Laser illuminating device and image display device

• US 8,192,030 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2008
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Mizushima, Tetsuro, Kasazumi, Kenichi, Itoh, Tatsuo, Shikii, Shinichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Epps, Georgia Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chowdhury, Sultan
• Application Number:
  US12/531,769
• Publication Number:
  US 20100053565A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: 353/30, 353/31, 353/33, 353/38, 353/84, 353/98, 353/99, 353/119, 353/122, 359/20, 359/455, 359/463, 359/231, 359/245, 359/237, 359/238, 359/279, 359/310, 359/316, 359/291, 359/558, 359/559, 359/599, 359/619, 359/618, 359/621, 359/622, 359/712, 372/23, 372/24, 372/50.12, 372/50.123, 372/50.23, 372/101, 372/29.01, 372/29.014, 372/29.015, 372/38.02, 372/38.07, 372/29.011, 372/29.02, 372/38.01, 372/39, 372/43.01
• US Class Current: 353/31
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/48 Laser speckle optics
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0006 Arrays G02B3/02, G02B5/188 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/14 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/2033 LED or laser light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/208 Homogenising, shaping of the illumination light
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3102 using two-dimensional electronic spatial light modulators micromechanical modulators as such G02B26/0833; liquid crystal modulators as such G02F1/13
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3152 for shaping the light beam beam shaping per se G02B27/09
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3161 using laser light sources using laser beams scanning the display screen H04N9/3129

Abstract

A laser illuminating device and an image display device are provided to enable a removal of speckle noises in a diffraction field and an image field, to uniformly illuminate an illumination plane, and to realize miniaturization. The laser illuminating device 100 includes a laser light source 3 and a first lens 1 including a plurality of microlenses 10, each having a predetermined numerical aperture in an in-plane direction, and each of the microlenses 10 being adapted to expand laser light emitted from the laser light source 3 to thereby superimpose the laser light transmitted through each of the microlenses 10. The laser illuminating device 100 also includes a second lens 2 having an effective diameter larger than an effective diameter of the first lens 1, and compensating for a divergence angle of the laser light expanded by each of the plurality of the microlenses 10.

Claims

1. A laser illuminating device comprising:

a laser light source;

a first lens including a plurality of microlenses, each microlens of the plurality of microlenses having a predetermined numerical aperture in an in-plane direction, and each microlens of the plurality of microlenses being adapted to expand laser light emitted from the laser light source to thereby superimpose the laser light transmitted through each microlens of the plurality of microlenses; and

a second lens having an effective diameter larger than an effective diameter of the first lens, and for compensating for a divergence angle of the laser light expanded by each microlens of the plurality of microlenses,

wherein the laser light source emits a plurality of the laser light, such that each laser light emitted from the laser light source has a wavelength that is different from wavelengths of other laser lights emitted from the laser light source, and

wherein the laser illuminating device satisfies relations expressed by formulas (1) through (5);

d>

10×

(λ

l−

λ

s) 

 

(1);

d<

R1/3 

 

(2);

L−

R1/NAm<

BF2<

L+R1/NAm 

 

(3);

R2>

2×

R1 

 

(4); and

R2<

4×

L×

NAm 

 

(5),

where λ

1 is a longest wavelength to be used in the laser light source, λ

s is a shortest wavelength to be used in the laser light source, R1 is the effective diameter of the first lens, d is a minimum pitch of each microlens of the plurality of microlenses, L is a distance between the first lens and the second lens, R2 is the effective diameter of the second lens, BF2 is a back focus distance of the second lens, and NAm is a numerical aperture of each microlens of the plurality of microlenses.

2. The laser illuminating device according to claim 1, further comprising a moving mechanism for moving the first lens in a plane direction perpendicular to an optical axis.

3. The laser illuminating device according to claim 2, wherein the moving mechanism has a maximum amplitude larger than a maximum pitch of a microlens, of the plurality of microlenses, in a moving direction thereof.

4. The laser illuminating device according to claim 1, further comprising a light diffuser disposed on a laser light incident side of the second lens and for diffusing the laser light expanded by each microlens of the plurality of microlenses.

5. The laser illuminating device according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of the laser light is coaxially aligned for incidence into the first lens.

6. The laser illuminating device according to claim 1, wherein each respective microlens of the plurality of microlenses includes:

a first cylindrical lens portion formed on a laser light incident surface of the respective microlens; and

a second cylindrical lens portion having a numerical aperture different from a numerical aperture of the first cylindrical lens portion, and formed on a laser light exit surface of the respective microlens in a direction orthogonal to the first cylindrical lens portion.

7. The laser illuminating device according to claim 6, wherein the numerical aperture of the first cylindrical lens portion is larger than the numerical aperture of the second cylindrical lens portion.

8. The laser illuminating device according to claim 1, wherein

at least one microlens of the plurality of the microlenses has a lens diameter different from a lens diameter of other microlenses of the plurality of microlenses.

9. The laser illuminating device according to claim 1, wherein a shape of each microlens of the plurality of microlenses is different from a shape of other microlenses of the plurality of microlenses, as each microlens is distanced from an optical axis of the laser light to allow the first lens as a whole to have a lens function.

10. The laser illuminating device according to claim 1,

wherein each microlens of the plurality of microlenses includes a convex lens portion and a concave lens portion having a numerical aperture identical to a numerical aperture of the convex lens portion, and

wherein the convex lens portions and the concave lens portions of the plurality of microlenses are alternately and sequentially arranged in the in-plane direction.

11. The laser illuminating device according to claim 10,

wherein the plurality of microlenses includes:

a first microlens having a convex cylindrical lens portion with a convex surface on a laser light incident surface of the first microlens, and the convex cylindrical lens portion on a laser light exit surface of the first microlens;

a second microlens having the convex cylindrical lens portion on a laser light incident surface of the second microlens, and a concave cylindrical lens portion with a concave surface on a laser light exit surface of the second microlens;

a third microlens having the concave cylindrical lens portion on a laser light incident surface of the third microlens, and the convex cylindrical lens portion on a laser light exit surface of the third microlens; and

a fourth microlens having the concave cylindrical lens portion on a laser light incident surface of the fourth microlens, and the concave cylindrical lens portion on a laser light exit surface of the fourth microlens, and

wherein a diffusing direction of the laser light through the convex cylindrical lens portion on the laser light incident surface of the first and second microlenses and the concave cylindrical lens portion on the laser light incident surface of the third and fourth microlenses, and a diffusing direction of the laser light through the convex cylindrical lens portion on the laser light exit surface of the first and third microlenses and the concave cylindrical lens portion on the laser light exit surface of the second and fourth microlenses are orthogonal to each other.

12. An image display device comprising:

the laser illuminating device of claim 1; and

a light modulator disposed on a laser light exit side of the second lens, and for modulating the laser light exiting from the second lens.

13. The image display device according to claim 12, further comprising an image forming lens disposed between the laser light source and the first lens, and for forming a light source image of the laser light source on a central portion of the light modulator.

14. The image display device according to claim 12, wherein a ratio of the numerical apertures between the plurality of the microlenses in the in-plane direction is identical to an aspect ratio of the light modulator.

15. The image display device according to claim 12,

wherein the laser light source includes a plurality of laser light sources for emitting laser lights having wavelengths different from each other,

wherein principal beams of all of the laser lights to be emitted from the plurality of the laser light sources are allowed to transmit through a center of the light modulator, and

wherein the principal beams of the laser lights to be emitted from at least one or more laser light sources of the plurality of laser light sources are incident into the first lens at a certain angle.

16. The image display device according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of laser light sources includes at least a red laser light source for emitting red laser light, a green laser light source for emitting green laser light, and a blue laser light source for emitting blue laser light.