Seiko Epson Corporation

Takashi Endo

Yoichi Fujii

Tomio Sonehara

Kunio Yoneno

Yoshihiro Kobayashi

Yutaka Takada

Joji Karasawa

Wataru Yasumatsu

Hiroaki Yanai

Masako Tanaka

Koichi Miyasaka

Manabu Oka

Yoichi Shishido

Akio Ikesue

Tomoharu Masuda

Takuro Nagatsu

Masaki Iwamoto

Hiroshi Kinoshita

Kasei Sekiguchi

An illuminator includes a light source apparatus that outputs first light that belongs to a first wavelength band, an optical element including a dichroic film and a first retardation element, a reflection element, a light dividing element including a plurality of lenses, and a polarization conversion element. A first component of the first light outputted from the light source apparatus passes through the dichroic film and the first retardation element in this order, is reflected off the reflection element, passes through the first retardation element, and is further reflected off the dichroic film. The first component reflected off the dichroic film passes through the light dividing element and is incident on the polarization conversion element.

Illuminator and projector

A wavelength conversion member formed of a single sintered body primarily made of a ceramic material has a first area and a second area having light emission characteristics different from each other.

Wavelength conversion member, wavelength conversion element, illuminator, and projector

A phosphor includes a sintered body of a ceramic material. The sintered body contains Ce:YAlOas a main phase and a ceramic material as a subphase. The ceramic material has a refractive index different from that of the main phase. The sintered body has a crystal grain boundary and a void at the crystal grain boundary.

Phosphor, wavelength conversion element, light source device, and projector

A projector capable of simultaneous or concurrent projection in different positions in the depth direction. The projector includes a plurality of display sections each of which forms a collimated image light ray, a superimposing optical system that superimposes the image light rays having exited out of the plurality of display sections on one another with the image light rays unfocused, a projection optical system that projects an image corresponding to the image light rays superimposed by the superimposing optical system, and a circuit apparatus that causes the image light rays to exit out of local image source areas set in the plurality of display sections to shift a position where the image light rays are superimposed on one another to a plurality of superimposition positions different from one another along an optical axis.

Projector capable of projection in different positions in the depth direction

A display apparatus includes a screen formed in an arcuate shape centering on a center axis and a projection device configured to project, along projecting directions orthogonal to the center axis and different from one another, images corresponding to the projecting directions on the inner circumferential surface or the outer circumferential surface of the screen. The screen includes a retroreflective layer having a reflection surface directed to the projection device and a diffusion layer arranged on the projection device side with respect to the retroreflective layer and configured to diffuse, when transmitting light made incident from the retroreflective layer, the light wider in a first direction along the center axis than in a second direction, which is a circumferential direction centering on the center axis.

Display apparatus

An aspect of the polarization conversion element according to the invention is directed to a polarization conversion element including a first optical block including a first polarization separation film, a first reflecting film, a first surface, and a first light incidence surface, and a second optical block including a second polarization separation film, a second reflecting film, a second surface, and a second light incidence surface, wherein the first optical block and the second optical block are bonded to each other so that the first surface and the second surface are opposed to each other, the first polarization separation film is disposed so as to be opposed to the second polarization separation film via the first surface and the second surface, and the first polarization separation film is terminated at a position in the first surface separate from the first light incidence surface.

Polarization conversion element and projector

A projector includes a plurality of light sources, a light modulator that modulates light fluxes emitted from the plurality of light sources based on input information, a projection system that projects modulated light fluxes from the light modulator, a light guiding system that has different areas on which the plurality of light fluxes emitted from the plurality of light sources are incident and guides the plurality of incident light fluxes to the light modulator, a lighting state detector that detects lighting states of the plurality of light sources, and a controller that corrects the input information with correction information based on a viewing angle characteristic of the light modulator in accordance with the lighting states of the plurality of light sources detected by the lighting state detector.

Projector with a light modulator controlled based on a viewing angle characteristic of the light modulator

A transmissive screen formed in an arc shape around a center axis, and, when light entering an inner circumferential surface is output from an outer circumferential surface, having a diffusion angle in a first direction as a direction along the center axis wider than a diffusion angle in a second direction as a circumferential direction around the center axis, projection devices that are arranged at equal intervals along the second direction around the center axis and respectively project image lights on the inner circumferential surface, and a display control device that allows the projection devices to project the image lights so that partial images formed by portions of the respectively projected image lights of the projection devices may be observed as one visually recognized image having the partial images arranged in the second direction at viewpoints set outside of the outer circumferential surface along the second direction are provided.

A projector includes a light source that emits light containing first wavelength light and second wavelength light of which light intensity is lower than that of the first wavelength light when the light source is driven at predetermined electric power, a light separation unit that separates the light from the light source into the first and the second wavelength light, an image formation unit that modulates the first wavelength light in accordance with a first image and modulates the second wavelength light in accordance with a second image, a control unit that supplies the light source with first electric power when the first image is formed, whereas supplying the light source with second electric power that is higher than the first electric power when the second image is formed, and a projection unit that projects the first image and the second image.

Projector and image display system

A projector makes the light modulation device form the first image while keeping the second wheel adapted to separate the light into a plurality of colored lights corresponding to the second and third images in a state in which the second transmission region adapted to transmit the light including the plurality of colored lights is located on the light path, and rotating the first wheel adapted to separate the light into a plurality of colored lights corresponding to the first image when projecting the first image, and the light modulation device form the second and third images while keeping the first wheel in a state in which the first transmission region adapted to transmit the light including the plurality of colored lights is located on the light path, and rotating the second wheel when projecting the second image and the third image.

A projector includes a light modulation unit including a liquid crystal device that modulates illumination light to form image light and a light exiting-side polarizer that causes the image light from the liquid crystal device to exit as linearly polarized light, a first retardation film that changes the polarization state of the image light from the light exiting-side polarizer into circular polarization or elliptical polarization, a polarization switching liquid crystal panel that switches the polarization state of the image light from the first retardation film in accordance with a control signal, a second retardation film that changes the polarization state of the image light from the polarization switching liquid crystal panel into linear polarization, and a birefringent substrate that selectively refracts a light component polarized in a direction corresponding to a specific switching state of the polarization switching liquid crystal panel among the image light from the second retardation film.

Projector having retardation films upstream and downstream of a polarization switching liquid crystal panel

A wavelength separation device includes a waveplate adapted to convert the polarization direction of light in a predetermined wavelength band so that right-eye and left-eye image light in a time-divisional manner can be separated into first outgoing light as first polarized light in a first wavelength band and second outgoing light as second polarized light in a second wavelength band, a polarization control element adapted to keep the polarization direction of the first and the second outgoing light input from the waveplate in the case of either one of the right-eye and the left-eye image light, and respectively change the polarization direction of the first and the second outgoing light input from the waveplate in the case of the other thereof, and a polarization plate adapted to absorb one of the first polarized light and the second polarized light, and transmit the other thereof.

Wavelength separation device, projector, and image display system

A polarization control device includes a first polarizing liquid crystal panel adapted to convert polarization of a first outgoing light of a right-eye image and a second outgoing light of a left-eye image into a second polarization having a polarization direction different by 90&#xb0; from a first polarization during a specified period of time from a time point when the external device performs a process of switching from either one of the first outgoing light and the second outgoing light to the other, a polarization plate adapted to transmit the first polarization and to cut off the second polarization, and a second polarizing liquid crystal panel adapted to convert the first polarization from the polarization plate into third polarization and fourth polarization having respective polarization direction different from each other in every predetermined period.

Polarization control device, polarization control method, and image display system

A projector includes: an illuminator that outputs illumination light; a light modulator including a liquid crystal panel and a structural birefringent polarization separation element having a polarization separation surface inclined away from a central axis of the illumination light, the light modulator modulating the illumination light from the illuminator; and a projection system that projects the light modulated by the light modulator, wherein the illumination light outputted from the illuminator has an angular distribution in a first direction, which is perpendicular to the central axis of the illumination light, smaller than the angular distribution in a second direction, which is perpendicular to the first direction and the central axis of the illumination light, and the polarization separation surface of the structural birefringent polarization separation element has a structure that is not periodic along the first direction but is periodic along the second direction.

Projector

An image display apparatus comprise: a light source section; a light modulator that modulates light delivered from the light source section to display an image; a light level control section that adjusts the amount of light delivered from the light source section to the light modulator; and a display control section that updates the image displayed on the light modulator during a first period and a second period alternately switched therebetween. The display control section updated in the first period to a first image and a black image in this order and updates in the second period to a second image and the black image in this order. The light level control section sets the amount of light delivered from the light source section to be greater than that in other periods during a predetermined switching period including a point to switch between the first period and the second period.

Stereoscopic image display apparatus and image display system that reduces brightness unevenness of projected images by controlling the light level of a light source

Growing community of inventors

Azumino, Japan

Takashi Endo