Imax Corporation

Michael A Gibbon

Sean Adkins

Steven Charles Read

Samuel Ziheng Zhou

Marian Toporkiewicz

Graham Harry Moss

Brian Eckersley

Sergei G Anikitchev

Ian Maxwell

Dermot J Quinn

Steven Wilding

Samuel Z Zhou

A projection system having a controller and a plurality of reflective SLMs operatively coupled to the controller to receive image data from the controller. The reflective SLMs arc aligned in series to receive light form a light source and to reflect imaging light correlated to the image data.

DMD-based image display systems

Apparatus and techniques for enhancing characteristics of electronic projection systems are detailed. Included among the techniques are both superimposition of sub-images and tiling of superimposed images, the combination of which can be advantageous in improving resolution of projected images. Pre-modulators and polarizing beam splitters also may be used as parts of the innovative systems.

Digital projection equipment and techniques

Apparatus and techniques for enhancing the dynamic range of electronic projection systems are detailed. Included among the techniques are pre-modulation, luminance compensation, and partial luminance compensation.

Equipment and techniques for increasing the dynamic range of a projection system

A xenon arc lamp for a motion picture projector is cooled by providing the anode end of the lamp with a shroud that forms part of a support for that end of the lamp. Cooling air flows into the shroud along the support arm and enters the shroud through a slot in its side wall. The shroud provides an annular air space around the anode end of the lamp and has an annular air outlet through which the cooling air leaves as a &ldquo;sheet&rdquo; of laminar air flow which tends to adhere to the surface of the bulb, thereby providing precise cooling. In this way, arc instability is avoided or minimized, while lamp life is extended.

Method for cooling an arc lamp

An electronic projector has a projection system that includes a spatial light modulator (SLM) for importing image information to the projected light beam. The light beam leaving the SLM is prepolarized in a defined orientation and the projected light is polarized in the same orientation so as to effectively block any light that has been scattered within the projector and become depolarized. The SLM may be a digital mirror device (DMD). Reflective surfaces within the projector may be covered or coated with material that alters the polarization of reflected stray light from the defined orientation or depolarizes the reflected stray light.

Image projection system

A rolling loop motion picture projector is convertible for projecting images either from a 2-D film strip or from a 3-D film strip. The film is advanced through the same incremental amount irrespective of whether a 2-D film of a 3-D film is being projected. The projector has a single central aperture for projecting 2-D images and respective 3-D images on opposite sides of the central aperture. The images on the 3-D film strip are anamorphically compressed in the direction of film travel by a factor of two and the 3-D apertures are correspondingly sized. Projection lenses associated with the 3-D apertures decompress the images so that images of comparable size appear on the screen irrespective of whether a 2-D film or a 3-D film is being shown.

Convertible 2-D/3-D projector

A compact rolling loop motion picture projector has a rotor of significantly smaller diameter than a conventional such rotor. The radius of curvature of the rotor is selected to be significantly less than the radius of curvature of a film flattener element on which the film is located for projection, and the axis of rotation of the rotor is offset towards a film input sprocket of the projector so as to maintain a minimum film gap between the rotor and the field flattener upstream of the optical axis of the projector. The compact rotor is rotationally supported from above by a 'spider' and a projection lamp is located below the rotor for compactness and efficiency of lamp operation.

Growing community of inventors

Oakville, Canada

Michael A Gibbon