Light source apparatus, its manufacturing method and apparatus, reflector focal position-locating method and apparatus, focal position-locating light source, discharge lamp emission position-locating method and apparatus, and discharge lamp-reflector positioning method and apparatus

• US 7,145,665 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2002
• Issued: 12/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Iwadare, Yoshiji, Fujisawa, Shohei, Shinohara, Kazuto
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Hoa Q.
• Application Number:
  US10/250,905
• Publication Number:
  US 20040063376A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,790 Days
• Field of Search: 356121-123, 356614-623, 362/268, 362/294, 362/311, 362/310, 362/345, 362/373, 369/868, 313/113, 445/4, 445/64
• US Class Current: 356/614
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/1046 for use with transmissive spatial light modulators
• 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 27/14 operating by reflection only
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/145 having sequential partially reflecting surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/149 using crossed beamsplitting surfaces, e.g. cross-dichroic cubes or X-cubes
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/62 Optical apparatus specially adapted for adjusting optical elements during the assembly of optical systems
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/2026 Gas discharge type light sources, e.g. arcs
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/2046 Positional adjustment of light sources
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3194 including sensor feedback

Abstract

The light emitted from a focal position-detecting light source 38 and reflected from a reflector 12 is projected onto a screen 341, and a projected image on the screen 341 is detected by a focal position-detecting camera 35. Based on this projected image, the focal position-detecting light source 38 is moved by a position adjusting system 37 so as to place the focal position-detecting light source 38 at a focal position of the reflector 12, and the position of the focal position-detecting light source 38 at this time is detected as the focal position of the reflector 12. When the focal position of the reflector 12 is detected, the projected image on the screen 341 detected by the focal position-detecting camera 35 is used, and, therefore, the conventional measurement by a three dimensional measuring instrument is made unnecessary, thereby improving the working efficiency.

Claims

1. An emission position-detecting method of a discharge lamp lightened by a discharge generated between a pair of opposing electrodes, comprising:

obtaining the imaging information on said pair of electrodes;

detecting the shortest path coupling between said pair of electrodes based on this imaging information; and

detecting a center point of this shortest path as an emission position of said discharge lamp.

2. The emission position-detecting method of the discharge lamp according to claim 1,

wherein the standard imaging information on the standard electrodes used in said discharge lamp is obtained in advance, and

wherein said imaging information is compared to said standard imaging information so as to determine the shape of said pair of electrodes.

3. A positioning method of a discharge lamp and a reflector for performing a positioning of the discharge lamp and the reflector which has a focal position and reflects the light ray reflected from said discharge lamp,

wherein the emission position of said discharge lamp is detected by using the emission position-detecting method of the discharge lamp according to claim 1, and

wherein the emission position of said discharge lamp is placed at said focal position of said reflector.

4. The positioning method of the discharge lamp and the reflector according to claim 3,

wherein the imaging information on said pair of electrodes is plurally obtained from different imaging directions, and

wherein, from among said pair of electrodes, a misalignment of the other electrode with respect to either one of the electrodes is detected.

5. A positioning method of a discharge lamp and a reflector for performing a positioning of the discharge lamp and the reflector which reflects the light ray reflected from this discharge lamp, comprising:

a detecting work step of detecting the emission position of said discharge lamp by using the emission position-detecting method of the discharge lamp according to claim 1;

a fixing work step of fixing said discharge lamp and said reflector to a fixing member respectively in a state of being mutually independent; and

an adjusting work step of adjusting a mounting position with respect to said fixing member of said discharge lamp and/or said reflector based on said emission position.

6. An emission position-detecting method of a discharge lamp lightened by a discharge generated between a pair of opposing electrodes,

wherein a micro discharge is generated between said pair of electrodes of said discharge lamp;

wherein the imaging information on this micro discharge is obtained; and

wherein, based on this imaging information, a center point of said micro discharge path is detected as an emission position of said discharge lamp.

7. The emission position-detecting method of the discharge lamp according to claim 6,

wherein a plurality of said micro discharge paths are found by generating said micro discharge plural times,

wherein each center point of said plurality of micro discharge paths is detected, and

wherein a mean place of a plurality of these center points is found as the emission position of said discharge lamp.

8. An emission position-detecting apparatus of a discharge lamp lightened by a discharge generated between a pair of opposing electrodes, comprising:

discharge lamp holding means for holding said discharge lamp;

imaging means for obtaining imaging information on said pair of electrodes of said discharge lamp held by this discharge holding means;

estimated discharge path detecting means for detecting the shortest path coupling between said pair of electrodes based on said imaging information; and

emission position calculating means for finding a coordinate value of the center point of said shortest path detected by this estimated discharge path detecting means as the coordinate value of the emission position of said discharge lamp.

9. A positioning apparatus for performing a positioning of a discharge lamp lightened by a discharge generated between a pair of opposing electrodes and a reflector reflecting the light ray emitted from this discharge lamp, comprising;

an emission position-detecting apparatus according to claim 8,

reflector holding means for holding said reflector, and

relative displacement means for relatively displacing said discharge lamp with respect to the reflector held by this reflector holding means.