JP6233360B2 - Phosphor wheel and light source device including phosphor wheel - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a phosphor wheel including a phosphor that emits light having a wavelength different from that of incident light when light is incident, and a light source device including the phosphor wheel.

A light source device that rotates a phosphor wheel having a plurality of phosphors that emit light in different wavelength ranges, enters light from a light source on the rotated substrate, and emits light in different wavelength ranges in a time-sharing manner is known. ing. In the phosphor wheel provided with such a phosphor, there is a possibility that the temperature of the phosphor rises during wavelength conversion and the light conversion efficiency of the phosphor decreases.
In order to cope with such a problem, a phosphor wheel in which a plurality of wing-like members having a phosphor layer on the outer surface rotates is proposed in which a wing-like member is provided with a heat sink (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-85555 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a phosphor wheel that can efficiently cool a phosphor without having a drive source and consumes less energy during operation, and a light source device including the phosphor wheel. .

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a phosphor wheel according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a rotating substrate including a sealed casing having a light incident region, and a phosphor and a refrigerant sealed in the sealed casing. And a cooling device that cools the refrigerant to change from a gas to a liquid, and the phosphor is disposed at least in the light incident region, and the cooling device is disposed on the rotating substrate more than the light incident region. It is connected to the said sealing housing | casing in the position close | similar to a rotating shaft.

  The light source device which concerns on one embodiment of this invention is equipped with the phosphor wheel of said embodiment, and the light source which radiate | emits light to the said phosphor wheel.

  As described above, according to the present disclosure, a phosphor wheel that can efficiently cool a phosphor without a drive source and consumes less energy during operation, and a light source device including the phosphor wheel are provided. Can be provided.

It is sectional drawing which shows typically the fluorescent substance wheel which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and the light source device provided with this fluorescent substance wheel. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the fluorescent substance wheel which concerns on other embodiment (the 1) of this invention, and the light source device provided with this fluorescent substance wheel. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the fluorescent substance wheel which concerns on other embodiment (the 2) of this invention, and the light source device provided with this fluorescent substance wheel. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the fluorescent substance wheel which concerns on other embodiment (the 3) of this invention, and the light source device provided with this fluorescent substance wheel. (A) Schematic diagram showing the outer shape of an example of a phosphor wheel having a fine flow path formed by a plurality of grooves, and (b) Schematic showing an example of the fine flow path provided inside the sealed housing 4 FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the phosphor wheel which concerns on other embodiment (the 4) of this invention, and the light source device provided with this phosphor wheel. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the phosphor wheel which concerns on other embodiment (the 5) of this invention, and the light source device provided with this phosphor wheel. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the projector provided with the light source device which concerns on this invention.

(Description of a phosphor wheel according to one embodiment of the present invention and a light source device provided with the phosphor wheel)
First, an outline of a phosphor wheel and a light source device including the phosphor wheel according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a phosphor wheel 50 and a light source device 60 including the phosphor wheel 50 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the light source device 60 includes a phosphor wheel 50 and a light source 52 that emits light to the phosphor wheel 50. In the present embodiment, a semiconductor laser (LD) is used as the light source 52. Among the light sources, the semiconductor laser (LD) has a particularly large light output, and the amount of heat generated by the phosphor also increases. Therefore, in this embodiment, the light source device using the semiconductor laser (LD) is particularly effective. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any other light source including a light emitting diode (LED) can be used. In the present embodiment, a semiconductor laser (LD) that emits blue light is used as the light source 52.

  The phosphor wheel 50 includes a rotating substrate 2 having a sealed casing 4 in which a refrigerant is sealed, and a cooling device 30 for cooling the vaporized refrigerant in the sealed casing 4. Moreover, you may provide the drive device 40 which rotates the rotating substrate 2 centering | focusing on the rotating shaft 40a.

Here, the refrigerant is a fluid that changes from a liquid to a gas (vaporization) as the temperature of the phosphor increases, and changes from a gas to a liquid (liquefaction) when cooled by a cooling device. Specifically, water, in particular, pure water is preferable as the refrigerant, and alcohol or ammonia may be used depending on temperature conditions and pressure in the sealed casing.
The amount of the refrigerant is preferably 10% (volume) or less with respect to the volume inside the sealed casing 4 in a liquid state, but the extent that the internal pressure of the sealed casing 4 does not become too high due to the vaporized refrigerant. Good. In other words, it is preferable to determine the optimum amount of refrigerant in consideration of temperature, cooling capacity, internal pressure, strength of the sealed casing 4 (prevention of leakage), and the like.

  The sealed case 4 is a case having a sealed structure in which liquefied refrigerant and vaporized refrigerant do not leak to the outside. The sealed housing 4 has a case where all the surfaces of the sealed housing 4 are translucent, a case where some surfaces are translucent, or a case where only a part of one surface is translucent. There is also a possibility. The sealed housing 4 can be formed of a metal material, a resin material, a material such as glass or ceramic, or a combination thereof. In the present embodiment, the sealed casing 4 includes a rotating substrate 2 that forms a light incident surface, a planar member 4a that forms a light emitting surface, and a side member 4b that connects the rotating substrate 2 and the planar member 4a. ing. And it has the area | region which has translucency in the outer peripheral side in the rotation board 2 of the sealing housing | casing 4, The light incidence which the light from the outside injects into the inside of the sealing housing | casing 4 by this translucency area | region. Region 70 is formed.

  The rotating substrate 2 and the planar member 4a have translucency at least in the light incident area 70 where light from the light source 52 is incident and the emission area 80 where light is emitted. The rotating substrate 2 is a plate-like member that is rotated by, for example, the driving device 40, and preferably has a disk-like shape. The rotary substrate 2 includes a sealed housing 4. In this case, the rotary substrate 2 may constitute one surface of the sealed housing 4, and the rotary substrate 2 may be a separate sealed housing. The body 4 may be attached to the rotating substrate 2. The side member 4b can be formed of a light-transmitting member. However, from the viewpoint of preventing light from escaping from the side, the side member 4b is preferably a light-transmitting member, particularly preferably a light-reflecting member. It is preferable to configure. The rotating substrate 2 and the planar member 4a may have translucency as a whole, or only the light incident region 70 and the emission region 80 may have translucency.

In the present embodiment, the sealed housing 4 is provided with a light incident region 70 where light is incident from the outside and an emission region 80 where light is emitted from the sealed housing 4, and the cooling device 30 is provided by the light incident region 70. Is also connected to the sealed casing 4 at a position close to the rotating shaft 40a of the rotating substrate 2.
As the cooling device 30, a heat radiating member such as a heat radiating fin, a cooling device 30 that circulates a coolant or the like, or any other known cooling means can be used.

  Further, the sealed housing 4 includes a gas flow region 8 in which the vaporized refrigerant can flow and a flow part 6 having a plurality of fine flow paths in which the liquefied refrigerant can flow. This fine channel is formed by voids between the particles, and the phosphor particles 10 are used as particles forming the voids. Thereby, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, the light from the light source 52 (see the white arrow pointing to the right) passes through the rotating substrate 2 in the light incident region 70 and is disposed in the light incident region 70. Light incident on the particle 10 (which is a particle forming a fine channel) and wavelength-converted by the phosphor particle 10 passes through the planar member 4a of the emission region 80 on the side opposite to the light source 52 and is emitted to the outside. (See the arrow pointing to the right).

In the present embodiment, for example, a phosphor wheel 50 in which a plurality of sealed casings 4 having fluorescent pair particles 10 that emit light in different wavelength ranges in the circumferential direction of the rotating substrate 2 can be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, which is a side view of the phosphor wheel 50 as viewed from the light emission side, a fine formed at least from a red phosphor that emits red light when blue light is incident from the light source 52. Provided is a red light emitting region provided with a sealed housing 4R having a flow path, and a sealed housing 4G having a fine flow path formed at least from a green phosphor that emits green light when blue light is incident from the light source 52. An example of the phosphor wheel 50 includes the green light emitting region and the blue light emitting region that emits blue light that does not include the sealed housing 4 and transmits blue light from the light source 52 as it is.
When the phosphor wheel 50 having such a configuration is rotated using, for example, the driving device 40, the light source 60 that emits the three primary colors of red, green, and blue can be obtained in a time-sharing manner.

  The cooling device 30 is disposed so as to be in contact with the planar member 4 a and the side member 4 b closer to the rotating shaft 40 a of the rotating substrate 2 than the light incident region of the sealed housing 4. With the cooling device 30, it is possible to cool the vaporized refrigerant that has flowed closer to the rotating shaft 40 a of the rotating substrate 2 than the light incident region of the sealed housing 4. In the present embodiment, the cooling device 30 has a rotating substrate that is above the planar member 4a on the inner peripheral side of the ring-shaped sealing housing 4 having an inner peripheral surface and more than the light incident area of the sealing housing 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may be disposed only on the sealed housing 4.

  The flow section 6 is disposed on the light incident side (that is, the rotating substrate 2 side) inside the sealed casing 4, and on the light exit side (that is, the planar member 4 a side) inside the sealed casing 4, A gas flow region 8 (a space in the present embodiment) in which the vaporized refrigerant can flow is provided. The flow part 6 having a plurality of fine channels extends so as to connect the region where the cooling device 30 is disposed and the light incident region 70.

The flow part 6 is formed by combining phosphor particles 10 with each other, and the fine flow path is formed by a gap between the phosphor particles 10 and the phosphor particles 10. Note that the fine channel is a channel having a channel cross-section having a size causing capillary action, and is formed not only by a channel formed by a gap between particles but also by a plurality of grooves 22. A flow path, a flow path formed from the mesh-like member 24, and any other flow path that causes capillary action are included. When the fine channel is formed by a gap between the particles, for example, it is defined as a gap between the particles when the particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm to 1 mm are arranged in contact with each other. In addition, when the cross section of the flow path is converted into a circular cross section, it can be defined as a flow path having an inner diameter of 1 μm to 1 mm.
In particular, when the particles are phosphor particles, the particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm to 50 μm are arranged in contact with each other, the gap between the particles, or the flow having an inner diameter of 1 μm to 50 μm in terms of a circular cross section. It is preferable to define as a road.

As described above, when the light from the light source 52 is incident on the phosphor particles 10 arranged in the light incident region 70 of the sealed housing 4, the wavelength-converted light is emitted. At this time, the temperature of the phosphor particles 10 is emitted. If the temperature of the phosphor particles 10 increases, the wavelength conversion efficiency of the phosphor particles 10 may decrease.
In the present embodiment, when the temperature of the phosphor particles 10 rises, the refrigerant around the phosphor particles 10 is vaporized, and the phosphor particles 10 can be cooled by the heat of vaporization. When the vaporized refrigerant flows through the gas flow region 8 and reaches the region where the cooling device 30 is provided, it is cooled by the cooling device 30 and liquefied (condensed). At this time, the heat taken from the phosphor particles 10 is released to the outside of the sealed casing 4.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, a continuous fine channel is formed by a gap between the phosphor particles 10 and the phosphor particles 10, and such a plurality of continuous fine channels are used as a cooling device. The region 30 is connected to the light incident region 70. Therefore, the refrigerant | coolant around the fluorescent substance particle 10 which became high temperature by wavelength conversion vaporizes, the vaporized refrigerant flows to the vicinity of the cooling device 30, and is liquefied (condensed) by cooling by the cooling device 30. The liquefied refrigerant flows again to the light incident region 70 through the plurality of fine flow paths of the flow section 6, thereby forming a cooling cycle. That is, the refrigerant circulates in the sealed casing, and vaporization and liquefaction are repeated. Such a refrigerant flow cycle is indicated by an arrow in the sealed casing of FIG. A solid line arrow indicates the flow of the liquefied refrigerant, and a dotted line arrow indicates the vaporized refrigerant flow. As described above, the cooling cycle of the phosphor particles 10 by the refrigerant can be configured without using a drive source such as a pump, and a decrease in the light conversion efficiency of the phosphor particles 10 can be effectively prevented. . In addition, since the rotating substrate 2 is rotating, the centrifugal force is applied to the liquefied refrigerant in addition to the capillary force of the fine channel, which will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. Further, the influence of the centrifugal force when the vaporized refrigerant flows will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the fine flow path extends so as to connect the region where the cooling device 30 is disposed and the light incident region 70, the cooling cycle of the phosphor particles 10 by the coolant is ensured. And the temperature rise of the phosphor can be effectively suppressed.
As described above, in the present embodiment, the fine flow path is disposed only in a partial region in the sealed housing 4 and the gas flow region 8 in which the vaporized refrigerant flows is a space. The vaporized refrigerant can be flowed effectively.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and there may be an object or a porous substance provided with a ventilation path in the gas flow region 8. Furthermore, a fine flow path may be provided in the gas flow region 8. In this case, it has the fine flow path (flow part 6) through which a liquid refrigerant flows by capillary action, and the fine flow path (gas flow area 8) through which a gaseous refrigerant flows.

  The flow part 6 has a structure in which the phosphor particles 10 are bonded to each other, and the fine flow path is formed by a gap between the phosphor particles 10 and the phosphor particles 10.

<Description of the forming method of the fluidized part>
As a specific example of a method for forming such a fluidized part, first, phosphor particles and oxide particles are mixed with an organic solvent (for example, butyl carbitol acetate) and a resin (for example, ethyl cellulose, acrylic resin, etc.). Then, a paste is prepared, and this paste is applied by a printing method to a position where a fluid part inside the casing is formed. Next, after removing the organic solvent and the resin, baking is performed at a temperature of 300 ° C. or higher, preferably 400 ° C. or higher, to remove the resin almost completely. As a result, a plurality of oxide particles adhere to the surface of the phosphor particles, and a coating layer is formed on the surfaces of the phosphor particles and the oxide particles. The coating layer is preferably made of an inorganic material, whereby the fluidized portion 6 including the voids between the phosphor particles and the phosphor particles (that is, including the fine flow path) can be obtained.

In particular, as the coating layer, Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO ₂ or the like is preferable, and it is preferable that the oxide particles are made of the same material as the coating layer. The coating layer is formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD), sol-gel method, MOCVD (metal organic chemical vapor deposition) method, PECVD (plasma CVD) method, CVD method, atmospheric pressure plasma deposition method, sputtering method, vapor deposition method. Etc. can be used.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, all of the particles forming the fine flow path are composed of the phosphor particles 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and at least the light is incident from the outside in the flow section 6. It is only necessary that the phosphor particles 10 are disposed in the light incident region 70.
According to this embodiment, since the phosphor particles 10 are arranged in the light incident region 70, the incident light is wavelength-converted and light in a desired wavelength region can be output.

<Description of each member constituting phosphor wheel 50 and light source device 60>
Below, further detailed description of each member which comprises the fluorescent substance wheel 50 and the light source device 60 is given.
[Light source 52]
When a blue semiconductor laser is used as the light source 52, it is preferable to emit light in a wavelength range of 370 to 500 nm, and it is more preferable to emit light in a wavelength range of 420 to 500 nm. However, the present invention is not limited to the case where a blue semiconductor laser is used as the light source 52, but a semiconductor laser having any other wavelength range can be used, and other types of light sources such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) can be used. it can.

[Rotating substrate 2]
When the rotating substrate 2 functions as a light incident surface or light emitting surface, the rotating substrate 2 is made of a transparent member that transmits light, and a material having translucency such as glass, resin material, sapphire, gallium nitride, or the like is used as a material. Can be used. When the rotating substrate 2 functions as a light reflecting surface, a resin material that does not transmit light, or a metal material such as copper, aluminum, or stainless steel can be used. The rotating substrate is preferably circular when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the light incident surface (see FIG. 5).

[Sealed housing 4]
Since the sealed casing 4 functions as a casing of the heat sink, it is preferable that the thermal conductivity is high. Considering this, a metal material such as copper, aluminum, stainless steel, or the like can be exemplified. However, a resin material, sapphire, gallium nitride, glass, ceramic material, or the like can also be used. In particular, the sealed housing has a light-transmitting surface, and the light-transmitting surface needs to use a resin material, sapphire, gallium nitride, glass, or the like (as described above, In some cases, the rotating substrate 2 may constitute a light-transmitting surface). For example, when only a part of one surface has translucency, it is conceivable to form a portion that does not transmit light with a metal material and a portion that transmits light with a resin material or glass. Alternatively, a sealed housing 4 in which a resin material that does not transmit light and a resin material that transmits light are integrally molded (two-color molding) can be used.

[Cooling device 30]
As the cooling device 30, for example, a metal plate such as copper having good thermal conductivity is used to increase the area in contact with the outside air, or a heat radiating member such as a radiation fin provided with a plurality of metal plates such as copper is provided. It can be used, a cooling device that circulates a coolant or the like, or any other known cooling means can be used. This cooling device may be provided on the rotating substrate 2 or may be a device that does not rotate separately from the rotating substrate 2 and cools the sealed casing 4 by contact, spraying of a cooling fluid, or the like. Also included. Even when it is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the ring-shaped sealed housing 4 having the inner peripheral surface, or when it is provided on the rotary substrate 2 further inside than the sealed housing 4, As shown in FIG. 1, it may be arranged on both the inner peripheral surface of the sealed housing 4 and the rotary substrate 2 further inside than the sealed housing 4. Moreover, the cooling device should just be thermally connected to the sealing housing | casing.

[Drive device 40]
As the drive device 40, for example, a brushless DC drive motor can be used. The rotational speed of the driving device 40 is a rotational speed based on the frame rate of the moving image to be reproduced (the number of frames per second. The unit is [fps]). For example, when it is possible to reproduce a moving image of 60 [fps], the rotational speed of the driving device 40 (that is, the phosphor wheel 50) may be set to an integral multiple of 60 revolutions per second.

[Phosphor particles 10]
As the phosphor particles 10, when blue light is incident from the light source as described above, red phosphor particles that output red light, green phosphor particles that output green light, and yellow phosphor particles that output yellow light. It can be illustrated.
The red phosphor particles that output red light preferably generate red fluorescence having a wavelength band of about 600 to 800 nm. Specific examples of the material include (Sr, Ca) AlSiN ₃ : Eu, CaAlSiN ₃ : Eu, SrAlSiN ₃ : Eu, K ₂ SiF ₆ : Mn, and the like.
In the phosphor particles that output green light, it is preferable to generate green fluorescence in a wavelength band of about 500 to 560 nm. An example of a specific _{material, β-Si 6-Z Al} Z O Z N 8-Z: Eu, Lu 3 Al 5 O 12: Ce, Ca 8 MgSi 4 O 16 C l2: Eu, Ba 3 Si 6 Examples include O ₁₂ N ₂ : Eu, (Sr, Ba, Ca) Si ₂ O ₂ N ₂ : Eu, and the like.
The phosphor particles that output yellow light preferably generate yellow to red fluorescence having a wavelength band of about 540 to 700 nm. Examples of the material include phosphors based on yttrium / aluminum oxide phosphors activated with cerium. More specifically, YAlO ₃ : Ce, Y ₃ Al ₅ O ₁₂ : Ce (YAG: Ce), Y ₄ Al ₂ O ₉ : Ce, and a mixture thereof are also included. The yttrium / aluminum oxide phosphor may contain at least one of Ba, Sr, Mg, Ca, and Zn. Moreover, by containing Si, the reaction of crystal growth can be suppressed and phosphor particles can be aligned.

[filter]
A filter can be provided by vapor deposition of a dielectric multilayer film in the light incident region 70 and the light emitting region 80 of the rotary substrate 2 or the sealed housing 4. As this filter, a short-pass filter, a band-pass filter, or a long-pass filter can be used as appropriate depending on the application and the wavelength range of light to be transmitted or reflected. Further, in order to improve luminance unevenness and chromaticity unevenness, particles such as scatterers such as SiO ₂ , TiO ₂ , and Ba ₂ SO ₄ can be applied.
With such a filter, light from the light source 52 is suppressed from being reflected in the light incident region 70 of the rotating substrate 2, and only light in a predetermined wavelength region can be emitted from the emission region 80 of the sealed housing 4. Therefore, the light source device 60 with high performance can be realized.

As described above, according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1, when the temperature of the phosphor particles 10 rises, the refrigerant around the phosphor particles 10 is vaporized, and the phosphor particles 10 are cooled by the heat of vaporization. When the vaporized refrigerant flows through the gas flow region 8 and reaches the region where the cooling device 30 is disposed, the refrigerant is cooled by the cooling device 30 and liquefied. At this time, the refrigerant releases heat taken from the phosphor particles 10 to the outside of the sealed housing 4. Further, the liquefied refrigerant flows again to the light incident region 70 through the plurality of fine flow paths of the flow part 6. With such a cooling cycle, the phosphor particles 10 can be cooled without using a large-scale cooling device having a pump or the like, and a decrease in the light conversion efficiency of the phosphor particles 10 can be effectively prevented.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the phosphor wheel 50 and the light source device 60 that can efficiently cool the phosphor particles 10 without having a driving source and consume less energy during operation. In addition, the phosphor wheel 50 can be downsized while having an excellent cooling function, and the phosphor wheel 50 with low manufacturing cost can be obtained.

In addition, the light source device 60 according to the present embodiment can obtain the effects achieved by the phosphor wheel 50 according to the above-described embodiment, can efficiently cool the phosphor without having a drive source, and can be operated. It is possible to provide the light source device 60 that consumes less energy.
The light source device 60 according to the present embodiment can be applied to any application that uses light in different wavelength ranges in a time division manner, such as a light source device for a projector.

(Description of a phosphor wheel according to another embodiment (part 1) of the present invention and a light source device provided with the phosphor wheel)
Next, a phosphor wheel 50 according to another embodiment (part 1) of the present invention and a light source device 60 including the phosphor wheel will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a phosphor wheel 50 and a light source device 60 including the phosphor wheel according to another embodiment (part 1) of the present invention.
When this embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the structure of the flow part 6 is different and the other parts are the same. Therefore, here, only differences from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described, and description of the same parts as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be omitted.

In FIG. 2, the flow section 6 includes a light incident region 70 of the sealed casing 4 and its vicinity, and other areas of the sealed casing 4 on the side closer to the rotation axis 40 a of the rotating substrate 2 (cooling device 30. In the two regions (including the region where is disposed). That is, the phosphor particles 10 are disposed in the light incident region 70 of the fluidized portion 6 and the vicinity thereof, and the light diffusing material particles 12 are disposed in the other regions. Examples of the light diffusing material particles 12 include particles such as SiO ₂ , TiO ₂ , and Ba ₂ SO _4, but are not limited thereto.

Due to the gap between the phosphor particles 10 and the phosphor particles 10, the gap between the light diffusing material particles 12 and the light diffusing material particles 12, and the gap between the phosphor particles 10 and the light diffusing material particles 12, continuous fineness is achieved. A flow path can be formed. A plurality of such continuous fine channels extend so as to connect the region where the cooling device 30 is disposed and the light incident region 70.
Therefore, similarly to the above, the refrigerant around the phosphor particles 10 that has become high temperature by wavelength conversion is vaporized, the vaporized refrigerant flows to the vicinity of the cooling device 30, and the refrigerant liquefied by cooling by the cooling device 30 flows. The plurality of fine flow paths of the part 6 again flows to the light incident region 70, thereby forming a cooling cycle. Such a refrigerant flow cycle is indicated by an arrow in the sealed casing of FIG. A solid line arrow indicates the flow of the liquefied refrigerant, and a dotted line arrow indicates the vaporized refrigerant flow. As described above, the cooling cycle of the phosphor particles 10 by the refrigerant can be configured without using a drive source such as a pump, and a decrease in the light conversion efficiency of the phosphor particles 10 can be effectively prevented. .

  In the present embodiment, the phosphor particles 10 are disposed in the light incident region 70 and the vicinity thereof, and the light diffusing material particles 12 are disposed in other regions. It can be made larger or smaller than 10 particle sizes. For example, by making the particle size of the light diffusing material particles 12 larger than that of the phosphor particles 10, it is possible to provide a relatively large space in the region where the light diffusing material particles are provided. The movement of the refrigerant in the designated area can be accelerated.

(Description of a phosphor wheel according to another embodiment (part 2) of the present invention and a light source device provided with the phosphor wheel)
Next, a phosphor wheel 50 according to another embodiment (part 2) of the present invention and a light source device 60 including the phosphor wheel 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a phosphor wheel 50 and a light source device 60 including the phosphor wheel 50 according to another embodiment (part 2) of the present invention.
When this embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is compared with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the configuration of the flow section 6 is different, and the other parts are the same. Therefore, only the points different from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described here, and the description of the same parts as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be omitted.

In FIG. 3, the flow section 6 includes a light incident area 70 of the sealed casing 4 and its vicinity area, an adjacent area thereof, and an area closer to the rotation axis 40 a of the rotary substrate 2 than the light incident area of the sealed casing 4. The three regions (that is, the region where the cooling device 30 is disposed) have different configurations. That is, the phosphor particles 10 are disposed in the light incident region 70 of the fluidized portion 6 and the vicinity thereof, and the light diffusing material particles 12 are disposed in the adjacent region thereof. A mesh-like member 24 is arranged in a region near the rotation shaft 40a.
The mesh-like member 24 is a capillary structure called a heat sink wick, and can be formed of a metal material such as copper, aluminum, or stainless steel, an alloy material, or a porous non-metallic material.

  In the region of the region closer to the rotation axis 40a of the rotating substrate 2 than the light incident region of the sealed casing 4, a continuous fine flow path is formed by the mesh-like member 24. As described above, the gap between the phosphor particles 10 and the phosphor particles 10, the gap between the light diffusing material particles 12 and the light diffusing material particles 12, and the gap between the phosphor particles 10 and the light diffusing material particles 12. Thus, a continuous fine channel can be formed. Therefore, a plurality of continuous fine channels formed by the mesh-like member 24, the light diffusing material particles 12 and the phosphor particles 10 extend so as to connect the region where the cooling device 30 is disposed and the light incident region 70. Yes.

  Therefore, similarly to the above, the refrigerant around the phosphor particles 10 that has become high temperature by wavelength conversion is vaporized, the vaporized refrigerant flows to the vicinity of the cooling device 30, and the refrigerant liquefied by cooling by the cooling device 30 flows. The plurality of fine flow paths of the part 6 again flows to the light incident region 70, thereby forming a cooling cycle. Such a refrigerant flow cycle is indicated by an arrow in the sealed housing of FIG. A solid line arrow indicates the flow of the liquefied refrigerant, and a dotted line arrow indicates the vaporized refrigerant flow. As described above, the cooling cycle of the phosphor particles 10 by the refrigerant can be configured without using a drive source such as a pump, and a decrease in the light conversion efficiency of the phosphor particles 10 can be effectively prevented. .

  According to the present embodiment, since a part of the fine flow path of the fluidized portion 6 is formed by the mesh-like member 24, more liquid is produced along with the fine flow path formed by the voids between the particles. The refrigerant can be effectively flowed.

(Description of a phosphor wheel according to another embodiment (part 3) of the present invention and a light source device including the phosphor wheel)
Next, a phosphor wheel 50 according to another embodiment (part 3) of the present invention and a light source device 60 including the phosphor wheel 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a phosphor wheel 50 and a light source device 60 including the phosphor wheel 50 according to another embodiment (part 3) of the present invention.
When this embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is compared with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the configuration of the flow section 6 is different, and the other parts are the same. Therefore, only the points different from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 will be described here, and the description of the same parts as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 will be omitted.

  In FIG. 4A, the flow section 6 has a different configuration in two regions, that is, the light incident region 70 and its vicinity region, and other regions inside (including the region where the cooling device 30 is disposed). Have. That is, the yellow phosphor particles 10a and the red phosphor particles 10b, which are phosphor particles, and the light diffusing material particles 12 are disposed in the light incident region 70 of the fluidized portion 6 and the vicinity thereof, and in the other regions, Only the light diffusing material particles 12 are arranged.

  In the light incident region 70 and the vicinity thereof, the light diffusing material particles 12, the yellow phosphor particles 10a, and the red phosphor particles 10b are stacked in this order from the side near the light source 52. As a result, the light from the light source 52 (see the white arrow pointing to the right) is diffused by the light diffusing material particles 12, the light intensity is made uniform, and the wavelength conversion is performed by the yellow phosphor particles 10a and the red phosphor particles 10b. And exits from the exit area 80 (see right-pointing lattice pattern arrow). By using a yellow phosphor and a red phosphor, it is possible to emit red light with high color rendering properties.

  In the present embodiment, not only the sealed casing 4R having the yellow phosphor particles 10a and the red phosphor particles 10b shown in the upper side of FIG. 4, but also the green phosphor particles 10c as shown in the lower side of FIG. When the light from the light source 52 enters, the sealed housing 4G that emits green light is provided. In the sealed housing 4G, the green phosphor particles 10c are disposed in the light incident region 70 of the fluidized portion 6 and the vicinity thereof, and the light diffusing material particles 12 are disposed in the inner region.

  FIG. 5 is a side view of such an arrangement of the sealed casings 4R and 4G viewed from the arrow AA in FIG. 4A, that is, a side view of the phosphor wheel 50 viewed from the light emitting side. This will be described with reference to a). As shown in FIG. 5A, in the circumferential direction of the rotating substrate 2, a red light emitting region provided with a sealed casing 4R that emits red light and a sealed casing 4G that emits green light are provided. And a blue light emitting region that does not include the sealed housing 4 and transmits blue light as it is through the blue light from the light source 52. By rotating the phosphor wheel 50 having such a configuration by the driving device 40, light of the three primary colors of red, green, and blue is emitted in a time-sharing manner from the light transmitting region shown in FIG. Can do.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, in the fluidized portion 6, a plurality of layers formed of different types of particles are formed in the light incident region 70 and the vicinity region. Can be emitted. There may be a case where a single layer formed of different types of particles is formed. Different types of particles may be phosphor particles 10 and particles other than phosphor particles, may be different types of phosphor particles 10, and other than different types of phosphor particles 10 and phosphor particles. In some cases, the particles may be.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the groove area | region 20 is formed of the some groove | channel 22 provided in the inner surface of the sealing housing | casing 4 as a part of microchannel. As shown in FIG. 4B, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 4A, a plurality of fine grooves 22 are formed on the surface of the rotating substrate 2 serving as the inner surface of the sealed housing 4. The groove region 20 is provided, and the liquefied refrigerant can flow in the minute groove 22 by capillary action. That is, the groove 22 corresponds to a fine flow path.

The groove region 20 in which a plurality of fine grooves 22 are formed will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5B shows the surface of the rotating substrate 2 that is the inner surface of the sealed housing 4, that is, the surface when the sealed housings 4R and 4G are removed from the side view of FIG. FIG. 5B shows an example of a fine channel formed by a plurality of grooves 22 provided on the surface of the rotating substrate 2.
In FIG. 5A, a plurality of grooves 22 provided on the surface of the rotating substrate 2 linearly extend linearly from the central region of the circle of the rotating substrate 2. And the light-incidence area | region 70 and the output area | region 80 are provided in the outer peripheral side of a circle | round | yen, and the cooling device 30 is provided inside a circle | round | yen (refer Fig.5 (a)).
As described above, the outer periphery side of the rotary substrate 2 of the sealed housing 4 from the rotating shaft 40a side by the fine channel formed by the gaps between the particles and the minute channel formed by the groove region 20 by the plurality of grooves 22. Thus, the liquefied refrigerant can be effectively flowed.

In the sealed housing 4R shown in the upper side of FIG. 4, the fine flow path of the fluidized part 6 is composed of a region formed by a gap between the particles and a groove region 20 arranged below the region. And the area | region formed by the clearance gap between each particle | grain is formed in the light-incidence area | region 70 and its vicinity area | region with the yellow fluorescent substance particle 10a, the red fluorescent substance particle 10b, and the light-diffusion material particle | grains 12, and in other areas, it is light. The diffusing material particles 12 are formed.
A continuous fine flow path can be formed by the gaps between the yellow phosphor particles 10 a, the red phosphor particles 10 b, and the light diffusing material particles 12. Therefore, a plurality of continuous fine channels formed by the particles extend so as to connect the region where the cooling device 30 is disposed and the light incident region 70.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, a part of the fine flow path is formed by the plurality of grooves 22 provided on the inner surface of the sealed housing 4, so that the fine flow formed by the voids between the particles is formed. Along with the path, more liquid refrigerant can be effectively flowed.
The same applies to the sealed housing 4G shown on the lower side of FIG.

  As described above, the refrigerant around the phosphor particles 10 heated to the wavelength conversion is vaporized, the vaporized refrigerant flows to the vicinity of the cooling device 30, and the refrigerant liquefied by the cooling by the cooling device 30 is the fluidized portion 6. The particles flow again to the light incident region 70 by a plurality of fine flow paths formed by a plurality of fine flow paths formed by gaps between the particles and a groove 22 provided on the inner surface of the sealed housing 4. As a result, a cooling cycle is formed. Such a flow cycle of the refrigerant is indicated by an arrow in the sealed casing of FIG. A solid line arrow indicates the flow of the liquefied refrigerant, and a dotted line arrow indicates the vaporized refrigerant flow. As described above, the cooling cycle of the phosphor particles 10 by the refrigerant can be configured without using a drive source such as a pump, and a decrease in the light conversion efficiency of the phosphor particles 10 can be effectively prevented. .

(Description of a phosphor wheel according to another embodiment (part 4) of the present invention and a light source device provided with the phosphor wheel)
Next, a phosphor wheel 50 according to another embodiment (part 4) of the present invention and a light source device 60 including the phosphor wheel 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a phosphor wheel 50 and a light source device 60 including the phosphor wheel 50 according to another embodiment (part 4) of the present invention.

When this embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is compared with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to 4, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to 4, from one side to the other side of the rotating substrate. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a reflective light source device 60 that enters from one side and reflects to the same side is shown.
In a specific configuration, the configuration of the surface portion of the sealed casing 4 is different from that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the other portions are the same. Therefore, here, only differences from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described, and description of the same parts as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be omitted.

In the sealed casing 4 shown in FIG. 1, both the incident surface made of the rotating substrate 2 and the emitting surface made of the planar member 4a have translucency, but in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the rotating substrate 2 is translucent. However, the planar member 4a is different in that it does not have translucency. For example, it can be realized by forming the rotary substrate 2 from transparent glass or a resin material and forming the planar member 4a from a metal material. In this case, a metal material having high thermoconductivity can be used for a part of the sealed casing 4, so that the cooling efficiency of the phosphor particles 10 can be increased. In particular, since the region in contact with the cooling device 30 can be formed of a metal material, cooling of the vaporized refrigerant can be enhanced. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the planar member 4a can be formed of a resin material or the like.
In addition, the inner surface of the planar member 4a of the sealed casing 4 that does not have translucency is a reflection surface 18 provided with a reflection film that reflects light.

In the light source device 60 according to this embodiment shown in FIG. 6, an optical member 54 is installed between the light source 52 and the phosphor wheel 50. The optical member 54 transmits light in the same wavelength range as the light from the light source 52, but reflects light in other wavelength ranges, and functions as a dichroic mirror.
That is, the light emitted from the light source 52 passes through the optical member 54, enters the phosphor wheel 50 (see the white arrow pointing to the right), and is wavelength-converted by the phosphor particles 10. Further, the light is reflected by the reflecting surface 18 on the side of the sealed casing 4 away from the light source 52, is emitted from the phosphor wheel 50 again (see the left-pointed lattice arrow), and is reflected in the orthogonal direction by the optical member 54. (See the upward grid arrow).

(Description of a phosphor wheel according to another embodiment (part 5) of the present invention and a light source device provided with the phosphor wheel)
Next, a phosphor wheel 50 according to another embodiment (part 5) of the present invention and a light source device 60 including the phosphor wheel will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7: is sectional drawing which shows typically the light source device 60 provided with the fluorescent substance wheel 50 and this fluorescent substance wheel which concern on other embodiment (the 5) of this invention.

  When this embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is compared with each of the above embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, in each of the above embodiments, there are a plurality of liquid refrigerants that can flow in the sealed housing 4. Although it has a flow part 6 that has a fine channel in all directions from the rotation axis toward the outer periphery, in this embodiment, it has a fine channel in the incident region and does not have in other regions, The difference is that the fluidized part 6 in which the liquefied refrigerant flows and the gas flow region 8 in which the vaporized refrigerant flows are both spaces. That is, the phosphor is provided only in a part of the region including the light incident region 70. In FIG. 7, the flow portion 6 and the gas flow region 8 are partitioned by the partition plate 26, but there may be a case where the partition plate 26 is not provided.

  The phosphor wheel 50 according to the present embodiment includes the rotating substrate 2 including the sealed housing 4 in which the refrigerant is sealed, and the cooling device 30 for cooling the vaporized refrigerant. Further, a light incident region 70 where light enters from the outside is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the sealed casing 4 on the rotating substrate 2, and closer to the rotation axis 40 a of the rotating substrate 2 than the light incident region of the sealed casing 4. The cooling device 30 is disposed and has the phosphor particles 10 in the light incident region 70. In other words, however, the phosphor particles 10 of the present embodiment do not need to have voids for forming fine channels between the particles. Moreover, the phosphor wheel according to the present embodiment may include a driving device 40 that rotates the rotating substrate 2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, a transmission type phosphor wheel is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and there may be a reflection type phosphor wheel.

  When the temperature of the phosphor particles 10 is increased by the incidence of light in the light incident region 70 of the sealed housing 4 and the vicinity thereof, the refrigerant around the phosphor particles 10 is vaporized, and the heat of vaporization causes the phosphor particles. 10 can be cooled. The vaporized refrigerant flows in the sealed casing 4 to a position closer to the rotation axis 40a of the rotating substrate 2 than the light incident region 70 where the cooling device 30 is disposed, and is cooled by the cooling device 30 to be liquefied (condensed). ) At this time, the heat taken from the phosphor particles 10 is released to the outside of the sealed casing 4. The liquefied refrigerant flows again into the light incident region 70 where the phosphor particles 10 are located by the centrifugal force of the rotating rotating substrate 2, thereby forming a cooling cycle. Such a refrigerant flow cycle is indicated by an arrow in the sealed housing of FIG. A solid line arrow indicates the flow of the liquefied refrigerant, and a dotted line arrow indicates the vaporized refrigerant flow.

Therefore, without using a drive source such as a pump, a cooling cycle of the phosphor particles by the refrigerant can be configured, and a decrease in the light conversion efficiency of the phosphor can be effectively prevented.
When the vaporized refrigerant flows to a position closer to the rotation axis 40a of the rotating substrate 2 than the light incident region where the cooling device 30 is disposed, the centrifugal force of the rotating rotating substrate 2 is applied in a direction that prevents the flow. However, since the volume ratio of the gas and the liquid is very large, the pressure difference between the outer peripheral side to be vaporized and the side to be liquefied (condensed) (the side closer to the rotation axis 40a of the rotating substrate 2 than the light incident region) is large. The evaporated refrigerant flows against the centrifugal force from the outer peripheral side to the position closer to the rotation axis 40a of the rotating substrate 2 than the light incident area, that is, from the light incident area 70 to the cooling device 30. The point that the vaporized refrigerant flows against the centrifugal force is the same as in the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS.
The region in which the vaporized refrigerant flows is a space in the present embodiment, but is not limited to this. For example, there may be an object provided with an air passage or a porous substance.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the temperature of the phosphor particles 10 rises, the refrigerant in the vicinity of the phosphor particles 10 is vaporized. When the vaporized refrigerant flows toward the cooling device 30 and is cooled and liquefied by the cooling device 30, the liquid refrigerant flows to the region of the phosphor particles 10 whose temperature has risen again by the centrifugal force of the rotating rotating substrate 2. Can be made. By such a cooling cycle, phosphor particles can be cooled without using a large-scale cooling device having a pump or the like, and a decrease in light conversion efficiency of the phosphor particles can be effectively prevented.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the phosphor wheel 50 that can cool the phosphor efficiently without having a drive source and consumes less energy during operation.
The light source device 60 according to the present embodiment can obtain all the functions and effects achieved by the phosphor wheel 50 according to the above-described embodiment, can efficiently cool the phosphor without having a drive source, and can be used during operation. The light source device 60 with low energy consumption can be provided.

  In addition, in embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-6, since the flow part 6 which has a some fine flow path is provided, since not only said centrifugal force but the fluid force by capillary force is added, it is more reliable. The liquefied refrigerant can be made to flow from the position of the cooling device 30 closer to the rotation axis 40a of the rotating substrate 2 than the light incident area to the light incident area 70 where the outer peripheral phosphor particles 10 are present. Further, the liquefied refrigerant can be reliably guided to the light incident region 70 where the phosphor particles 10 are located by the fine flow path.

(Description of the projector of the present invention)
Next, the case where the light source device 60 shown in the above-described embodiment is used as a light source device in a so-called one-chip type DLP projector will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for illustrating the configuration of the projector 90 including the light source device 60 described in the above-described embodiment, and is a schematic plan view of the light source device 60 and the projector 90 as viewed from above. is there.

In FIG. 8, the light emitted from the light source device 60 enters a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) element (light modulation means) 92 that is a spatial light modulator via an optical system. Then, it is reflected by the DMD element 92, condensed by the projection lens 94 that is a projection means, and projected onto the screen 96. The DMD element 92 is an array of fine mirrors corresponding to each pixel of the image projected on the screen, and turns on the light emitted to the screen by changing the angle of each mirror in units of microseconds. Can be turned off.
In addition, by changing the gradation of light incident on the projection lens according to the ratio of the time when each mirror is turned on and the time when it is turned off, gradation display based on the image data of the image to be projected becomes possible. Become.

  In the present embodiment, the DMD element is used as the light modulation means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any other light modulation element can be used depending on the application. In addition, the light source device 60 and the projector 90 using the light source device 60 according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and other various embodiments are included in the present invention.

  Although the embodiments and embodiments of the present invention have been described, the disclosed contents may vary in the details of the configuration, and combinations of elements and changes in the order of the embodiments, embodiments, etc. are claimed in the present invention. It can be realized without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

2 Rotating substrate 4 Sealed housing 4R Sealed housing 4G corresponding to the red light emitting region Sealed housing 4a corresponding to the green light emitting region 4a Planar member 4b Side member 6 Fluid part 8 Gas flow region 10 Phosphor particle 10a Yellow phosphor particle 10b Red phosphor particle 10c Green phosphor particle 12 Light diffusing material particle 18 Reflecting surface 20 Groove region 22 Groove 24 Mesh member 26 Partition plate 30 Cooling device 40 Drive device 40a Rotating shaft 50 Phosphor wheel 52 Light source 54 Optical member 60 Light source Device 70 Light incident area 80 Emission area 90 Projector 92 DMD element 94 Projection lens 96 Screen

Claims (9)

A rotating substrate including a sealed housing having a light incident region;
A refrigerant which is sealed in the sealing housing,
A fluidized portion having an inter-particle flow path formed by a gap between mutually coupled particles disposed in the sealed casing and including at least phosphor particles;
A cooling device for cooling the refrigerant to change from gas to liquid;
With
The phosphor particles are disposed at least in the light incident region;
The cooling device is connected to the sealed casing at a position closer to the rotation axis of the rotating substrate than the light incident area ,
The phosphor wheel , wherein the refrigerant liquefied by the cooling device flows in the interparticle flow path by centrifugal force . The phosphor wheel according to claim 1 , wherein the inter-particle flow path includes a fine flow path formed by a gap between the particles . Phosphor wheel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flow unit, characterized in that it is arranged only in a partial region of the sealing housing. The said flow part WHEREIN: The several layer or single layer formed with the said particle | grains from which a kind differs is formed in the said light-incidence area | region, The any one of Claim 1 to 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Phosphor wheel. The flow path of the flow section, the phosphor wheel according to claim 1, any one of 4, characterized in that extends so as to connect the cooling device is disposed regions and the light entrance area. Phosphor wheel according to claim 1, any one of 5, characterized in that contains the light diffusing material particles in the particle. The portion of the flow path of the flow section, phosphor wheel according to any one of claims 1 6, characterized in that it is formed by a plurality of grooves provided on the inner surface of the seal housing. The portion of the flow path of the flow section, phosphor wheel according to any one of claims 1 7, characterized in that it is formed by a mesh-like member. The phosphor wheel according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A light source that emits light to the phosphor wheel;
A light source device.