CN117561478A

CN117561478A - Image projection device and system

Info

Publication number: CN117561478A
Application number: CN202280044429.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 林冬风; 张涛; 郭宁
Original assignee: Beijing Asu Tech Co ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Asu Tech Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-22
Filing date: 2022-06-21
Publication date: 2024-02-13
Also published as: CN113608400B; CN113608400A; WO2022268060A1

Abstract

An image projection apparatus (001) and system are provided. The image projection apparatus (001) includes an illumination assembly (10) that provides a collimated beam of light, a first microlens array (210), and a second microlens array (220). Each of the first and second microlens arrays (210, 220) includes a plurality of sub-lenses optically corresponding to a plurality of sub-image sources of a micro-image source (230) disposed between the illumination assembly (10) and the second microlens array (220) in a one-to-one correspondence. After projection, at least two, and optionally all, of the projection images overlap at substantially the same location on the projection plane (S), thereby forming a composite image. Dynamic, color and multi-planar display of sharp-edged projected images can be achieved by modulating the direct light beam via an adjustable beam modulator (30) or an adjustable light source (110) in the illumination assembly (10), or by adjusting the distance between the first and second microlens arrays (210, 220) via motors connected to the first and second microlens arrays (210, 220).

Description

Image projection device and system

Cross-reference to related patent applications

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application number CN202110694743.3 filed at 22, 6, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of pattern display technologies, and in particular, to an image projection apparatus and system.

Background

With the development of digital technology, today's human society has entered the multimedia age. Pattern projection technology has been widely used in our daily lives. For example, pattern projection has been applied to guiding scenes for daily car distance warning, car interaction indication, cinema indication, welcome indication, etc., and also frequently used in scenes for improving visual experience, such as urban night scene arrangement.

Currently, existing pattern projection devices typically employ a conventional single lens and a pattern masking sheet to effect projection of the pattern. However, these pattern projection apparatuses have problems in that the volume is relatively large, and edges of the projected pattern are unclear, and only a simple, static pattern can be displayed.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above-described problems of the existing pattern projection apparatuses, the present disclosure provides an image projection apparatus and an image projection system.

In a first aspect, an image projection apparatus is provided that includes an illumination assembly, a first microlens array, and a second microlens array along an optical path of the apparatus. The illumination assembly is configured to provide a collimated light beam. The first microlens array includes a plurality of first sub-lenses, and the second microlens array includes a plurality of second sub-lenses. The image projection apparatus further includes a microimage source disposed between the illumination assembly and the second microlens array, and the microimage source includes a plurality of sub-image sources. Configured such that at least a subset of the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source is arranged to optically correspond to at least a subset of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and at least a subset of the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array in a one-to-one correspondence, and after the at least a subset of the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source is projected to form a plurality of projected images on a projection plane, at least two of the plurality of projected images and optionally all overlap at substantially the same location on the projection plane, thereby forming a composite image.

Herein, optionally, at least a subset of the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array is configured to lie on a focal plane of at least a subset of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array.

In the image projection apparatus, the microimage source can optionally be arranged on a side of the first microlens array close to the collimated light source assembly (or sandwiched between the illumination assembly and the first microlens array), or alternatively be arranged on a side of the first microlens array opposite to the collimated light source assembly (or sandwiched between the first microlens array and the second microlens array), or alternatively be integrated within said first microlens array.

In the image projection apparatus, one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source can optionally include a still image source or optionally include a moving image source. Herein, the moving image source can be of an LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) type, an LCD (liquid crystal display) type, an OLED (organic light emitting diode) type, a DLP (digital light processing) type, or the like.

In the image projection apparatus, one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources of the micro-image source can optionally include a micropattern-masking sheet (i.e., a masking sheet comprising one or more opaque portions and one or more open/light transmissive portions), or can optionally include an active luminescent image source, or can optionally include a real image formed by another imaging device.

Further optionally, one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source are each configured to adjustably display a different image.

According to some embodiments of the image projection apparatus, the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array, the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array, or both are closely arranged such that there is no gap between the sub-lenses.

In the image projection apparatus, each of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and/or each of the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array can have an aperture of arbitrary shape, such as a circle/ellipse, a polygon (e.g., triangle, rectangle/square, pentagon, hexagon, etc.), or an irregular shape.

In the image projection apparatus, the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array are both optionally configured in a honeycomb arrangement, or alternatively configured in an orthogonal array.

According to some preferred embodiments, the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array both have hexagonal apertures that are closely arranged in a honeycomb arrangement. According to some other preferred embodiments, the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array both have square apertures, which are closely arranged in an orthogonal array.

According to some embodiments of the image projection apparatus, the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source comprises at least two sub-image source subsets, each subset configured to synthetically project a different image. Herein, optionally, each sub-image source subset is configured such that each sub-image source comprised in the subset is immediately adjacent to at least one further sub-image source, or alternatively, one or more sub-image source subsets are configured such that not all sub-image sources in the subset are immediately adjacent to each other.

According to certain preferred embodiments, each of the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source has a hexagonal aperture, and the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source are arranged in a honeycomb and together form a hexagon. Herein, optionally, each of the at least two sub-image source subsets is arranged in a different region of the hexagon, and the different region can be a different row or a different column of the hexagon, a different sector of the hexagon, or a different annular region of the hexagon. Further optionally, all of the sub-image sources in each of the at least two sub-image source subsets are not immediately adjacent to each other.

According to some other preferred embodiments, each of the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source has a square aperture, and the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source are in an orthogonal array and together form a square. Herein, optionally, each of the at least two sub-image source subsets is arranged in a different region of the square, and the different regions are different rows or different columns of the square. Further optionally, all of the sub-image sources in each of the at least two sub-image source subsets are not immediately adjacent to each other.

In any of the image projection apparatuses described above, the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array all have substantially the same first focal point (i.e., first focal length), and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array all have substantially the same second focal point (i.e., second focal length). Herein, the first focus is substantially equal to the second focus, or may be different.

In embodiments where the first focus and the second focus are different, it can optionally be configured such that the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array do not all have the same focus, or such that the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array do not all have the same focus. Further optionally, the first microlens array comprises at least two first sub-lens subsets, each subset having a different first focal point; and the second microlens array includes at least two second sub-lens subsets, each subset having a different second focal point. Configured such that at least two first sub-lens subsets in the first microlens array correspond to at least two second sub-lens subsets in the second microlens array, respectively; the distance between each first sub-lens subset and its corresponding second sub-lens subset is adjustable to allow the composite image corresponding thereto to be projected on different projection planes. Further optionally, at least one of the first microlens array or the second microlens array is configured to be movable along the optical path, thereby allowing the distance to be adjustable. Herein, according to some embodiments, the image projection apparatus further comprises a first motor operatively connected to the first microlens array, and the first motor is configured to move the first microlens array along the optical path. According to some other embodiments, the image projection apparatus further comprises a second motor operatively connected to the second microlens array, and the second motor is configured to move the second microlens array along the optical path.

In the image projection apparatus provided herein, the illumination assembly may include at least one illumination module. Each illumination module is configured to provide a portion P (0 < p+.100%) of the collimated light beam and includes a light source sub-module and a collimation and beam shaping sub-module. The light source sub-module is configured to provide a light source and the collimation and shaping sub-module is configured to collimate a light beam emitted by the light source sub-module into a corresponding collimated light beam.

Herein, in each lighting module, the collimating and beam shaping sub-module may optionally include a collimating lens, a diffractive optical element, or a reflective bowl (reflector bowl), and the light source sub-module may optionally include an LED light source, a laser light source, or a mercury lamp.

Further optionally, the light beams emitted from the light source sub-modules in each lighting module are configured such that they are monochromatic (or monochromatic, i.e. with one single color of light beam) or polychromatic (or polychromatic, i.e. with more than one color of light beam) or panchromatic (or full color, i.e. with all colors of light beam in the visible spectrum).

According to some embodiments, the light source sub-group in each lighting module comprises a plurality of LED light sources configured to emit light having different primary colors, respectively. Further alternatively, a plurality of LED light sources can together provide a full color light beam by combining. For example, the plurality of LED light sources in the light source sub-module are configured to emit red light (R), green light (G), and blue light (B), respectively, or to emit cyan light (C), magenta light (M), and yellow light (Y), respectively.

In any of the embodiments of the image projection apparatus, the collimated beam is configured to be adjustable.

In this context, the image projection apparatus may optionally further comprise a beam modulator sandwiched between the illumination assembly and the first microlens array, and the beam modulator is configured to adjustably control at least one optical characteristic (e.g., aperture, intensity, color, or distribution, etc.) of the collimated light beam entering the first microlens array. The beam modulator may optionally include at least one of an apodizer, a filter, or a color filter.

According to some embodiments, the beam modulator comprises an apodizer configured to adjustably control an aperture of the collimated beam entering the first microlens array. In this context, the apodizer is optionally configured to radially control the aperture of the collimated light beam, which can also control the aperture of the collimated light beam in other ways (e.g., linearly across the diameter). In order to achieve adjustable control of the aperture of the collimated beam, the image projection apparatus may further include a third motor operatively connected to the apodizer and configured to adjustably control the open/translucent portion of the apodizer.

According to some embodiments, the beam modulator includes a color filter configured to adjustably control the color of the collimated beam entering the first microlens array.

According to some embodiments, the lighting assembly comprises at least one lighting module, each lighting module being configured to controllably provide a portion of the collimated light beam, thereby enabling adjustable control of one or more optical properties of the collimated light beam.

According to some specific embodiments of the image projection apparatus, the illumination assembly comprises an illumination module, and the illumination module further comprises a point light source and a collimating lens, the point light source and the collimating lens being arranged such that a light beam from the point light source can be collimated by the collimating lens, thereby providing a collimated light beam. The plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source are arranged to optically correspond to the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first micro-lens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second micro-lens array in a one-to-one correspondence, and the plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source comprise at least two sub-image source subsets, each subset being arranged in a different area and configured to synthetically project a different image. The image projection apparatus further includes an apodizer positioned between the collimating lens and the first microlens array and configured with an adjustable opening/light transmissive portion such that the collimated light beam can be adjustably controlled to pass through one or more of at least two sub-image sources of the microimage sources.

Herein, optionally, the apodizer is operatively connected to a motor, and the motor is configured to adjustably control an opening or light transmitting portion of the apodizer; and, alternatively, the apodizer may optionally include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) barrier sheet capable of adjustably controlling an opening or light transmitting portion of the apodizer.

According to some embodiments, each of the at least two sub-image source subsets of the microimage sources is arranged in a different annular region.

According to some embodiments, the first and second microlens arrays are configured to project each of at least two subsets of the microimage sources onto substantially the same plane, and according to some other embodiments, the first and second microlens arrays are configured to project each of the at least two subsets of the microimage sources onto different projection planes, and the image projection device further comprises a motor operatively connected to the second microlens array, and the motor is configured to adjustably move the second microlens array along the optical path, thereby allowing each of the at least two subsets of the microimage sources to be projected onto the projection plane corresponding to the subset.

According to some specific embodiments of the image projection apparatus, the illumination assembly comprises at least two illumination modules, each illumination module comprising a point light source and a collimating lens, the light sources and the collimating lenses being arranged such that light from the point light source is collimated by the collimating lenses to become a part P (0<P +.100%) of a collimated light beam from the illumination assembly. The plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source are arranged to optically correspond in a one-to-one correspondence to the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first micro-lens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second micro-lens array, wherein the plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source comprises at least two sub-image source subsets, each subset being arranged in a different area and configured such that a different composite image corresponding to a subset of the collimated light beam provided by one of the at least two illumination modules is projected upon passing through the subset.

Herein, optionally, the image projection apparatus may further comprise a controller communicatively connected to the point light sources in each of the at least two lighting modules and configured to adjustably control the operation of the point light sources in each of the at least two lighting modules.

In this context, further optionally, the image projection apparatus may further comprise a beam modulator located between the collimating lens of the illumination module and the first microlens array, and the beam modulator may comprise an apodizer, a filter, or a color filter, or a combination thereof.

According to some embodiments, the first and second microlens arrays are configured to project each of at least two sub-image source subsets of the microimage sources onto substantially the same projection plane; according to some other embodiments, the first and second microlens arrays are configured to project each of at least two sub-image source subsets of the microimage sources onto different projection planes. The image projection apparatus further includes a motor operatively connected to the second microlens array and configured to adjustably move the second microlens array along the optical path to allow each of at least two subsets of the microimage sources to be projected onto a projection plane corresponding to the subset.

In this context, the number of at least two lighting modules can be at least 3 (e.g. 3, 4 or 5, etc.), and each lighting module can be configured to provide collimated light beams having different primary colors.

In any of the embodiments of the image projection apparatus described above, the apparatus may further comprise a sub-sequence component arranged in the optical path behind the second microlens array and configured to further modulate the projected image. In this context, the sub-sequence component may optionally comprise a gate configured to shape the projected image; and the sub-sequence component may optionally include a lens assembly configured to further optically modulate the projected image.

In any of the embodiments of the image projection apparatus described above, a transparent medium can optionally be disposed between the first microlens array and the second microlens array, and the transparent medium can optionally be quartz, siO ₂ Polycarbonate (PC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and according to some preferred embodiments, the transparent medium can be air.

In a second aspect, there is also provided an image projection system comprising at least one image projection apparatus according to any of the embodiments of the image projection apparatus described above.

The image projection system may further include a controller communicatively connected to each of the at least one image projection devices and configured to control operation of each of the at least one image projection devices to allow for display of the dynamic image.

According to some embodiments of the image projection system, wherein one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source in each of the at least one image projection device are all dynamic image sources, the controller is communicatively connected to each of the one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source and configured to control display content of each of the one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source.

According to some embodiments of the image projection system, wherein each of the at least one image projection device further comprises at least one motor operatively connected to one or both of the first and second microlens arrays and configured to move one or both of the first and second microlens arrays along the optical path to adjust a distance between the first and second microlens arrays, the controller is communicatively connected to each of the at least one motors and configured to control operation of each of the at least one motors. Herein, optionally, the at least one motor comprises a first motor operatively connected to the first microlens array, and the first motor is configured to move the first microlens array along the optical path; or alternatively, the at least one motor comprises a second motor operatively connected to the second microlens array, and the second motor is configured to move the second microlens array along the optical path.

According to some embodiments of the image projection system, wherein the illumination assembly in each of the at least one image projection devices is configured to provide an adjustable collimated beam of light, the controller is communicatively connected to the illumination assembly in each of the at least one image projection devices and is configured to control operation of the illumination assembly.

According to some embodiments of the image projection system, wherein each of the at least one image projection devices further comprises a beam modulator sandwiched between the illumination assembly and the first microlens array; a controller is communicatively connected to the beam modulator and configured to control operation of the beam modulator such that at least one optical characteristic (e.g., aperture, intensity, color, or distribution) of the collimated light beam entering the first microlens array in each of the at least one image projection devices is adjustably controlled.

Optionally herein, the beam modulator comprises an apodizer, and each of the at least one image projection devices further comprises a third motor operatively connected to the apodizer; and a controller communicatively connected to the third motor and configured to control operation of the third motor such that the aperture of the collimated beam is adjustably controlled.

Herein, optionally, the beam modulator comprises an apodizer comprising a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) barrier sheet; the controller is communicatively connected to the LCD barrier sheet and is configured to control light transmittance of the LCD barrier sheet.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate embodiments of the present invention, the drawings of some embodiments of the present invention will be briefly described below. It is apparent that these drawings should be construed as representing only some, but not all, of the embodiments provided by the present invention.

Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an image projection apparatus according to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2A illustrates some embodiments of an illumination assembly including one or more illumination modules in the image projection apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

fig. 2B to 2D respectively show structural diagrams of the lighting module of fig. 2A according to three different embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3A illustrates a block diagram of a first embodiment of an imaging assembly in the image projection apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B illustrates a schematic arrangement of a first microlens array and/or a second microlens array in the imaging assembly shown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C shows a schematic arrangement of microimage sources in the imaging assembly shown in FIG. 3A;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate the optical paths and operating mechanisms of the image projection apparatus shown in FIG. 3A and a conventional pattern projection device, respectively;

FIG. 4C illustrates a partial view, a partial light path, and an operating mechanism of the image projection apparatus shown in FIG. 3A;

FIGS. 5A through 5C are block diagrams illustrating three further embodiments of an imaging assembly in the image projection apparatus shown in FIG. 1, respectively;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate, respectively, region division within each of a plurality of sub-image sources in a microimage source and a resultant image obtained on a projection plane after image projection;

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate four different partitioning schemes of functional areas within a microimage source, respectively;

fig. 8A to 8C show three different arrangements of a plurality of sub lenses in the first microlens array or the second microlens array, respectively;

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an image projection apparatus in which a first microlens array or a second microlens array can be adjustably moved, according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 10 to 12 show structural diagrams and operation mechanisms of three specific embodiments of the image projection apparatus described below in examples 1 to 3, respectively;

FIG. 13 illustrates an image projection apparatus including sub-sequence elements according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 illustrates certain embodiments of an image projection system including more than one image projection apparatus; and

fig. 15 illustrates an image projection system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The technical scheme of each embodiment of the image projection apparatus and system provided by the present invention is described in more detail below with reference to the above drawings.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides an image projection apparatus that basically comprises an illumination assembly and an imaging assembly.

The imaging assembly includes a first microlens array and a second microlens array along an optical path of the image projection device. The imaging assembly further comprises a microimage source arranged between the illumination assembly and the second microlens array, for example on a side of the first microlens array closer to the second microlens array, on a side of the first microlens array opposite the second microlens array, or even integrated with the first microlens array. The first microlens array includes a plurality of first sub-lenses, the second microlens array includes a plurality of second sub-lenses, and the microimage source includes a plurality of sub-image sources. Is configured such that at least one subset of the sub-image sources is arranged to optically correspond to at least one subset of the first sub-lenses and at least one subset of the second sub-lenses in a one-to-one correspondence. Further configured such that after the at least one sub-image source subset is projected to form a plurality of projection images on the projection plane, at least two of the plurality of projection images and optionally all overlap at substantially the same location on the projection plane, thereby forming a composite image.

Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an image projection apparatus according to some embodiments of the invention. As shown, the image projection apparatus 001 includes an illumination assembly 10 and an imaging assembly 20 along the direction of the optical path O. The illumination assembly 10 is configured to provide a collimated beam of light (shown as parallel lines with arrows) to the imaging assembly 20; and the imaging assembly 20 is configured to receive the collimated light beam from the illumination assembly 10 and then to image the image onto the projection plane S from a microimage source (not shown herein, but described in more detail below) contained therein.

According to some embodiments, image projection apparatus 001 may optionally further comprise a beam modulator 30 (shown in dashed box in fig. 1), beam modulator 30 being sandwiched between illumination assembly 10 and imaging assembly 20 and configured to adjustably control one or more optical characteristics of the collimated beam after emission of the collimated beam from illumination assembly 10 and before transmission to imaging assembly 20. Herein, the terms "optical properties", "a plurality of optical properties", etc. are referred to as optical characteristics of the light beam, which can include, for example, the aperture, intensity, color, or distribution of the light beam, etc. Here, a different device can potentially be employed as the beam modulator 30.

Alternatively, the beam modulator 30 may include an apodizer (i.e., an optical barrier sheet) configured to adjustably control the aperture of the collimated beam. In this context, the apodizer is capable of adjustable control of the aperture of the collimated light beam in any manner and/or in any direction. For example, by a motor operatively connected to the apodizer and configured to increase or decrease the open/translucent portion of the apodizer (see, e.g., example 1, which shows a motor radially adjusting the opening of the apodizer, but other adjustment directions are possible), the aperture of the collimated beam can be adjusted to increase or decrease in a linear direction across the cross-section. Other non-mechanical means besides those described above may be employed. For example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) barrier sheet comprising a plurality of pixels can be used as the apodizer herein. Each pixel includes a plurality of liquid crystal molecules, and a rotation state of the liquid crystal molecules can be changed by controlling a voltage applied to the liquid crystal molecules, so that a transmittance of each pixel of the LCD barrier sheet can be controlled. By controlling the voltages applied to the different pixels of the LCD barrier sheet, the light transmitting portion of the LCD barrier sheet can be adjusted.

Further alternatively, the beam modulator 30 may comprise a filter configured to adjustably control the intensity of the collimated beam entering the first microlens array. Further alternatively, the beam modulator 30 may include a color filter configured to adjustably control the color of the collimated beam entering the first microlens array.

Notably, the beam modulator 30 may include any combination of apodizers, filters, color filters, or the like, thereby enabling adjustable control of more than one optical characteristic (e.g., aperture, intensity, color, distribution, or the like) of the collimated beam entering the imaging assembly 20 of the image projection apparatus as disclosed herein.

In the image projection apparatus 001 shown in fig. 1, the illumination assembly 10 may include one or more illumination modules 100, such as the illumination module 100 in fig. 2A ₁ 、100 ₂ ……100 _n (n is an integer not less than 1). One or more ofEach lighting module 100 is configured to provide its corresponding collimated light beam, respectively, which together form a collimated light beam emitted from the lighting assembly 10 in fig. 1.

Herein, each illumination module 100 may include a light source sub-module and a collimation and beam shaping sub-module. The light source sub-module is configured to provide a light source and the collimation and beam shaping sub-module is configured to collimate a light beam emitted by the light source sub-module (i.e. an input light beam) into a corresponding collimated light beam (i.e. an output light beam). Herein, one or more of the lighting modules 100 in the lighting assembly 10 may have the same or different configurations.

According to some embodiments as shown in fig. 2B, the illumination module 100 includes a point light source 110 as a light source sub-module and a collimating lens 120 as a collimating and beam shaping sub-module. The point light source 110 is disposed at the focal point of the collimating lens 120 such that the collimating lens 120 can convert the light beam emitted from the point light source 110 into a collimated light beam.

According to some other embodiments as shown in fig. 2C, the lighting module 100 comprises a point light source 110 'as a light source sub-module and a reflective bowl 120' with a parabolic inner reflective surface as a collimation and beam shaping sub-module. The point light source 110 'is disposed at the focal point of the reflective bowl 120' such that the inner reflective surface of the reflective bowl 120 'can reflect the light beam emitted from the point light source 110' into a collimated light beam.

According to some other embodiments as shown in fig. 2D, the illumination module 100 comprises a point light source 110 "as a light source sub-module and a diffractive optical element 120" (e.g. fresnel lens, etc.) with a micro-or nanostructured surface as a collimation and beam shaping sub-module. The diffractive optical element 120″ diffracts the light beam emitted from the point light source 110″ by changing the phase of the light beam, thereby being able to modulate the light beam propagating through the diffractive optical element 120″ into a collimated light beam.

It should be noted that, in each of the illumination modules 100 disclosed herein, the light source sub-modules are not limited to the above-described point light sources, but may be of other types, such as line light sources or surface light sources, and the collimating and beam shaping sub-modules are correspondingly configured to convert light beams emitted from these non-point light sources into collimated light beams.

In each lighting module there may be different types of light source sub-modules. Examples of such can include LED light sources, laser light sources, mercury lamps, and the like. Both the LED light source and the laser light source are solid state light sources. They have the advantages of slow decay and long service life compared to conventional bulb light sources. Compared with an LED light source, the laser light source can have higher collimation degree, and the complexity of the collimation and beam shaping sub-module can be further reduced.

In the lighting module, the light beam emitted from the light source sub-module can be monochromatic (i.e. monochromatic) or polychromatic (i.e. polychromatic). According to some embodiments, the light beam emitted from the light source sub-module can be full color (i.e., full color, which is essentially one particular type of "polychromatic"). For example, a light source sub-module in a lighting module may include a plurality of LED light sources configured to emit light of different primary colors by each of the LED light sources, and to emit full color light by any combination of the plurality of LED light sources. In another example, the light source sub-module may include an LED light source that emits one primary color light (e.g., blue light (B)), however it may also include other phosphors that are capable of emitting other primary colors of light, such as red (R) light or green (G) light, upon excitation of the primary colors of light emitted from the LED light source, and the emitted primary colors of light in combination with the excited different primary colors of light are capable of producing full colors of light. In addition to the above RGB scheme, other schemes may include a CMY scheme including cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), or other schemes.

In the image projection apparatus 001 shown in fig. 1, the imaging assembly 20 basically includes a first microlens array, a second microlens array, and a microimage source. These optical elements may optionally have different configurations and arrangements, according to different embodiments.

Fig. 3A shows a block diagram of a first embodiment of an imaging assembly 20. As shown in this first embodiment, the first microlens array 210, the microimage source 230, and the second microlens array 220 are sequentially arranged along substantially the optical path O of the entire image projection apparatus 001 as shown in fig. 1. The microimage source 230 is disposed in close proximity to the first microlens array 210 (e.g., in contact with the first microlens array 210).

Each of the first microlens array 210, the microimage source 230, and the second microlens array 220 includes a plurality of optical elements that are arranged in positions in an optically one-to-one correspondence. More specifically, the first microlens array 210 includes a plurality of first sub-lenses (as shown by the three light colored ellipses), the microimage source 230 includes a plurality of sub-image sources (as shown by the three rectangles with patterns), and the second microlens array 220 includes a plurality of second sub-lenses (as shown by the three dark colored ellipses). The plurality of first sub-lenses, the plurality of sub-image sources, and the plurality of second sub-lenses are arranged to optically correspond to each other, respectively (e.g., an uppermost first sub-lens, an uppermost sub-image source, and an uppermost second sub-lens form a corresponding subset; etc.). As used herein, the phrase "optically corresponds" is defined as the case where element a and element B are located on the optical axis such that a and B can operate as independent systems.

For the first embodiment of the imaging assembly 20 as shown in fig. 3A, fig. 3B shows a schematic arrangement of the first microlens array 210 and/or the second microlens array 220, and fig. 3C shows a schematic arrangement of the microimage source 230. As shown in these figures, in a first embodiment of the imaging assembly 20, each of the first microlens array 210, the microimage source 230, and the second microlens array 220 basically includes 9 optical elements arranged in a 3×3 array. Any optical element (e.g., upper left element) at a particular location in one array optically corresponds to other optical elements in the other two arrays at the same location.

In a first embodiment of the imaging assembly 20, each first sub-lens in the first microlens array 210 substantially converges the portion of the collimated light beam entering its aperture, and after the converging light beam passes through a corresponding sub-image source in the microimage sources 230, a corresponding second sub-lens in the second microlens array 220 also projects the image contained in that sub-image source onto the projection plane S. Further configured such that, after the plurality of sub-image sources are projected by the second microlens array 220 to form a plurality of projection images on the projection plane, the plurality of projection images can all overlap at substantially the same position on the projection plane to form a composite image (i.e., the plurality of projection images can be precisely stacked on each other to form a composite image on the projection plane).

In a first embodiment of the imaging assembly 20 as shown in fig. 3A, after projection, the highest points of the three sub-image sources (i.e., T1 to T3) are all projected onto point T on the projection plane S, while the lowest points of the three sub-image sources (i.e., B1 to B3) are all projected onto point B on the projection plane S, and so on for the other corresponding points on each of the three sub-image sources, allowing each such sub-image sources projected on the projection plane S to precisely overlap/stack with each other. With further reference to fig. 3C, wherein microimage source 230 is comprised of 9 sub-image sources, after all of the 9 sub-image sources are projected, projection images are formed at substantially the same location on the projection plane, i.e., each such projection image is stacked 9 times on top of each other.

As further shown in fig. 3A, to ensure a good projection effect, according to some preferred embodiments, the distance d between the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220 is configured to be the focal length of each of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array 210 (i.e., the second microlens array 220 is arranged substantially on the focal plane of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array 210) in order to achieve uniform kohler illumination of the imaging assembly 20 of the image projection device 001.

It should be noted that, in addition to the configuration of the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220 described above, the second microlens array 220 can also be arranged on the following planes according to some other embodiments requiring non-kohler illumination: the plane is not the focal plane of the first plurality of sub-lenses in the first microlens array 210.

The image projection apparatus as described above has the following advantages as compared with the existing/conventional pattern projection device.

First, conventional pattern projection apparatuses are generally provided with a large single lens (as shown in fig. 4B), and thus the edge beam is far from the optical axis of the single lens, resulting in relatively large distortion and aberration defects of an image projected by the conventional pattern projection apparatus. In the image projection apparatus provided herein, the edge portion of the collimated light beam provided by the illumination assembly 10 (i.e., the "edge light beam") corresponds to the sub-lenses at the edges of the first microlens array 210/second microlens array 220 (i.e., the "edge sub-lenses"), and is thus relatively close to the optical axis of the edge sub-lenses, such that distortion and aberration problems during imaging of the image projection apparatus provided herein are substantially reduced.

Second, since the micro image source 230 including a plurality of sub image sources is employed in the image projection apparatus and the plurality of sub image sources are configured to optically correspond to the plurality of first sub lenses of the first micro lens array 210 and the plurality of second sub lenses of the second micro lens array 220 in a one-to-one correspondence, each projection image can be overlapped/superimposed/stacked at substantially the same position on the projection plane S such that a multi-stacked projection image has a relatively clear imaging result. Therefore, the problem of unclear edges of the projection image generated by the conventional pattern projection equipment can be effectively solved.

Third, in the image projection apparatus provided herein, the equivalent entrance aperture corresponding to each sub-lens in each of the first and second microlens arrays 210 and 220 is only a small fraction of the entrance aperture, and thus the equivalent entrance aperture is significantly smaller than the entrance aperture. According to the theory of similar triangles of the paraxial optical system, the distance between the microimage source 230 and the second microlens array 220 is relatively small, and can be further reduced as the number of sub-lenses increases. Accordingly, the image projection apparatus provided herein has advantages of short overall length and small overall volume.

More specifically, the following illustrative comparative example is provided. Fig. 4A shows a partial view of the image projection apparatus shown in fig. 3A, wherein only the microimage source 230 and the second microlens array 220 are shown for simplicity. Fig. 4B shows a diagram of a conventional pattern projection apparatus having only an image source 01 and a conventional lens (i.e., one large single lens) 02. Image projection apparatus shown in FIG. 4A and conventional one shown in FIG. 4BThe pattern projection devices have the same incident aperture D, the same projection distance L ₀ (i.e., the distance between the projected image S and the second microlens array 220 or the distance between the projected image S and the large single lens 02), and the size of the same projected image S, and the number of sub-image sources in the micro-image source 230 and the number of sub-lenses of the second microlens array 220 are 3. The distance between the microimage source 230 and the second microlens array 220 is L ₁ And the distance between the image source 01 and the large single lens 02 is L ₂ . According to the theory of similar triangles, in FIG. 4A, S/L ₀ ＝D/3/L ₁ And in FIG. 4B, S/L ₀ ＝D/L ₂ L is then ₁ ＝D/3×L ₀ /S，L ₂ ＝D×L ₀ and/S. Thus, L ₁ ＝L ₂ /3. Thus, in the image projection apparatus provided in fig. 4A, a distance L between the microimage source 230 and the second microlens array 220 ₁ Much smaller than the distance L between the image source 01 and the large single lens 02 in the conventional pattern projection apparatus as shown in fig. 4B ₂ . Therefore, by adopting the technical scheme provided by the invention, the whole length of the image projection device can be obviously reduced.

It is also worth noting that the incident beam generally has a non-uniform intensity distribution over the incident cross-section (i.e. the cross-section of the incident beam perpendicular to the incident beam path) and that the light intensity at different spatial locations is also different. Therefore, in the conventional pattern projection apparatus as shown in fig. 4B, only the light beams passing through the conventional lens 01 and the image source 02 have a problem of uneven light intensity of the projected image during projection.

In contrast, in the image projection apparatus provided herein, both the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220 include a plurality of sub-lenses. As shown in fig. 4C, which shows a partial view of the image projection apparatus shown in fig. 3A, a D1 portion of an incident light beam passes through the uppermost sub-lens of the first microlens array 210, converges on the uppermost sub-lens of the second microlens array 220, and is then projected onto the projection surface S to be imaged after passing through the uppermost sub-lens of the second microlens array 220. Similarly, the D2 portion of the incident light beam passes through sub-lenses corresponding to the first and second microlens arrays 210 and 220, and is then projected onto S for imaging; the D3 portion of the incident beam is similarly projected onto S for imaging. In other words, a part of the incident light beams at different spatial positions passes through the sub-lenses of the first microlens array 210 and the sub-lenses of the second microlens array 220, and is then projected onto S for imaging. Since the light intensity at each spatial position on the projection surface S is a superposition or overlap of light of the incident light beam at different positions, the difference in light intensity is relatively small, so that the light intensity is relatively uniform. As such, the image projection apparatus provided herein has the advantage of relatively uniform light, and therefore, less uniformity requirements for the incident light beam. Because the light intensity of the projection image is more uniform, the problem that the light intensity of the projection image associated with the existing pattern projection equipment is less uniform is effectively solved.

In a first embodiment of the imaging assembly 20 as shown in fig. 3A, the microimage source 230 is disposed substantially on a side of the first microlens array 210 that is closer to the second microlens array 220. Surprisingly, however, it has been found that the microimage source 230 can alternatively be disposed on the opposite side of the first microlens array 210 from the second microlens array 220 (as shown in fig. 5A), or can be disposed integrated into the first microlens array 210 opposite the second microlens array 220 (as shown in fig. 5B). The above-described alternative arrangement of the imaging assembly 10 still surprisingly allows the image projection device to project images contained in the microimage sources 230 with good results. It has also been found that even if the first microlens array 210 is completely skipped, i.e., the imaging assembly 20 includes only the microimage source 230 and the second microlens array 220 along the optical path (as shown in fig. 5C), the image projection device is still capable of operation

Regardless of the arrangement and configuration of the first microlens array 210, the second microlens array 220, and the microimage source 230 in the imaging assembly 20 of the image projection device as shown in fig. 1, there can optionally be different embodiments for the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source 230, for the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array 210, and/or for the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array 220.

For microimage sources 230, each of the microimage sources can optionally include a still image source, or alternatively can include a moving image source.

As used herein, the term "still image source" refers to an image source whose optical characteristics (e.g., its pattern, color, contrast, etc.) do not change over time. As shown in fig. 3C, the still image source can be a micropattern-masking sheet comprising one or more light transmissive regions (as shown by the white or non-bold regions of the microimage source 230) and one or more light opaque regions (i.e., opaque regions, as shown by the black or bold regions of the microimage source 230). Such micropattern-shielding patches may optionally be provided with a non-transmissive or opaque material, fabricated by removing certain areas (corresponding to light-transmissive areas) while retaining other areas (corresponding to light-opaque areas). Alternatively, such micropattern-shielding patches may comprise both transparent and opaque materials configured as a material for the light-transmissive regions and a material for the light-opaque regions of the micropattern-shielding patches, respectively. It should also be noted that the "still image source" is not limited to micropattern-masking sheets, and that other embodiments are possible.

As used herein, the term "dynamic image source" refers to an image source whose optical characteristics change with time, and can be of a type such as LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon ) type, LCD (liquid crystal display) type, OLED (organic light emitting diode) type, or DLP (digital light procession, digital light processing) type, and so on, and thus may include a dynamic display area composed of a plurality of pixels whose light transmission states, colors, or intensities can be dynamically controlled. Employing a dynamic image source for each sub-image source in a microimage source enables the image projection apparatus disclosed herein to generate rich, vivid, dynamic, and diverse projection images.

According to some embodiments, each of the microimage sources can comprise an active luminescent image source. Herein, the term "active light emitting image source" refers to an image source capable of emitting light by itself in response to a passing current or in response to an induced electric field generated by recombination of electron and hole radiation.

According to some embodiments, each of the microimage sources can include a real image formed by the imaging device. In this context, the term "real image" refers to the collection of foci actually formed by converging/diverging rays/beams from one or more previous imaging devices, and can also be inspected/detected by a second lens or lens system.

According to some embodiments, each of the microimage sources includes at least two regions configured to adjustably display different content, thereby enabling each such microimage source to display different images according to different conditions. Fig. 6A and 6B illustrate one such example. As shown in fig. 6A, the sub-image source basically includes three regions, each containing different image content, which is represented by dashed boxes (i.e., A1, A2, and A3). Each of these image contents may be adjustably controlled such that certain projected images derived from a first subset of the sub-image sources may be displayed as only one such sub-content (e.g., A1), while other projected images derived from a second subset of the sub-image sources may be displayed as A2 and A3, respectively. After being stacked on top of each other, these projection images may be displayed as a composite image containing the contents of all of A1, A2, and A3, as shown in fig. 6B.

Further with respect to microimage sources 230, according to some embodiments, the plurality of sub-image sources in microimage sources 230 includes at least two sub-image source subsets, each subset configured to synthetically project a different image. In this context, microimage sources 230 are substantially divided into different functional areas, each such functional area comprising a subset of sub-image sources that can be projected onto substantially the same location on the projection plane to form different composite projection images. Each such functional area may optionally include sub-image sources that are connected together, or may optionally include sparsely distributed (i.e., discrete) sub-image sources, or may optionally include both.

Fig. 7A-7D illustrate four different divisions of functional areas in microimage sources 230, which basically take a configuration in which multiple sub-image sources are arranged in a honeycomb fashion and each sub-image source has a hexagonal aperture. In each of fig. 7A to 7C, the functional areas are configured such that the sub-image sources contained therein are connected together but have different divisions. In the embodiment shown in fig. 7A, the functional areas of the sub-image sources are divided in different rows, as indicated by the horizontal dashed boxes. Note that each region can be composed of one row, but can also be composed of at least two rows, or alternatively can be composed of one column or at least two columns. In the embodiment shown in fig. 7B, the functional areas of the sub-image source are divided by different sector areas centered on the center point of the center sub-image source, as indicated by the dashed sector boxes. In the embodiment shown in fig. 7C, the functional areas of the sub-image sources are divided according to different rings around the central sub-image source, as indicated by the dashed concentric rings. In the embodiment shown in fig. 7D, on the other hand, the functional areas of the sub-image sources are configured to be discrete, i.e. any two sub-image sources (as shown by solid hexagons) contained in a particular functional area are separated by at least one sub-image source that does not belong to the same functional area. Note that it is not necessary that all of the sub-image sources included in a particular functional area be discrete from each other, as long as not all of the sub-image sources in the particular functional area are immediately adjacent to each other. It should also be noted that the specific examples shown in fig. 7A to 7D are for illustration purposes only, and the organization of the different functional areas is not limited.

For each of the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220, each sub-lens (i.e., each first sub-lens in the first microlens array 210 or each second sub-lens in the second microlens array 220) can optionally have a different type, a different aperture shape, a different aperture/sag size, a different spatial position/arrangement, a different focal length, or the like, according to different embodiments.

For example, each sub-lens can be a plano-convex, biconvex or freeform microlens.

The aperture of each sub-lens may be of any shape and can alternatively be polygonal (e.g. quadrilateral/square, pentagonal or hexagonal, etc.) or circular or elliptical. Further alternatively, each sub-lens may be configured to have substantially the same aperture shape, but may also be configured to have a different aperture shape.

In addition, the aperture and/or sag of each sub-lens may be of any size, and according to some embodiments, the aperture and sag of each sub-lens are on the order of microns. Alternatively, each sub-lens may be configured to have the same size or to have different sizes.

Further, the plurality of sub-lenses (i.e., the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array 210 or the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array 220) may have different spatial arrangements, and alternatively, the plurality of sub-lenses may be arranged in a honeycomb (i.e., the centers of any three adjacent sub-lenses form an equilateral triangle, as shown by the three centers C1 to C3 in fig. 8A and 8B) or orthogonally (i.e., the centers of any four adjacent sub-lenses form a square, or the plurality of sub-lenses form an array in which rows and columns are perpendicular to each other, as shown in fig. 3B). There is no limitation on this arrangement.

It should be noted that, in order to improve the energy utilization efficiency, the plurality of sub-lenses in the first microlens array 210 or the second microlens array 220 are configured to be closely arranged, that is, there is no inter-sub-lens space between adjacent sub-lenses. The embodiment of fig. 8A and 8B using a honeycomb arrangement is taken as an illustrative example. In contrast to the embodiment shown in fig. 8B where there is unused space between any three adjacent circular sub-lenses, in the embodiment shown in fig. 8A, there is no unused space between any adjacent hexagonal sub-lenses, such that substantially all of the light beams passing through the microlens array 210/220 are fully utilized.

According to some preferred embodiments as shown in fig. 8A, the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array are each configured to have a hexagonal aperture shape and together form a compact cellular arrangement.

According to some other preferred embodiments as shown in fig. 3B, the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array are each configured to have a square aperture shape, and together form a close arrangement.

It should be noted that there are many different ways to closely arrange the plurality of sub-lenses besides the above illustrative examples. For example, the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array may be configured to each have a square aperture shape, and to have in common a staggered arrangement as shown in fig. 8C.

The plurality of sub-lenses in the first/second microlens arrays 210/220 can have different focal configurations.

According to some embodiments, the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array all have substantially the same first focus and/or the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array all have substantially the same second focus. In this context, the first focus and the second focus may alternatively be different, or may be substantially the same.

In still other embodiments, the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array do not all have the same focal point. Alternatively, the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array do not all have the same focal point.

Herein, according to some embodiments, the first microlens array comprises at least two first sub-lens subsets, each subset having a different first focus, and the second microlens array comprises at least two second sub-lens subsets, each subset having a different second focus. Further configured such that at least two first sub-lens subsets of the first microlens array correspond to at least two second sub-lens subsets of the second microlens array, respectively, and the distance between each first sub-lens subset and its corresponding second sub-lens subset is adjustable such that the composite image corresponding thereto can be projected on different projection planes.

Fig. 9 illustrates a partial view of an image projection apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention, wherein each of the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220 can be exemplarily divided into three regions (i.e., a top sub-lens, a middle sub-lens, and a bottom sub-lens shown in the drawings) having different focal lengths, and three collimated light beams (i.e., "light beam 1", "light beam 2", and "light beam 3") are configured to pass through the three regions, respectively. Further configured such that the first microlens array 210, the second microlens array 220, or both the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220, are movable along the optical path O to adjustably control the relative position of the first microlens array 210 and/or the second microlens array 220 in the imaging assembly 20 of the image projection apparatus to allow a corresponding sub-image source (not shown in the figures) to be projected onto different projection planes S1, S2, or S3.

Herein, the motor can be operably connected to the first microlens array 210, the second microlens array 220, or both the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220, thereby adjustably controlling movement of the first microlens array 210 and/or the second microlens array 220 along the optical path O.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, a transparent medium or transparent filler may be disposed between the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220. Herein, the transparent medium can be selected from materials having different refractive indices. Since the transparent medium has different refractive indices, the light beam passing through the transparent medium can be transmitted along light paths having different lengths. In this context, the transparent medium may alternatively comprise air, quartz, siO ₂ Organic Polycarbonate (PC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and the like. When air is selected as the transparent medium, the length of the transparent medium can be shortest and the distance between the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220 can be minimized, compared to an image projection apparatus having other transparent medium materials. Accordingly, when air is selected as a transparent medium filling the gap between the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220, the overall length of the image projection apparatus can have a shortened size and volume.

Example 1

In this example, a specific embodiment of an image projection apparatus is provided, and a structure diagram and an operation mechanism thereof are shown in fig. 10.

As shown, this particular embodiment of an image projection apparatus includes, in order along an optical path, an illumination assembly 100, an adjustable apodizer 300, a first microlens array 210 and a microimage source 230 in close proximity to each other (i.e., in the arrangement shown in fig. 3A, 5A, or 5B), and a second microlens array 220. The illumination assembly 100 basically employs the embodiment shown in fig. 2B and as described above, includes a point light source 110 (i.e., a light source sub-module) and a collimating lens 120 (i.e., a collimating and beam shaping sub-module).

The adjustable apodizer 300 is configured to radially adjust an aperture of a collimated light beam emitted from the illumination assembly 100. According to some embodiments, control of the opening of the adjustable apodizer 300 is mechanically achieved by a motor 350, the motor 350 being operatively connected to the adjustable apodizer 300, as shown in fig. 10. According to some other embodiments, the adjustable apodizer 300 includes an LCD barrier as described above, and thus control of the opening (i.e., light transmissive area) of the adjustable apodizer 300 is achieved by a controller 350, the controller 350 being operatively connected to each pixel of the adjustable apodizer 300 and configured to control the voltage applied to each pixel of the adjustable apodizer 300.

Each of the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220 includes a plurality of closely arranged sub-lenses (i.e., hexagonal sub-lenses in a honeycomb arrangement) that optically correspond to a plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source 230. As shown in fig. 10, a plurality of sub-image sources in the micro image source 230 are substantially divided into three functional areas, which include: (1) A first region comprising a first micropattern-shielding patch displaying "a" in the central sub-image source; (2) A second region including a total of six second micropattern-shielding patches, each second micropattern-shielding patch displaying a "B" in an annular region surrounding the first region; (3) A third region comprising a total of twelve third micropattern-shielding patches, each third micropattern-shielding patch exhibiting a "C" in an annular region surrounding the second region. By radially adjusting the opening of the apodizer 300, the opening of the apodizer 300 can be controlled such that the collimated light beam from the illumination assembly 100 can pass through the first, second, or third regions of the microimage source at a time to thereby project "a", "B", or "C" after further projection by the second microlens array 220.

The plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array 220 can also be divided into three subsets, namely a first subset ("R1"), a second subset ("R2"), and a third subset ("R3") corresponding to the first region, the second region, and the third region of the microimage source 230, respectively, in a manner corresponding to the three functional regions in the microimage source 230. The first, second, and third subsets of second sub-lenses have different focal lengths, and the additional motor 250 is further operatively connected to the second microlens array 220 and configured to adjustably move the second microlens array 220 along the optical path of the image projection device, thereby allowing different patterns (i.e., "a", "B", and "C") to be projected onto different projection planes S1, S2, or S3. The following is a detailed description of the operating mechanism of the image projection apparatus, using motor 350 as an illustrative example, to mechanically control the opening of adjustable apodizer 300. It should be noted that such descriptions are equally applicable to embodiments in which the controller 350 is configured to control the transmissive region (i.e., opening) of the adjustable apodizer 300 in an electro-optical manner.

(1) At a first moment in time, motor 350 radially adjusts the opening of adjustable apodizer 300 such that the collimated light beam from illumination assembly 100 passes through only a first region of microimage source 230 to allow a corresponding pattern "a" to be projected, and motor 250 also controls second microlens array 220 to be positioned at a corresponding first location on the optical path. Thus, after projection, the pattern "a" is projected onto the projection plane S1;

(2) At a second moment in time, motor 350 is capable of radially adjusting the opening of adjustable apodizer 300 such that the collimated light beam from illumination assembly 100 passes through only a second region of microimage source 230, thereby allowing a corresponding pattern "B" to be projected, and motor 250 also controls second microlens array 220 to be positioned at a corresponding second location on the optical path. Thus, after projection, the pattern "B" is projected onto the projection plane S2;

(3) At a third time, motor 350 is capable of radially adjusting the opening of adjustable apodizer 300 such that the collimated light beam from illumination assembly 100 passes through only a third region of microimage source 230, allowing a corresponding pattern "C" to be projected, and motor 250 also controls second microlens array 220 to be positioned at a corresponding third location on the optical path. Thus, after projection, the pattern "C" is projected onto the projection plane S3.

In this embodiment of the image projection apparatus described herein and shown in fig. 10, the point light source 110 basically includes a light source capable of adjustably emitting light of three primary colors, i.e., red (R), green (G), and blue (B), or a combination thereof, e.g., white. By synchronously controlling the motor/controller 350 and the light source 110, a dynamic and color image can be projected by this example of an image projection arrangement. It is also noted that a different type of point light source can be used instead of the LED light source 110.

Example 2

In example 2, another embodiment of an image projection apparatus is provided, the structure and operation of which are shown in fig. 11.

Similar to example 1 described above, this particular embodiment of the image projection apparatus also includes, in order along the optical path, an illumination assembly 100, a first microlens array 210 and a microimage source 230 adjacent to each other, and a second microlens array 220. Each of the first microlens array 210 and the second microlens array 220 includes a plurality of closely-arranged sub-lenses (i.e., closely-arranged hexagonal sub-lenses in a honeycomb arrangement) that optically correspond to a plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source 230.

Unlike example 1, the present embodiment of the image projection apparatus does not include any apodizer or any beam modulator. In addition, the illumination assembly 100 includes three LED point light sources 110 and three collimation modulators 120. Each LED point light source 110 is configured to emit a light beam of a different primary color (i.e., red (R), green (G), or blue), and each collimating modulator 120 (i.e., a collimating lens, which essentially acts as a collimating and beam shaping sub-module) is configured to collimate the light beam from its corresponding LED point light source 110. Thus, the three LED point light sources 110 and the three corresponding collimating modulators 120 are each configured to provide three collimated light beams, each having a different primary color (e.g., RGB).

As shown in fig. 11, a plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source 230 are divided into three fan-shaped functional areas that optically correspond to the three collimated light beams emitted from the illumination assembly 100. These functional areas include: (1) A first region including seven first micropattern-shielding patches displaying "a" in a sub-image source contained in the first region; (2) A second region including a total of six second micropattern-shielding patches, each second micropattern-shielding patch displaying a "B" in a second sector-shaped region adjacent to the first region; and (3) a third region comprising a total of six third micropattern-shielding patches, each third micropattern-shielding patch displaying a "C" in a third sector-shaped region. In this example, the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array 220 all have substantially the same focal length ("R").

By adjustably controlling the on/off states of the three LED lamps, control can be performed such that at some point one or more collimated light beams from the three collimating modulators 120 in the illumination assembly 100 can pass through the first, second, and third regions of the microimage source, thereby projecting different colors of "a", "B", and/or "C" onto different locations of the same projection plane S after further projection by the second microlens array 220, as shown in fig. 11.

It should be noted that, the number of the point light sources 110 and the corresponding collimation modules 120 is not limited, and may be 2, 3 or 4; and the point light source can be configured to emit colors other than a specific primary color.

It should also be noted that while in this illustrative example 2 the three projected images (i.e., "a", "B" and "C") do not overlap (see fig. 11), according to some other embodiments, these projected images may all or partially overlap/stack with each other such that the resulting image formed on the projection plane S is therefore dynamic and colored. In one illustrative example, the three projected images are substantially identical (e.g., "a"), and at some point the projected image on the projection plane S is a yellow image "synthetically formed by overlapping red projection" a "and green projection" a "at substantially the same location on the projection plane S; at the other time, the projection image on the projection plane S is a purple image synthetically formed by overlapping the red projection "a" and the blue projection "a" at substantially the same position on the projection plane S.

Example 3

The specific embodiment of example 3 is basically a combination of the two embodiments of the image projection apparatus in the above-described examples 1 and 2, and its structural diagram and operation mechanism are shown in fig. 12.

This embodiment of the image projection apparatus further includes three LED point light sources 110 and corresponding collimation modules 120, as compared to example 2, but further includes the adjustable apodizer 300 and motor/controller 350 of example 1, and further, the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array 220 are divided into different subsets (i.e., "R1", "R2", and "R3") and are adjustably controllable by the motor 250 operably connected thereto to move along the optical path.

By cooperatively controlling the three point light sources 110, the opening/transmission regions of the apodizer 300, and/or the motor 350, more complex, colored, and dynamic images can be displayed by the image projection apparatus disclosed above.

According to some embodiments, the image projection apparatus 001 may further comprise a sub-sequence component 40, the sub-sequence component 40 being arranged on the optical path behind the imaging assembly 20 and configured to further modulate the image projected by the imaging assembly 20, as shown in fig. 13. One example of such a sub-sequence component includes a gate configured to shape an image projected by the projection device to improve the quality of such projected image. Another example of such a sub-sequence component includes a lens assembly optically coupled to one or more image projection devices in the system to further modulate (e.g., magnify) the projected image.

In a second aspect, the present invention also provides an image projection system, which basically comprises at least one image projection device based on any of the above embodiments.

In this context, the image projection system may alternatively comprise only one image projection apparatus, and alternatively, as shown in fig. 14, the image projection system may comprise more than one image projection apparatus, fig. 14 showing the alignment of two image projection apparatuses 001 and 002 in the image projection system, so that a larger composite image is displayed on the projection plane S.

As shown in fig. 15, the image projection system may further include a controller communicatively connected to each of the at least one image projection devices and configured to control operation of each of the at least one image projection devices.

According to various embodiments, the controller may be communicatively connected to one or more components of any of the at least one image projection devices described above to adjustably control the operation of each image projection device to allow dynamic and/or color display of images on one or more projection planes of the image projection system.

As used herein, the terms "controller," "control unit," "control module," and the like are referred to as a device, system, or component thereof that controls the operation of another component, device, or system. The controller may be implemented in hardware, circuitry, firmware, or software, or any combination thereof. A "processor" is one example of a controller employing one or more microprocessors that may be programmed with software to perform the various functions discussed herein. A controller may be implemented with or without a processor, and may also be implemented as a combination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions and a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry) to perform other functions. Examples of controller components that may be employed in various embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, conventional microprocessors, application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and the like. In various implementations, the processor or controller may be associated with one or more storage media (i.e., "memory," such as volatile and non-volatile computer memory, e.g., RAM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM, floppy disks, optical disks, magnetic tape, etc.). In some implementations, the storage medium may be encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more processors and/or controllers, perform at least some of the functions discussed herein. The various storage media may be fixed within the processor or controller or may be removable such that one or more programs stored thereon are loaded into the processor or controller to implement various aspects of the present invention discussed herein. The term "program" or "computer program" is used herein in a generic sense to refer to any type of computer code (e.g., software or microcode) that can be employed to program one or more processors or controllers. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.

According to some embodiments of the image projection system, one or more of the sub-image sources in any of the image projection devices are dynamic image sources, and the controller is communicatively connected to each of the sub-image sources and configured to control the display content of each of the sub-image sources to allow dynamic and/or color images to be displayed on one or more projection planes of the image projection system.

According to some embodiments of the image projection system, any of the image projection devices further comprises at least one motor operatively connected to one or both of the first and second microlens arrays and configured to move one or both of the first and second microlens arrays along the optical path to adjust the distance between the first and second microlens arrays. The controller is communicatively connected to the at least one motor to adjustably control the projection of the image onto the different projection planes. Herein, optionally, the at least one motor may comprise a first motor operatively connected to the first microlens array and configured to move the first microlens array along the optical path. Alternatively, the at least one motor may include a second motor operatively connected to the second microlens array and configured to move the second microlens array along the optical path.

According to some embodiments of the image projection system, the illumination assembly in any of the image projection devices is configured to provide an adjustable collimated beam of light, and the controller is communicatively connected to the illumination assembly in each of the at least one image projection devices and is configured to control operation of the illumination assembly to allow for display of dynamic and/or color images.

According to some embodiments of the image projection system, any of the image projection devices further comprises a beam modulator (e.g., an apodizer, a filter, a color filter, etc.) sandwiched between the illumination assembly and the first microlens array, and the controller is communicatively connected to the beam modulator and configured to control operation of the beam modulator such that one or more of the optical characteristics (e.g., aperture, intensity, color, distribution, etc.) of the collimated light beams entering the first microlens array in the corresponding image projection device are adjustably controlled, thereby allowing the image projection system to display dynamic and/or color images. Herein, optionally, the beam modulator includes an apodizer operatively connected to the third motor, and the controller is communicatively connected to the third motor and configured to control operation of the third motor such that an aperture of the collimated beam is adjustably controlled.

It should be noted that in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" and the like are used solely to distinguish one object or operation from another object or operation without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such objects or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, elements defined by the terms "comprises", "comprising", or the like, do not preclude the presence of additional elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

Each of the embodiments in this specification is described in a related manner. The same and similar parts of the embodiments are mutually referred to, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from the other embodiments.

The embodiments described herein are relatively preferred embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application are to be considered within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An image projection apparatus comprising, along an optical path:

an illumination assembly configured to provide a collimated light beam;

a first microlens array including a plurality of first sub-lenses; and

a second microlens array including a plurality of second sub-lenses;

wherein:

the image projection apparatus further comprises a microimage source disposed between the illumination assembly and the second microlens array, wherein the microimage source comprises a plurality of sub-image sources, wherein:

at least a subset of the plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source is arranged to optically correspond to at least a subset of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first micro-lens array and at least a subset of the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second micro-lens array in a one-to-one correspondence; and is also provided with

After the at least a subset of the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source are projected to form a plurality of projected images on a projection plane, at least two of the plurality of projected images overlap at substantially the same location on the projection plane to form a composite image.

2. The image projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein after the at least a subset of the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source are projected to form a plurality of projection images on a projection plane, the plurality of projection images all overlap at substantially the same location on the projection plane to form a composite image.

3. The image projection apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least a subset of the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array is configured to lie on a focal plane of the at least a subset of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array.

4. An image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the microimage source is arranged on a side of the first microlens array adjacent to a collimated light source assembly.

5. An image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the microimage source is arranged on a side of the first microlens array opposite to the collimated light source assembly.

6. An image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the microimage source is arranged to be integrated within the first microlens array.

7. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source are all still image sources.

8. The image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources in the micro-image source are all dynamic image sources, wherein the dynamic image sources are of a type selected from the group consisting of LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) type, LCD (liquid crystal display) type, OLED (organic light emitting diode) type, and DLP (digital light processing) type.

9. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources of the micro-image source are all micro-pattern occlusion sheets.

10. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1-6, wherein one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources in the microimage source are all active luminescent image sources.

11. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources are all real images formed by an imaging device.

12. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1-11, wherein one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources of the micro-image source are each configured to adjustably display a different image.

13. The image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein at least one of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array are closely arranged so that there is no gap therebetween.

14. The image projection apparatus of claim 13, wherein the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array are both closely arranged.

15. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein each of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and/or each of the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array has a polygonal or circular aperture.

16. The image projection apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and each of the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array has a hexagonal aperture.

17. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1-16, wherein the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array are both configured in a honeycomb arrangement.

18. The image projection apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and each of the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array has a square aperture.

19. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1-18, wherein the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array are both configured in an orthogonal array.

20. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1 to 19, wherein the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources comprises at least two sub-image source subsets, each subset configured to synthetically project a different image.

21. The image projection apparatus of claim 20, wherein each of the at least two sub-image source subsets is configured such that each sub-image source of the subset is immediately adjacent to at least one other sub-image source.

22. The image projection apparatus of claim 20, wherein one or more of the at least two subsets of sub-image sources are configured such that not all of the sub-image sources in the subset are in close proximity to each other.

23. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 20 to 22, wherein each of the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources has a hexagonal aperture, and the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources are arranged in a honeycomb and collectively form a hexagon.

24. The image projection apparatus of claim 23, wherein each of the at least two sub-image source subsets is arranged in a different region of the hexagon, wherein the different region is:

different rows or different columns of the hexagon;

different sector areas of the hexagon; or alternatively

Different annular regions of the hexagon.

25. The image projection apparatus of claim 23, wherein all of the sub-image sources in each of the at least two sub-image source subsets are not immediately adjacent to each other.

26. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 20 to 22, wherein each of the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources has a square aperture, and the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources are in an orthogonal array and collectively form a square.

27. The image projection apparatus of claim 26, wherein each of the at least two sub-image source subsets is arranged in a different region of the square, wherein the different regions are different rows or different columns of the square.

28. The image projection apparatus of claim 27, wherein all of the sub-image sources in each of the at least two sub-image source subsets are not immediately adjacent to each other.

29. The image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein:

the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array all have substantially the same first focal point; and is also provided with

The plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array all have substantially the same second focal point.

30. The image projection apparatus of claim 29, wherein the first focus is substantially equal to the second focus.

31. The image projection apparatus of claim 29, wherein the first focus and the second focus are different.

32. The image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 31, wherein:

the plurality of first sub-lenses in the first microlens array do not all have the same focus; or alternatively

The plurality of second sub-lenses in the second microlens array do not all have the same focus.

33. The image projection apparatus of claim 32, wherein:

the first microlens array includes at least two first sub-lens subsets, each subset having a different first focal point;

the second microlens array includes at least two second sub-lens subsets, each subset having a different second focal point;

Wherein:

the at least two first sub-lens subsets in the first microlens array correspond to the at least two second sub-lens subsets in the second microlens array, respectively; and is also provided with

The distance between each first sub-lens subset and its corresponding second sub-lens subset is adjustable such that the composite image corresponding thereto is projected on a different projection plane.

34. The image projection apparatus of claim 33, wherein at least one of the first or second microlens arrays is configured to be movable along the optical path, thereby allowing the distance to be adjustable.

35. The image projection apparatus of claim 34, further comprising a first motor operably connected to the first microlens array, wherein the first motor is configured to move the first microlens array along the optical path.

36. The image projection apparatus of claim 34, further comprising a second motor operably connected to the second microlens array, wherein the second motor is configured to move the second microlens array along the optical path.

37. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1-36, wherein the illumination assembly comprises at least one illumination module, wherein each of the at least one illumination module is configured to provide a portion of the collimated light beam, which may be 100%, and each of the at least one illumination module comprises:

A light source sub-module configured to provide a light source; and

a collimation and beam shaping sub-module configured to collimate a light beam emitted by the light source sub-module into a corresponding collimated light beam.

38. The image projection apparatus of claim 37, wherein the collimating and beam shaping sub-assemblies in each of the at least one illumination modules comprise a collimating lens, a diffractive optical element, or a reflective bowl.

39. The image projection apparatus of claim 37 or claim 38, wherein the light source sub-assemblies in each of the at least one illumination modules comprise LED light sources, laser light sources, or mercury lamps.

40. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 37-39, wherein the light beam emitted from the light source sub-module in each of the at least one illumination module is monochromatic (monochromatic light) or polychromatic (polychromatic light).

41. The image projection apparatus of claim 40, wherein the light beam emitted from the light source sub-module in each of the at least one illumination module is full color.

42. The image projection apparatus of claim 41, wherein the light source sub-assemblies in each of the at least one illumination modules comprise a plurality of LED light sources configured to emit light each having a different primary color and to emit full color light through any combination of the plurality of LED light sources.

43. The image projection apparatus of claim 42, wherein the plurality of LED light sources in the light source sub-module are configured to:

respectively emitting red light, green light and blue light; or alternatively

Respectively, cyan, magenta and yellow.

44. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1-43, wherein the collimated beam is configured to be adjustable.

45. The image projection apparatus of claim 44, further comprising a beam modulator sandwiched between the illumination assembly and the first microlens array and configured to adjustably control an aperture, intensity, or color of the collimated beam of light entering the first microlens array.

46. The image projection apparatus of claim 45, wherein the beam modulator comprises at least one of an apodizer, a filter, or a color filter.

47. The image projection apparatus of claim 46, wherein the beam modulator comprises an apodizer configured to adjustably control an aperture of the collimated beam entering the first microlens array.

48. The image projection apparatus of claim 47, wherein the apodizer is configured to radially control an aperture of the collimated beam.

49. The image projection apparatus of claim 47 or claim 48, further comprising a third motor operably connected to the apodizer, wherein the third motor is configured to adjustably move the apodizer to control an aperture of the collimated light beam.

50. The image projection apparatus of claim 46, wherein the beam modulator includes a color filter configured to adjustably control the color of the collimated beam of light entering the first microlens array.

51. The image projection apparatus of claim 44, wherein the illumination assembly comprises at least one illumination module, wherein each of the at least one illumination module is configured to controllably provide a portion of the collimated light beam.

52. The image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 51, wherein:

the lighting assembly comprises a lighting module, wherein the lighting module comprises a point light source and a collimating lens arranged to collimate a light beam from the point light source, thereby providing the collimated light beam;

the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources are arranged to optically correspond in a one-to-one correspondence to the plurality of first sub-lenses of the first microlens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses of the second microlens array, wherein the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources comprises at least two sub-image source subsets, each subset being arranged in a different region and configured to synthetically project a different image; and is also provided with

The image projection apparatus further comprises an apodizer positioned between the collimating lens of the illumination module and the first microlens array, wherein the apodizer is configured to have an adjustable opening or light transmissive portion such that the collimated light beam is adjustably controlled to pass through one or more of the at least two sub-image source subsets of the microimage sources.

53. The image projection apparatus of claim 52, wherein:

the apodizer is operably connected to a motor, wherein the motor adjustably controls an opening of the apodizer; or alternatively

The apodizer includes a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) barrier sheet, wherein the LCD barrier sheet adjustably controls an opening of the apodizer.

54. The image projection apparatus of claim 52 or claim 53, wherein each of the at least two sub-image source subsets of the microimage sources is disposed in a different annular region.

55. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 52-54, wherein the first and second microlens arrays are configured to project each of the at least two sub-image source subsets of the microimage sources onto substantially the same projection plane.

56. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 52-54, wherein the first and second microlens arrays are configured to project each of the at least two subsets of the microimage sources onto a different projection plane, wherein the image projection apparatus further comprises a motor operatively connected to the second microlens array, and the motor is configured to adjustably move the second microlens array along the optical path, thereby allowing each of the at least two subsets of the microimage sources to be projected onto the projection plane corresponding to the subset.

57. The image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 51, wherein:

the lighting assembly comprises at least two lighting modules, each lighting module comprising a point light source and a collimating lens, the point light source and the collimating lens being arranged such that light from the point light source is collimated by the collimating lens to become part of the collimated light beam from the lighting assembly; and is also provided with

The plurality of sub-image sources of the micro-image sources are arranged to optically correspond to the plurality of first sub-lenses of the first micro-lens array and the plurality of second sub-lenses of the second micro-lens array in a one-to-one correspondence, wherein the plurality of sub-image sources of the micro-image sources comprises at least two sub-image source subsets, each subset being arranged in a different area and configured such that a different composite image corresponding to the subset is projected when a portion of the collimated light beam provided by one of the at least two illumination modules passes through the subset.

58. The image projection apparatus of claim 57, further comprising a controller, wherein the controller is communicatively connected to the point light sources in each of the at least two lighting modules and configured to adjustably control operation of the point light sources in each of the at least two lighting modules.

59. The image projection apparatus of claim 57 or claim 58, further comprising a beam modulator located between the collimating lens of the illumination module and the first microlens array, wherein the beam modulator comprises an apodizer, a filter, or a color filter.

60. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 57-59, wherein the first and second microlens arrays are configured to project each of the at least two sub-image source subsets of the microimage sources onto substantially the same projection plane.

61. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 57-59, wherein the first and second microlens arrays are configured to project each of the at least two subsets of the microimage sources onto a different projection plane, and further comprising a motor operatively connected to the second microlens array, wherein the motor is configured to adjustably move the second microlens array along the optical path, thereby allowing each of the at least two subsets of the microimage sources to be projected onto the projection plane corresponding to the subset.

62. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 57-61, wherein the number of the at least two illumination modules is 4.

63. The image projection apparatus of claim 57 or claim 58, wherein the number of the at least two illumination modules is at least 3, each illumination module configured to provide a collimated light beam having one primary color.

64. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1-63, further comprising a sub-sequence component, wherein the sub-sequence component is disposed on the optical path behind the second microlens array and is configured to further modulate the projected image.

65. The image projection apparatus of claim 64, wherein the sub-sequence component comprises a gate configured to shape the projected image.

66. The image projection apparatus of claim 65, wherein the sub-sequence component comprises a lens assembly configured to further optically modulate the projected image.

67. The image projection apparatus of any of claims 1-66, wherein a transparent medium is disposed between the first and second microlens arrays, wherein the transparent medium is air, quartz, siO ₂ Polycarbonate (PC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

68. An image projection system comprising at least one image projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 67.

69. The image projection system of claim 68, further comprising a controller, wherein the controller is communicatively connected to each of the at least one image projection devices and configured to control operation of each of the at least one image projection devices to allow for display of dynamic images.

70. The image projection system of claim 69, wherein in each of the at least one image projection device, one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources are motion image sources, wherein:

the controller is communicatively connected to each of the one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources and is configured to control display content of each of the one or more of the plurality of sub-image sources of the microimage sources.

71. The image projection system of claim 69, wherein each of the at least one image projection devices further comprises at least one motor, wherein the at least one motor is operatively connected to one or both of the first and second microlens arrays and is configured to move one or both of the first and second microlens arrays along the optical path to adjust a distance between the first and second microlens arrays, wherein:

The controller is communicatively connected to each of the at least one electric machine and is configured to control operation of each of the at least one electric machine.

72. The image projection system of claim 71, wherein the at least one motor comprises a first motor operably connected to the first microlens array, wherein the first motor is configured to move the first microlens array along the optical path.

73. The image projection system of claim 71, wherein the at least one motor comprises a second motor operably connected to the second microlens array, wherein the second motor is configured to move the second microlens array along the optical path.

74. The image projection system of claim 69, wherein the illumination assembly in each of the at least one image projection devices is configured to provide an adjustable collimated beam of light, wherein:

the controller is communicatively connected to the illumination assembly in each of the at least one image projection apparatus and is configured to control operation of the illumination assembly.

75. The image projection system of claim 69, wherein each of the at least one image projection devices further comprises a beam modulator sandwiched between the illumination assembly and the first microlens array, wherein:

The controller is communicatively connected to the beam modulator and configured to control operation of the beam modulator such that an aperture, intensity, or color of the collimated light beam entering the first microlens array in each of the at least one image projection devices is adjustably controlled.

76. The image projection system of claim 75, wherein the beam modulator includes an apodizer, and each of the at least one image projection devices further includes a third motor operably connected to the apodizer, wherein:

the controller is communicatively connected to the third motor and configured to control operation of the third motor such that an aperture of the collimated light beam is adjustably controlled.

77. The image projection system of claim 75, wherein the beam modulator comprises an apodizer and the apodizer comprises a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) barrier, wherein the controller is communicatively connected to the LCD barrier and is configured to control a light transmittance of the LCD barrier.