Polarization luminaire and projection display

Abstract

A polarization luminaire is disclosed having a light source, a system of the optical integrator, a polarized light splitting device for splitting a light emitted from the light source into two kinds of polarized lights whose polarization directions are perpendicular to each other and whose traveling directions are apart from each other by an angle of less than 90 degrees, and a polarization conversion device for causing the two kinds of polarized lights to have the same polarization direction. The polarized light splitting device is placed on one of the entrance side and the outputting side of the first lens plate of the system of the optical integrator or is placed within the second lens plate. A prism beam splitter having a polarized light splitting film constituted by a thermally stable dielectric multi-layer film is suitable for the polarized light splitting device. Most of the polarized lights can be utilized by causing the polarized lights to have the same polarization direction. Further, the polarized lights, which have uniform brightness, can be emitted. Consequently, the polarization luminaire is suited to be a luminaire for use in a projection display that has liquid crystal light valves.

Description

[0001] 1. Field of Invention[0002] The present invention relates to a polarization luminaire for uniformly illuminating a rectangular illumination area or the like with polarized light waves in which the polarization direction thereof is made to be uniform. Further, the present invention relates to a projection display for modulating polarized light, which has been emitted from this polarization luminaire, by means of a light valve and for enlarging an image and displaying the image on a screen.[0003] 2. Description of Related Art[0004] Hitherto, a system of the optical integrator using two lens plates has been known as an optical system for uniformly illuminating a rectangular illumination area of a liquid crystal light valve or the like. The system of the optical integrator is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 3-11806 / 1991 Official Gazette and has already been put to practical use.[0005] Ordinary projection displays, which use liquid crystal light va...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] More particularly, the object of the present invention is to propose a polarization luminaire that is provided with a system of the optical integrator and a polarization conversion system and can efficiently utilize polarized light and further can achieve uniform illumination. Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to propose a projection display provided with this newly proposed polarization luminaire.

Problems solved by technology

The diverging angles of output light, however, can be limited to the range extending from -3 to +3 degrees or so by using a lamp, whose arc length is short, and further contriving the optical system.

Thus, owing to the angular dependence of the dielectric multi-layer film, inconsistencies in colors are liable to occur on the screen.

Consequently, reduction in the efficiency in utilizing the light as well as the necessity of cooling the polarizing plate for preventing heat being produced therefrom becomes a problem.

Incidentally, the color reproducibility of the example illustrated in FIG. 3(A) is not sufficient, namely, red and blue are reproduced insufficiently.

Metal halide lamps for displaying images, which are presently commercially available, have a common drawback in that red shortage is liable to occur.

Therefore, if such a liquid crystal material is incorporated into the light source system of the projection display in which the temperature may vary significantly, there is the fear that the polarized light splitting angle formed between the polarized lights obtained by splitting a light becomes unstable.

Images