Laser projection system

Abstract

A laser projection system preferably for use in commercial motion picture theaters and other large screen venues, including home theater, uses optical fibers to project modulated laser beams for raster scanning on the screen. The emitting ends of the optical fibers are arranged in an array such that red, green and blue spots are simultaneously scanned onto the screen in multiple lines spaced one or more than one scan line apart. The use of optical fibers for laser beam projection eliminates the need to use complex optics, and enables the scanning of small, high resolution spots on the screen. The use of optical fiber also permits convenient packaging and permits replacement, upgrading or modification of the system components. The scanning of multiple lines simultaneously is accomplished by reordering the video signal with a microprocessor controller component to write lines in a sequence after repeated vertical sweeps to form a complete picture. In a preferred embodiment, the video signal is reordered to scan different color beams at different times to render the desired composite of the red, green and blue spots at each dot location on the screen. Alternate embodiments are disclosed to illustrate the flexibility of the system for different optical fiber output head spacings, and for different types of laser, modulation, and scanning components.