JP2003279899A - Polarized light source, image display device and polarized light illuminator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video display device using the polarized light exchange means of simple constitution with high light utilization efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: The image display device comprises a green LED 1a, a red LED 1b and a blue LED 1c for emitting lights whose polarization is not uniform, collector lenses 2a-2c for converging the lights of the respective LEDs and turning them to roughly parallel lights; polarizing plates 3a-3c for turning the lights for which the polarization is not matched and which are turned to the roughly parallel lights to linearly polarized lights, an illumination optical system 4 for superimposing the lights transmitted through the respective polarizing plates 3a-3c and respectively uniformly illuminating reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b, a polarized beam splitter 5 for separating illumination lights from the illumination optical system 4 and combining reflected lights from two optical modulation elements, a 1/2 wavelength plate 6 for converting the polarization state of an incident polarized light, and the reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b as the optical modulation elements for modulating and reflecting the incident light for each pixel. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a polarized light source device for generating polarized light from unpolarized natural light,
Also, the present invention relates to a two-panel type image display device using the polarized light source device as a light source.

The present invention also relates to a polarized lighting device which can be used as a light source of such a two-panel type image display device.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a projection type image display device, a single plate type image display device for displaying RGB color images on one display panel in a time division manner and three display panels for a white light source are used. A three-plate type that displays light by dividing it into RGB by a dichroic mirror is well known. However, the former single-panel projection type image display device cannot efficiently use the light of the white light source. In the latter three-plate type projection display apparatus, the light of the white light source is divided into RGB by the dichroic mirror to illuminate the display panel, and the projection light from the display panel must be combined again. However, the optical system becomes complicated and it is difficult to make a compact structure.

Therefore, as a two-plate projection type image display device having a higher light utilization efficiency than the single-plate type and a simpler optical system than the three-plate type, Japanese Patent No. 2954501 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-305652. The configuration disclosed in the publication is proposed.

This two-plate type projection image display device divides the light of a light source according to its polarization state, and one polarization state has one type of color component and the other polarization state has two types of color components. The color light having a color is made incident on two different light modulation elements to display an image. Also, 2
The color light having different kinds of color components can be selected in a time-divisional manner, and the light modulation element to which this color light is incident is also time-divisionally controlled in synchronization with the color of the illuminated light. The full-color display is performed by being able to display according to the color of the illumination light.

On the other hand, in recent years, LEDs, which are semiconductor light emitting elements, have been able to be manufactured with high brightness.

Further, in the conventional projection type image display device, when a color image is generated, white light is divided into RGB lights and modulated by the respective modulation elements. Therefore, by using LEDs of R, G, and B color light as a light source, it has become possible to obtain a color image with a simple configuration without the above division.

[0008]

As described above, as described above, Japanese Patent No. 2954501 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-305652.
The publication discloses a two-plate reflection type liquid crystal projection type image display device.

The two-plate reflection type liquid crystal projection type image display device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2954501 separates the light of a white light source whose polarization is not uniform into two by the polarization component, and then the light of the S polarization component. , And the light of the P-polarized component is used by switching it to green and blue in a time division manner. However, in this case, the green and blue light of the S-polarized component used as red and the red light of the P-polarized component used as green and blue are not used as illumination light, and the light utilization efficiency is low. Has become.

Further, the two-plate reflection type liquid crystal projection type image display device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-305652 is a first polarization conversion means for converting the RGB color components of the light of a white light source whose polarization is not uniform. Then, the illumination device can be provided by using the second polarization conversion means for once adjusting the polarization state and then converting the polarization so that the light of one color component and the light of the other two color components are different in polarization state. It is configured. However, due to the structure of the second polarization converting means, the optical path of the illumination light of this illuminating device has to be largely changed. As described above, this two-plate reflection type liquid crystal projection type image display device including the first and second polarization conversion means and requiring a large change of the illumination optical path by the second polarization conversion means is simple. Not configured.

Further, both of them deal with time-divisional display so as to shield light of unnecessary color in the middle of the illumination optical path, so that the light utilization efficiency is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide a two-plate type image display device having a high light utilization efficiency and constituted by a polarization converting means having a simple structure. To do.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a polarized light source device and a polarized illumination device that can be used in such an image display device.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the polarized light source device according to the invention of claim 1 is two kinds of colored light in which the polarized light is not uniform and the color components are different. Optical path control means for controlling the first color light and the second color light to be formed via different optical paths, and polarization control for converting the first color light and the second color light into different polarization states. And means.

That is, according to the polarized light source device of the first aspect of the invention, the first color light and the second color light are generated depending on the difference in the polarization state.
It is possible to provide a polarized light source device having a simple configuration that can be used when illuminating different light modulation elements and the like by separating the optical path from the colored light of.

A polarized light source device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the polarized light source device according to the first aspect, wherein the first color light and the second color light are emitted from different light emitters. It is characterized by being light.

That is, according to the polarized light source device of the second aspect of the present invention, since the light emitters are different, it is easy to control so as to form through different optical paths for each color.

The polarized light source device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the polarized light source device according to the second aspect, wherein the light emitters are semiconductor elements having different color components. To do.

That is, according to the polarized light source device of the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform lighting control for each color component, and the light utilization efficiency is improved (that is, the light can be turned off when unnecessary).
Moreover, since the color purity is high, the color rendering of the illumination light is increased.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a polarized light source device according to the third aspect, wherein each of the semiconductor elements having different color components used for the light emitter comprises a plurality of elements. It is characterized by being done.

That is, according to the polarized light source device of the fourth aspect of the invention, the total amount of light can be increased. That is, it can be a bright light source.

A polarized light source device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the polarized light source device according to the first aspect, wherein the optical path control means is at least one of the first color light and the second color light. It is characterized in that the color light includes a time-division emission control means for controlling the light of a plurality of different color components to be repeated in time series.

That is, according to the polarized light source device of the invention described in claim 5, since the color components of the light source can be increased to three or more, it can be used as a light source capable of expressing many colors.

The polarized light source device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the polarized light source device according to the fifth aspect, wherein the different colored lights emitted by the first colored light and the second colored light are light 3 It is characterized in that it is composed only of colored light composed of three types of color components of primary colors red, green and blue.

That is, according to the polarized light source device of the invention described in claim 6, when it is used in an image display device composed of RGB which is the standard three primary colors of light, it becomes an efficient light source. Does not contain unwanted colors.

A polarized light source device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the polarized light source device according to the first aspect, wherein the polarization control means is included in each of the first color light and the second color light. After separating the P and S components of the polarization component,
It is characterized in that the P component and the S component have the same polarization state.

That is, according to the polarized light source device of the invention described in claim 7, the polarized light control device has higher light utilization efficiency than the polarized light control device having only the polarizing plate.

An image display device according to the invention described in claim 8 is the polarized light source device according to claim 1, characterized in that the polarization control means includes a polarization beam splitter array.

That is, according to the polarized light source device of the eighth aspect of the invention, the polarized light source device can be made compact by forming the polarization beam splitter in an array.

The polarized light source device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the polarized light source device according to the eighth aspect, wherein the polarized light emitted from the polarized beam splitter constituting the polarized beam splitter array is the first polarized light source. It is characterized in that the colored light and the polarized light of the second colored light are respectively included.

That is, according to the polarized light source device of the invention described in claim 9, since one polarization beam splitter can be used for two color lights, the polarization control means can be made compact.

A polarized light source device according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the polarized light source device according to the first aspect.
The different polarization states of the two color lights converted by the polarization control means are different in the polarization direction of the linearly polarized light.

That is, according to the polarized light source device of the invention described in claim 10, it is easy to set two different polarization states, and it is also easy to separate the two different polarization states after combining them. Become.

An image display device according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is an image display device using the polarized light source device according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, further comprising: Illumination means for synthesizing the controlled first color light and second color light as combined illumination light, polarized beam separating means for separating the combined illumination light by the above-mentioned illuminating means according to the polarization state, and the above-mentioned separated A first light modulation element which is illuminated by color light having one polarization state of the other polarization state, and a second light modulation element which is illuminated by color light of the other polarization state of the separated polarization state A light combining means for combining the modulated light of the illumination light emitted from each of the first light modulating element and the second light modulating element, and projection optical means for projecting the combined light to form an image. To have And it features.

That is, according to the image display device of the invention described in claim 11, a projection type image display device using two light modulators can be realized with a simple structure.

Further, an image display device according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention is an image display device using the polarized light source device according to the fifth or sixth aspect, wherein the polarization is controlled by the polarization control means. Illuminating means for synthesizing the first color light and the second color light as combined illumination light, polarized beam separating means for separating the combined illumination light by the above-mentioned illuminating means according to the polarization state, and the above-mentioned separated polarization state. A first light modulation element illuminated by color light of one of the polarization states; a second light modulation element illuminated by color light of the other polarization state of the separated polarization states; 1
The light modulating element and the second light modulating element, the light combining means for combining the modulated light of the illumination light, and the projection optical means for projecting the combined light to form an image, The first light modulation element or the second light modulation element is characterized in that the time-division emission control means modulates and emits light according to the color of illumination light that is repeated in time series.

That is, according to the image display device of the invention described in claim 12, it is possible to display many colors in the device using two light modulation elements.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image display apparatus according to the twelfth aspect, the colored light emitted from the polarized light source device is a colored light corresponding to an RGB signal of a used video signal. It is characterized by including.

That is, according to the image display device of the thirteenth aspect, the color reproducibility in the image signals of the RGB signals is high, and the light source with high light utilization efficiency can be used.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image display device according to the eleventh or twelfth aspect, wherein the polarization beam splitting means and the light combining means are constituted by one polarization beam splitter. In addition, the first light modulation element and the second light modulation element are reflective liquid crystal display panels.

That is, according to the video display device of the fourteenth aspect, a compact video display device can be constructed.

The image display device according to the invention of claim 15 is the image display device according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the polarized light beam separating device separates the illumination light superposed by the illumination means according to a polarization state. Each of the illumination lights separated by the means has a polarization state suitable for the first light modulation element and the second light modulation element.

That is, according to the image display device of the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, two light beams having different polarization states are converted into a polarization state song suitable for the light modulation element to display characteristics (contrast, (Brightness etc.) can be prevented.

The image display apparatus according to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention is the image display apparatus according to the fifteenth aspect, wherein the polarization control means differs between the first color light and the second color light. At least one of the first light modulation element and the second light modulation element converts the illumination optical axis so that the direction of its characteristic matches the linear polarization of the color light that illuminates each of them. It is characterized in that it is arranged so as to rotate about a rotation center.

That is, according to the image display device of the sixteenth aspect of the invention, it is possible to illuminate in the polarization direction suitable for the light modulation element without adding any component.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the image display apparatus according to the fifteenth aspect, the polarization control means makes the first colored light and the second colored light different from each other. Of the illuminating light that is converted into linearly polarized light and has a ½ wavelength plate disposed on either or both of the first and second light modulation element incident surfaces and is incident on the two light modulation elements. The feature is that the polarization directions are aligned.

That is, according to the image display device of the seventeenth aspect, since the half-wave plate can change the polarization direction of the linearly polarized light easily and flexibly, it is suitable for each light modulation element. It is easy to change the polarization direction.

The image display device according to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention is the image display device according to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in which one of the first and second light modulation element incident surfaces has the 1 / When two wavelength plates are arranged and the polarization direction of the illumination light incident on the two light modulation elements is set to the polarization direction matched to the characteristics of the light modulation element, the wavelength component of the light transmitted through the half wavelength plate is It is characterized in that it is arranged on the side of the light modulation element that has a narrow band.

That is, according to the image display device of the eighteenth aspect of the invention, the half-wave plate has different characteristics depending on the wavelength of the light passing therethrough, so that if the wavelength range is wide, the polarization direction converted by the wavelength is changed. Will be different. Therefore, when the wavelength band of the transmitted light is narrower, the conversion amount of the polarization direction in each wavelength band of the transmitted light by the half-wave plate is likely to be constant.
The polarization directions of all the wavelengths that are transmitted become constant.

The polarized illuminating device according to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention is a polarized light source illuminating device for illumination used in a video display device for projecting light modulated by a plurality of light modulation elements to form an image. Then, the polarization direction of the polarized illumination light emitted by the illumination light means is adjusted in accordance with the characteristics of the illumination light means for emitting polarized illumination light having at least one specific polarization direction and the light modulation element for illumination. And a changing direction adjusting unit for changing the direction.

That is, according to the polarized illumination device of the invention described in claim 19, the display characteristics (contrast, brightness, etc.) can be obtained by making the illumination light into a polarization state suitable for the light modulation element.
Can be prevented.

[0052]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1A shows a polarized light source device according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a polarized illumination device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the optical structure of the image display apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention.

The image display device according to the present embodiment is provided with a green LED 1a and a red LE that emit light whose polarizations are not uniform.
D1b and blue LED 1c, condenser lenses 2a to 2c that condense the light of each LED into substantially parallel light, and polarizing plates 3a to 3c that linearly polarize the light that is substantially parallel light and is not aligned. , An illumination optical system 4 for superimposing lights transmitted through the respective polarizing plates 3a to 3c to uniformly illuminate the reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b, and separates illumination light from the illumination optical system 4 into 2 A polarization beam splitter 5 that combines reflected light from two light modulators, a half-wave plate 6 that converts the polarization direction of incident polarized light, and a reflection type as a light modulator that modulates and reflects incident light for each pixel. It is composed of liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b. The green LED 1a, the red LED 1b, the blue LED 1
c, the condenser lenses 2a to 2c, and the polarizing plates 3a to
The polarized light source unit 9 composed of 3c is the polarized light source device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the illumination light unit including the polarized light source unit 9 and the illumination optical system 4 and the half-wave plate 6 as the polarization direction adjusting unit.
With the above, the polarized illumination device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is configured.

The green LED 1a and the red LED 1
Light emitted from b and the blue LED 1c becomes substantially parallel light by the condenser lenses 2a to 2c arranged for each LED, and is incident on the polarizing plates 3a to 3c. Then, the light of each color is converted into linearly polarized light by these polarizing plates 3a to 3c. That is, the green light emitted by the green LED 1a is converted into linearly polarized light of P polarization component (hereinafter referred to as P polarized light) by the polarizing plate 3a, and the red light emitted by the red LED 1b is converted by the polarizing plate. 3b to linearly polarized light of S-polarized component (hereinafter referred to as S-polarized light), and the blue LE
The blue light emitted by D1c is converted into S by the polarizing plate 3c.
Each is converted into polarized light. In this manner, the green light, the red light, and the blue light are converted into P-polarized light and the red light and blue light are converted into S-polarized light through different optical paths. Here, P-polarized light and S-polarized light indicate the directions of linearly polarized light defined by the polarization beam splitter 5, and the positional relationship between the transmission axes of the polarizing plates 3a to 3c and the polarization beam splitter 5 is shown. , And the directions of the transmission axes of the polarizing plates are different by 90 degrees between P-polarized light and S-polarized light.

The illumination optical system 4 has reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b in which the substantially parallel linearly polarized color lights having different optical paths which are incident as described above are optically arranged at the same distance. The colored lights are superposed on each other and uniformly illuminated so that there is no uneven brightness.

Here, the P-polarized green light emitted by the illumination optical system 4 passes through the polarization beam splitter 5 and enters the half-wave plate 6. The half-wave plate 6 is arranged so as to convert the incident P-polarized light into S-polarized light. Therefore, the P-polarized green light is illuminated as the S-polarized light on the entire reflection type liquid crystal display panel 7a. To do. The reflective liquid crystal display panel 7a forms an image by controlling the polarization state of the polarized light incident on each pixel and then reflecting it. The P-polarized component of the reflected light is
The half-wave plate 6 converts the light into S-polarized light and returns to the polarization beam splitter 5. The S-polarized light is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 5, and a green projection image is displayed on a screen or the like (not shown) via the projection optical system 8.

On the other hand, the S-polarized red light or blue light emitted by the illumination optical system 4 is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 5 and the reflection type liquid crystal display panel 7b.
Evenly illuminate the whole. This reflective liquid crystal display panel 7b
After controlling the polarization state of the incident polarized light for each pixel,
The image is formed by reflecting it. The P-polarized component of the reflected light passes through the polarization beam splitter 5 and displays a projection image of red light or blue light via the projection optical system 8.

The polarization beam splitter 5 used here is a polarization beam splitting means for splitting the illumination light according to the polarization state, and a light obtained by modulating the illumination light emitted from each of the two reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b. It also has two functions as a photosynthesis means for synthesizing the.

Next, in addition to FIG. 1A, a method for driving such a projection-type image display device with a video signal of three colors of RGB is added to FIG. 1B and (B). The description will also be given with reference to C). Note that FIG. 1B is a block configuration diagram of a main part of an electric system of the video display device according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 1C is a vertical synchronization signal VSYNC and a frame number of a video signal. (A), the color component field signal (b) supplied to one of the reflective liquid crystal display panels among the RGB components of the doubled field signal, and the color component field signal (c) supplied to the other. It is a figure which shows the timing chart to represent.

Further, here, the green LED 1 which emits light
a, the red LED 1b, and the blue LED 1c are
Each of the colors emits a color corresponding to the chromaticity of the three primary colors defined in the standard of the RGB video signal to be used. That is, when the video signal is NTSC, red is x = 0.67, y = 0.33,
Green is x = 0.21, y = 0.71, and blue is x = 0.14.
The chromaticity is defined as y = 0.08.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the image display apparatus according to this embodiment uses a polarized light source 11 as a light source including the polarized light source unit 9 and the illumination optical system 4, and synchronizes with the image signal. Then, the controller 12 that controls the emission of the polarized light source 11 and the selection control of the video signal selectors 14a and 14b, the double-speed conversion video signal processing unit 13 that converts a frame signal that is an input RGB video signal into two field signals, Video signal selectors 14a and 14b for selecting signals to be supplied to the reflective liquid crystal display panels 15a and 15b from the double speed conversion video signal processing unit 13, and the two reflective liquid crystals for modulating and reflecting incident light for each pixel. A reflection type liquid crystal display panel (L corresponding to the display panels 7a and 7b)
CD) 15a, 15b. Further, the controller 12 supplies the double-speed sync signal to the double-speed converted video signal processing unit 13.

Here, in order to perform RGB full-color display in this projection type image display device which can display only images of green and red or two colors of green and blue at the same time.
As shown in (C) of FIG. 1, it is necessary to perform double speed driving so that three colors of RGB can be displayed in one frame period.

That is, the double-speed conversion video signal processing unit 13
Converts the video signal input from the video input device 16 into double speed based on the double speed synchronizing signal given from the controller 12, and supplies the converted RGB field signal to the video signal selectors 14a and 14b. To do. These video signal selectors 14a and 14b select one color from RGB based on an instruction from the controller 12,
It is supplied to the reflective liquid crystal display panels 15a and 15b.
The controller 12 controls the vertical synchronizing signal VSYNC of the video signal.
The video signal selectors 14a and 14b are controlled in synchronization with C, and the LED color emitted from the polarized light source 11 is controlled.

In the control here, the green LED 1a which becomes P-polarized light is, as shown in (b) of FIG. 1C,
The video signal selector 14a that emits light in both the first field and the second field and selects the video signal to the reflective liquid crystal display panel 15a selects the G signal in both the first field and the second field. On the other hand, the S-polarized red LED 1b emits light in the first field, and the blue LED 1c emits light in the second field. The video signal selector 14b for selecting the video signal to the reflective liquid crystal display panel 15b is controlled by the controller 12 to select the R signal in the first field and the B signal in the second field.

The reflection type liquid crystal display panels 15a and 15b.
Since the color component of the field signal supplied to the same and the color illuminated by the polarized light source 11 are the same, a normal image display can be performed.

The present projection type video display device having two reflection type liquid crystal display panels enables display of four fields in one frame period. Which color component should be applied to each of the four fields depends on the spectral characteristics of the light source, the wavelength characteristics of the optical members such as the polarization beam splitter used, and the white balance and brightness in the display in one frame period. It is only necessary to maximize the characteristics of the display image of, and in some cases, one field may be omitted and display by three fields may be considered. However,
When considering the white balance in the 4-field display,
It is desirable to use a four-field display in which the LED light source of a color that does not have a sufficient emission light amount is made into two fields. In this video display device, as shown in FIG. 1C, green is displayed in two fields, and blue and red are displayed in one field.

As described above, the emission color of the polarized light source 11 is controlled, and the double speed processing of the video signal is performed, whereby the projection display of the RBG color display becomes possible.

Further, the RGB individual LEDs used as the light source can be easily turned on / off individually and the emission intensity can be adjusted by controlling the drive current, so that the light utilization efficiency can be improved. A high light source can be constructed. Furthermore, since the LEDs easily form different optical paths for each color, it is possible to easily set the polarization state individually for each color.

Further, the image display device using the polarized light source constituted by the LED of the emission color matching the primary color defined by the image signal to be used has high color reproducibility and high light utilization rate. The structure can be made compact.

Further, when the polarized light source is constructed by using two kinds of four kinds of LEDs, it is desirable to make pairs of which the wavelengths of the color components are close to each other into S-polarized light and P-polarized light. .

In general, the display characteristics of the liquid crystal display panel greatly differ depending on the polarization direction of the linearly polarized light of the incident light.
Therefore, it is necessary to use the liquid crystal display panel in the polarization direction of the incident linearly polarized light having the best display characteristics in order to obtain a good display image. Therefore, when a projection display device using two reflective liquid crystal display panels, which are liquid crystal display panels, is configured, the two reflective liquid crystal display panels have the same polarization direction and the reflective liquid crystal display panels have the same polarization direction. On the other hand, it would be desirable to illuminate polarized light with the best polarization direction.

Hereinafter, the polarized light source unit 9 will be described as such.
The polarization direction adjusting means for adjusting the polarization direction of the polarized illumination light emitted by the device to the best polarization direction for the reflective liquid crystal display panel will be described.

Here, the best polarization direction of the incident light in the reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b in FIG. 1A is the minor axis direction of the reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b. Of the incident light from the polarization beam splitter 5 to the reflective liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b, the polarization direction of S-polarized light is the minor axis direction of the reflective liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b, and the polarization direction of P-polarized light. A description will be given of the long axis direction of the reflective liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the planes of incidence of the reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b in FIG. .

That is, when the half-wave plate 6 is not present in FIG. 1A, the polarization direction of the incident light on the reflective liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b is shown in FIG. As shown in (a) of (A), polarized light in the minor axis direction is incident on the reflective liquid crystal display panel 7b, and polarized light in the major axis direction is incident on the reflective liquid crystal display panel 7a. Therefore, the polarization direction of the linearly polarized light, which is the incident light on the reflective liquid crystal display panel 7a, becomes the major axis direction of the reflective liquid crystal display panel 7a,
Not the best polarization direction.

On the other hand, when the half-wave plate 6 is present as shown in FIG.
The P-polarized light incident on the reflective liquid crystal display panel 7a from the polarization beam splitter 5 is converted into S-polarized light by the half-wave plate 6 arranged so as to be converted into polarized light. As shown in (A) and (b), the polarization directions of the incident light on the reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b are aligned in the best minor axis direction.

Further, description will be given of the case where the reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b in FIG. 1A have the best incident light polarization direction in the oblique direction of these reflection type liquid crystal display panels. This diagonal direction is assumed to be the Q direction.

When the ½ wavelength plate 6 is present as shown in FIG. 1A, the ½ wavelength plate 6 is arranged so as to convert P polarized light into polarized light in the Q direction. The P-polarized light incident on the reflective liquid crystal display panel 7a from the polarization beam splitter 5 is converted into polarized light in the Q direction. Here, a half-wave plate is also arranged between the polarization beam splitter 5 and the reflection type liquid crystal display panel 7b. This 1 /
The two-wave plate is arranged so as to convert S-polarized light into polarized light in the Q direction, and converts S-polarized light incident on the reflective liquid crystal display panel 7b from the polarization beam splitter 5 into polarized light in the Q direction. Therefore, as shown in (c) of FIG. 2A, the polarization directions of the linearly polarized light incident on the reflection type liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b are the best Q direction.

Here, the reflected light having a polarization component different by 90 degrees from the polarization in the Q direction generated by being modulated by the reflection type liquid crystal display panel 7a is converted into S polarization by the ½ wavelength plate 6. , Is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 5, and is projected through the projection optical system 8. Similarly, the reflected light having a polarization component which is 90 ° different from the polarization in the Q direction generated by being modulated by the reflection type liquid crystal display panel 7b is converted into P polarization by the ½ wavelength plate, and the polarization beam splitter 5 And is projected through the projection optical system 8.

Further, the half-wave plate is rotationally adjusted about the optical axis of the incident light, even when there is a subtle difference in the best polarization direction due to the individual difference of the reflection type light modulation element. You can deal with it.

As described above, one half wave plate or two half wave plates are used.
By using one sheet, the polarization direction of the linearly polarized light that enters the two reflective liquid crystal display panels can be made to be the best polarization direction.

The ½ wavelength plate is defined by the angle formed by the base axis of the ½ wavelength plate itself and the polarization direction of the linearly polarized light of the incident light.
A polarization direction conversion element capable of setting the polarization direction of outgoing light. In addition, the characteristics of the incident light greatly differ depending on the wavelength component of the incident light. Therefore, in the case of a device that uses one half-wave plate, it is desirable that the wavelength component of the light that passes through the half-wave plate should be arranged at a position where the wavelength band is narrow, as shown in FIG. As shown, it is arranged on the reflective liquid crystal display panel 7a side that transmits only green light, rather than the reflective liquid crystal display panel 7b side that transmits red and blue light.

Furthermore, in order to make the direction of the polarized light incident on the two reflective liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b the best polarization direction, the reflective liquid crystal display panel is rotated with respect to the polarization beam splitter. It is also possible to arrange them. In this case, since the projected display image is also rotated, the images projected by the two reflective liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b may not match. When the projected images do not match, image conversion by image processing is required so that the images match.

In this embodiment, the reflection type liquid crystal display panel is used as the light modulation element, but it is also applicable to the constitution using the transmission type liquid crystal display panel.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, at least one of the color lights having three or more kinds of color light components and the polarization of which is not uniform is a time series of lights having different color components. It is possible to select two types of colored light that are controlled to be repeated, and to use the above two types of colored light in different optical paths,
An image with high color reproducibility by using as a polarized light source that forms illumination light that has been converted into different polarization states, and by modulating the light according to the color of the illumination light that is repeated in time series with two light modulation elements. A display device can be configured.

Further, the color light whose polarization is not uniform is separated into two polarization components, S-polarized light and P-polarized light, and one polarization component is converted into the same polarization component as the other by the ½ wavelength plate to obtain linear polarization. A polarization light source device having high light utilization efficiency can be configured by the polarization control unit that generates

When the two light modulation elements are liquid crystal display panels, the liquid crystal display panels greatly differ in image quality such as contrast and brightness of the displayed image depending on the polarization direction of the linearly polarized illumination light. Therefore, by disposing the ½ wavelength plate on one or both of the incident sides of the two liquid crystal display panels, the polarization direction of the linearly polarized light that illuminates the two liquid crystal display panels can be improved. It is possible to illuminate the liquid crystal display panel as the direction in which it is in the best state.

[Second Embodiment] Next, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described.

FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the configuration of the polarized light source unit 20 as the second embodiment of the polarized light source device of the present invention.

The polarized light source unit 9 shown in FIG.
By substituting this for the polarized light source unit 20, the video display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention can be configured.

This polarized light source unit 20 includes a red LED 21a and a green LED 2 which emit light whose polarization is not uniform.
1b and blue LED 21c, condenser lenses 22a to 22c that condense the light of each LED into substantially parallel light, polarization beam splitters 23a to 23d, and half-wave plate 24.
The polarization conversion element 25 is composed of a and 24b.

That is, the lights of the red LED 21a, the green LED 21b, and the blue LED 21c, which emit light whose polarization is not uniform, become substantially parallel light by the condenser lenses 22a to 22c arranged in the respective LEDs. The substantially parallel red light flux is only to the polarization beam splitter 23b, the substantially parallel green light flux is only to the polarization beam splitter 23c, and the substantially parallel blue light flux is the polarization beam splitter 23d. The optical paths are controlled so that they are respectively incident only on.

Hereinafter, the polarization beam splitters 23b to 23b will be described.
The red LED 21a and the green L incident on 23d.
The luminous flux of each of the ED 21b and the blue LED 21c will be described by dividing it into two polarized light components, P polarized light and S polarized light.

That is, the substantially parallel P-polarized red light incident on the polarization beam splitter 23b is transmitted through the polarization beam splitter 23b, and the half-wave plate 24 is transmitted.
It is incident on a. The half-wave plate 24a is arranged so that the polarization directions of the incident S-polarized light and P-polarized light are rotated by 90 degrees. Therefore, the P-polarized component of the red light incident on the half-wave plate 24a is converted into the S-polarized component and emitted. On the other hand, the substantially parallel S-polarized red light incident on the polarization beam splitter 23b is reflected on the polarization beam splitter 23b and is incident on the polarization beam splitter 23a. The S-polarized component of the incident red light is the polarization beam splitter 2
3a is reflected, and the S-polarized component is emitted as it is. Therefore,
The red light whose polarization is not uniform is unified into the S-polarized component.

Further, the polarization of the substantially parallel P-polarized component of the green light incident on the polarization beam splitter 23c is transmitted through the polarization beam splitter 23c and is emitted from the polarization beam splitter 23c as P-polarized light. . On the other hand, the S-polarized green light that is substantially parallel and is incident on the polarization beam splitter 23c is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 23c, and
It is incident on 3b. The S-polarized component of the incident green light is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 23b, and
It is incident on the half wave plate 24a. This half-wave plate 24
a is the polarization direction of incident S-polarized light and P-polarized light is 90
It is arranged so that it rotates every degree. Therefore, 1/2
The S-polarized component of the green light incident on the wave plate 24a is converted into a P-polarized component and emitted. Therefore, the green light whose polarization is not uniform is unified into the P-polarized component.

Then, the polarization beam splitter 23d
The polarized light of the P-polarized component of the substantially parallel blue light that is incident on is transmitted through the polarization beam splitter 23d and
It is incident on the two-wave plate 24b. This half-wave plate 24b
Are arranged so that the polarization directions of the incident S-polarized light and P-polarized light are rotated by 90 degrees. Therefore, the P-polarized component of the blue light incident on the half-wave plate 24a is converted into the S-polarized component and emitted. On the other hand, the polarization of the S-polarized component of the substantially parallel blue light incident on the polarization beam splitter 23d is
3d is reflected and it injects into the said polarization beam splitter 23c. The S-polarized component of the incident blue light is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 23c and is emitted as it is as the S-polarized component. Therefore, the blue light whose polarization is not uniform is unified into the S-polarized component.

As a result, the polarized light source device according to the present embodiment becomes a polarized light source that emits P-polarized green light and S-polarized red light and blue light as substantially parallel light. ) The green LED 1a, the red LED 1b, and the blue LED 1 used in the projection type video display device of FIG.
c, the condenser lenses 2a to 2c, and the polarizing plates 3a to
It becomes possible to replace the polarized light source unit 9 composed of 3c. In addition, since the polarization conversion into one polarization component is executed by shifting one of the two polarization components to the other polarization component, there is little loss of light and the polarization efficiency of the light source device is high. Has become. Therefore, the projection-type image display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention using the polarized light source device of the present embodiment is the same as the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. A brighter display image can be displayed as compared with the projection-type image display device according to the embodiment.

In addition, the polarization beam splitters 23a to 23
Since d is integrated as a polarization beam splitter array, light having both polarization components of S-polarized light and P-polarized light of different colors is emitted from the emission port corresponding to one polarization beam splitter. It is possible to reduce the size of the polarization conversion element 25 composed of the half-wave plate. This is apparent when compared with the polarized light source device according to the third embodiment of the present invention described later.

Further, in FIG. 2B, in order to simplify the description, the red LED 21a and the green LE are described.
Although only one D21b and one blue LED 21c are illustrated, as shown in FIG. 2C, a brighter polarized light source device is configured by configuring a plurality of LED units 26. It is also possible.

[Third Embodiment] Next, the third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the configuration of a polarized light source unit 20 'as a third embodiment of the polarized light source device of the present invention.

The polarized light source unit 9 shown in FIG.
By substituting the polarized light source unit 20 ′ with the above, the image display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention can be configured.

This polarized light source unit 20 'includes a red LED 21a and a green LE which emit light whose polarization is not uniform.
D21b, blue LED 21c, condenser lenses 22a to 22c that condense the light of each LED into substantially parallel light, polarization beam splitters 23a to 23c, and half-wave plate 24a.
-24c, mirrors 26a-26c, and polarizing plates 27a-
27c.

The polarization beam splitters 23a to 23a to
23c, the red LED 21a, the green L
The luminous flux of each of the ED 21b and the blue LED 21c will be described by dividing it into two polarized light components, P polarized light and S polarized light.

That is, the respective lights of the red LED 21a, the green LED 21b, and the blue LED 21c, which emit light whose polarization is not uniform, are substantially parallel light by the condenser lenses 22a to 22c arranged in the respective LEDs. And the substantially parallel red light flux is the above-mentioned polarization beam splitter 2
The light path is controlled so that the green light flux that is substantially parallel to 3a is incident only on the polarization beam splitter 23b, and the blue light flux that is substantially parallel is incident only to the polarization beam splitter 23c. ing.

The substantially parallel P-polarized red light incident on the polarization beam splitter 23a passes through the polarization beam splitter 23a and enters the half-wave plate 24a. The half-wave plate 24a is arranged so that the polarization direction of the incident P-polarized light is rotated by 90 degrees. Therefore, the P-polarized light component of the red light incident on the half-wave plate 24a is converted into the S-polarized light component and emitted.
On the other hand, the substantially parallel S-polarized red light incident on the polarization beam splitter 23a is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 23a and is incident on the mirror 26a. The S-polarized light of the incident red light is reflected by the mirror 2
6a is reflected, and the S-polarized light is emitted as it is. Therefore, red light whose polarization is not uniform is unified into S-polarized light. However, the polarization beam splitter 2
3a and the optical characteristics of the half-wave plate 24a,
It is not 100% S-polarized, and some P-polarized component remains. Therefore, in order to remove the P-polarized light, S
The polarizing plate 27a arranged so as to transmit only polarized light.
Is used to improve the purity of S-polarized light of red light.

Further, the substantially parallel green P-polarized light incident on the polarization beam splitter 23b passes through the polarization beam splitter 23b and is emitted as the P-polarized component as it is. On the other hand, the polarization beam splitter 23b
The S-polarized green light that has become substantially parallel and is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 23b and is incident on the mirror 26b. The S-polarized green light is the mirror 26b.
And is incident on the half-wave plate 24b. The half-wave plate 24b is arranged so that the polarization direction of the incident S-polarized light is rotated by 90 degrees. Therefore, the 1
The S-polarized light of the green light incident on the / 2 wavelength plate 24b is converted into P-polarized light and emitted. Therefore, the green light whose polarization is not uniform is unified into P-polarized light. However, due to the optical characteristics of the polarization beam splitter 23b and the half-wave plate 24b, the P-polarized light is not 100%, and some S-polarized light remains. Therefore, in order to remove the S polarized light, the purity of the P polarized light of the green light is improved by using the polarizing plate 27b arranged so as to transmit only the P polarized light.

Similar to the red light, the substantially parallel P-polarized blue light incident on the polarization beam splitter 23c is transmitted through the polarization beam splitter 23c, and
It is incident on the two-wave plate 24c. This half-wave plate 24c
Are arranged so as to rotate the polarization direction of the incident P-polarized light by 90 degrees. Therefore, the P-polarized light of the blue light incident on the half-wave plate 24c is converted into S-polarized light and emitted. On the other hand, the polarization beam splitter 23
The substantially parallel S-polarized blue light that is incident on c is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 23c and is reflected by the mirror 26c.
Is incident on. The S-polarized light of the incident blue light is reflected by the mirror 26c and is emitted as it is as the S-polarized light. Therefore, blue light whose polarization is not uniform is unified into S-polarized light. However, due to the optical characteristics of the polarization beam splitter 23c and the half-wave plate 24c, the S-polarized light is not 100%, and some P-polarized light remains. Therefore, in order to remove the P-polarized light, S
The polarizing plate 27c arranged so as to transmit only polarized light
Is used to improve the purity of S-polarized blue light.

If the purity of the polarized light of each color light is low, when the illumination light is separated by the polarization beam splitter, the accuracy of light separation by color is lowered, and finally the color reproducibility of the displayed image is lowered. Become.

As a result, this polarized light source unit 20 'is
Is a polarized light source device according to a third embodiment of the present invention that emits P-polarized green polarized light and S-polarized red polarized light and blue polarized light as substantially parallel light, and is shown in FIG. Used in the video display device according to the illustrated first embodiment,
The green LED 1a, the red LED 1b, the blue L
The third embodiment of the present invention is performed by replacing the polarized light source device according to the first embodiment as the polarized light source unit 9 including the ED 1c, the condenser lenses 2a to 2c, and the polarizing plates 3a to 3c. It is possible to configure the image display device according to the embodiment. The image display device using the polarized light source device according to the present embodiment is the same as the image display device using the polarized light source device according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. In comparison, the color reproducibility can be improved.

Here, in each of the optical elements in FIG. 3A, the color of light used for each optical element is a single color, so that the characteristics are optimized for each color component. It is desirable to set the characteristics.

[Fourth Embodiment] Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the configuration of the polarized light source unit 30 as the fourth embodiment of the polarized light source device of the present invention.

The polarized light source unit 9 shown in FIG.
By substituting this for the polarized light source unit 30, the video display device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention can be configured.

This polarized light source unit 30 is provided with a white lamp 31 that emits substantially parallel light and a color component of transmitted light which is arranged immediately after the white lamp 31 and has two color components which can be switched. Color filter 32, dichroic mirror 33 for reflecting light of green component, mirror 3
4, and the polarization beam splitters 35a to 35c and 1 /
The polarization conversion element 37 is composed of two wavelength plates 36a and 36b.

In the light emitted from the white lamp 31 as substantially parallel light, the polarization directions of which are not aligned, only the two-color components designated by the two-color filter 32 are transmitted. In the dichroic mirror 33 set so as to reflect the green color component of the transmitted light having the two color components,
Light that is not a green component is transmitted and enters the polarization beam splitter 35c. This polarization beam splitter 35c
The P-polarized light, which is not the green component and is incident on, is transmitted through the polarization beam splitter 35c and is incident on the half-wave plate 36b. This half-wave plate 36b receives the incident S
They are arranged so that the polarization directions of the polarized light and the P-polarized light are rotated by 90 degrees. Therefore, the P-polarized light of the light which is not the green component and is incident on the half-wave plate 36b is converted into S-polarized light and emitted. On the other hand, the S of light that is not the green component
The polarized light is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 35c and is incident on the polarization beam splitter 35b. The S-polarized light of the incident non-green component light is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 35b and is emitted as it is as the S-polarized light. Therefore, the light that is not the green component, which is not uniform in polarization, is unified into S-polarized light.

On the other hand, the green component light reflected by the dichroic mirror 33 is reflected by the mirror 34,
It is incident on the polarization beam splitter 35b. The P-polarized light of the green component incident on the polarization beam splitter 35b is transmitted through the polarization beam splitter 35b to generate P-polarized light.
The polarized light is emitted as it is. On the other hand, S of the green component light
The polarized light is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 35b and is incident on the polarization beam splitter 35a. The S-polarized light of the incident green component light is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 35a and is incident on the half-wave plate 36a. The half-wave plate 36a receives incident S-polarized light and P
It is arranged so that the polarization direction of each polarized light is rotated by 90 degrees. Therefore, the S-polarized light of the green component light that has entered the half-wave plate 36a is converted into P-polarized light and emitted. Therefore, the light of the green component whose polarization is not uniform is
It will be unified into P-polarized light.

In this way, it is possible to construct a polarized light source device capable of obtaining two kinds of substantially parallel light having different polarization components and different color components from the white lamps 31 whose polarizations are not uniform.

Here, the two color filter 32 is
It is possible to switch between a yellow filter that transmits green and red and a cyan filter that transmits green and blue. This makes it possible to configure a polarized light source device that can obtain green P-polarized light and S-polarized light that can be emitted by switching between red and blue.

As a result, the polarized light source unit 30
Is a polarized light source device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention that emits P-polarized green polarized light, S-polarized red polarized light, and blue-polarized light as substantially parallel light. The polarized light source device shown in FIG. 1. The green LED 1a, the red LED 1b, and the blue LED 1 used in the image display device according to the first embodiment.
c, the condenser lenses 2a to 2c, and the polarizing plates 3a to
By replacing the polarized light source unit 9 composed of 3c with the polarized light source device according to the first embodiment, it is possible to configure the image display device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In selecting the combination of the polarization direction and the color component, it is desirable to select in consideration of the wavelength characteristics of the white lamp 31 and the wavelength characteristics of optical members such as the polarization beam splitters 35a to 35c.

[Fifth Embodiment] Next, the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3C is a diagram showing the configuration of the polarized light source unit 40 as the fifth embodiment of the polarized light source device of the present invention.

The polarized light source unit 9 shown in FIG.
By replacing this with the polarized light source unit 40, the image display device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention can be configured.

The polarized light source unit 40 includes a white lamp 41 which emits light which is substantially parallel and whose polarization is not uniform, a color filter 42 which has two apertures for transmitting different colors,
And a polarization conversion element 45 including polarization beam splitters 43a to 43c and half-wave plates 44a and 44b.

That is, a part of the substantially parallel, non-uniformly polarized light emitted from the white lamp 41 passes through one opening of the color filter 42 and enters the polarization beam splitter 43b. The polarization beam splitter 43b transmits the P-polarized light of the incident light and emits it as P-polarized light. On the other hand, the S-polarized light of the incident light is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 43b and enters the polarization beam splitter 43a. The incident S-polarized light is
The polarized beam splitter 43a is reflected and enters the half-wave plate 44a. The half-wave plate 44a is arranged so that the polarization direction of the incident S-polarized light is rotated by 90 degrees. Therefore, the S-polarized light incident on the half-wave plate 44a is converted into P-polarized light and emitted.

The color light transmitted through the other opening of the color filter 42 is the polarized beam splitter 43.
incident on c. The P-polarized light of the light that has entered the polarization beam splitter 43b passes through the polarization beam splitter 43c and enters the half-wave plate 44b. This one
The / 2 wave plate 44b changes the polarization direction of the incident P-polarized light to 9
It is arranged as if it were rotated 0 degrees. Therefore, the 1 /
The P-polarized light incident on the two-wave plate 44b is converted into S-polarized light and emitted. On the other hand, the S-polarized light that has entered the polarization beam splitter 43c is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 43c and enters the polarization beam splitter 43b. The incident S-polarized light is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 43b and is emitted as it is as S-polarized light.

In this way, it is possible to construct a polarized light source device capable of obtaining two types of emitted light having different polarization components and color components from the white lamps 41 whose polarizations are not uniform.

Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. Of course.

For example, in the description of each embodiment of the present invention, the polarization state generated by the polarization control means for converting two color lights into different polarization states will be described only with respect to the state in which the polarization direction of linearly polarized light is different. However, it may be converted as if the rotation direction of circularly polarized light is different. In this case, the polarization beam splitting unit that splits the illumination light to the two light modulation elements also uses an element that has the function of splitting the illumination light in the rotation direction of the circularly polarized light. Alternatively, a quarter-wave plate is provided at the entrance of the polarization beam splitting unit that splits the illumination light into the two light modulation elements, and two circularly polarized lights with different rotation directions are
After conversion into two linearly polarized light beams that are orthogonal to each other, a polarization beam separation unit is used to separate them.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the polarized light source which emits two different polarized lights separates the emitted light into two according to the color component of the light source. However, the polarized light source divided into two light sources depends on the brightness of the light source. By using the light source, it is possible to configure a two-panel projection type image display device which is not full color but has high resolution of brightness gradation.

[0133]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to configure a polarized light source device and a polarized illumination device with high light utilization efficiency that can turn off unnecessary color light and generate two types of emitted light that have different color components and different polarization directions in a simple optical path, and the polarized light source. It is possible to provide a two-panel type image display device having good color reproducibility, which uses a device or a polarized illumination device as a light source.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are respectively a diagram showing an optical configuration of a video display apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a block configuration diagram of a main part of an electric system, and FIG. ) Is R
It is a figure which shows the timing chart for performing the full color display of GB.

FIG. 2A is a diagram for explaining the operation of the polarization direction adjusting means, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the configuration of a polarization light source unit as a second embodiment of the polarization light source device of the present invention. ,
(C) is a figure for demonstrating the modification of the polarized light source unit as 2nd Embodiment.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are diagrams showing the configurations of polarization light source units as third to fifth embodiments of the polarization light source device of the present invention, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 21b Green LED 1b, 21a Red LED 1c, 21c Blue LED 2a-2c, 22a-22c Condensing lens 3a-3c, 27a-27c Polarizing plate 4 Illumination optical system 5, 23a-23d, 35a-35c, 43a- 43c
Polarization beam splitters 6, 24a to 24c, 36a, 36b, 44a, 44b
Half-wave plate 7a, 7b, 15a, 15b Reflective liquid crystal display panel 8 Projection optical system 9, 20, 20 ', 30, 40 Polarization light source unit 11 Polarization light source 12 Controller 13 Double speed conversion video signal processing unit 14a, 14b Video Signal selector 16 Video input device 25, 37, 45 Polarization conversion elements 26a to 26c Mirror 31, 41 White lamp 32 Two-color color filter 33 Dichroic mirror 34 Mirror 42 Color filter

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 11, 2002 (2002.6.1)
1)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0054

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The image display device according to the present embodiment is provided with a green LED 1a and a red LE that emit light whose polarizations are not uniform.
D1b and blue LED1c, collecting the light of each LED
Then, collector lenses 2a to 2c that make substantially parallel light, polarizing plates 3a to 3c that make linearly polarized light that is not substantially uniform polarized light, and light that has passed through the respective polarizing plates 3a to 3c are respectively superposed. An illumination optical system 4 for uniformly illuminating the reflective liquid crystal display panels 7a and 7b, and a polarization beam splitter 5 for separating illumination light from the illumination optical system 4 and combining reflected light from two light modulation elements. A half-wave plate 6 for converting the polarization direction of incident polarized light, and reflective liquid crystal display panels 7a, 7b as light modulators for modulating and reflecting incident light for each pixel. The green LED 1a, the red LED 1b, the blue LED
A polarized light source unit 9 composed of 1c, the collector lenses 2a to 2c, and the polarizing plates 3a to 3c is the polarized light source device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In addition, such a polarized light source unit 9 and the illumination optical system 4
Illuminating light means and 1/2 as polarization direction adjusting means
The polarization plate according to the first embodiment of the present invention is configured by the wave plate 6.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0055

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The green LED 1a and the red LED 1
Light emitted from b and the blue LED 1c becomes substantially parallel light by the collector lenses 2a to 2c arranged for each LED and is incident on the polarizing plates 3a to 3c. Then, the light of each color is converted into linearly polarized light by these polarizing plates 3a to 3c. That is, the green light emitted by the green LED 1a is converted into linearly polarized light of P polarization component (hereinafter referred to as P polarized light) by the polarizing plate 3a, and the red light emitted by the red LED 1b is converted by the polarizing plate. 3b to linearly polarized light of S-polarized component (hereinafter referred to as S-polarized light), and the blue L
The blue light emitted from the ED 1c is converted into S-polarized light by the polarizing plate 3c. In this way, green light,
The red light and the blue light are converted into P-polarized light and the red light and the blue light are converted into S-polarized light through different optical paths. Here, P-polarized light and S-polarized light indicate the directions of linearly polarized light defined by the polarization beam splitter 5, and the positional relationship between the transmission axes of the polarizing plates 3a to 3c and the polarization beam splitter 5 is shown. , And the directions of the transmission axes of the polarizing plates are different by 90 degrees between P-polarized light and S-polarized light.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0092

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

This polarized light source unit 20 includes a red LED 21a and a green LED 2 which emit light whose polarization is not uniform.
1b, blue LED 21c, collecting the light of each LED
Collector lens 22a~22c to a substantially parallel light, and a polarization beam splitter 23a~23d and half-wave plate 24a, composed of the polarization conversion element 25 consisting of a 24b.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0093

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0093] That is, co the red LED21a that emits light polarization are not aligned, the green LED 21b, and the light of the blue LED21c is disposed on each LED
The red light flux that has become substantially parallel light by the rector lenses 22a to 22c and has become substantially parallel is the polarization beam splitter 23.
The optical path is controlled so that the green light flux that is substantially parallel to b is incident only on the polarization beam splitter 23c, and the blue light flux that is substantially parallel is incident only to the polarization beam splitter 23d. ing.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0098

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

As a result, the polarized light source device according to the present embodiment becomes a polarized light source that emits P-polarized green light and S-polarized red light and blue light as substantially parallel light. ) The green LED 1a, the red LED 1b, and the blue LED 1 used in the projection type video display device of FIG.
c, the collector lenses 2a to 2c, and the polarizing plate 3
It can be replaced with the polarized light source unit 9 composed of a to 3c. In addition, since the polarization conversion into one polarization component is executed by shifting one of the two polarization components to the other polarization component, there is little loss of light and the polarization efficiency of the light source device is high. Has become. Therefore, the projection-type image display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention using the polarized light source device of the present embodiment is the same as the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. A brighter display image can be displayed as compared with the projection-type image display device according to the embodiment.

[Procedure correction 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0104

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

This polarized light source unit 20 'includes a red LED 21a and a green LE which emit light whose polarization is not uniform.
D21b and blue LED21c, the light of each LED
Collector lenses 22a to 22c for collecting light and making it substantially parallel light,
Polarizing beam splitters 23a to 23c, 1/2 wavelength plate 2
4a to 24c, mirrors 26a to 26c, and a polarizing plate 27.
a to 27c.

[Procedure Amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0106

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

That is, the respective lights of the red LED 21a, the green LED 21b, and the blue LED 21c, which emit light whose polarization is not uniform, become substantially parallel lights by the collector lenses 22a to 22c arranged in the respective LEDs. The substantially parallel red light beam is only to the polarization beam splitter 23a, the substantially parallel green light beam is only to the polarization beam splitter 23b, and the substantially parallel blue light beam is the polarization beam splitter. The optical paths are controlled so that they are respectively incident only on 23c.

[Procedure Amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0111

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

As a result, this polarized light source unit 20 'is
Is a polarized light source device according to a third embodiment of the present invention that emits P-polarized green polarized light and S-polarized red polarized light and blue polarized light as substantially parallel light, and is shown in FIG. Used in the video display device according to the illustrated first embodiment,
The green LED 1a, the red LED 1b, the blue L
A third embodiment of the present invention by replacing the polarized light source device according to the first embodiment as the polarized light source unit 9 configured by the ED 1c, the collector lenses 2a to 2c, and the polarizing plates 3a to 3c. It is possible to configure the video display device according to the above. The image display device using the polarized light source device according to the present embodiment is the same as the image display device using the polarized light source device according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. In comparison, the color reproducibility can be improved.

[Procedure Amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0121

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

As a result, the polarized light source unit 30
Is a polarized light source device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention that emits P-polarized green polarized light, S-polarized red polarized light, and blue-polarized light as substantially parallel light. The polarized light source device shown in FIG. 1. The green LED 1a, the red LED 1b, and the blue LED 1 used in the image display device according to the first embodiment.
c, the collector lenses 2a to 2c, and the polarizing plate 3
First as a polarized light source unit 9 composed of a to 3c
By replacing the polarized light source device according to the embodiment of
It is possible to configure the video display device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Procedure Amendment 10]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Explanation of code

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Description of Reference Signs] 1a, 21b Green LED 1b, 21a Red LED 1c, 21c Blue LED 2a-2c, 22a-22c Collector lens 3a-3c, 27a-27c Polarizing plate 4 Illumination optical system 5, 23a-23d, 35a- 35c, 43a to 43c
Polarization beam splitters 6, 24a to 24c, 36a, 36b, 44a, 44b
Half-wave plate 7a, 7b, 15a, 15b Reflective liquid crystal display panel 8 Projection optical system 9, 20, 20 ', 30, 40 Polarization light source unit 11 Polarization light source 12 Controller 13 Double speed conversion video signal processing unit 14a, 14b Video Signal selector 16 Video input device 25, 37, 45 Polarization conversion elements 26a to 26c Mirror 31, 41 White lamp 32 Two-color color filter 33 Dichroic mirror 34 Mirror 42 Color filter

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03B 21/14 G03B 21/14 A H04N 5/74 H04N 5/74 AK F term (reference) 2H088 EA12 HA13 HA16 HA17 HA18 HA20 HA24 HA28 MA20 2H091 FA05X FA08X FA08Z FA10X FA11X FA11Z FA14Z FA26X FA45Z LA30 MA07 2H099 AA12 BA09 CA08 CA11 2K103 AA01 AA05 AA12 AA14 AA16 AB07 BA11 BA13 BC09 BC12 BC35 BC05 CA17 CA31 5

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. An optical path control means for controlling two kinds of colored light having different polarization components and having different polarizations, that is, a first colored light and a second colored light to be formed via different optical paths. And a polarization control means for converting the first color light and the second color light into different polarization states, respectively. 2. The polarized light source device according to claim 1, wherein the first color light and the second color light are lights emitted from different light emitters, respectively. 3. The polarized light source device according to claim 2, wherein the light emitting body has semiconductor elements having different color components arranged therein. 4. The polarized light source device according to claim 3, wherein each of the semiconductor elements having different color components used for the light emitter is composed of a plurality of elements. 5. The time division control for controlling the optical path control means so that at least one of the first color light and the second color light is time-series repetition of light of a plurality of different color components. The polarized light source device according to claim 1, further comprising an emission control unit. 6. The different colored light emitted from the first colored light and the second colored light is composed of only colored light composed of three kinds of color components of three primary colors of light, red, green and blue. The polarized light source device according to claim 5. 7. The polarization control means separates the P component and the S component of the polarization components contained in each of the first color light and the second color light, and then separates the P component and the S component into the same polarization. The polarized light source device according to claim 1, which is brought into a state. 8. The polarized light source device according to claim 1, wherein the polarization control means includes a polarization beam splitter array. 9. The polarized light emitted from the polarized beam splitter constituting the polarized beam splitter array includes the polarized light of the first color light and the polarized light of the second color light, respectively. Polarized light source device. 10. The polarized light source device according to claim 1, wherein different polarization states of the two color lights converted by the polarization control unit are different in the polarization direction of linearly polarized light. 11. An image display device using the polarized light source device according to claim 1, further comprising a first color light and a second color light polarization-controlled by the polarization controller. An illuminating unit that combines the illuminating light as a superimposed illuminating light, a polarized beam separating unit that separates the illuminating light that is superimposed by the illuminating unit according to a polarization state, and a color light having a polarization state of one of the separated polarization states. A first light modulation element that is illuminated, a second light modulation element that is illuminated by color light of the other polarization state of the separated polarization states, the first light modulation element and the second light An image display device comprising: a light combining means for combining the light obtained by modulating the illumination light emitted from each of the modulation elements, and a projection optical means for projecting the combined light to form an image. 12. An image display device using the polarized light source device according to claim 5, further comprising: superimposing a first color light and a second color light polarization-controlled by the polarization control means. Illuminating means for synthesizing the illuminating light, polarized light separating means for separating the illuminating light superposed by the illuminating means according to the polarization state, and illuminating with colored light having one polarization state of the separated polarization states. A first light modulation element, a second light modulation element illuminated by color light of the other polarization state of the separated polarization states, and a first light modulation element and a second light modulation element Light combining means for combining the lights obtained by modulating the illumination light emitted from each, and projection optical means for projecting the combined light to form an image, the first light modulating element or the second light modulating element. The light modulator of A video display device, characterized by modulating the light emitted in accordance with the color of the illumination light that is repeated in time series by the division extraction control means. 13. The image display device according to claim 12, wherein the colored light emitted from the polarized light source device includes colored light corresponding to RGB signals of an image signal to be used. 14. The polarization beam splitting means and the light synthesizing means are constituted by one polarization beam splitter, and the first light modulation element and the second light modulation element are reflective liquid crystal display panels. The image display device according to claim 11 or 12, wherein 15. The illumination light separated by the polarized beam separating means for separating the illumination light superposed by the illuminating means according to a polarization state is respectively the first light modulation element and the second light modulation. The image display device according to claim 11, wherein the image display device has a polarization state suitable for an element. 16. The polarization control means converts the first color light and the second color light into different linearly polarized lights, and selects one of the first light modulation element and the second light modulation element. 16. At least one of them is arranged so as to rotate about an illumination optical axis so that the direction of its own characteristics matches the linearly polarized light of color light that illuminates each, and is arranged. Video display device. 17. The polarization control means converts the first color light and the second color light into different linearly polarized light, and one of the first and second light modulation element incident surfaces is formed. 16. The image display device according to claim 15, wherein a ½ wavelength plate is arranged on both of the light modulation elements to align the polarization directions of the illumination light incident on the two light modulation elements. 18. The polarization direction of illumination light incident on two light modulation elements is arranged by arranging the ½ wavelength plate on either one of the first and second light modulation element incident surfaces. 2. When the polarization direction is adapted to the characteristics of 1., the half-wave plate is arranged on the side of the optical modulator in which the wavelength component of the transmitted light has a narrow band.
7. The video display device according to 7. 19. A polarized light source illumination device for illumination used in a video display device for projecting light modulated by a plurality of light modulation elements to form an image, having at least one specific polarization direction. Illumination light means for emitting polarized illumination light, and changing direction adjusting means for adjusting the polarization direction of the polarized illumination light emitted by the illumination light means according to the characteristics of the light modulation element for illumination. And a polarized lighting device.