Eastman-kodak Company

Imax Theatres International Limited

Imax Corporation

Gary E Nothhard

Barry David Silverstein

Andrew Frederick Kurtz

Joseph R Bietry

Robert J Metzger

Richard P Corey

Xiang-Dong Mi

Steven Charles Read

Anton Leonard Baljet

A projection system includes a projection lens to project image light along an image light path towards a port window and to redirect a portion of the image light away from the image light path as result of being scattered or reflected away from the image light path. The projection system includes a port window for transmitting projected image light from the projection lens. The port window has a surface for redirecting a portion of the projected image light as result of being scattered or reflected away from the image light path. The projection system includes an enclosure positioned between the port window and the projection lens to surround the image light path between the port window and the projection lens. The enclosure absorbs the portion of the image light redirected by the projection lens and absorbs the portion of the projected image light redirected by the surface.

Stereo image projection with high intra-frame contrast

An optical system that includes a micro-mirror array optical modulator that can selectively modulate an incident light beam having a defined narrow spectral bandwidth to encode data thereon based on commands to an ON-state or an OFF-state of a micro-mirror. The micro-mirror array optical modulator can redirect light by diffraction and reflection to provide an output modulated light beam that exhibits a diffraction handedness dependent described by an arrangement of diffraction orders that depend in part on the narrow spectral bandwidth of light incident thereupon. An optical element has an optimized limiting aperture for defining portions of a modulated light beam that are blocked and remaining portions that are transmitted. An ON-state efficiency and an OFF-state contrast of an optically transmitted modulated light beam can depend on the diffraction handedness of the output modulated light beam relative to a size and a shape of the optimized limiting aperture.

Projector optimized for modulator diffraction effects

In a coherent light projection system including an image forming system, a relay system, a speckle reduction element, and a projection subsystem, the relay system can have a first f-number, and the projection subsystem can have a second f-number less than the first f-number. The relay system can have a first working distance, and the projection subsystem can have a second working distance less than the first working distance. The image forming system can project an initial image having a first size, and an intermediate image can have a second size greater than or equal to the first size. The speckle reduction element can have a curved surface through which the intermediate image is transferred. The speckle reduction element can include a lenslet arrangement formed on a surface thereof. The speckle reduction element can be moved in a direction parallel to an optical axis of the speckle reduction element.

Out-of-plane motion of speckle reduction element

A laser projection system comprising a laser source system configured to emit coherent light, an optical integrating system configured to uniformize coherent light it receives, a randomizing optical element configured to spatially move over time in order to temporally randomize the phase, angle or spatial location of coherent light it receives, an image forming system configured to interact with laser light that has been both uniformized by the optical integrating system and randomized by the randomizing optical element, thereby forming a laser light image, and a projection system configured to project the laser light image onto a viewing screen.

Optical interference reducing element for laser projection

Projection with curved speckle reduction element surface

Projection with lenslet arrangement on speckle reduction element

Etendue maintaining polarization switching occurs, according to various embodiments, with a mirror that quickly transitions between two positions. Light having uniform polarization is transmitted to the mirror. Light reflected off of the mirror in one of the two positions has its polarization changed, whereas light reflected off of the mirror in the other of the two positions has its polarization maintained. Thereafter, the polarization-changed light and the polarization-maintained light easily may be recombined in an entendue-maintaining manner. Because the recombined light includes two different polarization states, stereoscopic images may be generated.

Etendue maintaining polarization switching system and related methods

A digital image projector includes a light assembly configured to project light along a light path from at least one laser array light source, the projected light having an overlapping far field illumination in a far field illumination portion of the light path; a temporally varying optical phase shifting device configured to be in the light path; an optical integrator configured to be in the light path; a spatial light modulator located downstream of the temporally varying optical phase shifting device and the optical integrator in the light path, the spatial light modulator configured to be located in the far field illumination portion of the light path; and projection optics located downstream of the spatial light modulator in the light path, the projection optics configured to direct substantially speckle free light from the spatial light modulator toward a display surface.

Uniform speckle reduced laser projection using spatial and temporal mixing

A display apparatus ( ) including a light source ( ) for forming a beam of light ( ). A pre-polarizer ( ) polarizes the beam of light ( ) to provide a polarized beam of light. A wire grid polarization beamsplitter ( ) receives the polarized beam of light and transmits the polarized beam of light which has a first polarization, and reflects the polarized beam of light which has a second polarization. A reflective spatial light modulator ( ) selectively modulates the polarized beam of light that has a first polarization to encode image data thereon in order to form a modulated beam ( ) and reflects the modulated beam back to the wire grid polarization beamsplitter ( ). A compensator ( ) is located between the wire grid polarization beamsplitter ( ) and the reflective spatial light modulator ( ) for conditioning oblique and skew rays of the modulated beam ( ). The wire grid polarization beamsplitter ( ) reflects the compensated modulated beam ( ) and the wire gird polarization beamsplitter ( ) is rotated in plane to optimize the contrast. A polarization analyzer ( ) removes residual light of the opposite polarization state from the compensated modulated beam ( ). Image-forming optics ( ) form an image from the compensated modulated beam ( ).

Growing community of inventors

Hilton, NY, United States of America

Gary E Nothhard