JP2011203430A - Laser light source device, light source unit and projector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser light source device which divides a laser beam into a plurality of bundles of beams and emits the bundles of beams.SOLUTION: The laser light source device includes a plurality of laser beam-emitting devices 71 arranged in a matrix, and a reflection device group constituted by arranging a plurality of reflection devices 91 stepwise on optical axes of the plurality of laser beam-emitting devices 71. The reflection device 91 includes a luminous flux-splitting surface 92 having a semi-transmissive mirror 95 which reflects some of the radiated bundles of beams and transmits some of them, and a total reflective surface 93 arranged in parallel with the luminous flux-splitting surface 92 at a position separate from the luminous flux-splitting surface 92 by a predetermined distance, and totally reflecting the radiated bundles of beams. The luminous flux-splitting surface 92 is arranged on the optical axis of the laser beam-emitting device 71 so as to face the laser beam-emitting device 71.

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser light source device capable of emitting a laser beam over a wide range, a light source unit including the laser light source device, and a projector including the light source unit.

  2. Description of the Related Art Today, data projectors are widely used as image projection apparatuses that project a screen of a personal computer, a video image, an image based on image data stored in a memory card or the like onto a screen. Conventionally, such projectors mainly use a high-intensity discharge lamp as a light source, but in recent years, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), laser emitters, organic ELs, or phosphors as light-emitting elements of light source devices. There have been many developments and proposals using the above.

  For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-341105 (Patent Document 1), red, green, and blue phosphor layers are juxtaposed on the surface of a fluorescent wheel made of a translucent disc, and the rear surface of the fluorescent wheel is arranged. Proposal of a light source device that generates light source light in the red, green, and blue wavelength bands by arranging ultraviolet transmissive and visible light dichroic filters and irradiating the phosphor layer with ultraviolet light from the back side of the fluorescent wheel. Yes.

  Further, the applicant of the present invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-150938 (Patent Document 2) a light source in which a blue light emitting diode is housed in a mirror box having a predetermined opening and a phosphor is disposed in the opening of the mirror box. I am proposing a device. This proposal has a configuration in which a phosphor is caused to emit light using light emitted from a blue light emitting diode as excitation light, and the fluorescent light from the phosphor is used as light source light.

  Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-295319 (Patent Document 3), a phosphor is disposed in a reflector having a parabolic surface shape, and this phosphor is irradiated with a laser beam via a collimator lens and a condenser lens. A light source device has been proposed in which light generated by the light emission is converted into parallel light by a reflector and used for projection.

  In the previous application, the applicant of the present application is equipped with a phosphor wheel having a phosphor layer formed on the reflecting surface, and excites the phosphor by irradiating the phosphor layer with excitation light from the front of the phosphor layer. A light source device that emits fluorescent light from the same surface as the light incident surface is proposed. Further, in the previous application, the applicant of the present invention uses a blue laser emitter as the excitation light source in the light source device having a configuration in which the excitation light incident surface and the fluorescence light emission surface are the same surface, and the green wavelength band. For the light, fluorescent light from the green phosphor layer is used, for the red wavelength band light, the light emitted from the red light emitting diode is used, and for the blue wavelength band light, the excitation light is diffused and transmitted, and this diffuse transmitted light is transmitted. We are also proposing to use it.

JP 2004-341105 A JP 2009-150938 A JP 2003-295319 A

  As described above, some projectors in recent years irradiate the phosphor with the light emitted from the laser emitter and use the light emitted from the phosphor as the light source light. However, when the light emitted from the laser emitter is used as the excitation light, the light emitted from the laser emitter is highly directional light, so the light collection rate is high, and a limited area in the phosphor is irradiated. Therefore, there is a possibility that the aging of the phosphor is accelerated.

  Furthermore, in the configuration in which the light emitted from the blue laser emitter is diffusely transmitted and used as light source light in the blue wavelength band, the laser emitter emits a laser beam in a narrow area because the condensing rate of the laser emitter is high. In addition, when the light emitted from the diffuse transmission plate is used as projection light, there is a possibility that luminance unevenness occurs when the transmission light is insufficiently diffused.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and divides a single light bundle emitted from a laser emitter into a plurality of light bundles, thereby widening a range on an irradiation target. A laser light source device that can irradiate a laser beam, a light source unit that includes the laser light source device and that can generate red, green, and blue wavelength band light, and a light source unit that includes the light source unit for high brightness and high quality images. An object of the present invention is to provide a projector capable of projection.

  The laser light source device of the present invention is disposed on the optical axis of the laser light emitter, the collimator lens that converts the light emitted from the laser light emitter into parallel light, and the light emitted from the laser light emitter. And a reflection device that divides the light emitted from the vessel and reflects it in a predetermined direction.

  Further, in the laser light source device of the present invention, the reflection device includes a light beam splitting surface having a semi-transmission mirror that reflects a part of the irradiated light bundle and transmits a part thereof to divide the light bundle, A total reflection surface that is arranged in parallel with the light beam splitting surface at a position away from the light beam splitting surface and totally reflects the light beam that has passed through the light beam splitting surface, and the light beam splitting surface is the laser emitter It is arranged on the optical axis of the laser emitter so as to oppose the laser beam and reflects each of the divided beam bundles in parallel.

  Furthermore, in the laser light source device of the present invention, the light beam splitting surface is composed of the semi-transmission mirror disposed on the optical axis of the laser emitter and the transmission plate that transmits the irradiated light bundle. It is characterized by being arranged side by side so as to form.

  In the laser light source device of the present invention, the reflection device is characterized in that a distance between the light beam splitting surface and the total reflection surface is formed so that the divided beam bundles do not overlap each other.

  In the laser light source device of the present invention, the semi-transmissive mirror is a mirror having a reflectance of 38%, and the light beam splitting surface emits two light bundles from the semi-transmissive mirror, The semi-transmissive mirror and the transmissive plate are arranged so that one light beam is emitted.

  In the laser light source device of the present invention, the light beam splitting surface includes a first semi-transmissive mirror having a reflectance of 25% located on the optical axis of the laser emitter, and the first semi-transmissive mirror passing through the first semi-transmissive mirror. A second semi-transmissive mirror having a reflectivity of 66%, which is located at a position where the light beam reflected by the reflecting mirror is irradiated, and a light beam reflected by the second semi-transmissive mirror and reflected by the total reflecting mirror are provided. A third semi-transparent mirror having a reflectance of 50%, which is located at the irradiation position, and the transmission, which is located at a position where the light beam reflected by the third semi-transmission mirror and reflected by the total reflection mirror is irradiated. A board may be arranged in parallel.

  In the laser light source device of the present invention, the reflection device is arranged at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the optical axis of the laser emitter.

  The light source unit of the present invention includes any one of the laser light source devices described above, a fluorescent plate on which a phosphor layer that emits light emitted from the laser light source device as excitation light, and a light beam emitted from the fluorescent plate. And a light source side optical system for condensing the bundle on the same optical path.

  The light source unit of the present invention includes the laser light source device including a blue laser emitter that emits blue wavelength band light, the phosphor layer that emits green wavelength band light, and emission from the laser light source device. A red light source device comprising: the fluorescent plate as a fluorescent wheel in which diffuse transmission plates for diffusing and transmitting light are arranged in the circumferential direction; a wheel motor that rotationally drives the fluorescent wheel; and a red light source that emits red wavelength band light And the light source side optical system that condenses the light bundle emitted from the fluorescent wheel and the light bundle emitted from the red light source device on the same optical path.

  Furthermore, the light source unit of the present invention is a fluorescent wheel in which the laser light source device including a blue laser emitter that emits blue wavelength band light and the phosphor layer that emits green wavelength band light is laid in a circumferential direction. The fluorescent plate, a wheel motor that rotationally drives the fluorescent wheel, a red light source device that includes a red light source that emits red wavelength band light, and a blue light source device that includes a blue light source that emits blue wavelength band light; The light source side optical system that condenses the light bundle emitted from the fluorescent wheel, the light bundle emitted from the red light source device, and the light bundle emitted from the blue light source device on the same optical path; May be provided.

  The projector of the present invention includes any one of the light source units described above, a display element, a light guide optical system that guides light emitted from the light source unit to the display element, and a projection generated by the display element. A projection-side optical system that projects light.

  According to the present invention, a laser beam source device capable of irradiating a laser beam on a wide range on an irradiation target by dividing one beam bundle emitted from a laser emitter into a plurality of beam bundles, and the laser It is possible to provide a light source unit that includes the light source device and can generate red, green, and blue wavelength band light, and a projector that includes the light source unit and can project a high-luminance and high-quality image.

1 is an external perspective view showing a projector according to an embodiment of the invention. It is a functional circuit block diagram of the projector which concerns on the Example of this invention. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an internal structure of a projector according to an embodiment of the invention. It is explanatory drawing regarding the concept of the reflecting device which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing regarding the effect of the reflective apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the specific structure of the reflective apparatus based on the Example of this invention. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the other structure of the reflective apparatus based on the Example of this invention. It is a schematic plan view showing the internal structure of a projector according to another embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described. The projector 10 according to the present embodiment includes a light source unit 60, a display element 51, a light guide optical system 170 that guides light emitted from the light source unit 60 to the display element 51, and projection light generated by the display element 51. A projection-side optical system 220 for projecting.

  The light source unit 60 includes a laser light source device 70 that includes a blue laser emitter 71 that emits blue wavelength band light, and a green phosphor layer that emits green wavelength band light using excitation light from the laser light source device 70 as excitation light. And a fluorescent wheel 101 in which diffused and transmissive plates that diffuse and transmit light emitted from the laser light source device 70 are arranged in the circumferential direction, a wheel motor 110 that rotationally drives the fluorescent wheel 101, and red wavelength band light are emitted. A red light source device 120 including a red light source 121, a light beam emitted from the fluorescent wheel 101, and a light source side optical system 140 that condenses the light beam emitted from the red light source device 120 on the same optical path. Prepare.

  The laser light source device 70 includes a plurality of laser light emitters 71 arranged in a matrix, a collimator lens 73 that converts the light emitted from each laser light emitter 71 into parallel light, and the light from the plurality of laser light emitters 71. A reflection device group 75 in which a plurality of reflection devices 91 are arranged stepwise on the axis, and a condensing lens 78 arranged on the optical axis of the light beam reflected by the reflection device group 75 are provided.

  The reflection device 91 has a characteristic of dividing and reflecting the light emitted from the laser emitter 71. Further, the reflecting device 91 includes a light beam splitting surface 92 having a semi-transmission mirror 95 that reflects a part of the irradiated light bundle and transmits a part thereof to split the light bundle, and is separated from the light beam splitting face 92 by a predetermined distance. And a total reflection surface 93 that is arranged in parallel with the light beam splitting surface 92 at the selected position and totally reflects the light beam transmitted through the light beam splitting surface 92. Then, the reflection device 91 is arranged on the optical axis of the laser emitter 71 so that the light beam splitting surface 92 faces the laser emitter 71, and reflects the split beam bundle as parallel.

  Further, the light beam splitting surface 92 is formed by a semi-transmission mirror 95 disposed on the optical axis of the laser emitter 71 and having a reflectance of 38% and a transmission plate 96 that totally transmits the irradiated light beam. To be arranged side by side. The light beam splitting surface 92 is provided with the semi-transmissive mirror 95 and the transmissive plate 96 so that two light bundles are emitted from the semi-transmissive mirror 95 and one light bundle is emitted from the transmissive plate 96. It becomes. Further, in the reflection device 91, a distance between the light beam splitting surface 92 and the total reflection surface 93 is formed so that the divided light bundles do not overlap each other.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the projector 10. In this embodiment, left and right in the projector 10 indicate the left and right direction with respect to the projection direction, and front and rear indicate the screen side direction of the projector 10 and the front and rear direction with respect to the traveling direction of the light beam.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the projector 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a lens cover 19 that covers the projection port on the side of the front panel 12 that is a front side plate of the projector housing. The panel 12 is provided with a plurality of intake holes 18. Further, although not shown, an Ir receiver for receiving a control signal from the remote controller is provided.

  In addition, a key / indicator unit 37 is provided on the top panel 11 of the housing. The key / indicator unit 37 switches a power switch key, a power indicator for notifying power on / off, and switching on / off of projection. Keys and indicators such as an overheat indicator for notifying when a projection switch key, a light source unit, a display element, a control circuit, etc. are overheated are arranged.

  In addition, on the rear surface of the housing, there are provided various terminals 20 such as an input / output connector section and a power adapter plug that provide a USB terminal, a D-SUB terminal for image signal input, an S terminal, an RCA terminal, etc. on the rear panel. Yes. A plurality of intake holes 18 are formed in the back panel. A plurality of exhaust holes 17 are formed in each of the right panel, which is a side plate of the housing (not shown), and the left panel 15, which is the side plate shown in FIG. An intake hole 18 is also formed at a corner near the back panel of the left panel 15.

  Next, the projector control means of the projector 10 will be described using the functional circuit block diagram of FIG. The projector control means includes a control unit 38, an input / output interface 22, an image conversion unit 23, a display encoder 24, a display drive unit 26, and the like. The control unit 38 controls the operation of each circuit in the projector 10, and is composed of a ROM in which operation programs such as a CPU and various settings are fixedly stored, a RAM used as a work memory, and the like. Yes.

  Then, the image signal of various standards input from the input / output connector unit 21 by the projector control means is in a predetermined format suitable for display by the image conversion unit 23 via the input / output interface 22 and the system bus (SB). After being converted so as to be unified into an image signal, it is output to the display encoder 24.

  The display encoder 24 develops and stores the input image signal in the video RAM 25, generates a video signal from the stored contents of the video RAM 25, and outputs the video signal to the display drive unit 26.

  The display drive unit 26 functions as display element control means, and drives the display element 51, which is a spatial light modulation element (SOM), at an appropriate frame rate corresponding to the image signal output from the display encoder 24. By irradiating the display element 51 with a light bundle emitted from the light source unit 60, that is, a light bundle condensed on a predetermined surface by the light source side optical system of the light source unit 60, through the light guide optical system. Then, an optical image is formed by the reflected light of the display element 51, and the image is projected and displayed on a screen (not shown) via a projection side optical system described later. The movable lens group 235 of the projection side optical system is driven by the lens motor 45 for zoom adjustment and focus adjustment.

  The image compression / decompression unit 31 performs a recording process in which the luminance signal and the color difference signal of the image signal are data-compressed by a process such as ADCT and Huffman coding, and sequentially written in a memory card 32 that is a detachable recording medium. Further, the image compression / decompression unit 31 reads the image data recorded on the memory card 32 in the reproduction mode, decompresses individual image data constituting a series of moving images in units of one frame, and converts the image data into the image conversion unit 23. Is output to the display encoder 24 and the processing for enabling the display of a moving image or the like based on the image data stored in the memory card 32 is performed.

  Then, an operation signal of a key / indicator unit 37 composed of a main key and an indicator provided on the top panel 11 of the housing is directly sent to the control unit 38, and a key operation signal from the remote controller is received by Ir. The code signal received by the unit 35 and demodulated by the Ir processing unit 36 is output to the control unit 38.

  Note that an audio processing unit 47 is connected to the control unit 38 via a system bus (SB). The sound processing unit 47 includes a sound source circuit such as a PCM sound source, converts the sound data into analog in the projection mode and the playback mode, and drives the speaker 48 to emit loud sounds.

  The control unit 38 controls a light source control circuit 41 as a light source control means. The light source control circuit 41 individually controls the light emission of the laser light source device and the red light source device of the light source unit 60 so that the light source light of a predetermined wavelength band required at the time of image generation is emitted from the light source unit 60.

  Further, the control unit 38 causes the cooling fan drive control circuit 43 to perform temperature detection using a plurality of temperature sensors provided in the light source unit 60 and the like, and controls the rotation speed of the cooling fan from the result of the temperature detection. Further, the control unit 38 causes the cooling fan drive control circuit 43 to keep the cooling fan rotating even after the projector body is turned off by a timer or the like, or to turn off the projector body depending on the result of temperature detection by the temperature sensor. Control is also performed.

  Next, the internal structure of the projector 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the internal structure of the projector 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the projector 10 includes a control circuit board 241 in the vicinity of the right panel 14. The control circuit board 241 includes a power circuit block, a light source control block, and the like. In addition, the projector 10 includes a light source unit 60 on the side of the control circuit board 241, that is, at a substantially central portion of the projector housing.

  Further, the projector 10 includes an optical system unit 160 between the light source unit 60 and the left panel 15. A main control circuit board including a CPU (not shown) is disposed above the light source unit 60 and the optical system unit 160, that is, between the light source unit 60 and the optical system unit 160 and the upper panel 11. .

  The light source unit 60 includes a laser light source device 70 disposed in the vicinity of the rear panel 13 at a substantially central portion in the left-right direction of the projector housing, and an optical axis of a light beam emitted from the laser light source device 70. Fluorescent light emitting device 100 disposed in the vicinity of front panel 12, red light source device 120 disposed between laser light source device 70 and fluorescent light emitting device 100, light emitted from fluorescent light emitting device 100, and red light source device 120 A light source side optical system 140 that converts the optical axis of the light emitted from the light source to be the same optical axis.

  The laser light source device 70 includes a plurality of laser light emitters 71 arranged in a matrix, a plurality of collimator lenses 73 that convert the light emitted from each laser light emitter 71 into parallel light, and the light emitted from the laser light emitter 71. A reflecting device group 75 for converting the optical axis of light by 90 degrees in the direction of the front panel 12, a condensing lens 78 for collecting the emitted light from the laser emitter 71 reflected by the reflecting device group 75, and a laser emitter 71, A heat sink 81 disposed between the right panel 14 and the right panel 14.

  The laser emitter 71 is a laser emitter that emits blue wavelength band light. The reflecting device group 75 includes a plurality of reflecting devices 91 arranged stepwise on the optical axis of each laser emitter 71, and a plurality of highly directional laser beams emitted from each laser emitter 71. The sectional area of the beam bundles divided into the beam bundles and emitted from the plurality of laser emitters 71 is reduced in one direction by reflecting the gaps between the laser emitters 71 and reflected to the condenser lens 78. Eject. A detailed description of the reflection device 91 will be described later.

  A cooling fan 261 is disposed between the heat sink 81 and the back panel 13, and the laser emitter 71 is cooled by the cooling fan 261 and the heat sink 81. Further, a cooling fan 261 is also disposed between the reflection device group 75 and the back panel 13, and the reflection device group 75 and the condenser lens 78 are cooled by the cooling fan 261.

  The fluorescent light emitting device 100 includes a fluorescent wheel 101 as a fluorescent plate arranged in parallel with the front panel 12, that is, orthogonal to the optical axis of the light emitted from the laser light source device 70, and the fluorescent wheel 101 A wheel motor 110 that rotates, a condensing lens group 111 that condenses the light bundle emitted from the fluorescent wheel 101 toward the rear panel 13, and a light bundle emitted from the fluorescent wheel 101 toward the front panel 12 And a condensing lens 115.

  The fluorescent wheel 101 has a green fluorescent light emitting region that emits fluorescent light in the green wavelength band using the light emitted from the laser light source device 70 as excitation light, a diffuse transmission region that diffuses and transmits the light emitted from the laser light source device 70, Are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction. Then, on the surface on the back panel 13 side of the fluorescent wheel 101 in the green fluorescent light emitting region, a groove that is mirror-processed by silver vapor deposition or the like extends in the circumferential direction, and the green phosphor layer is formed in the mirror-processed groove. Is laid. Furthermore, an opening having a predetermined width extending in the circumferential direction is formed in the diffuse transmission region of the fluorescent wheel 101, and a diffusion transmission plate is installed so as to seal the opening.

  Then, the light emitted from the laser light source device 70 irradiated on the green phosphor layer of the phosphor wheel 101 excites the green phosphor in the green phosphor layer, and the light flux emitted from the green phosphor in all directions is The light is directly reflected to the rear panel 13 side or reflected from the surface of the fluorescent wheel 101 and then emitted to the rear panel 13 side and enters the condenser lens group 111. Further, the light emitted from the laser light source device 70 irradiated to the diffuse transmission region of the fluorescent wheel 101 enters the condenser lens 115 as diffuse transmission light in the blue wavelength band diffused by the fine unevenness. A cooling fan 261 is disposed between the wheel motor 110 and the front panel 12, and the fluorescent wheel 101 is cooled by the cooling fan 261.

  The red light source device 120 includes a red light source 121 disposed so that the optical axis is parallel to the laser emitter 71, and a condensing lens group 125 that condenses the light emitted from the red light source 121. The red light source device 120 is arranged so that the optical axis intersects the light emitted from the laser light source device 70 and the green wavelength band light emitted from the fluorescent wheel 101. The red light source 121 is a solid light emitting element such as a red light emitting diode. Furthermore, the red light source device 120 includes a heat sink 130 disposed on the right panel 14 side of the red light source 121. A cooling fan 261 is disposed between the heat sink 130 and the front panel 12, and the red light source 121 is cooled by the cooling fan 261.

  The light source side optical system 140 includes a condenser lens that condenses the light bundles in the red, green, and blue wavelength bands, and a reflection mirror that converts the optical axes of the light bundles in the respective color wavelength bands into the same optical axis, It consists of a dichroic mirror. Specifically, the blue wavelength band light emitted from the laser light source device 70 and the green wavelength band light emitted from the fluorescent wheel 101 and the red wavelength band light emitted from the red light source device 120 cross each other. A first dichroic mirror 141 that transmits blue and red wavelength band light, reflects green wavelength band light, and converts the optical axis of the green light by 90 degrees toward the left panel 15 is disposed.

  Also, on the optical axis of the blue wavelength band light diffusely transmitted through the fluorescent wheel 101, that is, between the condenser lens 115 and the front panel 12, the blue wavelength band light is reflected and the optical axis of this blue light is on the left side. A first reflecting mirror 143 that converts 90 degrees in the direction of the panel 15 is disposed. Further, on the optical axis of the blue wavelength band light reflected by the first reflection mirror 143 and in the vicinity of the optical system unit 160, a second reflection mirror for converting the optical axis of the blue light by 90 degrees in the direction of the back panel 13 145 is arranged.

  Further, the optical axis of the red wavelength band light transmitted through the first dichroic mirror 141, the optical axis of the green wavelength band light reflected by the first dichroic mirror 141 so as to coincide with this optical axis, and the second reflection mirror 145 At the position where the optical axis of the reflected blue wavelength band light intersects, the blue wavelength band light is transmitted, the red and green wavelength band light is reflected, and the optical axes of the red and green light are 90 degrees toward the rear panel 13. A second dichroic mirror 148 for changing the degree is arranged. A condensing lens is disposed between the dichroic mirror and the reflecting mirror. Further, a condensing lens 173 that condenses the light source light at the entrance of the light tunnel 175 is disposed near the entrance surface of the light tunnel 175.

  The optical system unit 160 includes an illumination side block 161 located on the left side of the laser light source device 70, an image generation block 165 located near the position where the back panel 13 and the left panel 15 intersect, and the light source side optical system 140. And the projection side block 168 located between the left side panel 15 and the left side panel 15 are formed in a substantially U-shape.

  The illumination side block 161 includes a part of a light guide optical system 170 that guides the light source light emitted from the light source unit 60 to the display element 51 provided in the image generation block 165. As the light guide optical system 170 included in the illumination side block 161, the light tunnel 175 that uses the light flux emitted from the light source unit 60 as a light flux having a uniform intensity distribution, and the light emitted from the light tunnel 175 are collected. There are a condensing lens 178, an optical axis conversion mirror 181 that converts the optical axis of the light beam emitted from the light tunnel 175 in the direction of the image generation block 165, and the like.

  As the light guide optical system 170, the image generation block 165 has a condensing lens 183 that condenses the light source light reflected by the optical axis conversion mirror 181 on the display element 51, and a light beam transmitted through the condensing lens 183 as a display element. And an irradiation mirror 185 that irradiates 51 at a predetermined angle. Further, the image generation block 165 includes a DMD serving as the display element 51, and a heat sink 190 for cooling the display element 51 is disposed between the display element 51 and the rear panel 13. Element 51 is cooled. Further, a condenser lens 195 as the projection-side optical system 220 is disposed near the front surface of the display element 51.

  The projection-side block 168 has a lens group of the projection-side optical system 220 that emits ON light reflected by the display element 51 to the screen. The projection-side optical system 220 includes a fixed lens group 225 built in a fixed lens barrel and a movable lens group 235 built in a movable lens barrel, and is a variable focus lens having a zoom function, and is movable by a lens motor. Zoom adjustment and focus adjustment can be performed by moving the lens group 235.

  In projectors that irradiate phosphors with light emitted from such a laser emitter and use the fluorescent light as light source light, the light emitted from the laser emitter is a highly directional beam bundle, so the phosphor layer is narrow. Excitation light was irradiated to the range, and the aging of the phosphor layer might be accelerated. Also, in a projector that diffuses and transmits the light emitted from the laser emitter and uses the diffuse transmitted light as light source light, the light emitted from the laser emitter is applied to a narrow area of the diffuse transmission plate, so that the diffusion is insufficient In some cases, uneven brightness may occur. Therefore, in the projector 10 according to the present embodiment, one light beam emitted from each laser light emitter 71 is converted into a plurality of light beam beams by the reflection device 91 of the reflection device group 75 arranged in front of the laser light emitter 71. These problems are solved by dividing the light into two and reflecting, and irradiating a laser beam to a wide range of the phosphor layer and the diffuse transmission plate.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram regarding the concept of dividing one laser beam into a plurality of beam bundles in the reflection device 91 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the reflection device 91 of the present embodiment has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a light beam splitting surface 92 that splits a light beam by reflecting a part of the irradiated light and transmitting a part thereof, and the light beam A total reflection surface 93 disposed in parallel with the light beam splitting surface 92 at a predetermined distance from the splitting surface 92, and an air layer and a refractive index in the gap between the light beam splitting surface 92 and the total reflection surface 93. Different rectangular parallelepiped rods 98 are arranged. That is, the reflecting device 91 is configured such that the light beam splitting surface 92 and the total reflection surface 93 are formed on two predetermined opposing surfaces of the rod 98.

  The light beam splitting surface 92 includes a rectangular semi-transmissive mirror 95 (such as a half mirror) that reflects and transmits a part of the irradiated light beam, and a rectangular transmission that transmits the irradiated light beam completely. The plates 96 are juxtaposed so as to form the same plane. The total reflection surface 93 is formed by a total reflection mirror 94 that completely reflects the irradiated light beam. In this embodiment, the rod 98 is arranged between the light beam splitting surface 92 and the total reflection surface 93, but the space between the light beam splitting surface 92 and the total reflection surface 93 may be formed as a space. Of the four surfaces orthogonal to the light beam splitting surface 92 and the total reflection surface 93 of the rod 98, a surface located near the position irradiated with the light emitted from the laser emitter 71 and the surface orthogonal to the surface. Total reflection mirrors 94 are disposed on the two surfaces.

  The reflection device 91 is arranged at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the optical axis so that the semi-transmissive mirror 95 of the light beam splitting surface 92 is positioned on the optical axis of the laser emitter 71. Then, a part of the beam bundle of the laser beam irradiated on the reflection device 91 is reflected by the semi-transmission mirror 95 with the optical axis direction being changed by 90 degrees, and the remaining beam bundle is transmitted through the semi-transmission mirror 95 and reflected. It enters the device 91. The light beam incident on the reflecting device 91 is reflected by the total reflection mirror 94, and further divided into reflected light and transmitted light by the semi-transmissive mirror 95 of the light beam splitting surface 92, while splitting the light from the total reflection surface 93 and the light beam. The reflection is repeated between the surface 92 and finally, the light is emitted from the transmission plate 96 to the outside. That is, the reflecting device 91 irradiates a laser beam over a wide range of an irradiation object by dividing one laser beam into a plurality of parallel beam bundles and emitting the laser beam by converting the optical axis direction by 90 degrees. be able to.

In this reflecting device 91, the distance h (the thickness of the rod 98) between the light beam splitting surface 92 and the total reflection surface 93 is set so that the divided beam bundles do not overlap each other. Specifically, when the refractive index of the rod 98 is n and the diameter of the laser beam emitted from the laser emitter 71 is d, h ≧ d {√ (4n ² −2)} / 2. A distance h between the light beam splitting surface 92 and the total reflection surface 93 is set. Thus, by setting h so that h ≧ d {√ (4n ² −2)} / 2, the divided light bundles do not overlap each other. In other words, it is possible to prevent the distance between the divided light bundles from becoming zero or more, and an increase in the amount of light emitted from the reflecting device 91. Although the incident angle is calculated as 45 ° in the above-described formula and the formula described later, the angle formed with respect to the laser emitter 71 of the reflection device 91 is 45 ° when used in the projector 10 of this embodiment. For this reason, it is merely calculated, and the incident angle is not limited to 45 °.

Further, since the reflecting device 91 divides one laser beam into k parallel beam bundles, the distance from the end of the semi-transmission mirror 95 to the nearest position in the beam bundle of the laser beams irradiated is represented by a. Then, the length L in the tilt direction of the semi-transmissive mirror 95 is set to (d√2) + 2h (k−2) / √ (2n ² −1) <L−a <2h (k−1) / √ (2n ² -1). In this equation, k> 2.

  By forming the reflection device 91 in this way, one laser beam can be divided into k parallel beam bundles, so that the emission light from the laser emitter 71 can be irradiated to a wide range of irradiation targets. Further, in this reflection device 91, the length L in the tilt direction of the semi-transmission mirror 95, the distance h between the light beam splitting surface 92 and the total reflection surface 93, the incident angle of the laser beam, the refractive index n of the rod 98, and the like are changed. Thus, the number k of the light bundles to be divided and the length in the direction orthogonal to the reflection direction of the light bundle reflected by the reflection device 91 (the diameter of the cross section of the light bundle reflected by the reflection device 91) can be changed.

  Furthermore, since the light beam splitting surface 92 is formed by arranging the semi-transmissive mirror 95 and the transmission plate 96 side by side, the reflecting device 91 is compared with the case where the light beam splitting surface 92 is formed by only the semi-transmissive mirror 95. Thus, the light that is attenuated in the reflecting device 91 without being emitted from the outside can be eliminated, and the utilization efficiency of the light beam emitted from the laser emitter 71 can be increased.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, a reflection device group 75 is formed using a normal reflection mirror (total reflection mirror) 90, and each reflection mirror is arranged on the optical axis of a plurality of laser emitters 71. In this case, since one beam bundle emitted from each laser emitter 71 is reflected as it is, a laser beam with high energy is irradiated to a narrow range. When the reflecting device group 75 is formed using the reflecting device 91 having the function of dividing, and each reflecting device 91 is arranged on the optical axis of the plurality of laser emitters 71, one light bundle Since the light beam is divided and reflected, the amount of light can be dispersed and the laser beam can be irradiated to a wide range of the irradiation target.

  In this way, by forming the laser light source device 70 using the reflection device 91 that can divide one emitted light into a plurality of parallel light bundles, the emitted light from the laser light source device 70 is converted into the reflection device 91. Compared to the case where there is no light, it is possible to irradiate a wide area of the fluorescent wheel 101, so that a high-energy laser beam is irradiated to a narrow area of the phosphor layer, and the aging deterioration rate is accelerated, and the temperature of the phosphor layer is increased. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the luminous efficiency from deteriorating. Further, it is possible to prevent uneven brightness from occurring in the projected image by irradiating a narrow laser beam having a high luminance on the diffuse transmission plate. Therefore, it is possible to provide the projector 10 that is excellent in durability and capable of projecting a high-quality image.

  Next, a specific example of the configuration of the reflecting device 91 suitable for obtaining such an effect will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a specific configuration of the reflection device 91 of the present embodiment. In the projector 10 of the present embodiment, one light bundle emitted from the laser emitter 71 is divided into a plurality of light bundles and reflected, but in the following configuration, the amount of light in each divided light bundle is reflected. The reflection device 91 is formed so as to reduce the difference between the two.

In this reflecting device 91, as shown in FIG. 6, the semi-transmissive mirror 95 is formed by a mirror having a reflectance of 38%. In the light beam splitting surface 92, one laser beam irradiated in the reflecting device 91 is divided into three beam bundles by a semi-transparent mirror 95, and two of these three beam bundles. Is emitted from the semi-transmission mirror 95, and the length L in the tilt direction of the semi-transmission mirror 95 is formed so that the remaining one is emitted from the transmission plate 96. That is, the length L in the tilt direction of the semi-transmissive mirror 95 in the reflecting device 91 is (d√2) + 2h / √ (2n ² −1) <L−a <4h / √ (2n ² −1). It is formed as follows. Also in this reflecting device 91, the distance h between the light beam splitting surface 92 and the total reflection surface 93 is set so that h ≧ d {√ (4n ² −2)} / 2.

  In the reflection device 91, one laser beam B emitted from the laser emitter 71 is irradiated onto the semi-transmissive mirror 95 and divided into reflected light and transmitted light, and the amount of light 38% of the laser beam B. The first light flux B1 and the first internal light N1 that is 62% of the light quantity of the laser beam B. The first inner light N1 is reflected by the total reflection mirror 94 and then applied to the semi-transmission mirror 95. The first inner light N1 is divided into reflection light and transmission light by the semi-transmission mirror 95, and about 38% (0 .62 * 0.62) and the second inner light beam N2 having a light quantity of about 24% (0.62 * 0.38) of the laser beam B. Further, the second inner light N2 is reflected by the total reflection mirror 94 and applied to the transmission plate 96, and is transmitted through the transmission plate 96 to become the third light bundle B3.

  In this way, a mirror having a reflectance of 38% is used as the semi-transmissive mirror 95, and two light bundles are emitted from the semi-transmissive mirror 95, and one light bundle is emitted from the transmissive plate 96. , The laser beam B applied to the reflecting device 91 has a first beam bundle B1 that is 38% light amount of the laser beam B, a second beam bundle B2 that is 38% light amount of the laser beam B, The light beam is divided into three beam bundles of the third beam bundle B3 that is 24% of the light amount of the laser beam B and is emitted from the reflection device 91.

  Therefore, by forming the reflection device group 75 using the reflection device 91, it is possible to divide and reflect a laser beam having high directivity into a plurality of light bundles having a small difference in the amount of light, and the fluorescent wheel 101 shown in FIG. It is possible to irradiate a plurality of light bundles having a small difference in light amount over a wide range. Then, a part of the phosphor layer is irradiated with a single laser beam having high directivity, so that the deterioration over time is accelerated, or a part of the diffusion transmission plate is irradiated with a single laser beam to obtain luminance. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of unevenness.

  Next, another configuration of the reflection device 91 will be described. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another configuration of the reflection device 91. As shown in FIG. 7, the light beam splitting surface 92 of the reflecting device 91 is transmitted through the first semi-transmissive mirror 95a and the first semi-transmissive mirror 95a having a reflectance of 25%, which are located on the optical axis of the laser emitter 71. The second semi-transmissive mirror 95b having a reflectivity of 66% and the second semi-transmissive mirror 95b, which are located at the position where the light beam reflected by the total reflective mirror 94 is irradiated, are reflected by the total reflective mirror 94. The position where the reflected light bundle is irradiated and the position where the third semi-transmissive mirror 95c having a reflectance of 50% and the light bundle reflected by the third semi-transmissive mirror 95c and reflected by the total reflective mirror 94 are irradiated. And the transmission plate 96 positioned in parallel to each other so as to form one surface. The reflecting device 91 is arranged so that the first semi-transmissive mirror 95a is positioned on the optical axis of the laser emitter 71.

The length L1 in the tilt direction of the first semi-transmissive mirror 95a is such that d√2 <L1-a <2h / so that the light emitted from the laser emitter 71 is irradiated only once onto the first semi-transmissive mirror 95a. It is formed to be √ (2n ² −1). Further, the length L2 of the second semi-transmissive mirror 95b in the tilt direction is d√2 <L2 <2h / √ (2n ² −1) so that the second semi-transmissive mirror 95b is irradiated with the laser beam only once. It is formed to become. Further, the length L3 in the tilt direction of the third semi-transmissive mirror 95c is formed to satisfy d√2 <L3 <2h / √ (2n ² −1), similarly to the second semi-transmissive mirror 95b. In FIG. 7, adhesive layers are formed between the first semi-transmissive mirror 95a and the second semi-transmissive mirror 95b and between the second semi-transmissive mirror 95b and the third semi-transmissive mirror 95c. The length of the adhesive layer in the tilt direction is a minute length that does not affect the length of the first semi-transmissive mirror 95a, the second semi-transmissive mirror 95b, and the third semi-transmissive mirror 95c in the tilt direction. .

  One laser beam B applied to such a reflection device 91 is applied to the first semi-transmissive mirror 95a and divided into reflected light and transmitted light, and the first light beam has a light quantity of 25% of the laser beam B. The bundle B1 and the first internal light N1 that is 75% light quantity of the laser beam B are obtained. The first inner light N1 is reflected by the total reflection mirror 94 and then irradiated to the second semi-transmission mirror 95b. The first inner light N1 is divided into reflection light and transmission light by the second semi-transmission mirror 95b. The second light beam B2 having a light amount of 25% (0.75 * 0.34) and the second inner light N2 having a light amount of about 50% (0.75 * 0.66) of the laser beam B. . Further, the second inner light N2 is reflected by the total reflection mirror 94 and applied to the third semi-transmissive mirror 95c, and is divided into reflected light and transmitted light by the third semi-transmissive mirror 95c. A third light beam B3 having a light amount of 25% (0.5 * 0.5) and a third inner light N3 having a light amount of about 25% (0.5 * 0.5) of the laser beam B are obtained. The third inner light N3 is reflected by the total reflection mirror 94 and applied to the transmission plate 96, passes through the transmission plate 96, and becomes the fourth light bundle B4.

  As described above, in the reflecting device 91 of the present embodiment, the irradiated light bundle can be divided into four light bundles having a substantially uniform light amount, and substantially uniform over a wide range in the fluorescent wheel 101 shown in FIG. It becomes possible to irradiate with a sufficient amount of excitation light. Therefore, as in the above-described embodiment, a part of the phosphor layer is irradiated with one highly directional laser beam, so that the deterioration over time is accelerated, or one laser beam is applied to a part of the diffuse transmission plate. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of luminance unevenness due to the irradiation.

  In the embodiment described above, the fluorescent wheel 101 is formed by juxtaposing the green fluorescent light emitting region and the diffuse transmission region in the circumferential direction, and the fluorescent wheel 101 is irradiated with the emitted light from the laser light source device 70. Although the configuration is such that the light source light in the green and wavelength bands is generated, only the green fluorescent light emitting region is provided in the fluorescent wheel 101, and as shown in FIG. 8, the blue light source device 300 provided with the blue light source 301 that is a blue light emitting diode. By separately providing the light source light, the fluorescent light from the fluorescent wheel 101 can be used for the light source light in the green wavelength band, and the light emitted from the blue light source device 300 can be used for the light source light in the blue wavelength band. Even in the case where the reflector device 75 is formed using the reflector 91 described above in the projector 10 having such a configuration, it is possible to irradiate excitation light on a wide area in the phosphor layer of the phosphor wheel 101, which is durable. Thus, it is possible to provide a projector 10 that is excellent in that it can project high-quality images.

  Further, a red fluorescent light emitting region, a green fluorescent light emitting region, and a diffuse transmission region may be provided in the circumferential direction of the fluorescent wheel 101 so that all the light sources in the red, green, and blue wavelength bands are generated by the fluorescent wheel 101. . Even in such a configuration, it is possible to prevent aging deterioration by irradiating excitation light to a narrow region of the phosphor layer, or to prevent a part of the phosphor layer from becoming high temperature, and It is also possible to prevent unevenness in brightness due to a portion of the excitation light being irradiated. In particular, some red phosphor layers have a remarkable decrease in luminous efficiency due to temperature, but such a decrease in luminous efficiency can be prevented.

  And this invention is not limited to the above Example, A change and improvement are possible freely in the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention.

10 Projector
11 Top panel 12 Front panel
13 Rear panel 14 Right panel
15 Left panel 17 Exhaust hole
18 Air intake hole 19 Lens cover
20 Various terminals 21 Input / output connector
22 I / O interface 23 Image converter
24 Display encoder 25 Video RAM
26 Display drive unit 31 Image compression / decompression unit
32 Memory card 35 Ir receiver
36 Ir processing section 37 Key / indicator section
38 Control unit 41 Light source control circuit
43 Cooling fan drive control circuit 45 Lens motor
47 Audio processor 48 Speaker
51 Display element 60 Light source unit
70 Laser light source device 71 Laser emitter
73 Collimator lens 75 Reflector group
78 Condenser lens 81 Heat sink
90 Reflective mirror
91 Reflector 92 Beam splitting surface
93 Total reflection surface 94 Total reflection mirror
95 Transflective mirror 95a First transflective mirror
95b Second semi-transmissive mirror 95c Third semi-transmissive mirror
96 Transmission plate 98 Rod
100 fluorescent device
101 Fluorescent wheel 110 Wheel motor
111 Condensing lens group 115 Condensing lens
120 Red light source 121 Red light source
125 condenser lens group 130 heat sink
140 Light source side optical system 141 First dichroic mirror
143 First reflection mirror 145 Second reflection mirror
148 Second dichroic mirror 160 Optical system unit
161 Lighting block 165 Image generation block
168 Projection side block 170 Light guiding optical system
173 Condensing lens 175 Light tunnel
178 Condensing lens 181 Optical axis conversion mirror
183 Condensing lens 185 Irradiation mirror
190 Heat sink 195 Condenser lens
220 Projection-side optical system 225 Fixed lens group
235 Movable lens group 241 Control circuit board
261 Cooling fan 300 Blue light source device
301 Blue light source

Claims (12)

A laser emitter;
A collimator lens that converts light emitted from the laser emitter into parallel light;
A reflection device that is disposed on the optical axis of the light emitted from the laser emitter and divides the light emitted from the laser emitter and reflects it in a predetermined direction;
A laser light source device comprising: The reflecting device includes a light beam splitting surface having a semi-transmission mirror that reflects a part of the irradiated light beam and transmits a part thereof to split the light beam, and a position separated from the light beam splitting surface by a predetermined distance. A total reflection surface that is arranged in parallel with the light beam splitting surface and totally reflects the light beam that has passed through the light beam splitting surface;
2. The laser according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam is arranged on the optical axis of the laser emitter so that the beam splitting surface faces the laser emitter and reflects the divided beam bundles in parallel. Light source device.   The beam splitting surface is formed such that the semi-transmission mirror disposed on the optical axis of the laser emitter and the transmission plate that transmits the irradiated light bundle are formed so as to form one surface. The laser light source device according to claim 2.   4. The laser according to claim 2, wherein the reflecting device is formed with a distance between the light beam splitting surface and the total reflection surface so that the divided light bundles do not overlap each other. Light source device. The transflective mirror is a mirror having a reflectance of 38%,
The semi-transmission mirror and the transmission plate are arranged on the beam splitting surface so that two light bundles are emitted from the semi-transmission mirror and one light bundle is emitted from the transmission plate. The laser light source device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by the above.   The light beam splitting surface is irradiated with a first semi-transmissive mirror having a reflectance of 25% located on the optical axis of the laser emitter and a light beam that is transmitted through the first semi-transmissive mirror and reflected by the total reflective mirror. The second semi-transmission mirror having a reflectance of 66% and the reflectance that is reflected by the second semi-transmission mirror and is reflected by the total reflection mirror is irradiated. Of the third semi-transparent mirror, and the transmission plate positioned in a position where the light beam reflected by the third semi-transmission mirror and reflected by the total reflection mirror is irradiated. The laser light source device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by the above.   The laser light source device according to claim 1, wherein the reflection device is disposed at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to an optical axis of the laser emitter. A plurality of the laser emitters arranged in a matrix;
A group of reflection devices in which a plurality of the reflection devices are arranged stepwise on the optical axes of the plurality of laser emitters;
8. The laser light source device according to claim 1, further comprising: a condensing lens disposed on an optical axis of a light beam reflected by the reflecting device group. 9. The laser light source device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A fluorescent plate laid with a phosphor layer that emits light emitted from the laser light source device as excitation light; and
A light source side optical system for condensing the light beam emitted from the fluorescent plate on the same optical path;
A light source unit comprising: The laser light source device comprising a blue laser emitter emitting blue wavelength band light;
The phosphor layer that emits green wavelength band light, and the fluorescent plate as a fluorescent wheel in which a diffuse transmission plate that diffuses and transmits the light emitted from the laser light source device is arranged in the circumferential direction;
A wheel motor that rotationally drives the fluorescent wheel;
A red light source device including a red light source that emits light in a red wavelength band; and
The light source side optical system that condenses the light bundle emitted from the fluorescent wheel and the light bundle emitted from the red light source device on the same optical path;
The light source unit according to claim 9, comprising: The laser light source device comprising a blue laser emitter emitting blue wavelength band light;
The phosphor plate as a fluorescent wheel in which the phosphor layer emitting green wavelength band light is laid in the circumferential direction;
A wheel motor that rotationally drives the fluorescent wheel;
A red light source device including a red light source that emits light in a red wavelength band; and
A blue light source device including a blue light source that emits light in a blue wavelength band;
The light source side optical system that condenses the light bundle emitted from the fluorescent wheel, the light bundle emitted from the red light source device, and the light bundle emitted from the blue light source device on the same optical path;
The light source unit according to claim 9, comprising: A light source unit according to any one of claims 9 to 11,
A display element;
A light guide optical system for guiding light emitted from the light source unit to the display element;
A projection-side optical system that projects the projection light generated by the display element;
A projector comprising:

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