Digital micromirror stage lighting system

• US 6,671,005 B1
• Filed: 06/21/1999
• Issued: 12/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Altman Stage Lighting Company Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Altman Stage Lighting Company Incorporated
• Inventors: Tyler, Thomas P., Pujol, Roger A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US09/337,725
• Time in Patent Office: 1,653 Days
• Field of Search: 348/744, 348/750, 348/759, 348/770, 348/771, 348/789, 348/795, 348/836, 362/272, 362/368, 362/371, 362/384, 362/404, 362/373, 362/362, 362/367, 472/59, 472/57, 472/60, 472/61
• US Class Current: 348/771
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7458 the modulator being an array of deformable mirrors, e.g. digital micromirror device [DMD]
• 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

Abstract

A light display system for projecting digitally generated light beams onto a stage display, comprising a housing rotatable about at least one axis, a deformable mirror device (DMD) having a surface comprising an array of deformable mirror cells, the DMD being mounted in the housing, a light source mounted in the housing for directing a light beam in an optical path that impinges upon the surface of the DMD, and digital control signals to the DMD for digitally activating selected deformable mirror cells of the DMD to reflect digitally selected light beams onto the stage display having the optical effect of a continuous moving image or images. The housing is rotatable about a second axis transverse to the first axis. Coloring devices can be mounted in the housing.

Claims

1. A light display system for projecting digitally generated light is onto a stage display, comprising:

a housing rotatable about at least a first axis and a second axis;

said second axis transverse to said at least first axis;

said first and said second axes are respectively a horizontal axis and a vertical axis;

a deformable micromirror device having a surface comprising an array of deformable mirror cells, said deformable mirror device being mounted in said housing;

a light source means mounted in said housing for directing a light beam in an optical path that impinges upon said surface of said deformable mirror device;

digital signal means for providing digital control signals to said deformable micromirror device for activating selected deformable mirror cells of said deformable micromirror device to reflect image-forming digitized light beams onto the stage display;

said housing including first means for rotating said housing about said vertical axis and a second means for rotating said housing about said horizontal axis;

said first means for rotating said housing about said vertical axis a first driver securable to a fixed structure and operatively connected to said housing and said second means for rotating said housing about said horizontal axis is a second driver operatively supportable by said fixed structure and operatively connected to said housing;

a housing movement computer means connected to said first and second drivers for rotating said housing in a predetermined sequence of combined horizontal and vertical movements; and

said predetermined sequence of combined horizontal and vertical movements are synchronized in predetermined timed and spatial sequences with said digitally generated light beams being reflected from said deformable mirror device and directed onto the stage display.

2. The light display system according to claim 1, wherein said light source means includes a lamp and a beam columnator lens.

3. The light display system according to claim 2, further including a projector lens mounted in said housing directing said digitized light means from said deformable mirror cells onto the stage display.

4. The light display system according to claim 3, wherein each said deformable mirror cell is rotatable between a first position and a second position, the first position being when a reflected light ray from said light beam on said optical path is directed onto the stage display as said digitally generated light beam and a second position wherein a deflected light ray from said light beam on said optical path is directed away from the stage display, and further including an opaque light stop mounted in said housing, said deflected light ray being directed onto said opaque stop.

5. The light display system according to claim 1, further including a cold mirror and a heat sink mounted in said housing proximate to said light source means.

6. The light display system, according to claim 1, further including optical means for adding coloring and luminance to said digitally selected light beams.

7. The light display system according to claim 6, wherein said optical means includes a first focus lens system positioned proximate to said light source means and a second focus lens system spaced from said first focus lens system and further includes a rotatable color wheel positioned between said first and second focus lens system, said second focus lens system projecting said light beam on said optical path to said surface of said deformable mirror device.

8. The light display system according to claim 7, wherein said light source means generates a white light and said rotatable color wheel includes a plurality of color filters wherein said white light is filtered into said color wheel during rotation of said color wheel so as to produce a plurality of colors of the visible spectrum.

9. The light display system according to claim 8, wherein said digital signal means includes digital data relating to color and luminance activating said color wheel in synchronicity with said digital control signals to said deformable micromirror device.

10. The light display system according to claim 7, wherein said color wheel includes a plurality of individual color filters wherein said white light is directed into selected individual filters positioned to intercept said white light.

11. The light display system according to claim 6, wherein said light source means and said optical means for adding color and luminance includes a color system comprising three lasers producing each of the primary colors, red, green, and blue that combine into said light beam in said optical path that impinges upon said surface of said deformable mirror device.

12. The light display system according to claim 11, wherein said digital signal means includes digital data relating to color and luminance activating said three lasers in synchronicity with said digital control signals to said deformable micromirror device.

13. The light display system according to claim 6, wherein said light source means is a signal multimode laser.

14. The light display system according to claim 13, wherein said digital signal means includes digital data relating to color and luminance activating said mutimode laser to tune said multimode laser to different frequencies and intensities in synchronicity with said digital control signals to said deformable mirror device.

15. The light display system according to claim 6, further including prism means for directing said reflected digitized light beam said light beam void of mechanical interference, said prism means being a Total Internal Reflective (TIR) prism positioned in said housing between said deformable mirror device and said projection lens mounted.

16. The light display system according to claim 15, further including optical means for adding color and luminance to said digitally selected light beams.

17. The light display system according to claim 16, wherein said optical means includes a first focus lens system positioned proximate to said light source means and a second focus lens system spaced from said first focus lens system and further includes a rotatable color wheel positioned between said first and second focus lens system, said second focus lens system projecting said light beam on said optical path to said surface of said deformable mirror device.

18. The light display system according to claim 17, wherein said color wheel includes a plurality of color filters wherein a white light from said light source means is filtered into said color wheel during rotation of said color wheel so as to produce a plurality of colors.

19. The light display system according to claim 18, wherein said digital signal means includes digital data relating to color and luminance activating said color wheel to different frequencies and intensities in synchronicity with said digital control signals to said deformable mirror device.

20. The light display system according to claim 17, further including a dichroic prism assembly positioned between said TIR and said deformable minor device.

21. The light display system according to claim 17, wherein said color wheel has at least yellow and magenta filters.

22. The light display system according to claim 20, wherein said dichroic prism assembly includes at least a first prism and a second prism and further including a first DMD secured proximate to said first prism and a second DMD secured prior to said second prism, wherein said first prism splits off a blue and green light spectrum beams to said first DMD for image digitization and the red light beam is split off to said second DMD for image digitization and a recombined digitized light beam directed to said projection lens and to the stage display.

23. The light display system according to claim 22, wherein said digital signal means includes digital data relating to color and luminance synchronicity with said digital control signals activating said color wheel to different frequencies and intensities in synchronicity with said digital control signals to said deformable mirror device and further includes digital data relating to said digital control signals to combine said green and red light spectrum beams in combination with said spectrum beams from said color wheel into selected color combinations in synchronicity with said digitally selected light beams.

24. The light display system according to claim 16, wherein said optical means for adding color and luminance to said digitally selected light beans includes a three-primary color prism assembly adjoining said TIR, said three-primary color prism comprising a first prism, a second prism, and a third prism and further including a first DMD mounted onto said first prism, a second DMD mounted onto said second prism, and a third DMD mounted onto said third prism, said three-color prism assembly combined with said first, second, and third DMD'"'"'s combined to split said light beam from said light source means into the red, green, and blue spectrums.

25. The light display system according to claim 24, wherein said digital signal means includes digital data relating to said digital control signals to said first, second, and third DMD'"'"'s that direct said red, green and blue light spectrums into color combinations in synchronicity with said digitally selected light beams.

26. The light display system according to claim 1, wherein said first means for rotating said housing about said horizontal axis and said second means for rotating said housing about said vertical axis is at least one hand grip connected to said housing.

27. The light display system according to claim 1, wherein said first means for rotating said housing about said vertical axis is at least one hand grip operatively secured to a fixed structure and operatively connected to said housing and said means for rotating said housing about said horizontal axis is at least one hand grip operatively connected to said fixed structure and operatively connected to said housing.