Light modulator

• US 7,136,210 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2004
• Issued: 11/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dolby International AB (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Harper, Steven L.
• Primary Examiner(s): THOMPSON, TIMOTHY J
• Application Number:
  US10/971,432
• Publication Number:
  US 20060087712A1
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• Field of Search: 359/237
• US Class Current: 359/237
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0816 by means of one or more reflecting elements
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/023 Display panel composed of stacked panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/007 Use of pixel shift techniques, e.g. by mechanical shift of the physical pixels or by optical shift of the perceived pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2018 by time modulation using two or more time intervals
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2074 using sub-pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/34 by control of light from an independent source
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7416 involving the use of a spatial light modulator, e.g. a light valve, controlled by a video signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7458 the modulator being an array of deformable mirrors, e.g. digital micromirror device [DMD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3126 for spatial light modulators in series

Abstract

One embodiment of a light modulator apparatus includes a first light modulator and a second light modulator diagonally offset from and in series with the first light modulator.

Claims

1. A light modulator apparatus, comprising:

a first light modulator;

a second light modulator diagonally offset from one another along an optical path and in series with said first light modulator wherein said first light modulator produces a first image, said second light modulator produces a second image, and said apparatus produces a final image wherein said first and second images are simultaneously overlaid on one another wherein said apparatus produces a projected image having a number of apparent pixels, each apparent pixel including four subpixels.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an illumination source.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a projection lens.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a plurality of pixels of said first light modulator are positioned substantially adjacent one another and wherein a plurality of pixels of said second light modulator are positioned substantially adjacent one another.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first and second light modulators both modulate a plurality of colors of light.

2. A light modulator apparatus, comprising:

a first light modulator;

a second light modulator diagonally offset from one another along an optical path and in series with said first light modulator, wherein said first and second light modulators each include a plurality of pixels, and wherein said second light modulator is diagonally offset from said first light modulator by one half of a pixel width in a horizontal direction and by one half of a pixel height in a vertical direction.

9. The light modulator apparatus of claim 2:

wherein a first subframe data is sent to said first light modulator and a second subframe data, different from said first subframe data, is sent to said second light modulator.

3. A light modulator apparatus, comprising:

a first light modulator;

a second light modulator diagonally offset from one another along an optical path and in series with said first light modulator, wherein said first light modulator defines a first image, said second light modulator defines a second image, and wherein said first and second images are overlaid on one another to define a projected image, said projected image having a number of apparent pixels greater than three times a number of pixels of said first and second light modulators.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said projected image has a number of apparent pixels substantially four times a number of pixels of said first and second light modulators.

7. A light modulator apparatus comprising:

a first light modulator;

a second light modulator diagonally offset from one another along an optical path and in series with said first light modulator;

a third light modulator;

a fourth light modulator diagonally offset from and in series along the optical path with said third modulator;

a fifth light modulator; and

a sixth light modulator diagonally offset from and in series with said fifth modulator,

wherein said fifth and sixth light modulators modulate blue light, said third and fourth light modulators modulate green light, and said first and second light modulators modulate red light.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said first and second light modulators are positioned in parallel to said third and fourth light modulators and in parallel to said fifth and sixth light modulators.

10. A light modulator apparatus, comprising:

a first light modulator;

a second light modulator diagonally offset from one another along an optical path and in series with said first light modulator wherein said first light modulator produces a first image, said second modulator produces a second image, and said apparatus produces a final image wherein said first and second images are simultaneously overlaid on one another and wherein said light modulator apparatus produces an image having an apparent number of pixels greater than three times a number of pixels of said first and second light modulators, with an absence of a mechanical gyration device.

13. A light modulation system having an optical path, the system comprising:

a first pixel array;

a second pixel array positioned along the optical path and in series with and vertically and horizontally offset from said first pixel array; and

an image source that produces a digital image split into first and second subframe components different from one another, wherein said first subframe component is sent to said first pixel array and said second subframe component is sent to said second pixel array wherein said system produces a viewable image having a resolution substantially two times a resolution of said first pixel array and said second pixel array.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein said system produces a viewable image including said first subframe component from said first pixel array superimposed on said second subframe component from said second pixel array.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein said first and second pixel arrays each include a plurality of pixels positioned substantially adjacent each other so that said first and second pixel arrays each define a substantially continuous light imaging area.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein said first and second pixel arrays are stationary during operation.

14. A light modulation system having an optical path, the system comprising:

a first pixel array;

a second pixel array positioned along the optical path and in series with and vertically and horizontally offset from said first pixel array, wherein said second pixel array is vertically offset from said first pixel array by substantially one half a pixel height, and is horizontally offset from said first pixel array by substantially one half a pixel width.

17. A light modulation system having an optical path, the system comprising:

a first pixel array;

a second pixel array positioned along the optical path and in series with and vertically and horizontally offset from said first pixel array; and

an image source that produces a digital image split into first and second subframe components different from one another, wherein said first subframe component is sent to said first pixel array and said second subframe component is sent to said second pixel array wherein said system produces a viewable image having a number of apparent pixels greater than three times a number of pixels of said first pixel array and said second pixel array.

19. A light modulation system having an optical path, the system comprising:

a first pixel array;

a second pixel array positioned along the optical path and in series with and vertically and horizontally offset from said first pixel array; and

an image source that produces a digital image split into first and second subframe components different from one another, wherein said first subframe component is sent to said first pixel array and said second subframe component is sent to said second pixel array wherein said system produces a viewable image having a number of pixels substantially equal to a number of pixels of said first pixel array and a number of pixels of said second pixel array, said pixels of said viewable image each having four subpixel image components.

20. A projector having an optical path, the projector comprising:

a first light modulator having a first pixel array; and

a second light modulator having a second pixel array positioned in series and optically offset along the optical path, wherein said second pixel array is vertically offset from said first pixel array by substantially one half a pixel height, and is horizontally offset from said first pixel array by substantially one half a pixel width, and

wherein said first and second light modulators produce an image having an apparent number of pixels at least 3.5 times greater than an individual number of pixels of said first and second light modulators.

21. The projector of claim 20 wherein said first and second light modulators are stationary during operation.

22. The projector of claim 20 wherein said first and second light modulators are diagonally offset from one another.

23. The projector of claim 20 further comprising an illumination source and a projection lens system.

24. The projector of claim 20 wherein said first and second modulators are positioned in series along an optical path such that corresponding pixel elements of both modulators must be operational to produce said image.

25. A light modulator system having an optical path, the system comprising:

a first pixel array including a plurality of pixels; and

a second pixel array including a plurality of pixels, said second pixel array positioned in series with and misaligned with respect to said first pixel array along the optical path such that a corner of each of said plurality of pixels of said first pixel array is substantially centrally positioned with a corresponding pixel of said second pixel array.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein said first and second pixel arrays form a viewable image of pixels, substantially each viewable image pixel having four sub-pixel images therein.

27. The system of claim 25 wherein said misalignment comprises a diagonal offset of said second pixel array with respect to said first pixel array.

28. The system of claim 25 wherein each of said first and second pixel arrays are positioned on a silicon substrate.

29. The system of claim 26 wherein said first and second pixel arrays simultaneously each produce a separate image, and wherein said simultaneously produced separate images are combined to produce said viewable image.

30. A light modulation device having an optical path, the device comprising:

first means for modulating an image;

second means for modulating an image, said second means positioned in series with and offset along the optical path from said first means for modulating, wherein said first and second means each comprise an interference based light modulator wherein said first and second means for modulating produce a final image, and wherein said final image has a resolution substantially two times a resolution of said first and second means for modulating.

31. The device of claim 30 wherein said first means and said second means are stationary during operation.

32. The device of claim 30 further comprising means for producing said image and means for projecting said image.

33. The device of claim 30 wherein said second means is diagonally offset from said first means.

34. A light modulation device having an optical path, the device comprising:

first means for modulating an image;

second means for modulating an image, said second means positioned in series with and offset along the optical path from said first means for modulating, wherein said image modulated by said first means comprises a first subframe data and said image modulated by said second means comprises a second subframe data, wherein said first subframe data modulated by said first means and said second subframe data modulated by said second means are combined to produce a final image having an apparent number of pixels at least 3.5 times greater than a number of pixels of said first and second means.

35. A method of resolution enhancement, comprising:

illuminating a first light modulator;

modulating said illumination by said first light modulator to provide a first image;

illuminating a second light modulator with said first image, said second light modulator being offset from an optical path of said first light modulator; and

modulating said first image by said second light modulator to provide a second image wherein said second light modulator is diagonally offset from said first light modulator such that a corner of each of a plurality of pixels of said second light modulator is positioned substantially centrally with respect to a corresponding pixel of said first light modulator.

36. The method of claim 35 further comprising retaining said first and second light modulators stationary during light modulation.

37. A method of resolution enhancement, comprising:

illuminating a first light modulator;

modulating said illumination by said first light modulator to provide a first image;

illuminating a second light modulator with said first image, said second light modulator being offset from an optical path of said first light modulator; and

modulating said first image by said second light modulator to provide a second image wherein said second image has an apparent number of pixels at least 3.5 times greater than a number of pixels of each of said first and second light modulators.