Maxell, Ltd.

Chiaki Kinno

Takuya Shimizu

Kazuo Shikita

Hiroshi Nakamori

Akihiro Shiraishi

Minjoo Park

A projector includes: a white light generator that uses a blue laser as a light source to generate blue light and yellow light based on the blue laser and generates white light including the generated blue light and yellow light; and an optical system that modulates light based on the white light generated by the white light generator with an image display element and projects the modulated light, wherein the white light generator includes: a dichroic mirror that is irradiated with the blue light from the blue laser as the light source; a first condenser lens that focuses blue light being reflected by or passing through the dichroic mirror; a diffusion plate that diffuses the blue light focused by the first condenser lens; a second condenser lens that focuses the blue light passing through or being reflected by the dichroic mirror; and a phosphor that emits yellow light.

Projector

A projector generates white light from a laser light source and uses the white light for image display. The white light generator has a rectangular light generating lens that generates excitation light of a rectangular shape from the blue light of a blue laser and a phosphor wheel, coated with a phosphor that is irradiated with the excitation light, to emit yellow light. In the phosphor wheel, a length in the vertical direction of a rectangular shape of an irradiation region is represented by v, and a length in the horizontal direction is represented by h, wherein h&#x3c;v; and a center of the rectangular shape is within any one of a region having an angle of 45&#xb0; or more and 135&#xb0; or less and a region having an angle of 225&#xb0; or more and 315&#xb0; or less in the phosphor coat region of the phosphor wheel.

Projector including a phosphor wheel

The projector appropriately generates white light from a laser light source and uses the white light for image display. A white light generator that generates white light from blue light and yellow light includes a dichroic mirror that is irradiated with blue light from a blue laser, a first condenser lens that focuses the blue light that has passed through the dichroic mirror, a diffusion plate that diffuses the focused blue light, a second condenser lens that focuses the blue light obtained by allowing the diffused blue light to pass through the dichroic mirror, and a phosphor that is irradiated with the focused blue light to emit yellow light; the diffusion plate is an alumina ceramic plate; the dichroic mirror has a first region that transmits one of the blue light and the yellow light and reflects the other and a second region that reflects or transmits both.

Growing community of inventors

Oyamazaki, Japan

Chiaki Kinno