Projector

• US 20050201107A1
• Filed: 03/09/2005
• Published: 09/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Seki, Hideya
• Granted Patent: US 7,384,151 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/373
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/16 Cooling; Preventing overheating
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3105 for displaying all colours simultaneously, e.g. by using two or more electronic spatial light modulators simultaneous projection in colour photography G03B33/10; beam splitting or combining systems per se G02B27/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3144 Cooling systems cooling of liquid crystal cells in general G02F1/133382; cooling of projectors not peculiar to the presence of an electronic spatial light modulator G03B21/16

Abstract

To provide a projector capable of obtaining a bright projection image with good color balance by efficient cooling in the case of using light source parts having different wavelength characteristics, a projector has plural light source parts to supply illumination lights, a cooling part to cool light source parts, spatial light modulators to modulate the illumination lights from the light source parts according to image signals, and a projection lens to project the lights modulated by the spatial light modulators, and the light source parts provide different amounts of illumination lights that change depending on the temperature changes of the light source parts. The cooling part cools the light source parts so that they provide amounts of light within a predetermined range with the amount of illumination light provided when one of the light source parts are at a reference temperature.

Claims

1. A projector, comprising:

a plurality of light source parts to supply illumination lights;

a cooling part to cool the light source parts;

spatial light modulators to modulate the illumination lights from the light source parts according to image signals; and

a projection lens to project the lights modulated by the spatial light modulators,

the light source parts providing different amounts of the illumination lights that change depending on temperature changes of the light source parts, and

the cooling part cooling the light source parts so as to make the parts provide amounts of light within a predetermined range with the amounts of the illumination light provided, when the light source parts are at a reference temperature, as a reference.

2. The projector according to claim 1, the cooling part cooling the light source parts with strengths according to amounts of change in the amounts of the illumination lights depending on the temperature changes of the light source parts.

3. The projector according to claim 1, the light source parts including a red-light light source part to supply the illumination light as red light, and

the cooling part cooling the red-light light source part with strength larger than the strengths to cool the light source parts other than the red-light light source part.

4. The projector according to claim 1, the cooling part being a cooling fluid supply part to supply a cooling fluid to the light source parts, and

the cooling fluid supply part supplying the cooling fluid so as to allow the cooling fluid to pass the light source parts in decreasing order of amounts of change of the illumination lights depending on the temperature changes of the light source parts.

5. The projector according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of the cooling parts,

the cooling parts being provided in correspondence with the light source parts.

6. A projector according to claim 5, the cooling parts being heat releasing parts to release heat from the corresponding light source parts.

7. The projector according to claim 5, the cooling parts being cooling fluid supply parts to supply a cooling fluid to the corresponding light source parts.

8. The projector according to claim 1, further comprising:

cooling fluid inflow ports provided in correspondence with the light source parts,

the cooling part being a cooling fluid supply part to supply a cooling fluid to the light source parts, and

the cooling fluid inflow ports having openings with predetermined areas, and further provided in predetermined positions in relation to the corresponding light source parts.

9. The projector according to claim 1, the light source parts including a first color-light light source part to supply the illumination light as a first color light, a second color-light light source part to supply the illumination light as a second color light, and a third color-light light source part to supply the illumination light as a third color light,

further comprising:

a light combining system having a first dichroic film to reflect the second color light and transmit the first color light and the third color light and a second dichroic film to reflect the third color light and transmit the first color light and the second color light to combine the first color light, the second color light, and the third color light to output the light in a direction toward the projection lens; and

a cooling fluid inflow port provided near the first color-light light source part into which the cooling fluid flows,

the first color-light light source part providing a larger amount of change in the amount of the illumination light depending on the temperature change of the light source part compared to the second color-light light source part and the third color-light light source part, and

the light combining system being provided between the first color-light light source part and the projection lens.