Optical projection system utilizing an aspherical lens for producing a pincushion distortion of the image and a reflector for compensating the same

• US 7,871,166 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2008
• Issued: 01/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Young Optics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Young Optics, Inc.
• Inventors: Chen, Jung-Yao, Lai, Ching-Lung
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Que T
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUI PHO, PASCAL M
• Application Number:
  US12/136,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20090079946A1
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• Field of Search: 353/69, 353/98, 353/30, 353/37, 353/70, 353/76, 353/77, 359/364, 359/362, 359/728, 359649-651, 359/448, 359/668, 359/449, 359/838, 359/850, 359/247, 359/242, 359/292, 348/771
• US Class Current: 353/69
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/18 with lenses having one or more non-spherical faces, e.g. for reducing geometrical aberration G02B13/002 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0025 for optical correction, e.g. distorsion, aberration
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/28 Reflectors in projection beam in illumination beam G03B21/2066

Abstract

An optical projection system includes an image generation element, a projection lens set for receiving an image from the image generation element, refracting the image and projecting the image out, and a reflector for reflecting the image from the projection lens set and projecting the image to a screen. The projection lens set includes an aspherical lens with a distortion coefficient larger than 0.5 for producing a pincushion distortion of the image and several other lenses, and the absolute value of the sum of the distortion coefficients of the other lenses are less than the distortion coefficient of the aspherical lens. The reflector produces a barrel distortion to the image for compensating a pincushion distortion of the image produced by the projection lens set.

Claims

1. An optical projection system, comprising:

an image generation element;

a projection lens set for receiving an image from the image generation element, refracting the image and projecting the image out, wherein the projection lens set comprises an aspherical lens with a distortion coefficient larger than 0.5 for producing a pincushion distortion of the image and several other lenses, and the absolute value of the sum of distortion coefficients of the other lenses are less than the distortion coefficient of the aspherical lens; and

a reflector for reflecting the image from the projection lens set, and projecting the image to a screen, wherein the reflector is capable of compensating the pincushion distortion of the image produced by the projection lens set.

2. The optical projection system as described in claim 1, wherein the reflector is an aspherical reflecting mirror.

3. The optical projection system as described in claim 1, wherein the distortion coefficients of the aspherical lens and the other lenses are Seidel aberration coefficients.

4. The optical projection system as described in claim 1, wherein the reflector has a distortion coefficient less than zero and is configured to produce a barrel distortion to the image, and the barrel distortion is configured to compensate the pincushion distortion produced by the projection lens set.

5. The optical projection system as described in claim 4, wherein the distortion coefficient of the reflector is Seidel aberration coefficient.

6. The optical projection system as described in claim 1, wherein the projection lens set has a telecentric lens structure.

7. The optical projection system as described in claim 6, wherein one or one part of the lenses in the projection lens set and the aspherical lens are located in a first lens group, the other part of the lenses are located in a second lens group, the first lens group has a positive refractive power, and the second lens group has a negative refractive power.

8. The optical projection system as described in claim 7, wherein the lenses in the first lens group comprises a first lens and a second lens, the aspherical lens, the first lens and the second lens are disposed from near the reflector toward the image generation element in sequence, and the aspherical lens has a negative refractive power and the first and second lenses have positive refractive powers.

9. The optical projection system as described in claim 7, wherein the optical projection system further comprises a reflecting element disposed between the first lens group and the second lens group.

10. The optical projection system as described in claim 7, wherein the optical projection system further comprises a reflecting element disposed between the lenses in the first lens group.

11. The optical projection system as described in claim 7, wherein the second lens group is disposed between the first lens group and the image generation element, the second lens group comprises a third lens, a fourth lens, a fifth lens, a sixth lens, a seventh lens and an eighth lens disposed in sequence from near the first lens group toward the image generation element, the third lens, the fourth lens, the fifth lens, the sixth lens, the seventh lens and the eighth lens respectively have negative, positive, negative, positive, positive, and positive refractive powers, and the third lens and the fourth lens construct a cemented lens.

12. The optical projection system as described in claim 7, wherein the optical projection system further comprises a reflecting element disposed between the lenses in the second lens group.

13. The optical projection system as described in claim 7, wherein the optical projection system further comprises a stop disposed between the first lens group and the second lens group.

14. The optical projection system as described in claim 1, wherein the image generation element comprises a light source and a light valve.

15. The optical projection system as described in claim 14, wherein the light valve is a digital micromirror device.