JP2007011180A - Illuminating device and projector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact illuminating device using a compact light source, whose incident angle on an object to be illuminated is easily controlled and whose loss is small, and to provide a projector using the same. <P>SOLUTION: Respective peripheral expansion parts 61b expand first luminous flux L1 and second luminous flux L2 made incident on the peripheral expansion parts 61b to both end sides in a ±X direction perpendicular to a system optical axis SA. Meanwhile, a central transmission part 61a makes luminous flux LO made incident on the central transmission part 61a pass as it is. As a result, light source light LW passing through a condensing lens 21c is changed into a uniform illuminating light beam LI whose cross section is expanded in the ±X direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an illumination device for illuminating a liquid crystal light valve and other light modulation devices, and a projector incorporating the illumination device.

  As a first projector, a light source lamp is disposed on one end side of the rod integrator, and a polarization separating prism member is disposed on the other end side of the rod integrator, and the polarization directions of a pair of polarized light passing through the prism member are matched. Then, there exists what illuminates by superimposing the illumination area by combining with a lens (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  Further, as the second projector, the liquid crystal display element for red light is illuminated by the R color LED array and the waveguide block, and the liquid crystal display element for green light is illuminated by the G color LED array and the waveguide block. There is one that illuminates a liquid crystal display element for blue light using a B-color LED array and a waveguide block (see Patent Document 3).

As a third projector, there is a projector in which light source light is limited to a specific polarization direction by a polarizing filter and guided to an optical path of each color by a polarizing beam splitter (see Patent Document 4). In this projector, a narrow-band phase difference plate that rotates the polarization direction with a specific color is provided before and after the polarizing beam splitter to easily achieve color separation and color synthesis.
JP 2002-268008 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-350779 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-112031 JP 2000-284228 A

  However, in the first and second projectors among the above, the illumination light is made uniform by the rod integrator and the waveguide block, and the size of the light source and the illumination system is easily increased. In particular, in the first projector, a pair of condenser lenses for superimposing the light emitted from the prism member on the liquid crystal panel, corresponding to the arrangement of the prism member for polarization separation at the exit end of the rod integrator, or It becomes necessary to arrange an eccentric lens, and the structure of the light source and the illumination system becomes complicated. In addition, when the condenser lens and eccentric lens on the exit side are brought close to the liquid crystal panel, the incident angle distribution of the illumination light incident on the liquid crystal panel is greatly different in the vertical and horizontal directions of the screen, and the direction in which the spread angle of the illumination light is large As the loss of illumination light increases, the operation reliability of the liquid crystal panel tends to decrease.

  In the third projector, since there is no rod integrator or waveguide block, it can be said that it is easy to reduce the size of the light source and the illumination system, but the aspect ratio of the shape of the liquid crystal panel is 4: 3, 16: 9, etc. In this case, the loss of light is increased by the difference in aspect ratio. Here, it is conceivable to arrange a cylindrical lens behind the mirror of the lamp to make the beam cross section of the illumination light from the lamp elliptical, but the incident angle distribution of the illumination light incident on the liquid crystal panel differs depending on the vertical and horizontal directions of the screen. As a result, the loss of the illumination light increases with respect to the direction in which the spread angle of the illumination light is large, and the reliability of the operation of the liquid crystal panel tends to decrease.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a small illuminating device using a small light source, an illuminating device that can easily control an incident angle to an object to be illuminated, and has little loss, and a projector using the same. With the goal.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an illumination device according to the present invention includes (a) a light source that generates light source light, and (b) light source light emitted from the light source. At least a part of the polarization separation / combination device that splits the first and second light fluxes into a second light flux of different second polarization and emits the spatially joined light flux as illumination light by making the first and second light fluxes parallel to each other Light beam shaping means.

  In the above illuminating device, the polarization separation / combination device provided in the light beam shaping means illuminates the light beam spatially connected by dividing the light source light emitted from the light source into first and second light beams and making them parallel to each other. Therefore, it means that the illumination light beam is perpendicular to the light beam by the amount provided by the polarization separation / synthesis device (not limited to the horizontal direction of the screen, but any direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the light beam). ). At this time, the divided first and second light beams are parallel to each other, and an increase in the angle of the illumination light can be avoided regardless of the extension of the illumination light in the lateral direction. A small-sized lighting device can be provided.

  According to a specific aspect or aspect of the present invention, in the illumination device, the light beam shaping unit has an exit surface for illumination light having a shape substantially the same as the shape of the illuminated region, and the polarization separation / synthesis device is , Arranged on the peripheral side of the emission surface. In this case, it is possible to provide an illuminating device having a simple configuration in which light emitted from the illuminating device is directly incident on the illuminated region, and the illuminated region is laterally expanded by the lateral extension of the light beam by the polarization separation / combination device. It can be expanded in the direction.

  In another aspect of the present invention, the polarization separation / combination device includes a phase element for converting the polarization direction of one of the first and second light beams into the polarization direction of the other light beam. In this case, the polarization direction of the light beam emitted from the polarization beam splitting / combining device can be aligned.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a condensing lens for condensing the light source light from the light source and entering the light beam shaping means is further provided. In this case, the light source light from the light source can be efficiently collected and incident on the light beam shaping means.

  In another aspect of the present invention, the light source incorporates a solid state light emitting device. In this case, downsizing of the light source is achieved, and illumination light with relatively high brightness can be obtained.

  In another aspect of the present invention, the solid state light emitting device has a light emitting surface having substantially the same vertical and horizontal dimensions, for example, a circle or a square. In this case, it is easy to make the spread of the light source light from the light source coincide with the shape of the illuminated area in the vertical and horizontal directions, and it is easy to obtain relatively uniform illumination light.

  The projector according to the present invention includes (a) any one of the above-described illumination devices, (b) a light modulation device that modulates illumination light from the illumination device according to image information, and (c) a light modulation device light. A projection optical system that projects the formed image light.

  Since the projector uses the illumination device having the above-described features, a small and inexpensive projector is provided by a small and simple structure illumination device that can obtain illumination light arbitrarily expanded in the lateral direction. Can do.

  Another projector according to the present invention includes (a) an illumination device for each color that generates each color light as illumination light, and (b) each color light from the illumination device for each color as image information. A light modulating device for each color that modulates in response, (c) a light combining optical system that combines and emits image light of each color modulated by the light modulating device for each color, and (d) a light combining optical system. A projection optical system that projects the synthesized image light.

  Since the projector uses the illumination device having the above-described features, a small and inexpensive color type can be obtained by the illumination device for each color having a small and simple structure capable of obtaining illumination light arbitrarily expanded in the lateral direction. Projectors can be provided.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating the structure of the projector according to the first embodiment incorporating the illumination device of the present invention. The projector 10 includes an illumination unit 20, a light modulation unit 30, a projection lens 40, and a control device 50. Here, the illumination unit 20 includes an illumination device 21 and a light source driving device 27. The light modulation unit 30 includes a liquid crystal display panel 31 that is a light modulation device, and an element drive device 38 that outputs a drive signal to the liquid crystal display panel 31.

  In the illuminating unit 20 described above, the illuminating device 21 includes a light source unit 21a that is a substantially white light source, a condenser lens 21c that condenses the light source light LW from the light source unit 21a, and a beam cross section of the light source light LW by ± X. And a light beam shaping device 61 that extends only in the direction.

  Among these, the light source unit 21a is obtained by mounting an LED light emitting element 21f called a solid light emitting element (solid light source) or a semiconductor light emitting element on a circuit board 21g. The light emitting part of the LED light emitting element 21f includes an LED main body that generates blue light of the three primary colors and a phosphor that converts blue light from the LED main body into green light or red light, and its emission. The substantially white light source light is emitted from the light emitting surface 21s on the side toward the condenser lens 21c. The light emitting surface 21s of the LED light emitting element 21f has a sufficiently small square or circular shape as compared with the resin mold, and the center thereof is disposed on the system optical axis SA.

  The condenser lens 21c is, for example, a spherical biconvex lens, and is arranged with its optical axis aligned with the system optical axis SA. The light source light LW extracted from the LED light emitting element 21 f passes through the condenser lens 21 c and then enters the rectangular incident surface of the light beam shaping device 61. At this time, the light source light LW from each LED light emitting element 21f is collimated by the condensing lens 21c to be a beam having a substantially circular cross section. The light source light LW that has entered the outside of the rectangular incident surface of the light beam shaping device 61 is blocked by a light blocking body (not shown). The condenser lens 21c can be a ring-shaped lens or an aspherical lens in accordance with the light emission characteristics of the LED light emitting element 21f. In this case, by adjusting how the lens area is divided or adjusting the curvature, The state of the light source light LW emitted from the condenser lens 21c can be controlled more accurately.

  The light beam shaping device 61 is a light beam shaping means arranged on the exit side of the condenser lens 21c so as to face the light collecting lens 21c, and includes a central transmission part 61a and a pair of peripheral extension parts 61b. Among these, the central transmission part 61a is a part that directly transmits the light flux L0 on the center side centered on the system optical axis SA in the light source light LW that has passed through the condenser lens 21c. It functions as a polarization beam splitting / combining device that partially extends the light beams L1 and L2 at both ends in the ± X direction of the light source light LW that has passed through the optical lens 21c.

  The former central transmission part 61a has a rectangular thick plate-like outer shape arranged perpendicular to the system optical axis SA. The latter peripheral extension 61b is formed by bonding right-angle triangular prisms 62b and 62c on both sides of the parallelogram prism 62a, and has a prismatic shape extending in the Y-axis direction as a whole. Among them, the inner right triangle prism 62b is integrated with the central transmission part 61a by being joined to the side surface of the central transmission part 61a, but can be integrally formed with the central transmission part 61a from the beginning. .

  Each peripheral extension 61b includes a polarization separation film 61d, a reflection film 61e, and a wave plate 61g. The polarization separation film 61d is sandwiched between the parallelogram prism 62a and the inner right triangle prism 62b, and the reflection film 61e is sandwiched between the parallelogram prism 62a and the outer right triangle prism 62c. The plate 61g is disposed on the exit side of the inner right triangle prism 62b, for example. The polarization separation film 61d and the reflection film 61e are dielectric multilayer films formed by vapor deposition on the slopes of any of the prisms 62a, 62b, and 62c, and are arranged in a state inclined by 45 ° with respect to the system optical axis SA. Has been. Among these, the former polarization separation film 61d transmits the first light beam L1 that is linearly polarized light in a specific direction (specifically, P-polarized light) out of the light source light LW that is random polarized light from the light source unit 21a, and The second light beam L2 that is linearly polarized light (specifically, S-polarized light) in the direction orthogonal to this is reflected, and as a result, the first and second light beams L1 and L2 respectively corresponding to the two linearly polarized light components orthogonal to each other are reflected. Separate efficiently. The latter reflection film 61e reflects the second light beam L2 reflected by the polarization separation film 61d, bends the optical path, and emits the light from the parallelogram prism 62a along the system optical axis SA direction. As a result, the first light beam L1 and the second light beam L2 are emitted in parallel to the system optical axis SA, and the first light beam L1 and the second light beam L2 are joined together without breaks. The reflective film 61e may be replaced with a metal film deposition mirror. The wave plate 61g is a phase element formed of a half-wave plate, and passes through the polarization separation film 61d and travels straight, and is emitted from the inner right triangular prism 62b along the system optical axis SA direction. Is converted into linearly polarized light (specifically, S-polarized light) having a component orthogonal thereto. Here, the first light beam L1 that has passed through the polarization separation film 61d and traveled straight and passed through the wave plate 61g has substantially the same intensity and polarization direction as the second light beam L2 reflected by the polarization separation film 61d and the reflection film 61e. Have.

  In summary, each peripheral extending portion 61b extends the first and second light beams L1 and L2 incident thereon to both ends in the ± X direction perpendicular to the system optical axis SA. On the other hand, the central transmission part 61a passes the light beam L0 incident thereon as it is. At this time, the light beams L0, L1, and L2 are uniformly incident on the central transmission portion 61a and the peripheral extension portion 61b in a state of being substantially parallel to the system optical axis SA. As a result, the light source light LW that has passed through the condenser lens 21c is converted into uniform illumination light LI having a beam cross-section extended in the ± X directions by passing through the light beam shaping device 61. Here, the light beam L0 emitted from the central transmission part 61a includes linearly polarized light components in two orthogonal directions. If only one linearly polarized light (specifically, S-polarized light) is used as the illumination light LI. The uniformity of the illumination light LI emitted from the light beam shaping device 61 is maintained throughout.

  The liquid crystal display panel 31 is a light transmission type light modulation device, specifically, a so-called single-plate color display type liquid crystal panel. That is, the liquid crystal display panel 31 switches the polarization direction of the illumination light in units of pixels with color filters in accordance with an image signal input from the outside, so that the illumination light LI from the illumination device 21 incident on the liquid crystal display panel 31 is obtained. Are two-dimensionally spatially modulated. On the incident side of the liquid crystal display panel 31, a first polarizing filter 26a is disposed facing the incident surface, and the liquid crystal display panel 31 can be illuminated with a polarized component in a specific direction with an increased degree of polarization. That is, one linearly polarized light (specifically, P-polarized light) that has passed through the central transmission part 61a of the illumination device 21 is blocked. Further, a second polarizing filter 36a is disposed on the exit side of the liquid crystal display panel 31 so as to face the exit surface, and only the polarization component in the direction orthogonal to the specific direction that has passed through the liquid crystal display panel 31 is read out. be able to. Here, the first polarizing filter 26a, the liquid crystal display panel 31, and the second polarizing filter 36a function as a liquid crystal light valve for adjusting the spatial intensity distribution of incident light.

  The image light that has passed through the liquid crystal display panel 31 enters a projection lens 40 that is a projection optical system, and is projected on a screen (not shown) at an appropriate magnification. That is, the projector 10 projects a color image formed on the liquid crystal display panel 31 on the screen as a moving image or a still image. The liquid crystal display panel 31 is a color type, but a monochrome type can also be used.

  FIG. 2 is a view for explaining extension of the beam cross section by the light beam shaping device 61. FIG. 2A is a front view of the light beam shaping device 61, and FIG. 2B is a front view of the liquid crystal display panel 31. The light source light LW incident on the light beam shaping device 61 has a circular light beam cross section. Of the light source light LW, the light incident on the peripheral extension 61b provided on the left side of the light beam shaping device 61 is extended in the −X direction and incident on the peripheral extension 61b provided on the right as described in FIG. Things are stretched in the + X direction. That is, the light beam incident on the left peripheral extending portion 61b is expanded as a light beam L1 indicated by a dotted line for convenience of explanation, and the light beam incident on the right peripheral extending portion 61b is also indicated by a dotted line for convenience of description. As a whole, it is expanded into a light beam having a horizontally long circular cross section. However, since the light beam does not extend beyond the rectangular contour CL of the light beam shaping device 61, the illumination light LI emitted from the light beam shaping device 61 results in the rectangular contour CL of the light beam shaping device 61, that is, the exit surface. It will be approximately the same. As is clear from FIG. 2B, the rectangular contour CL of the light beam shaping device 61 corresponds to the effective area of the liquid crystal display panel 31, that is, the illuminated area IA, and the illuminated area IA of the liquid crystal display panel 31 is It can be seen that the illumination light LI is illuminated without excess or deficiency.

  The aspect ratio of the liquid crystal display panel 31 is 3: 4, and the effect of extending the beam cross section of the light source light LW substantially to the aspect ratio of 3: 4 (expanded about 1.33 times in the X direction). Effect). In the illustrated example, the aspect ratio of the liquid crystal display panel 31 is set to 3: 4. However, the aspect ratio of the liquid crystal display panel 31 may be set to 9:16 or other ratios. In this case, the dimension adjustment of the peripheral extension portion 61b is performed. Thus, the extension amount of the beam cross section of the light source light LW in the X direction can be adjusted to a desired value.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The basic configuration of the projector of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the configuration of the illumination device is different from that of the first embodiment.

  The illustrated lighting device 121 includes a light beam shaping device 161. This light beam shaping device 161 is a modification of the light beam shaping device 61 shown in FIG. 1, and includes two central extension portions 161a instead of the central transmission portion 61a. Each central extension 161a has the same structure as the peripheral extension 61b and is arranged in the same posture. In this case, a mask 161k is provided in the central extension 161a to prevent unnecessary light from entering the central extension 161a, and stray light is prevented from being generated in the illumination device 121.

  According to the illuminating device 121 of the present embodiment, all of the illumination light LI emitted from the light beam shaping device 161 becomes one linearly polarized light (specifically, S-polarized light), and thus light absorption by the first polarizing filter 26a is performed. It is reduced uniformly or the first polarizing filter 26a is unnecessary.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The projector according to the present embodiment is a so-called three-plate type color projector in which the illumination device 21 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  The projector 210 includes an illumination unit 220, a light modulation unit 230, a projection lens 40, and a control device 50. Here, the illumination unit 220 includes a blue light illumination device 221, a green light illumination device 223, a red light illumination device 225, and a light source driving device 27. The light modulation unit 230 outputs drive signals to the three liquid crystal display panels 231, 233, and 235 that are light modulation devices, the cross dichroic prism 237 that is a light combining optical system, and the liquid crystal display panels 231, 233, and 235. And an element driving device 38.

  In the illumination unit 220, the blue light illumination device 221 includes a blue light source unit 221a, a condensing lens 21c that collects blue light from the blue light source unit 221a, and a blue light beam cross section in the horizontal direction. And a light beam shaping device 61 that only expands.

  Among these, the blue light source unit 221a is obtained by mounting the LED light emitting element 221f on the circuit board 21g, and generates blue light, that is, the first light source light LB. The functions of the condensing lens 21c and the light beam shaping device 61 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the first light source light LB collimated by the condensing lens 21c is transmitted by the light beam shaping device 61 to the system optical axis. The cross section of the light beam is stretched in the lateral direction perpendicular to the SA and along the paper surface. The first illumination light LB that has passed through the light beam shaping device 61 is incident on the liquid crystal display panel 231 for green light in the light modulation unit 30 through the first polarizing filter 26a that is disposed to face the emission surface. Thereby, the irradiated area on the liquid crystal display panel 231 is uniformly illuminated with blue light.

  The green light illumination device 223 includes a green light source unit 223a, a condenser lens 23c, and a light beam shaping device 63. Among these, the green light source unit 223a has the same structure as the blue light source unit 221a, but the LED light emitting element 223f on the circuit board 23g generates green light, that is, the second light source light LG. The functions of the condensing lens 23c and the light beam shaping device 63 are the same as those of the condensing lens 21c and the light beam shaping device 61 of the first embodiment, and the second light source light LG collimated by the condensing lens 23c is obtained. The light beam cross-section is stretched by the light beam shaping device 63 in the lateral direction perpendicular to the system optical axis SA and along the paper surface. The second illumination light LG that has passed through the light beam shaping device 63 is incident on the green light liquid crystal display panel 233 in the light modulation unit 30 through the first polarizing filter 26b that is disposed opposite to the emission surface thereof. Thereby, the irradiated area on the liquid crystal display panel 233 is illuminated uniformly with green light.

  The red light illumination device 225 includes a red light source unit 225a, a condenser lens 25c, and a light beam shaping device 65. Among these, the red light source unit 225a has the same structure as the blue light source unit 221a, but the LED light emitting element 225f on the circuit board 25g generates red light, that is, the third light source light LR. The functions of the condensing lens 25c and the light beam shaping device 65 are the same as those of the condensing lens 21c and the light beam shaping device 61 of the first embodiment, and the third light source light LR collimated by the condensing lens 25c is The light beam shaping device 65 extends the light beam cross section in the lateral direction perpendicular to the system optical axis SA and along the paper surface. The third illumination light LR that has passed through the light beam shaping device 65 is incident on the liquid crystal display panel 235 for red light in the light modulation unit 30 via the first polarizing filter 26c arranged to face the emission surface. Thereby, the irradiated area on the liquid crystal display panel 235 is uniformly illuminated with green light.

  Each of the liquid crystal display panels 231, 233, and 235 is a light transmission type light modulation device, and the liquid crystal display panels 231, 231, 231, 231, 231, and 232 are switched by switching the polarization direction of illumination light in units of pixels according to an image signal input from the outside. The illumination light from each color light illumination device 221, 223, 225 incident on 233, 235 is two-dimensionally modulated. The first polarizing filters 26a, 26b, and 26c are disposed on the incident side of each liquid crystal display panel 231, 233, 235, and the second polarizing filter 36a is disposed on the exit side of each liquid crystal display panel 231, 233, 235. , 36b, 36c are arranged. Here, the first polarizing filter 26a, the liquid crystal display panel 231 and the second polarizing filter 36a constitute a liquid crystal light valve for blue, and the first polarizing filter 26b, the liquid crystal display panel 233 and the second polarizing filter 36b The first polarizing filter 26c, the liquid crystal display panel 235, and the second polarizing filter 36c constitute a red liquid crystal light valve.

  The image lights of the respective colors that have passed through the liquid crystal display panels 231, 233, and 235 are combined by the cross dichroic prism 237 and emitted from one side surface. The combined light image emitted from the cross dichroic prism 237 enters the projection lens 40, which is a projection optical system, and is projected onto a screen (not shown) at an appropriate magnification. That is, the projector 210 projects a color image obtained by combining the images of the respective colors (blue, green, and red) formed on the liquid crystal display panels 231, 233, and 235 on the screen as a moving image or a still image.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the wave plate 61g is arranged on the exit surface of the right triangular prism 62b through which the first light beam L1 travels straight, but on the exit surface of the parallelogram prism 62a to which the second light beam L2 is guided. A wave plate 61g can also be arranged.

  Further, the peripheral extension 61b incorporated in the light beam shaping device 61 or the like need not be arranged on both sides of the central transmission part 61a, and can be arranged only on one side of the central transmission part 61a.

  The polarization separation film 61d incorporated in the light beam shaping devices 61, 63, 65 is not limited to the dielectric multilayer film, and an organic polarizing film, a wire grid polarizer, or the like can also be used.

  In the third embodiment, the illumination device 220 is not limited to the blue light illumination device 221, the green light illumination device 223, and the red light illumination device 225, and is a color light illumination device of two or more colors using other wavelengths. In each color light illuminating device, the light beam shaping device adapted to the wavelength used is used as the light beam shaping device 61, 63, 65 described above, so that the illumination light LI having a desired aspect ratio can be obtained for each color. You can get every.

1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a projector according to a first embodiment. (A), (b) is a figure explaining the expansion | extension of the beam cross section by a light beam shaping device. It is a block diagram explaining the principal part of the projector of 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which illustrates conceptually the projector of 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Projector, 20 ... Illuminating part, 21 ... Illuminating device, 21a ... Light source unit, 21c ... Condensing lens, 21f ... Light emitting element, 21s ... Light emitting surface, 26a ... 1st polarizing filter, 27 ... Light source drive device, 30 ... Light modulation unit 31 ... Liquid crystal display panel 36a ... Second polarizing filter 38 ... Element driving device 40 ... Projection lens 50 ... Control device 61 ... Light beam shaping device 61a ... Central transmission unit 61b ... Peripheral extension unit , 61g: Wave plate, 61d: Polarization separation film, 61e: Reflection film, IA: Illuminated area, L1: First light beam, L2: Second light beam, LI: Illumination light, LW: Light source light, SA: System optical axis

Claims (8)

A light source that generates source light;
The light source light emitted from the light source is divided into a first light beam having a first polarization and a second light beam having a second polarization different from the first polarization, and the first and second light beams are made parallel to each other. A light beam shaping means having at least a part of a polarization beam splitting and synthesizing device that emits a light beam spatially joined by illumination as illumination light,
A lighting device comprising:   The light beam shaping means has an exit surface for illumination light having substantially the same shape as the shape of the illuminated area, and the polarization separation / synthesis device is disposed on the peripheral side of the exit surface. The lighting device according to claim 1.   3. The polarization separating / combining apparatus includes a phase element for converting the polarization direction of one of the first and second light beams into the polarization direction of the other light beam. The lighting device according to any one of the above.   The illuminating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a condensing lens that condenses the light source light from the light source and makes the light beam incident on the light beam shaping unit.   The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the light source incorporates a solid light emitting element.   The lighting device according to claim 5, wherein the solid-state light emitting element has a light emitting surface having substantially equal vertical and horizontal dimensions. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A light modulation device that modulates illumination light from the illumination device according to image information;
A projector comprising: a projection optical system that projects image light formed by the light modulation device light. The illumination device for each color according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each color light is generated as illumination light, respectively.
A light modulation device for each color that modulates each color light from the illumination device for each color according to image information;
A light combining optical system for combining and emitting image light of each color modulated by the light modulation device for each color;
A projection optical system for projecting image light synthesized through the light synthesis optical system;
A projector comprising:

Images