Minolta Company, Ltd.

Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Konica Minolta Opto, Inc.

Minaltacco., Ltd.

Kohtaro Hayashi

Kenji Konno

Hiromu Mukai

Jun Ishihara

Yasumasa Sawai

Soh Ohzawa

Masayuki Imaoka

Masataka Hamada

Toshihiko Karasaki

Ichiro Kasai

Tetsuro Kanbara

Shunta Takimoto

Hiroshi Ootsuka

Hideki Nagata

Yoshinobu Kudo

Kazuhiko Yukawa

Shigeru Sawamura

Yasuteru Yamano

Tomokazu Masubuchi

Koji Hata

Hiroshi Ueda

Masaaki Nakai

Junichi Tanii

Hiroyuki Okada

Shigeru Wada

Kazuo Kimura

Yuichiro Ori

Akira Sato

Akira Funahashi

Yasushi Kobayashi

Hirokazu Yagura

Keiko Yamada

Yasuo Maeda

Makoto Ando

Ken Tanino

Masayuki Ikemura

Yoshihiro Hara

Yoshiaki Hata

Yuichi Atarashi

Takashi Okada

Takeshi Hashimoto

Shigeto Ohmori

Hisashi Tokumaru

Tsutomu Honda

Nobuyuki Kobayashi

Yukio Maekawa

Hiroshi Kibayashi

Motohiro Nakanishi

Keiji Tamai

Keiji Yamazaki

Makoto Kamiya

Yasumasa Sugihara

Kenji Nishiguchi

Tomokazu Taguchi

Yoshiharu Ohta

Atsushi Matsuura

Taro Shibuya

Tomiei Kuwa

Katsuhito Akagi

Ichiro Yoshiyama

Haruyuki Nagano

Naoki Hirose

Kagumi Kojiya

A projection optical system () comprises a relay optical system (), a PBS prism (), and two projection lenses (). The image light beam from a DMD () enters the PBS prism () via the relay optical system (), is polarization-split there, and is directed to a screen by means of the two projection lenses (). Displaying an image by means of the DMD () is controlled while the polarized states of the light beams produced by the polarization split by means of the PBS prism () are controlled. Thereby, a three-dimensionally viewable image and a high-resolution image created by pixel-offset can be projected. Since the relay optical system () is provided, the lens backs of the projection lenses () can be shortened, and the projection lenses () and further the projection optical system () can be made compact.

Projection optical system and image projecting device

A projection optical system receives light from a display device surface and enlarges and projects a display image thereon onto a screen surface. The projection optical system includes one or more reflective surfaces having an optical power between the display device surface and the screen surface, moves at least one optical device having an optical power to adjust focus and satisfies the following conditional formula: &#x2212;0.02&#x3c;{(&#x3b4;1&#x2212;&#x3b4;2)&#x3b2;2}/{(&#x3b4;1+&#x3b4;2)&#x3b2;1}&#x3c;0.2 where &#x3b4;1 and &#x3b4;2 represent, when the absolute value of a projection magnification is the highest and the lowest, respectively, during focus adjustment, the absolute value of a difference between a distance from the exit pupil of rays incident on the screen upper ends of the screen surface to the screen surface and a distance from the exit pupil of rays incident on the screen lower ends of the screen surface to the screen surface and &#x3b2;1 and &#x3b2;2 represent the maximum value and minimum value, respectively, of the projection magnification when focus is adjusted.

Projection optical system

A projection optical system satisfies a conditional formula: 0.01&#x3c;{(tan &#x3b8;f1&#x2212;tan &#x3b8;f2)&#x2212;(tan &#x3b8;n1&#x2212;tan &#x3b8;n2)}&#xb7;(&#x3b2;2/&#x3b2;1)&#x3c;0.20 where the direction of a normal to and the direction of a long side of the screen of the screen surface are referred to as a 'z-direction' and an 'x-direction', respectively, the x-z plane component of the angle of incidence with respect to the screen surface is referred to as an &#x201c;incident angle &#x3b8;&#x201d; and when, among rays that pass through the center of an aperture and that are incident on the ends of the upper and lower sides of the screen of the screen surface, the incident angle &#x3b8; of rays whose incident angle &#x3b8; is larger is referred to as &#x201c;&#x3b8;f&#x201d; and the incident angle &#x3b8; of rays whose incident angle &#x3b8; is smaller is referred to as &#x201c;&#x3b8;n&#x201d;, &#x3b8;n and &#x3b8;f2 respectively represent, when the absolute value of a projection magnification is the highest or lowest during focus adjustment, the incident angle &#x3b8;f, &#x3b8;n1 and &#x3b8;n2 respectively represent, when the absolute value of the projection magnification is the highest or lowest during focus adjustment, the incident angle &#x3b8;n, and &#x3b2;1 and &#x3b2;2 respectively represent the maximum and minimum values of the projection magnification during focus adjustment (except that &#x3b2;1 and &#x3b2;2 respectively represent, if the projection magnification is negative, a value of the projection magnification when the absolute value thereof is the highest or lowest).

The invention provides an optical system for image projection, wherein when used in an image projection apparatus, a screen-continuing portion (e.g., screen-underlying portion) of the apparatus can be reduced to a small size, or can be removed, and thereby the apparatus can be so compacted, and provides an image projection apparatus mounting such optical system. An optical systemfor image projection including a lighting optical systemleading light from a light sourcefor lighting a display element(or'), and a projecting optical systemfor projecting projection light containing image information from the display element(or&#x2032;). The lighting optical systemis arranged such that a straight optical axis &#x3b1; from the light sourcein the lighting optical systemis positioned in an area deviated from a luminous flux &#x3b2; of the projection light incident into the projecting optical systemtoward an area where the projection light &#x3b3; from the projecting optical systempasses. The image projection apparatus A (or B or C) mounting such optical system

Optical system for image projection and image projection apparatus

An projection type image display apparatus includes a projection optical system having a plurality of concave mirrors and digital micromirror device (DMD). An optical path from the DMD to the concave mirror closest to the DMD is a sealed space which is surrounded by an image forming device holding plate holding the DMD, an optical component holding member holding the concave mirror and the image forming device holding plate, and a cover glass (transparent dust-proof cover) arranged on the optical path from the DMD to the concave mirror closest to the DMD.

Projection type image display apparatus

A projection optical system that performs enlargement projection of an image on a display device surface formed of a plurality of pixels onto a screen surface, in which pixel shift by less than a pixel pitch is performed on the screen surface in a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, an oblique direction, or a vertical and horizontal directions, and in which conditional formulae (1) and (2) below are fulfilled over the entire image range: (1)|&#x394;RG|&#x2266;0.5 d and (2)|&#x394;BG|&#x2266;0.5 d, where d represents the amount of pixel shift (&#x3e;0), &#x394;RG represents lateral chromatic aberration in the direction of pixel shift of colored light R having a wavelength of 640 nm with respect to colored light G having a wavelength of 546 nm, and &#x394;BG represents lateral chromatic aberration in the direction of pixel shift of colored light B having a wavelength of 450 nm with respect to the colored light G having a wavelength of 546 nm.

An optical illumination apparatus has a polarization conversion device for converting light from a light source into light polarized uniformly in a predetermined manner and an optical integrator system for illuminating a display panel with the light polarized in the predetermined manner. The polarization conversion device splits the light from the light source into a first light beam and a second light beam in such a way that the first and second light beams are polarized in different manners, and then converts one of the first and second light beams into light polarized in the identical manner as the other light beam. Moreover, the first and second light beams pass through an identical lens cell of a first lens array of the optical integrator system and are imaged on an identical lens cell of a second lens array of the optical integrator system.

Optical illumination apparatus

A thin and light optical device satisfactorily separates light components having different properties. A blazed grating is formed on a surface of a flat-plate-shaped transparent substrate, and a separation coating that reflects or transmits incident light according to the properties of the incident light is provided on the blazed grating. The thus obtained optical device offers a function of separating light into reflected light and transmitted light, and also has a function of diffracting or refracting the thus separated light. As the separation coating, a polarization separation film, dichroic film, angle separation film, or chiral nematic liquid crystal layer is used to separate linearly polarized light components having different polarization planes, light components having different wavelengths, light components incident at different angles of incidence, or circularly polarized light components having different rotation directions.

Light separation device, blazed grating device, diffraction grating device, and illumination optical system

A projection optical system includes from the enlargement side a first lens unit, a mirror which is an optical path bending member, a second lens unit, and a third lens unit. The projection optical system is designed so that a condition (1), 5.5&#x3c;T/FL&#x3c;12.0, is fulfilled. Here, Tis the air equivalent distance between the first lens unit and the second lens unit, and FL is the overall focal length of the projection optical system. By fulfilling the condition (1), it is unnecessary that the diameter of the first lens unit be extremely large. It is also unnecessary to change the lens shape to prevent interference between the first lens unit and the second lens units, so that an increase in the cost of the projection optical system can be suppressed.

Projection optical system and projecting apparatus provided with same

In a projection optical system projecting an image displayed on a predetermined play surface onto a predetermined projection surface, two decentering lens units movable in directions vertical to the optical axis and substantially vertical to each other are included between a rear lens unit situated on the display surface side and a front lens unit situated on the projection surface side, a driving mechanism is provided that reciprocates the two decentering lens units in the directions vertical to the optical axis. When the focal lengths of the two decentering lens units are FDand FD, respectively, and the focal length of the rear lens unit is FR, the relationships 0.01&#x2266;|FR/FD|&#x2266;0.2 and 0.01&#x2266;|FR/FD|&#x2266;0.2 are satisfied.

Projection optical system and image projection apparatus

In a polarization beam splitter that allows effective polarization separation in a wide wavelength range with low dependency on angle of incidence, between two prisms is sandwiched a dielectric multilayer film composed of a first and a second multilayer portion that are designed with respect to a first and a second wavelength &lgr; , and &lgr; , respectively. Moreover, the formula &lgr; is fulfilled, and which is greater of the difference between the refractive indices of the high-refractive-index and low-refractive-index layers in the first multilayer portion and the same difference in the second multilayer portion coincides with which is greater differences of the angles &thgr; and &thgr; from the prism vertex angle &thgr;.

Polarization beam splitter

A projection optical system has three LCLVs; a first color-separating mirror for separating a substantially polarized light into a first and second color lights and a third color light; a half-wave plate for rotating the polarization direction of either one(s) of the separated light; a second color-separating mirror for synthesizing the first and the third color light, and further, separating the second color light; a first PBS for separating the first and third color lights and illuminating the first and third LCLVs, respectively, and synthesizing image lights from the first and third LCLVs; a second PBS for illuminating the second LCLV and emitting a image light modulated by the second LCLV; a half-wave plate disposed external to output surface of the first PBS; and a third PBS for synthesizing three image lights, the third PBS has a dicroic characteristics and a polarization characteristics.

Projection optical system and projector using the same

Image sensing apparatus which intentionally retains longitudinal chromatic aberration

A display optical apparatus is provided with: a polarizing plate transmitting illuminating light having a predetermined polarization direction; a reflective liquid crystal display device reflecting the illuminating light transmitted by the polarizing plate as projected light of a polarization condition that differs according to pixel information for each pixel; and a phase plate changing the polarization conditions of the illuminating light and the projected light and directing the illuminating light and the projected light to the polarizing plate. The phase plate is disposed between the reflective liquid crystal display device and the polarizing plate. The black level of the projected light is adjusted by rotating the principal axis direction of the phase plate.

Display optical apparatus having a rotary compensator to improve display contrast

A projection optical system projects an enlarged image of a light valve image onto a screen. The system has, from the conjugate enlargement side: a negative front lens unit, optical path turning means (including a reflecting surface), a positive rear lens unit, and projection light preparing means, which can separate illumination and projection light, or can integrate light of different colors, or can do both. Each of the front and rear lens units includes at least one aspherical surface. The front lens unit has a negative first lens element at its conjugate-enlargement end and a negative second lens element at the conjugate reduction side of the first lens element. The rear lens unit includes a positive third lens element made of an anomalous dispersion material. The center of the light valve is not located on the optical axis of the rear lens unit.

Growing community of inventors

Toyonaka, Japan

Kohtaro Hayashi