overhead projector comprises an illumination system, a support for supporting an image record carrier and a projection head for projecting the image present in the image record carrier on the image projection screen. The image projection screen is a polarizing screen which transmits radiation having a well-defined direction of transmission polarization, and the overhead projector is adapted to supply light having this direction of polarization. In this way, the quantity of radiation used for forming the image is considerably increased and substantially half the quantity of ambient light incident on the screen is suppressed, so that images having a considerably enhanced contrast and brightness are obtained.

Claims

1. A presentation system comprising

an illumination system which provides a polarized projection beam having an intensity and a direction of polarization, said illumination system comprising a cholesteric filter, a light source, and a reflector surrounding said light source at a side away from the cholesteric filter,

an image record carrier which modulates the intensity of the polarized projection beam with image information, thereby producing a modulated and polarized beam having said direction of polarization,

an optical head for projecting the modulated and polarized beam onto a screen, said illumination system, said image record carrier, and said optical head forming an overhead projector, and

a polarizing screen which receives said modulated and polarized beam from said overhead projector and transmits radiation having said direction of polarization.

2. A presentation system as in claim 1 wherein said image record carrier is a permanent image record carrier which directly modulates the intensity of the projection beam with image information.

3. A presentation system as in claim 1 wherein said image record carrier is an electronically controllable image display panel which directly modulates the intensity of the beam with image information.

4. A presentation system as in claim 3 wherein said electronically controllable image display panel modulates the direction of polarization of the projection beam in order to modulate the intensity of the beam with image information.

5. A presentation system as in claim 1 further comprising a λ

/4 plate arranged at a side of the cholesteric filter facing away from said light source.

6. A presentation system as in claim 1 where in said cholesteric filter is active throughout essentially the entire visible wavelength range.

7. A presentation system as in claim 6 wherein said cholesteric filter comprises a plurality of layers of liquid crystal material, each layer having a thickness and being active in respective different wavelength bands, said wavelength bands jointly covering essentially the entire visible wavelength range.

8. A presentation system as in claim 6 wherein said cholesteric filter consists of a single layer of liquid crystal polymer material having a thickness, said polymer material comprising a molecular helix having a pitch which varies across the thickness between two values which correspond to respective upper and lower limits of essentially the entire visible wavelength range.

9. A presentation system as in claim 7 wherein said liquid crystal material is a polymer material, said polymer material comprising a molecular helix having a pitch which varies across the thickness of the respective layer between two values which correspond to respective upper and lower limits of the wavelength band of the respective layer.

10. A presentation system as in claim 1 further comprising

a liquid crystal switching cell arranged between the image record carrier and the illumination system, and

a pre-analyzer arranged between the switching cell and the image record carrier.

11. A presentation system as in claim 1 further comprising an adjustable polarization rotator arranged between the overhead projector and the image projection screen.

12. A presentation system as in claim 11 wherein said adjustable polarization rotator comprises

a first λ

/4 plate oriented at an angle of 45°

to the direction of polarization of the light beam provided by the overhead projector, and

a second λ

/4 plate which is rotatable to adapt the direction of polarization of the light beam to the direction of polarization of the light transmitted by the projection screen.