Ultra-thin image projection system
First Claim
1. A rear projection display system comprising:
- a) a housing having a thickness;
b) a screen, having a screen diagonal and a screen normal direction, positioned at a front side of the housing;
c) a light engine placed inside the housing, having an illumination stage adapted to create a beam of light, at least one display panel adapted to modulate the beam of light to create an image, and a lens system having a focal length and adapted to project the created image forming a projected image consisting of light rays;
d) a non-rotationally symmetric first mirror placed inside the housing and in the optical path of said projected image, having dimensions significantly smaller than said screen diagonal, and having a horizontally convex curvature, and having a vertical curvature which is a function of the focal length of said lens system, such that for shorter focal length it is more concave and less convex, and for longer focal length, it is less concave and more convex, said first mirror adapted to reflect the projected image which is projected from said lens system; and
e) a non-rotationally symmetric second mirror, placed inside the housing and in the optical path of said projected image, having dimensions significantly larger than said first mirror and smaller than said screen diagonal and having a vertical curvature which is a function of the size of the image in the absence of said second mirror relative to the size of the screen, such that for smaller image size it is convex and for larger image size it is concave, said second mirror adapted to reflect the projected image, which is reflected off of the first mirror, onto the screen to form a viewable image.
14 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An ultra-thin rear projection display system (RPDS) is disclosed. The system uses a small flat mirror, a small non-rotationally symmetric mirror and a larger non-rotationally symmetric mirror to achieve a D-to-d ratio of around 11:1 while rendering a significantly distortion free image on the screen. The first two mirrors are significantly smaller than the size of the screen, while the third mirror is significantly larger than the first two mirrors but smaller than the screen. In one embodiment, the lens and light engine are positioned horizontally to one side and, in another example, the lens and light engine are positioned vertically, projecting downwards. In one example, an image processor is used to correct for the remaining distortions. In another example, the system is adapted such that the light rays forming the projected image are within a certain range of angles such that a TIR Fresnel lens could be used to collimate the image.
69 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A rear projection display system comprising:
-
a) a housing having a thickness; b) a screen, having a screen diagonal and a screen normal direction, positioned at a front side of the housing; c) a light engine placed inside the housing, having an illumination stage adapted to create a beam of light, at least one display panel adapted to modulate the beam of light to create an image, and a lens system having a focal length and adapted to project the created image forming a projected image consisting of light rays; d) a non-rotationally symmetric first mirror placed inside the housing and in the optical path of said projected image, having dimensions significantly smaller than said screen diagonal, and having a horizontally convex curvature, and having a vertical curvature which is a function of the focal length of said lens system, such that for shorter focal length it is more concave and less convex, and for longer focal length, it is less concave and more convex, said first mirror adapted to reflect the projected image which is projected from said lens system; and e) a non-rotationally symmetric second mirror, placed inside the housing and in the optical path of said projected image, having dimensions significantly larger than said first mirror and smaller than said screen diagonal and having a vertical curvature which is a function of the size of the image in the absence of said second mirror relative to the size of the screen, such that for smaller image size it is convex and for larger image size it is concave, said second mirror adapted to reflect the projected image, which is reflected off of the first mirror, onto the screen to form a viewable image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification