KR101403761B1 - Apparatus and method for projection of stereoscopic images - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a device and method for projecting stereoscopic images. The stereoscopic image projecting device according to the present invention includes: a polarized light combiner including a first polarized light separation unit for receiving an optical image beam and for splitting the optical image beam into a first polarized beam transmitted through a first path and a second polarized beam transmitted through a second path, a first reflection unit arranged on the second path to reflect the second polarized beam so that the second polarized beam is parallel with the first polarized beam, a delay unit for rotating the second polarized beam so that the second polarized beam has the same polarization direction as that of the first polarized light, and a beam combining unit for combining the first and second polarized beams having the same polarization direction so as to provide a combined beam output; and a polarized light modulator for receiving and modulating the combined beam output so as to transmit a modulated combined beam output to a screen.

Description

[0001] Apparatus and method for projection of stereoscopic images [0002]

The present invention relates to a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus and method using one image source.

As stereoscopic stereoscopic films become more popular in recent years, stereoscopic stereoscopic projection technology is attracting more attention. Generally, in a single projector system, an image light beam is modulated into a linear polarized beam by a linear polarizer for stereoscopic stereoscopic imaging. At this time, a part of the image light is clogged and not used for image projection. In particular, each eye of the viewer receives half of the light reflected from the screen at any instant, so that at least half of the brightness of the stereoscopic stereoscopic image is lost.

To solve these problems, two projector systems have been proposed. The two projector systems include a projector that allows each eye of the viewer to receive a full brightness image. However, these conventional two-projector systems use two projectors, which is much more expensive and requires a precise alignment of the images produced by the two projectors.

U.S. Patent No. 7,959,296 discloses a multi-path optical system in which an image light beam is divided into a p-polarized beam transmitted through a first path and an s-polarized beam transmitted through a second path. Stereoscopic stereoscopic projection system is proposed. This system forms stereoscopic stereoscopic images using two image sources, p-polarized beam and s-polarized beam, to improve the brightness of the image. However, S and P images need to move at exactly the same time, which is not easy because the P path and the S path have different optical path lengths.

Chinese Patent No. 201110093865.3 proposes a projector that separates a light beam into a p-polarized beam and an s-polarized beam by a polarized light separator. In the projector of this patent, the p-polarized beam is modulated with an s-polarized beam and the s-polarized beam is modulated with a p-polarized beam, after which the modulated s-polarized beam and modulated p- And combined into one beam. The combined beam comprising the s-polarized beam and the p-polarized beam is projected onto the screen to represent stereoscopic stereoscopic images. However, this patent has the problem that two image sources are used and the S image and the P image must be moved at the same time exactly like the above-mentioned U.S. Patent No. 7,959,296.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop stereoscopic stereoscopic projection technology that does not require the simultaneous movement of images while maintaining the brightness of the stereoscopic stereoscopic image.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus and method using one image light source for stereoscopic stereoscopic projection.

A stereo-stereoscopic image projection apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a light source for receiving a video light beam and for receiving the video light beam, the first polarized beam being transmitted along a first path and the second polarized beam A first reflector disposed in the second path and reflecting the second polarized beam such that the second polarized beam is parallel to the first polarized beam, A retardation unit for rotating the second polarized beam so as to have the same polarization direction as the first polarized beam, and a beam combining unit for combining the first polarized beam and the second polarized beam having the same polarization direction to provide a combined beam output A polarization combiner comprising a portion; And a polarization modulator for receiving and modulating the combined beam output and transmitting the modulated combined beam output to a screen.

The first polarized beam and the second polarized beam may be perpendicular to each other.

The first polarized light separator may be selected from the group consisting of a polarization beam splitter, a wire grid polarizer, and a McNeil prism.

The first reflector may be a reflective prism or a total reflection mirror.

The delay unit may be a half wave plate.

The beam combining unit may include: a second reflecting unit that reflects the second polarized beam rotated by the delay unit; And a second polarization splitting unit that receives the reflected second polarized beam and combines the first polarized beam and the second polarized beam into the combined beam output.

The second polarized light separating unit may be selected from the group consisting of a polarization beam splitter, a wire grid polarizer, and a McNeil prism.

The second reflective portion may be a reflective prism or a total reflection mirror.

The stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus may further include a cleanup polarizer arranged on at least one of the first path and the second path.

The polarization modulator may comprise polarization means for alternately circularly polarizing the combined beam output in two different directions.

The stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus includes a first lens disposed in front of the first polarized light separator and converting the image light beam into a parallel image light beam; And a second lens disposed behind the beam combining unit and converting the divergent angle of the combined beam output into a divergent angle equal to a divergent angle of the image optical beam before being input to the first lens.

A stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: receiving an image light beam; Separating the received image light beam into a first polarized beam transmitted along a first path and a second polarized beam transmitted along a second path; Reflecting the second polarized beam such that the second polarized beam is parallel to the first polarized beam; Rotating the second polarized beam such that the second polarized beam has the same polarization direction as the first polarized beam; Combining the first polarized beam and the second polarized beam having the same polarization direction to provide a combined beam output; And receiving and modulating the combined beam output and transmitting the modulated combined beam output to a screen.

The first polarized beam and the second polarized beam may be perpendicular to each other.

Providing the combined beam output may include reflecting the rotated second polarized beam.

The stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection method may further include converting the image light beam into a parallel image light beam before receiving the image light beam.

The stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection method may further include converting the divergent angle of the combined beam output into a divergent angle equal to a divergent angle of the image light beam before being converted into the parallel image optical beam.

According to one aspect of the present invention, since the present invention uses one image source having one polarization direction, concurrency and alignment required when using two image sources are not required. The stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention not only enables stereoscopic stereoscopic images without synchronism, but also does not require a device and adjustment for giving concurrency to images. Further, the brightness of the image light beam is maintained almost as it is.

1 is a diagram illustrating a single projector system including a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus configured such that a polarization combiner and a polarization modulator are provided inside a projector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the single projector system of Fig. 1 is modified such that the polarization modulator is disposed outside the projector in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a single projector system including a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating a dual projector system including two stereoscopic image projection apparatuses shown in FIG.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, a repeated description, a known function that may obscure the gist of the present invention, and a detailed description of the configuration will be omitted. Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more fully describe the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the shapes and sizes of the elements in the drawings and the like can be exaggerated for clarity.

Throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

Further, the term "part" in the description means a unit for processing one or more functions or operations, which may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

1 is a diagram illustrating a single projector system including a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus configured such that a polarization combiner and a polarization modulator are provided inside a projector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, a single projector system comprises a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 12 configured to include a polarization combiner 12A and a polarization modulator 12B in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; A projector 11 provided with a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 12; A projection lens 16 located at a front portion of the projector 11; And a projection screen 17. The projector 11, the projection lens 16, and the projection screen 17 are well-known elements and are not essential parts of the present invention, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

The polarized light combiner 12A includes a first polarized light separating portion 103, a first reflector 104, a retarder 105 and a beam combining portion 106. [ In one embodiment, the first lens 14 is provided inside the projector 11, and the image light beam emitted from the image surface 13 passes through the first polarized light separating section 103, Thereby converting the angle of divergence of the image light beam into a parallel image, wherein the image light beam may be unpolarized or partially polarized.

The first polarized light separating unit 103 separates the parallel video light beam into a first polarized beam transmitted along the first path and a second polarized beam transmitted along the second path. In one embodiment, the first polarized light separator 103 may be selected from the group consisting of a polarization beam splitter, a wire grid polarizer, and a MacNeille prism. The first and second polarizing beams have mainly orthogonal polarization directions, and the polarization orientations of the first and second polarized beams are perpendicular to each other.

The first reflector 104 is disposed in the second path and reflects the s-polarized beam of the second path to be parallel to the p-polarized beam of the first path. The first reflector 104 may be a total reflection prism or a total reflection mirror.

The retarder 105 is disposed in front of or behind the first reflector 104 in the second path to rotate the s-polarized beam so that it has the same polarization direction as the p-polarized beam. That is, the delay unit 105 rotates the polarization direction of the s-polarized beam by 90 degrees to convert it into a p-polarized beam. The delay unit 105 may be a half wave plate. In another embodiment, the delay unit 105 may be placed in a first path instead of the second path to rotate the p-polarized beam to convert it into an S-polarized beam.

The beam combining section 106 includes a second polarized light separating section 106A and a second reflecting section 106B. The second reflecting portion 106B reflects the p-polarized beam outputted from the delay portion 105 of the second path and sends it to the second polarized light separating portion 106A. In one embodiment, the second reflecting portion 106B may be a total reflection prism or a total reflection mirror.

The second polarized light separating section 106A combines the p-polarized beams of the first and second paths into a combined p-polarized beam output, and the combined p-polarized beam output forms an image light source for image projection do. The second polarized light separating section 106A may be selected from the group consisting of a polarizing beam splitter, a wire grid polarizer and a McNeil prism.

In order to improve the polarization efficiency, clean-up polarizers 107 and 108, which are known elements, can be arranged in the first and second paths.

The polarization modulator 12B that synchronizes with the projector 11 is a known element. In one embodiment, the polarization modulator 12B includes polarization means 109 that circularly polarizes the combined p-polarized beam output alternately with respect to the right eye and the left eye. The polarizing means 109 converts the combined p-polarized beam output into an alternating left and right circularly polarized beam to produce a left eye image and a right eye image to enable a stereoscopic stereo effect ZScreen < / RTI > electro-optical polarization modulator.

The second lens 15 can be disposed in the projector 11 and can control the divergent angle of the alternating left and right circularly polarized light beams to the divergence angle of the image optical beam before being input to the first lens 14 To the same divergence angle as that of the polarization modulator 12B. As described above, since the image light beam is converted to be parallel by the first lens 14 before being input to the stereoscopic image projection apparatus 12, the image magnification of the first and second paths is not changed Remain unchanged. Since the alternating left and right circularly polarized light beams having passed through the first and second paths are converted by the second lens 25 to have the divergence angles of the original video light beams, the image magnifications of the alternating left and right circularly polarized light beams are The image magnification of the image light beam of FIG. The projection lens 16 projects the alternating left and right circularly polarized light beams outputted from the second lens 15 onto the projection screen 17 to form a stereoscopic image.

According to an aspect of the present invention, since one image source having one polarization direction is used, concurrency and alignment required when using two image sources are not required. The stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention not only enables stereoscopic stereoscopic images without synchronism, but also does not require a device and adjustment for giving concurrency to images. Further, the brightness of the image light beam is maintained almost as it is.

2 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the single projector system of Fig. 1 is modified such that the polarization modulator is disposed outside the projector in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the single projector system shown in FIG. 2 has the same arrangement as the single projector system shown in FIG. 1, except that the polarization modulator 12B is disposed outside the projector 11. FIG. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the polarization combiner and the polarization modulator may be configured as two separate elements to provide the actual needs and applications of the present invention, The arrangement of the respective components of the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 12 according to the present invention can be flexibly determined.

3 is a diagram illustrating a single projector system including a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

3, the single projector system includes a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection device 32 separately provided behind the projector 31, the projection lens 36, the projection screen 37, and the projection lens 36. As shown in FIG. The stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 32 comprises a polarized light combiner 32A and a polarized light modulator 32B and the polarized light combiner 32A and the polarized light modulator 32B are constituted by one component or two separate elements ≪ / RTI > 1, the polarized light combiner 32A includes a first polarized light separating section 303, a first reflecting section 304, a delay section 305, a second polarized light separating section 306A, And a beam combining unit 306 including a reflection unit 306B.

The projection lens 36 projects a video light beam from the upper surface 33 in the projector 31.

The first polarized light separating unit 303 separates the image light beam received from the projection lens 36 into a first polarized beam transmitted along a first path and a second polarized beam transmitted along a second path. In one embodiment, the first polarized light separating section 303 may be selected from the group consisting of a polarizing beam splitter, a wire grid polarizer and a McNeil prism. The first and second polarizing beams have mainly orthogonal polarization directions, and the polarization orientations of the first and second polarized beams are perpendicular to each other.

The first reflector 304 is disposed in the second path and reflects the s-polarized beam of the second path to be parallel to the p-polarized beam of the first path. The first reflector 304 may be a total reflection prism or a total reflection mirror.

The delay unit 305 is disposed in front of or behind the first reflector 304 in the second path to rotate the s-polarized beam to have the same polarization direction as the p-polarized beam. That is, the delay unit 305 rotates the polarization direction of the s-polarized beam by 90 degrees to convert it into a p-polarized beam. The delay unit 305 may be a half wave plate. In another embodiment, the delay unit 305 may be placed in the first path instead of the second path to rotate the p-polarized beam and convert it into an s-polarized beam.

The second reflecting portion 306B reflects the p-polarized beam of the first path and sends it to the second polarized light separating portion 306A. In one embodiment, the second reflector 306B may be a total reflection prism or a total reflection mirror.

The second polarized light separating section 306A combines the p-polarized beams of the first and second paths into a combined p-polarized beam output. The second polarized light separating unit 306A may be selected from the group consisting of a polarization beam splitter, a wire grid polarizer, and a McNeil prism.

In order to improve the polarization efficiency, clean-up polarizers 307 and 308, which are known elements, may be provided in the first and second paths.

The polarization modulator 32B for synchronizing with the projector 31 is a known element for generating a stereoscopic stereoscopic image. In one embodiment, the polarization modulator 32B includes a polarization means 32B for alternately circularly polarizing the combined p-polarized beam output in two different directions to produce a left eye image and a right eye image to enable stereo- (309), and transmits the modulated combined p-polarized beam output to the screen (37). The polarization means 309 may be a screen electro-optic polarization modulator capable of converting the combined p-polarized beam output into alternating left and right circularly polarized beams.

4 is a diagram illustrating a dual projector system including two stereoscopic image projection apparatuses shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4, stereoscopic stereoscopic image projectors 412 and 422 described in FIG. 1 are installed in two projectors 411 and 421, respectively. The two projectors 411 and 421 may be projectors of the same kind or may be projectors 411 and 412 which are different from each other. For example, the projectors 411 and 412 may all use the projector system shown in Fig. 1, and the projectors 411 and 412 may use the projector system shown in Fig. 1, The projector 412 may use the projector system shown in Fig. The first lens 414 is provided in front of the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 412 to convert the image light beam from the image surface 413 in the projector 411 into a parallel image light beam. The first lens 424 is disposed in front of the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 422 to convert the image light beam from the upper surface 423 in the projector 421 into a parallel image light beam.

The stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 412 disposed inside the projector 411 receives the parallel video light beam from the first lens 414 and converts the p-polarized beam and the s-polarized beam of the parallel video optical beam into a combined linear p- Polarized beam, and modulates the combined linear p-polarized beam. The stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 422 disposed inside the projector 421 receives the parallel video light beam from the first lens 424 and outputs the p-polarized beam and the s-polarized beam of the parallel video optical beam to the combination p- Polarized beam, and modulates the combined linear p-polarized beam. Each stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection device 412, 422 includes a polarization combiner and a polarization modulator, which may be constructed with reference to the embodiment described in Fig.

The second lens 415 is provided behind the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 412 and is arranged so that the divergent angle of the modulated combined p-polarized beam from the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 412 is input to the first lens 414 To the divergence angle equal to the divergence angle of the previous video light beam. The second lens 425 is provided behind the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projecting device 422 to project the divergent angle of the modulated combined p-polarized beam from the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projecting device 422 to the first lens 424 To the divergence angle equal to the divergence angle of the previous video light beam. The projection lens 416 transmits the modulated combined beam from the second lens 415 to the projection screen 43 and the projection lens 426 transmits the modulated combined beam from the second lens 425 onto the projection screen 43 so as to form a stereoscopic stereoscopic image.

When the projectors 411 and 421 are independent from each other, each of the projectors 411 and 421 provides a left eye image or a right eye image to enable stereoscopic stereoscopic effect. The polarization modulator of the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 412 and the polarization modulator of the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 422 synchronize with the respective projectors and generate alternating left and right circularly polarized light beams to generate left eye image and right eye image Respectively.

When the projector 411 is responsible for the left eye image and the projector 412 is responsible for the right eye image, the polarization modulator of the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 412 converts the combined linear polarization beam from the polarization combiner into a left eye image Or a circular polarizer for converting into a left-handed circularly polarized beam for use in the present invention. In addition, the polarization modulator of the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projector 422 may be a ground screen polarization modulator or a circular polarizer for converting the combinational linearly polarized beam from the polarization combiner into a right circularly polarized beam for the right eye image. This produces stereoscopic stereoscopic images. In this case, the polarization modulators of the two stereoscopic stereoscopic image projectors 412 and 422 are formed of linear polarizers having orthogonal polarization axes for outputting two linear polarized beams having orthogonal polarization directions so that stereoscopic stereoscopic images . This is what can be derived from the skill of those skilled in the art.

In another embodiment, the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is used in a dual projector system to project a stereoscopic stereoscopic image in a manner similar to the operation of the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus 412, 422 described above can do.

In conclusion, the present invention provides a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus and method using one image light source for stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection. The one image light source has substantially the same brightness as the image light beam received by the projector. In addition, the polarization combiner and the polarization modulator may be integrated into one component or consist of two separate components. Further, the polarization combiner and the polarization modulator can be installed inside the projector or independently provided outside the projector, depending on actual needs and necessity.

Another advantage of the present invention is that only one image source having one polarization direction is used for stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection, so that the concurrency and alignment required when using two image sources are not required. The stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention not only enables stereoscopic stereoscopic images without synchronism, but also does not require a device and adjustment for giving concurrency to images.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken as limitations. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

11: Projector
12: Stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection device
12A: polarization combiner
12B: polarization modulator
13: upper surface
14: first lens
15: Second lens
16: projection lens
17: Projection screen

Claims (16)

A stereo-stereoscopic image projection apparatus,
A first polarized light separator for receiving the image light beam and separating the received image light beam into a first polarized beam transmitted along a first path and a second polarized beam transmitted along a second path; A first reflector disposed in the second path and reflecting the second polarized beam such that the second polarized beam is parallel to the first polarized beam; A retarder for rotating the second polarized beam such that the second polarized beam has the same polarization direction as the first polarized beam; And a beam combiner for combining the first polarized beam and the second polarized beam having the same polarization direction to provide a combined beam output; And
And a polarization modulator for receiving and modulating the combined beam output and transmitting the modulated combined beam output to a screen,
Wherein the polarization modulator comprises:
a left eye image and a right eye image are alternately outputted in synchronization with a projector equipped with the stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus in order to realize a stereoscopic image in order to receive a single polarized image light with p-polarized light or s- Stereoscopic image projecting apparatus. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first polarized beam and the second polarized beam are perpendicular to each other. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first polarized-
A polarization beam splitter, a wire grid polarizer, and a magnifying prism. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first reflecting portion comprises:
A reflective prism or a total reflection mirror. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the delay unit comprises:
Wherein the stereoscopic image is a half-wave plate. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the beam combining unit comprises:
A second reflector for reflecting the second polarized beam rotated by the retarder; And
And a second polarization splitting unit that receives the reflected second polarized beam and combines the first polarized beam and the second polarized beam into the combined beam output. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the second polarized-
A polarization beam splitter, a wire grid polarizer, and a magnifying prism. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the second reflecting portion comprises:
A reflective prism or a total reflection mirror. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a clean-up polarizer disposed at some or all of the first path and the second path. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the polarization modulator comprises:
And a polarization means for alternately circularly polarizing the combined beam output in two different directions. The method according to claim 1,
A first lens disposed in front of the first polarized light separator and converting the image light beam into a parallel image light beam; And
Further comprising a second lens disposed behind the beam combining section and converting the divergent angle of the combined beam output into a divergent angle equal to a divergent angle of the image optical beam before being input to the first lens, Projection device. A stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection method using a stereoscopic stereoscopic image projection apparatus,
Receiving a video image light beam from the first flat-tube separator;
Separating the received image light beam into a first polarized beam transmitted along a first path and a second polarized beam transmitted along a second path;
Reflecting the second polarized beam such that the first polarized beam is parallel to the first polarized beam;
Rotating the second polarized beam such that the second polarized beam has the same polarization direction as the first polarized beam;
Combining the first polarized beam and the second polarized beam with a polarization combiner having the same polarization direction to provide a combined beam output; And
The polarization modulator receiving and modulating the combined beam output and transmitting the modulated combined beam output to a screen,
Wherein transmitting the modulated combined beam output to a screen comprises:
Receiving a single polarized image light with p-polarized or s-polarized light by the polarization modulator; synchronizing the left-eye image and the right-eye image with a projector equipped with the stereoscopic image projection device to realize a stereoscopic image; And outputting the stereoscopic image as a stereoscopic image. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the first polarized beam and the second polarized beam are perpendicular to each other. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein providing the combined beam output comprises:
And reflecting the rotated second polarized beam. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > 31. < / RTI > 13. The method of claim 12,
Prior to the step of receiving the image light beam,
Further comprising the step of converting the image light beam into a parallel image light beam. 16. The method of claim 15,
And converting the divergent angle of the combined beam output to a divergent angle equal to a divergent angle of the image light beam before being converted into the parallel image optical beam.

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