Image projection apparatus

• US 6,733,135 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2003
• Issued: 05/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: Dho, Sang-whoe
• Primary Examiner(s): Adams, Russell
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dalakis, Michael
• Application Number:
  US10/404,437
• Publication Number:
  US 20030184715A1
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 353/31, 353/33, 353/38, 353/81, 345/39, 345/46, 345/82, 345/83, 348/804, 359/831, 359/834, 359/837, 349/8
• US Class Current: 353/31
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/005 Projectors using an electronic spatial light modulator but not peculiar thereto

Abstract

An image projection apparatus including a light source for emitting a plurality of monochromatic color beams having different wave lengths; a first light transmit unit; a light switch unit having a plurality of mirrors for selectively deflecting the monochromatic color beams at a predetermined angle; a quadrangular beam generating unit for converting the reflected monochromatic color beams into quadrangular beams having certain ratios of length to height; a panel for receiving the converted quadrangular beams and forming a monochromatic color bar on at least one portion of upper, mid, and lower portions thereof; and a projection lens unit disposed opposite to the panel. Accordingly, by using the light switches, a monochromatic color bar is formed on single panel with the same utilization efficiency of light as that of three panels, thereby embodying a high image quality.

Claims

1. An image projection apparatus comprising:

a light source for emitting a plurality of monochromatic color beams having different wavelengths;

a first light transmit unit having a plurality of optical fibers which the respective monochromatic color beams pass through;

a light switch unit having a plurality of mirrors for selectively deflecting the monochromatic color beams at a predetermined angle;

a quadrangular beam generating unit for converting the reflected monochromatic color beams into quadrangular beams having certain ratios of width to height;

a panel configured to receive the converted quadrangular beams by formation of a monochromatic color bar on at least one of an upper, mid, and lower portion thereof; and

a projection lens unit disposed opposite the panel.

2. The image projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light switch unit comprises a plurality of output ports disposed at output terminals thereof configured to output the monochromatic color beams.

3. The image projection apparatus of claim 2, wherein the monochromatic color beam deflected from a first mirror among the plurality of mirrors is output through an output port corresponding to the first mirror.

4. The image projection apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a second light transmit unit having a plurality of optical fibers for transmitting the monochromatic color beam output from the output port into the quadrangle beam generating unit

5. The image projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein a mirror of the plurality of mirrors comprises:

a deflection mirror having one deflection surface; and

a drive unit configured to drive the deflection mirror such that the deflection mirror varies from a first position to a second position, wherein the deflection mirror at the first position deflects the monochromatic color beam to any one of the upper, mid, and lower portions of the panel, and the deflection mirror at the second position allows the monochromatic color beam to pass therethrough.

6. The image projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light switch unit has the mirrors arranged according to a square matrix structure of (n×

n), with n being a positive integer greater than or equal to 3.

7. The image projection apparatus of claim 6, wherein the light switch unit is operated such that at any one moment only one mirror is positioned at the first position with respect to one row and one column.

8. The image projection apparatus of claim 7, wherein each of the (n×

n) mirrors is positioned at the first position at least one time according to a predetermined order to realize one image.

9. The image projection apparatus of claim 8, wherein n equals the number of monochromatic color beams of different wavelengths emitted from the light source.

10. The image projection apparatus of claim 8, wherein the predetermined order comprises an illumination sequence of n light illuminations.

11. The image projection apparatus of claim 10, wherein during one sequence, each of the upper, mid, and lower portions of the panel receives at least one illumination from each of the monochromatic color beams of different wavelengths emitted from the light source.

12. The image projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mirrors are Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) mirrors.

13. The image projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the panel is a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) for modulating the plurality of the monochromatic color bars into a digital signal and deflecting the signal to the projection lens unit.

14. The image projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the projection lens unit concentrates the incident beams from the panel and projects the beam onto a display device.

15. An image projection apparatus comprising:

light source means for emitting a plurality of monochromatic color beams having different wave lengths;

light switch means having a plurality of mirrors for selectively deflecting the monochromatic color beams at a predetermined angle;

quadrangular beam generating means for converting the reflected monochromatic color beams into quadrangular beams having certain ratios of width to height; and

panel means for receiving the converted quadrangular beams by formation of a monochromatic color bar on at least one of an upper, mid, and lower portion thereof.

16. The image projection apparatus of claim 15, wherein the light switch means has the plurality of mirrors arranged according to a square matrix structure of (n×

n), with n being a positive integer greater than or equal to 3.