Lighting system, and image display apparatus

• US 6,250,778 B1
• Filed: 12/28/1999
• Issued: 06/26/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Doumuki, Tohru
• Primary Examiner(s): Husar, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): WARD, JOHN A
• Application Number:
  US09/473,881
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: 362/298, 362/299, 362/327, 362/328, 362/346, 362/268, 362/301, 362/343, 362/259
• US Class Current: 362/327
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0927 Systems for changing the beam intensity distribution, e.g. Gaussian to top-hat
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/106 for splitting or combining a plurality of identical beams or images, e.g. image replication
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/143 using macroscopically faceted or segmented reflective surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/48 Laser speckle optics
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/045 Prism arrays

Abstract

A lighting system consists of a first reflector having a plurality of reflecting faces disposed obliquely with an angle of about 45 deg. with respect to the optical axis of an incident coherent light, respectively, and spaced a predetermined distance from each other in the optical-axial direction of the incident coherent light, a second reflector having a plurality of reflecting faces disposed obliquely at an angle of about 45 deg. with respect to the optical axes of reflected light beams, respectively, from the first reflector, and spaced a predetermined distance from each other in the optical-axial direction of the incident coherent light, and a lens array having a plurality of lenses disposed in planes generally perpendicular to the optical axes of the reflected light beams from the second reflector.

Claims

1. A lighting system, comprising:

a first reflective member having a plurality of reflecting faces disposed obliquely with an angle of about 45 deg. with respect to the optical axis of an incident coherent light, respectively, and spaced a predetermined distance from each other in the optical-axial direction of the incident coherent light;

a second reflective member having a plurality of reflecting faces disposed obliquely at an angle of about 45 deg. with respect to the optical axes of reflected light beams, respectively, from the first reflective member, and spaced a predetermined distance from each other in the optical-axial direction of the incident coherent light;

a lens array having a plurality of lenses disposed in planes generally perpendicular to the optical axes of the reflected light beams from the second reflective member; and

a condenser lens;

the incident coherent light being sequentially reflected by the first and second reflective members to split the incident coherent light beam into a plurality of light beams having predetermined differences in optical path length from each other, the plurality of light beams being guided for incidence upon the lenses included in the lens array and corresponding one-to-one to the light beams, and transmitted through the condenser lens, thereby illuminating one and the same area on a to-be-illuminated surface disposed at a focal point of the condenser lens.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the difference in optical path length between the plurality of light beams resulted from splitting of the incident coherent light is longer than the coherence length of the incident coherent light.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a light source to generate a coherent light for incidence upon the first reflective member;

wherein the incident light upon the first reflective member has a plurality of difference periodic oscillating frequencies and when the degree of coherence of the incident light is expressed as a function of time, the full width at half maximum of a first maximum waveform is taken as τ

_t, the maximum distance between the first maximum waveform and a second maximum waveform neighboring the first maximum waveform is taken as τ

_d, a plurality of reflecting faces forming the first reflective member is disposed a predetermined distance d₁ from each other and a plurality of reflecting faces forming a second reflective member is disposed a predetermined distance d₂ from each other, the predetermined distances d₁ and d₂ have following relations between them;

4. A lighting system, comprising:

an optical element formed integrally from;

a first reflective member having a plurality of reflecting faces disposed obliquely with an angle of about 45 deg. with respect to the optical axis of an incident coherent light, respectively, and spaced a predetermined distance from each other in the optical-axial direction of the incident coherent light;

a second reflective member having a plurality of reflecting faces disposed obliquely at an angle of about 45 deg. with respect to the optical axes of reflected light beams, respectively, from the first reflective member, and spaced a predetermined distance from each other in the optical-axial direction of the incident coherent light; and

a lens array having a plurality of lenses disposed in planes generally perpendicular to the optical axes of the reflected light beams from the second reflective member; and

a condenser lens;

the incident coherent light being sequentially reflected by the first and second reflective members to split the incident coherent light beam into a plurality of light beams having predetermined differences in optical path length from each other, the plurality of light beams being guided for incidence upon the lenses included in the lens array and corresponding one-to-one to the light beams, and transmitted through the condenser lens, thereby illuminating one and the same area on a to-be-illuminated surface disposed at a focal point of the condenser lens.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the difference in optical path length between the plurality of light beams resulted from splitting of the incident coherent light is longer than the coherence length of the incident coherent light.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, further comprising:

a light source to generate a coherent light for incidence upon the first reflective member;

wherein the incident light upon the first reflective member has a plurality of difference periodic oscillating frequencies and when the degree of coherence of the incident light is expressed as a function of time, the full width at half maximum of a first maximum waveform is taken as τ

_t, the maximum distance between the first maximum waveform and a second maximum waveform neighboring the first maximum waveform is taken as τ

_d, a plurality of reflecting faces forming the first reflective member is disposed a predetermined distance d₁ from each other and a plurality of reflecting faces forming a second reflective member is disposed a predetermined distance d₂ from each other, the predetermined distances d₁ and d₂ have following relations between them;

7. An image display apparatus, comprising:

a lighting bock including;

a first reflective member having a plurality of reflecting faces disposed obliquely with an angle of about 45 deg. with respect to the optical axis of an incident coherent light, respectively, and spaced a predetermined distance from each other in the optical-axial direction of the incident coherent light;

a second reflective member having a plurality of reflecting faces disposed obliquely at an angle of about 45 deg. with respect to the optical axes of reflected light beams, respectively, from the first reflective member, and spaced a predetermined distance from each other in the optical-axial direction of the incident coherent light;

a lens array having a plurality of lenses disposed in planes generally perpendicular to the optical axes of the reflected light beams from the second reflective member; and

a condenser lens;

the incident coherent light being sequentially reflected by the first and second reflective members to split the incident coherent light beam into a plurality of light beams having predetermined differences in optical path length from each other, the plurality of light beams being guided for incidence upon the lenses included in the lens array and corresponding one-to-one to the light beams, and transmitted through the condenser lens, thereby illuminating one and the same area on a to-be-illuminated surface disposed at a focal point of the condenser lens; and

an image display block illuminated by the lighting block to display an image.