Projector

• US 7,837,333 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2007
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Tsai, Bor-Chen, Chou, Ming-Chieh
• Primary Examiner(s): PYO, KEVIN K
• Application Number:
  US11/777,928
• Publication Number:
  US 20080174740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 353/30, 353/34, 353/37, 353/48, 353/50, 353/94, 353/119, 353/99, 349/8
• US Class Current: 353/48
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0833 the reflecting element being a micromechanical device, e.g. a MEMS mirror, DMD G02B26/0825 takes precedence; micromechanical devices in general B81B
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/10 Beam splitting or combining systems polarising systems G02B27/28; mixing and splitting light signals using optical waveguides G02B6/28; beam shaping, e.g. changing the cross-sectional area, by dividing or superposing multiple light beams G02B27/0905
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/104 for use with scanning systems scanning systems G02B26/10
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/145 having sequential partially reflecting surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/146 with a tree or branched structure
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/28 Reflectors in projection beam in illumination beam G03B21/2066
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 29/00 Combinations of cameras, projectors or photographic printing apparatus with non-photographic non-optical apparatus, e.g. clocks or weapons; Cameras having the shape of other objects combinations with flash apparatus G03B15/03
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 33/12 using beam-splitting or beam-combining systems, e.g. dichroic mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3129 scanning a light beam on the display screen scanning a light beam on a screen in displays other than projection devices G09G3/02; scanning systems in general G02B26/10; projectors using laser light sources in general H04N9/3161
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3164 using multiple light sources

Abstract

A projector projecting several images simultaneously is provided. The projector includes a main body having a first opening and a second opening, and an optical system disposed in the main body and projecting a first image through the first opening and a second image through the second opening. The optical system includes a laser source comprising a plurality of mono laser sources, and a first reflector with a first reflective surface and a second reflective surface corresponding to the first opening and the second opening.

Claims

1. A projector, comprising:

a main body having a first opening and a second opening;

an optical system disposed in the main body and projecting a first image through the first opening and a second image through the second opening;

wherein the optical system comprises;

a laser source comprising a plurality of mono laser sources; and

a first reflector having a first reflective surface and a second reflective surface corresponding to the first opening and the second opening respectively, wherein laser beams from the laser source reach the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface and are reflected by the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface to project the first image and the second image through the first opening and the second opening.

2. The projector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the laser source comprises a first mono laser source, a second mono laser source and a third mono laser source.

3. The projector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the optical system further comprises a light splitter, and a laser beam from the first mono laser source is split into two laser beams reaching the first and second reflective surfaces respectively, and laser beams from the second and third mono laser sources reach the second reflective surface only.

4. The projector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the optical system further comprises a splitter and a light regulator, and laser beams from the first mono laser source, the second mono laser source and the third mono laser source pass through the light splitter and the light regulator to the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface.

5. The projector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the optical system further comprises a fourth mono laser source, and a laser beam from the fourth mono laser source reaches the first reflective surface and laser beams from the first, second and third mono laser sources reach the second reflective surface.

6. The projector as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth mono laser sources are semiconductor laser sources.

7. The projector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the optical system further comprises a fourth mono laser source, a fifth mono laser source and a sixth mono laser source, and laser beams from the fourth, fifth and sixth mono laser sources reach the first reflective surface, and laser beams from the first, second and third mono laser sources reach the second reflective surface.

8. The projector as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth mono laser sources are semiconductor laser sources.

9. The projector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first reflector further comprises a first shaft, and when laser beams from the laser source reach the first reflector, the first reflector rotates within a predetermined range with respect to the first shaft to reflect the laser beams with the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface, thereby generating the first and second images.

10. The projector as claimed in claim 9, wherein the optical system further comprises a second reflector having a second shaft and a third reflector having a third shaft, and the laser beam reflected by the first reflective surface reaches the second reflector rotating about the second shaft within a predetermined range to generate the first image, and the laser beam reflected by the second reflective surface reaches the third reflector rotating about the third shaft within a predetermined range to generate the second image.

11. The projector as claimed in claim 10, wherein the second shaft and the third shaft are perpendicular to the first shaft.

12. The projector as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first reflector further comprises a second shaft, and when laser beams from the laser source reach the first reflector, the first reflector rotates about the first shaft within a predetermined range and subsequently rotates about the second shaft within another predetermined range to generate the first and second images respectively.

13. The projector as claimed in claim 12, wherein the first shaft is perpendicular to the second shaft.

14. The projector as claimed in claim 9, wherein the optical system further comprises a driving device rotating the first reflector with respect to the first shaft in the predetermined range.

15. The projector as claimed in claim 14, wherein the driving device is an electromagnetic, static electrical, electro thermal, piezoelectrical or memory alloy mechanism.

16. The projector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the optical system further comprises a condenser condensing the laser beams from the first, second and third mono laser sources before reaching the first reflector.

17. The projector as claimed in claim 16, wherein the condenser comprises a lens with high pass filtering or low pass filtering ability and allows the light of wavelengths near the ends of the light filtering spectrum of the lens to pass through or be reflected.

18. The projector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the laser source comprises a first mono laser source and a second mono laser source, and a laser beam from the first mono laser source reaches the first reflective surface, and a laser beam from the second mono laser source reaches the second reflective surface.

19. The projector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main body comprises a base and a projecting unit rotatably disposed on the base, and the first opening and the second opening are formed on the projecting unit.