Light diffusing tube, light path architecture and light source arrangement

Abstract

The application provides a light diffusion tube, a light path architecture and a light source device, relates to the technical field of light source application, and comprises an excitation light source, a light splitting sheet, a light diffusion tube and a fluorescent wheel; second linearly polarized laser emitted by the excitation light source is incident to the fluorescent wheel through the light splitting sheet to obtain first linearly polarized laser and excited light; the light diffusion tube diffuses the first linearly polarized laser to obtain first non-linearly polarized laser; the light splitting sheet reflects and outputs the excited light and the first non-linearly polarized laser; by arranging the light diffusion tube, the coherence of linearly polarized laser is eliminated on the basis of saving components and reducing the light path architecture.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of light source application technology, and in particular to a light diffusion tube, an optical path architecture, and a light source device. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, most laser projectors use a blue laser combined with phosphor technology to obtain a multi-color light source. However, the blue light source primarily uses the original blue laser. Because lasers have excellent coherence, they can create speckle at different locations on the screen, affecting color uniformity. To eliminate this speckle, a diffuser is typically added to the blue light path to reduce laser coherence. This approach results in a larger optical path structure, more optical components, and higher costs, hindering the widespread application of light source devices. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide an optical diffuser, an optical path architecture, and a light source device. By setting up an optical diffuser, the coherence of linearly polarized lasers can be eliminated while saving components and reducing the size of the optical path architecture.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment provides a light diffuser, including a plurality of mirrors and a plurality of diffuser sheets;

[0005] The first linearly polarized laser light incident from the light inlet / outlet of the light diffuser is reflected by the mirror and diffused by the diffuser to obtain the first non-linearly polarized laser light, wherein the first non-linearly polarized laser light exits from the light inlet / outlet of the light diffuser.

[0006] In an optional embodiment, one bottom surface of the light diffuser is a light inlet / outlet, and a reflector is provided on the inner side of the side surface and the inner side of the other bottom surface of the light diffuser. A diffuser plate is provided inside the light diffuser parallel to the bottom surface, and the diffuser plate is disposed on the cross section of the side wall.

[0007] Secondly, the embodiments provide an optical path architecture, including an excitation light source, a beam splitter, a light diffuser, and a phosphor wheel;

[0008] The second linearly polarized laser emitted by the excitation source is incident on the phosphor wheel via the beam splitter to obtain the first linearly polarized laser and the stimulated light;

[0009] The optical diffuser diffuses the first linearly polarized laser to obtain a first non-linearly polarized laser.

[0010] The beam splitter reflects and outputs the stimulated light and the first non-linearly polarized laser.

[0011] In an optional embodiment, a lens is also included, which refracts the second linearly polarized laser light passed through the beam splitter onto the phosphor wheel.

[0012] In an optional embodiment, an excitation light source is also included, and the lens further refracts the excited light output from the phosphor wheel and the first non-linearly polarized laser output from the light diffuser onto the beam splitter.

[0013] In an optional embodiment, the fluorescent wheel includes a substrate and a light-transmitting sheet, the substrate and the light-transmitting sheet are connected, and phosphor is disposed on the substrate.

[0014] In an optional embodiment, the second linearly polarized laser passes through the phosphor to obtain the excited light.

[0015] In an optional embodiment, the second linearly polarized laser passes through the light-transmitting sheet to obtain the first linearly polarized excitation light.

[0016] In an optional embodiment, the beam splitter includes a dichroic polarizer.

[0017] Thirdly, the embodiments provide a light source device, including the optical path architecture as described in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0018] This invention provides an optical diffuser, an optical path architecture, and a light source device. By setting an optical diffuser, the coherence of a first linearly polarized laser is eliminated to obtain a first non-linearly polarized laser with a changed polarization state. Then, a beam splitter reflects the excited light obtained by the phosphor wheel and the first non-linearly polarized laser for output. While saving components and reducing the size of the optical path architecture, the coherence of the linearly polarized laser is eliminated. At this time, the first non-linearly polarized laser will not generate laser speckle. This type of optical diffuser is easy to widely use.

[0019] Other features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following description, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the invention. The objects and other advantages of the invention are realized and obtained through the structures particularly pointed out in the description and the drawings.

[0020] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, preferred embodiments are described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0022] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of a traditional optical path architecture.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a light diffusion tube provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the optical path structure of a light diffuser provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of another optical diffusion tube provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another optical diffusion tube provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 6 This is one of the schematic diagrams of the optical path architecture provided in the embodiments of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 7 This is a second schematic diagram of the optical path architecture provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a fluorescent wheel provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Icons: 10-Excitation source; 20-Beam splitter; 30-Light diffuser; 40-Fluorescent wheel; 50-Lens. Detailed Implementation

[0031] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] Currently, the following methods can typically be used: Figure 1 The optical path architecture shown is illustrated in this embodiment of the invention, which uses blue laser as an example to illustrate linearly polarized laser. Figure 1A diffuser is added to the optical path of the blue laser to reduce laser speckle. A phosphor is coated on the substrate of the phosphor wheel to excite yellow light; the portion without the substrate and phosphor acts as a light-transmitting plate to allow the blue laser to pass through. A dichroic filter transmits blue light and reflects yellow light. The blue laser light passes through the dichroic filter, is focused by lens 1, and incident on the phosphor wheel. The phosphor wheel rotates at high speed; when it reaches the phosphor, it excites excited yellow light, which is reflected by the dichroic filter and emitted. When it reaches the light-transmitting plate, the blue laser light passes through, passing through lens 2, mirror 1, mirror 2, lens 3, diffuser, mirror 3, and the dichroic filter before emitting. The emitted blue laser light and the excited yellow light mix and enter the subsequent system.

[0033] In the above scheme, the blue laser needs to go around once (reflector 1-reflector 2-reflector 3), which makes the optical path structure large, with many components and high cost; and the blue laser only passes through the diffuser once, so the coherence elimination effect is not complete, thus the laser speckle reduction effect is limited.

[0034] Based on this, the present invention provides an optical diffuser, optical path architecture, and light source device, which eliminates the coherence of linearly polarized lasers by setting up an optical diffuser, thereby saving components and reducing the size of the optical path architecture.

[0035] The following is a detailed description through examples.

[0036] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a light diffusion tube provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Reference Figure 2 The light diffuser tube includes multiple mirrors and multiple diffuser plates;

[0038] The first linearly polarized laser light incident from the light inlet / outlet undergoes reflection by a mirror and diffusion by a diffuser to obtain the first non-linearly polarized laser light. The first linearly polarized laser light passes through the phosphor wheel's light-transmitting plate, while the first non-linearly polarized laser light exits from the light inlet / outlet.

[0039] Here, the optical diffuser tube with multiple diffusers can perform sufficient coherence elimination processing on the linearly polarized laser, and by setting multiple reflectors, both the linearly polarized light and the processed non-linearly polarized laser can be incident and emitted through the optical inlet and outlet, thus saving the volume of the optical path.

[0040] In a preferred embodiment for practical application, the first linearly polarized laser is coherently eliminated by setting an optical diffuser to obtain a first non-linearly polarized laser with a changed polarization state. Then, the excited light obtained by the phosphor wheel and the first non-linearly polarized laser are reflected and output by a beam splitter. While saving components and reducing the optical path structure, the coherence of the linearly polarized laser is eliminated. At this time, the first non-linearly polarized laser will not generate laser speckle. This type of optical diffuser is easy to widely use.

[0041] In alternative implementations, such as Figure 2 As shown, one bottom surface of the light diffuser is the light inlet and outlet. Reflectors are installed on the inner side of the side surface and the inner side of the other bottom surface of the light diffuser. A diffuser plate is installed inside the light diffuser parallel to the bottom surface, and the diffuser plate is installed on the cross section of the side wall.

[0042] Here, the light diffuser includes 5 mirrors and 2 diffusers. Blue laser light is linearly polarized. It enters the diffuser through its inlet and outlet, passes through the diffusers, diverges, is reflected by the mirrors, and then passes through the diffusers again. This cycle repeats, completely eliminating coherence and changing the polarization state; the light is no longer linearly polarized. After multiple diffusions and reflections, the light exits the diffuser through its inlet and outlet. Figure 3 As shown.

[0043] Understandable Figure 2 The rectangular light diffuser is merely an example of an embodiment of the present invention. The light diffuser described herein includes, but is not limited to, rectangular shapes, and also includes, for example, rectangular shapes. Figure 4 The cylindrical shape shown, such as Figure 5 The triangular prism shape shown, etc., is acceptable as long as it can eliminate laser speckle and reduce the optical path structure of the light diffuser. The structure of the light diffuser including 5 mirrors and 2 diffuser sheets is only an example of an embodiment of the present invention. The number of mirrors and diffuser sheets can be adjusted according to the actual design and is not limited to this specific combination method or structure. The shape and device selection of the diffuser sheets and mirrors in the light diffuser are only an example of an embodiment of the present invention. As long as they can eliminate laser speckle and reflect light, they are acceptable.

[0044] The embodiments of the present invention employ optical diffusers and beam splitters, and also realize a novel optical path architecture, which can greatly reduce the size of the optical path architecture and solve the problem of laser speckle.

[0045] Figure 6 This is one of the schematic diagrams of the optical path architecture provided in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0046] like Figure 6 As shown, the optical path architecture includes an excitation light source 10, a beam splitter 20, a light diffuser 30, and a phosphor wheel 40;

[0047] The second linearly polarized laser emitted from the excitation source 10 is separated by the beam splitter 20 and incident on the phosphor wheel 40 to obtain the first linearly polarized laser and the stimulated light;

[0048] The optical diffuser 30 diffuses the first linearly polarized laser to obtain the first non-linearly polarized laser.

[0049] Beam splitter 20 reflects and outputs excited light and the first non-linearly polarized laser.

[0050] In an optional embodiment, a lens is also included that refracts the second linearly polarized laser beam, which has passed through the beam splitter, onto the phosphor wheel.

[0051] In an optional implementation, an excitation source is also included, and the lens refracts the excited light output from the phosphor wheel and the first non-linearly polarized laser output from the light diffuser onto the beam splitter.

[0052] Here, the first non-linearly polarized laser output from the light diffuser can be refracted by the light-transmitting plate and lens of the phosphor wheel to the beam splitter.

[0053] As an optional embodiment, it can be specifically as follows: Figure 7 As shown:

[0054] Blue laser light is incident on the beam splitter, focused by lens 50, and incident on the phosphor wheel. The phosphor wheel rotates at high speed, and when it reaches the phosphor, it excites excited yellow light, which is reflected by the beam splitter and then emitted. The light diffuser can be set close to the light-transmitting plate of the phosphor wheel. When it reaches the light-transmitting plate, the blue laser light passes through. The light diffuser receives the blue laser light that has passed through the light-transmitting plate, eliminates the coherence of the blue laser light and changes the polarization state of the blue laser light, and then emits it after passing through the light-transmitting plate, lens 50, and beam splitter.

[0055] The beam splitter can transmit blue laser light (blue linearly polarized light) and reflect blue non-linearly polarized light and excited yellow light.

[0056] It is understood that the blue laser is only an example of an embodiment of the present invention, and the linearly polarized laser here includes, but is not limited to, the blue laser. The linearly polarized laser of the phosphor can be excited by the laser. The excited yellow phosphor is only an example of an embodiment of the present invention, and the phosphor here includes, but is not limited to, yellow phosphor.

[0057] In alternative implementations, such as Figure 8 As shown, the fluorescent wheel includes a substrate and a light-transmitting sheet, which are connected together, and phosphor is disposed on the substrate.

[0058] In an optional embodiment, the second linearly polarized laser passes through a phosphor to obtain excited light.

[0059] In an optional implementation, the second linearly polarized laser passes through a light-transmitting plate to obtain the first linearly polarized excitation light.

[0060] It should be noted that, Figure 8 The structure of the fluorescent wheel is a preferred example. The fluorescent wheel can also be set to a static or other dynamic form, as long as it can be excited by the excitation light.

[0061] In an optional implementation, the beam splitter includes a dichroic polarizer.

[0062] It should be noted that the polarizing dichroic filter is only one example of the embodiment of the present invention. Any beam splitter structure that can simultaneously achieve the transmission and reflection of blue laser light is acceptable.

[0063] The embodiments of the present invention employ a light diffuser tube. After multiple diffusions and reflections, the light coherence is eliminated, thus eliminating laser speckle. The blue laser after decoherence is still emitted through the light inlet and outlet of the light diffuser tube, eliminating the need for the blue laser to travel a full circle and greatly reducing the optical path structure.

[0064] In some possible embodiments, a light source device may also be provided, including an optical path architecture as described in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0065] Current light source devices are widely used in various applications, including lighting and projection. The light source device with the optical path architecture described in the previous embodiment is smaller, lower in cost, and does not produce laser speckle, resulting in better projection effects and wider applications.

[0066] The light source device provided in this embodiment of the invention has the same technical features as the optical path architecture provided in the above embodiments, so it can also solve the same technical problems and achieve the same technical effects.

[0067] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0068] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0069] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. The apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Furthermore, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Additionally, the shown or discussed mutual couplings, direct couplings, or communication connections may be through some communication interfaces; indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0070] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0071] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present invention can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0072] Finally, it should be noted that the above-described embodiments are merely specific implementations of the present invention, used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that any person skilled in the art can still modify or easily conceive of changes to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features; and these modifications, changes, or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and should all be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An optical path architecture, characterized in that, It includes an excitation light source, a beam splitter, a phosphor wheel, and a light diffuser; the phosphor wheel includes a substrate and a light-transmitting plate connected together, and phosphor is disposed on the substrate; the light diffuser includes multiple mirrors and multiple diffuser plates; The second linearly polarized laser emitted by the excitation source passes through the beam splitter and is incident on the phosphor wheel. The phosphor wheel rotates at high speed. When it rotates to the phosphor, the second linearly polarized laser is received by the phosphor and reflected by the beam splitter before being emitted. When it rotates to the light-transmitting plate, the second linearly polarized laser is received by the light-transmitting plate and becomes the first linearly polarized laser. The optical diffuser diffuses the first linearly polarized laser to obtain a first non-linearly polarized laser. The beam splitter reflects and outputs the received laser and the first non-linearly polarized laser; A first linearly polarized laser, incident from the light inlet / outlet of the light diffuser, undergoes reflection by the mirror and diffusion by the diffuser to obtain a first non-linearly polarized laser, wherein the first non-linearly polarized laser exits from the light inlet / outlet of the light diffuser. The optical diffuser performs a complete coherence elimination operation on the first linearly polarized laser to obtain the first non-linearly polarized laser with a changed polarization state; wherein, the first non-linearly polarized laser has eliminated laser speckle. One bottom surface of the light diffuser is the light inlet and outlet. Reflectors are provided on the inner side of the side surface and the inner side of the other bottom surface of the light diffuser. A diffuser plate is provided inside the light diffuser and is disposed on the cross-section of the side wall.

2. The optical path architecture according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a lens that refracts the second linearly polarized laser light, which has passed through the beam splitter, onto the phosphor wheel.

3. The optical path architecture according to claim 2, characterized in that, The lens also refracts the stimulated light output from the phosphor wheel and the first non-linearly polarized laser output from the light diffuser onto the beam splitter.

4. The optical path architecture according to claim 1, characterized in that, The beam splitter includes a dichroic polarizer.

5. A light source device, characterized in that, Includes the optical path architecture as described in any one of claims 1-4.

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