Light source device and projector

Abstract

To provide a light source device that can prevent color irregularities.SOLUTION: A light source device of the present invention comprises: a first light source unit that emits a first light beam in a first wavelength range; a second light source unit that emits a second light beam in a second wavelength range; a third light source unit that emits a third light beam in a third wavelength range; a first light composition element that increases a light beam width of the first light beam, and combines the first light beam and the second light beam to generate a first composite light beam; and a second light composition element that combines the first composite light beam and the third light beam to generate a second composite light beam. A light beam width of the first light beam is the same as the light beam width of the second light beam or smaller than a light beam width of the second light beam, and the light beam width of the first light beam is smaller than a light beam width of the third light beam. The first light composition element increases the light beam width of the first light beam emitted from the first light composition element compared with the light beam width of the first light beam incident on the first light composition element so as to bring the former closer to the light beam width of the second light beam and the light beam width of the third light beam.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a light source device and a projector. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, an illumination device using a laser light source and a phosphor has been proposed as an illumination device for use in a projector. Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a projection device including an illumination optical system having a blue laser light source, a red laser light source, and a green phosphor, a liquid crystal panel that modulates each of the blue light, red light, and green light from the illumination optical system, and a projection optical system. In this projection device, blue light from the blue laser light source is split by a half mirror, and one of the split blue lights enters the blue light liquid crystal panel, and the other enters the green phosphor as excitation light. Green fluorescent light generated by the green phosphor enters the green light liquid crystal panel. Red light from the red laser light source enters the red light liquid crystal panel. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-65414 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the projection device of Patent Document 1, the green light composed of fluorescent light has a Lambertian light distribution. Therefore, the luminous flux width of the green light is larger than the luminous flux widths of the red and blue light composed of laser light. Furthermore, because the output power of the blue laser light source and the red laser light source is different, the number of laser light sources must be different to balance the light intensity. As a result, the luminous flux widths of the red light and the blue light are different from each other. Thus, when colored lights with different luminous flux widths are concentrated and irradiated onto a display panel to project an image, there is a problem of color unevenness. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, a light source device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a first light source unit that emits a first luminous flux in a first wavelength band, a second light source unit that emits a second luminous flux in a second wavelength band different from the first wavelength band, a third light source unit that emits a third luminous flux in a third wavelength band different from the first wavelength band and the second wavelength band, a first light combining element that expands the luminous flux width of the first luminous flux and combines the first luminous flux and the second luminous flux to generate a first combined luminous flux, and a second light combining element that combines the first combined luminous flux and the third luminous flux to generate a second combined luminous flux, wherein the luminous flux width of the first luminous flux is the same as or smaller than the luminous flux width of the second luminous flux, and the luminous flux width of the first luminous flux is smaller than the luminous flux width of the third luminous flux. The first light combining element makes the beam width of the first light beam emitted from the first light combining element larger than the beam width of the first light beam incident on the first light combining element so as to approach at least one of the beam width of the second light beam and the beam width of the third light beam.

[0006] A light source device according to another aspect of the present invention includes a first light source unit that emits a first luminous flux in a first wavelength band, a second light source unit that emits a second luminous flux in a second wavelength band different from the first wavelength band, a third light source unit that emits a third luminous flux in a third wavelength band different from the first wavelength band and the second wavelength band, a first light combining element that expands the luminous flux widths of the first luminous flux and the second luminous flux and emits a first combined luminous flux obtained by combining the first luminous flux, the second luminous flux, and the third luminous flux, and a second light combining element that causes a second combined luminous flux obtained by combining a portion of the first luminous flux, a portion of the second luminous flux, and a portion of the third luminous flux to be incident on the first light combining element, wherein the luminous flux width of the first luminous flux emitted from the first light source unit is the same as the luminous flux width of the second luminous flux emitted from the second light source unit, and the luminous flux widths of the first luminous flux emitted from the first light source unit and and the luminous flux width of the second luminous flux emitted from the second light source unit is smaller than the luminous flux width of the third luminous flux emitted from the third light source unit, the second light combining element transmits a portion of the first luminous flux and a portion of the second luminous flux to make them incident on the first light combining element, and reflects a portion of the third luminous flux to make them incident on the first light combining element, the first light combining element makes the luminous flux width of the first luminous flux and the second luminous flux emitted from the first light combining element larger than the luminous flux width of the first luminous flux and the second luminous flux incident on the first light combining element so as to approach the luminous flux width of the third luminous flux emitted from the first light combining element, and combines another portion of the first luminous flux, another portion of the second luminous flux, another portion of the third luminous flux, and the second combined luminous flux to generate the first combined luminous flux.

[0007] A projector according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a light source device according to one embodiment of the present invention, an optical modulation device that modulates light including the second combined light beam emitted from the light source device in accordance with image information, and a projection optical device that projects the light modulated by the optical modulation device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a projector according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a light source device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing illuminance distributions of a blue light beam at a plurality of positions on the cross section. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing illuminance distributions of cross sections of a green light beam at a plurality of positions. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the illuminance distribution of a red light beam at a plurality of positions on the cross section. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of a light source device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a light source device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a light source device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of a light source device according to a fifth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] [First embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The projector of this embodiment is an example of a liquid crystal projector equipped with a light source device using a semiconductor laser. In the drawings below, the dimensions of the components may be shown on different scales to make them easier to see.

[0010] The projector 10 of this embodiment is a projection-type image display device that displays a color image on a screen (projection surface) SCR. The projector 10 includes three light modulation devices corresponding to the red light beam LR, the green light beam LG, and the blue light beam LB.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a projector 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the projector 10 includes a light source device 100, a color separation light-guiding optical system 200, a red light optical modulation device 400R, a green light optical modulation device 400G, a blue light optical modulation device 400B, a cross dichroic prism 500, and a projection optical device 600.

[0012] In this embodiment, the light source device 100 emits a white second combined light beam LW containing a red light beam LR, a green light beam LG, and a blue light beam LB. The specific configuration of the light source device 100 will be described later.

[0013] The color separation light-guiding optical system 200 includes a dichroic mirror 210, a dichroic mirror 220, a reflecting mirror 230, a reflecting mirror 240, a reflecting mirror 250, a relay lens 260, and a relay lens 270. The color separation light-guiding optical system 200 separates the second combined light beam LW emitted from the light source device 100 into a red light beam LR, a green light beam LG, and a blue light beam LB, and guides the red light beam LR to the red light optical modulation device 400R, the green light beam LG to the green light optical modulation device 400G, and the blue light beam LB to the blue light optical modulation device 400B.

[0014] A field lens 300R is disposed between the color separation light-guiding optical system 200 and the red light optical modulation device 400R. A field lens 300G is disposed between the color separation light-guiding optical system 200 and the green light optical modulation device 400G. A field lens 300B is disposed between the color separation light-guiding optical system 200 and the blue light optical modulation device 400B.

[0015] Dichroic mirror 210 transmits the red light component and reflects the green and blue light components. Dichroic mirror 220 reflects the green light component and transmits the blue light component. Reflecting mirror 230 reflects the red light component. Reflecting mirror 240 and reflecting mirror 250 each reflect the blue light component.

[0016] Each of the red light optical modulation device 400R, the green light optical modulation device 400G, and the blue light optical modulation device 400B is composed of a liquid crystal panel that modulates the light beam of each color incident on each optical modulation device according to image information to form an image.

[0017] Although not shown, incident-side polarizing plates are arranged between field lens 300R and red light optical modulator 400R, between field lens 300G and green light optical modulator 400G, and between field lens 300B and blue light optical modulator 400B. Furthermore, exit-side polarizing plates are arranged between red light optical modulator 400R and cross dichroic prism 500, between green light optical modulator 400G and cross dichroic prism 500, and between blue light optical modulator 400B and cross dichroic prism 500.

[0018] The cross dichroic prism 500 forms a color image by combining the image lights emitted from the red light optical modulation device 400R, the green light optical modulation device 400G, and the blue light optical modulation device 400B. The cross dichroic prism 500 has a substantially square shape in plan view, formed by bonding four right-angle prisms together, and has a configuration in which a dielectric multilayer film is provided at the substantially X-shaped interfaces formed by bonding the right-angle prisms together.

[0019] The color image emitted from the cross dichroic prism 500 is enlarged and projected onto a projection surface such as a screen SCR by a projection optical device 600. The projection optical device 600 is made up of a plurality of lenses.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the light source device 100. As shown in FIG. In the following description, an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is used as the coordinate axes. The direction in which the second combined light beam LW is emitted from the light source device 100 is the positive direction of the Y axis, the direction in which the red light beam LR is emitted from the third light source unit 13 (described later) is the negative direction of the X axis, and the direction perpendicular to the X and Y axes, from the front to the back of the page, is the positive direction of the Z axis.

[0021] The light source device 100 of this embodiment includes a first light source unit 11, a second light source unit 12, a third light source unit 13, a first light combining element 15, a second light combining element 16, a light beam width reduction element 17, a first diffuser plate 19, a second diffuser plate 20, a diffusion device 21, a focusing element 22, a pickup element 23, an integrator optical element 24, a polarization conversion element 25, a superimposing lens 26, a first heat sink 27, and a second heat sink 28.

[0022] The first light source unit 11 includes a first light-emitting element 31, a collimator lens 32, and a first substrate 33. The first light-emitting element 31 is configured from a blue semiconductor laser that emits linearly polarized blue light LB1. The first light-emitting element 31 emits blue light LB1 of a first wavelength band in the +Y direction. The first wavelength band is, for example, a blue wavelength band of 455 nm±10 nm.

[0023] The collimator lens 32 is provided on the light emission side of the first light-emitting element 31. The collimator lens 32 is composed of one convex lens provided corresponding to the first light-emitting element 31. The collimator lens 32 collimates the blue light LB1 emitted from the first light-emitting element 31.

[0024] The first substrate 33 has a first surface 33a that supports the first light-emitting element 31. That is, the first light-emitting element 31 is supported by the first substrate 33. The first surface 33a extends parallel to the XZ plane. Although one first light-emitting element 31 is shown in FIG. 2, in reality, a plurality of first light-emitting elements 31, for example, four first light-emitting elements 31, are arranged in a row in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface (Z-axis direction). The number of first light-emitting elements 31 is not particularly limited. Therefore, the first light source unit 11 emits a blue light beam LB containing a plurality of blue light beams LB1. Hereinafter, in this specification, the term "light beam" will be used to collectively refer to the plurality of light beams emitted from the plurality of light-emitting elements. The blue light beam LB in this embodiment corresponds to the first light beam in the claims.

[0025] The second light source unit 12 includes a second light-emitting element 34, a collimator lens 35, and a second substrate 36. The second light-emitting element 34 is composed of a green semiconductor laser that emits linearly polarized green light LG1. The second light-emitting element 34 emits green light LG1 of a second wavelength band in the +Y direction. The second wavelength band is, for example, a green wavelength band of 532 nm±10 nm.

[0026] The collimator lens 35 is provided on the light emission side of the second light-emitting element 34. The collimator lens 35 is composed of one convex lens provided corresponding to the second light-emitting element 34. The collimator lens 35 collimates the green light LG1 emitted from the second light-emitting element 34.

[0027] The second substrate 36 has a second surface 36a that supports the second light-emitting elements 34. That is, the second light-emitting elements 34 are supported by the second substrate 36. The second surface 36a extends parallel to the XZ plane. While two second light-emitting elements 34 are shown in FIG. 2, in reality, for example, eight second light-emitting elements 34 are arranged in two rows of four in the Z-axis direction. Note that the number of second light-emitting elements 34 is not particularly limited. Therefore, the second light source unit 12 emits a green light beam LG containing a plurality of green light beams LG1. The central axis of the green light beam LG emitted from the second light source unit 12 is defined as an optical axis AX2. The green light beam LG in this embodiment corresponds to the second light beam in the claims.

[0028] The third light source unit 13 includes a third light-emitting element 37, a collimator lens 38, and a third substrate 39. The third light-emitting element 37 is composed of a red semiconductor laser that emits linearly polarized red light LR1. The third light-emitting element 37 emits the red light LR1 of a third wavelength band in the −X direction. Therefore, the third light-emitting element 37 emits the red light LR1 in a direction perpendicular to the light emission direction of the first light-emitting element 31 and the second light-emitting element 34. The third wavelength band is, for example, a red wavelength band of 640 nm±10 nm.

[0029] The collimator lens 38 is provided on the light emission side of the third light-emitting element 37. The collimator lens 38 is composed of one convex lens provided corresponding to the third light-emitting element 37. The collimator lens 38 collimates the red light LR1 emitted from the third light-emitting element 37.

[0030] The third substrate 39 has a third surface 39a that supports the third light-emitting elements 37. That is, the third light-emitting elements 37 are supported by the third substrate 39. The third surface 39a extends parallel to the YZ plane. Although seven third light-emitting elements 37 are shown in FIG. 2, in reality, for example, 14 third light-emitting elements 37 are arranged in seven rows of two each in the Z-axis direction. Note that the number of third light-emitting elements 37 is not particularly limited. Therefore, the third light source unit 13 emits a red light beam LR that includes a plurality of red light beams LR1. The central axis of the red light beam LR emitted from the third light source unit 13 is defined as an optical axis AX3. The red light beam LR in this embodiment corresponds to the third light beam in the claims.

[0031] In this specification, the luminous flux width is defined as the length of one side of a rectangle circumscribing the multiple colored lights located at the outermost periphery when each luminous flux is viewed from the direction of its central axis. If the rectangle is a square, the luminous flux width is the length of one side of the square circumscribing the multiple colored lights located at the outermost periphery. If the rectangle is a rectangular, the luminous flux width is the length of the long side or the short side of the rectangle circumscribing the multiple colored lights located at the outermost periphery. For example, in the case of the third light source unit 13, the luminous flux width is the length of the long side or the short side of the rectangle circumscribing the 14 red light beams LR1 arranged in seven rows of two each when viewed from the direction of the central axis of the red light beam LR (direction of the optical axis AX3). In this embodiment, the length of the long side is used, as will be described in detail later.

[0032] Generally, when laser light sources are used for all three colors, the color gamut of the combined light beam is significantly wider than when non-laser light sources are used. Because the green color gamut is particularly wide among the three colors, adjusting the white balance requires increasing the light intensity of the red light beam relative to the other light beams. As an example, let's calculate the number of laser light sources for each color. Generally, the luminous efficiency, output power per laser light source, and optical system efficiency of laser light sources vary by color. Taking these factors into account, the required number of laser light sources is two for blue, ten for green, and 21 for red. In this case, the total output power of the multiple laser light sources is 8 W for blue, 10 W for green, and 32 W for red. Even if the output power per laser light source were 4 W for all colors, the required number of laser light sources would be two for blue, three for green, and eight for red. In either case, the number of required laser light sources would be the fewest for blue and the most for red.

[0033] In this embodiment, the first light source unit 11 emits a blue light beam LB consisting of four beams of blue light LB1 emitted from four first light-emitting elements 31. The second light source unit 12 emits a green light beam LG consisting of eight beams of green light LG1 emitted from eight second light-emitting elements 34. The third light source unit 13 emits a red light beam LR consisting of fourteen beams of red light LR1 emitted from fourteen third light-emitting elements 37. Therefore, the beam width WB of the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light source unit 11 is smaller than the beam width WG of the green light beam LG emitted from the second light source unit 12. The beam width WG of the green light beam LG emitted from the second light source unit 12 is smaller than the beam width WL of the red light beam LR emitted from the third light source unit 13. This configuration allows the white balance of the second combined light beam LW emitted from the light source device 100 to be appropriately adjusted.

[0034] As described above, because each light beam has a rectangular cross section, the light beam width can be considered to be a light beam width in the long axis direction and a light beam width in the short axis direction. However, when comparing light beam widths as described above, attention is paid to the light beam width on the side where the three light beams overlap when combined. In this embodiment, attention is paid to the light beam width on the side corresponding to the light beam width in the X axis direction of the second combined light beam LW. Therefore, the light beam widths to be compared are the light beam width in the X axis direction for the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light source unit 11 and the green light beam LG emitted from the second light source unit 12, and the light beam width in the Y axis direction for the red light beam LR emitted from the third light source unit 13.

[0035] First light combining element 15 includes light-guiding member 40, first reflecting portion 41, second reflecting portion 42, and third reflecting portion 43. In the present embodiment, first reflecting portion 41, second reflecting portion 42, and third reflecting portion 43 are provided on light-guiding member 40. That is, first light combining element 15 is configured from a single member in which first reflecting portion 41, second reflecting portion 42, third reflecting portion 43, and light-guiding member 40 are integrated.

[0036] The light guide member 40 has a substantially quadrangular prism shape and is made of a light-transmitting material such as optical glass or quartz. The light guide member 40 has a light incident surface 40a that faces the first light source unit 11 and the second light source unit 12. The light guide member 40 guides the blue light beam LB between the third reflecting unit 43 and the first reflecting unit 41, and between the first reflecting unit 41 and the second reflecting unit 42.

[0037] The first reflecting portion 41 is provided in the light-guiding member 40 at a position facing the second light-emitting element 34 on the side of the second light source unit 12 closer to the first light source unit 11. The first reflecting portion 41 is provided at a 45-degree angle with respect to the light incident surface 40a. The first reflecting portion 41 is made of a dielectric multilayer film provided inside the light-guiding member 40. The first reflecting portion 41 transmits a portion of the blue light beam LB in the −X direction, reflects another portion of the blue light beam LB in the +Y direction intersecting the −X direction, and transmits the green light beam LG in the +Y direction. In this embodiment, the first reflecting portion 41 transmits 50% of the blue light beam LB incident on the first reflecting portion 41 and reflects the other 50%. In this manner, the first reflecting portion 41 functions as a half mirror for the blue light beam LB. The -X direction in this embodiment corresponds to the first direction in the claims, and the +Y direction in this embodiment corresponds to the second direction in the claims.

[0038] The second reflecting section 42 is provided in the light-guiding member 40 at a position facing the second light-emitting element 34 on the side of the second light source section 12 farther from the first light source section 11. The second reflecting section 42 is provided at a 45-degree angle with respect to the light incident surface 40a and parallel to the first reflecting section 41. Like the first reflecting section 41, the second reflecting section 42 is made of a dielectric multilayer film provided inside the light-guiding member 40. The second reflecting section 42 reflects the blue light beam LB transmitted through the first reflecting section 41 in the +Y direction and transmits the green light beam LG in the +Y direction. Therefore, the second reflecting section 42 functions as a blue-reflecting / green-transmitting dichroic mirror.

[0039] The third reflecting portion 43 is provided in the light-guiding member 40 at a position facing the first light-emitting element 31 of the first light source 11. The third reflecting portion 43 is provided at a 45-degree angle with respect to the light incident surface 40a and parallel to the first reflecting portion 41 and the second reflecting portion 42. The third reflecting portion 43 is formed from an end surface of the light-guiding member 40 formed at a 45-degree angle with respect to the light incident surface 40a. The third reflecting portion 43 reflects the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light source 11 by total reflection at the interface between the air and the glass material constituting the light-guiding member 40, and guides the blue light beam LB to the first reflecting portion 41. The third reflecting portion 43 may have a configuration in which a reflective film is provided on the end surface of the light-guiding member 40.

[0040] With the above configuration, first light combining element 15 splits blue light beam LB into two light beams to increase the light beam width of blue light beam LB, and combines blue light beam LB and green light beam LG to generate first combined light beam LC. First combined light beam LC is emitted in the +Y direction from first light combining element 15. The detailed operation of first light combining element 15 will be described later.

[0041] In the present embodiment, first light combining element 15 has first reflecting portion 41 and second reflecting portion 42 spaced apart from each other in the X-axis direction, and thus the beam width WB of blue beam LB can be adjusted by changing the distance between first reflecting portion 41 and second reflecting portion 42. Furthermore, because first reflecting portion 41 and second reflecting portion 42 are integrated by light-guiding member 40, it is easy to improve the relative positional accuracy of first reflecting portion 41 and second reflecting portion 42. Furthermore, this configuration eliminates the need for a support member for supporting first reflecting portion 41 and second reflecting portion 42, which contributes to the miniaturization of light source device 100.

[0042] The second light combining element 16 is disposed on the optical axis AX2 between the first light combining element 15 and the diffuser 21. The second light combining element 16 is disposed at a position where the optical axes AX2 and AX3 intersect, and is oriented at a 45-degree angle with each of the optical axes AX2 and AX3. The second light combining element 16 is composed of a dichroic mirror that reflects the red light beam LR and transmits the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG. With this configuration, the second light combining element 16 combines the first combined light beam LC, which includes the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG, with the red light beam LR to generate the second combined light beam LW. The second combined light beam LW is emitted from the second light combining element 16 in the +Y direction.

[0043] The beam width reduction element 17 is provided on the optical axis AX3 between the third light source unit 13 and the second light combining element 16. The beam width reduction element 17 reduces the beam width WR of the red beam LR emitted from the third light source unit 13. Specifically, the beam width reduction element 17 reduces the beam width WR of the red beam LR emitted from the beam width reduction element 17 to be smaller than the beam width WR of the red beam LR incident on the beam width reduction element 17 so that the beam width WR of the red beam LR emitted from the beam width reduction element 17 approaches the beam width WG of the green beam LG. The beam width reduction element 17 is composed of an afocal optical element. The afocal optical element of this embodiment is composed of one convex lens and one concave lens, but the number of lenses is not particularly limited. Because the beam width reduction element 17 is composed of an afocal optical element, the red beam LR incident on the beam width reduction element 17 is emitted from the beam width reduction element 17 as a parallel beam. Furthermore, since the light beam width reduction element 17 is made up of an afocal optical element, the structure of the light beam width reduction element 17 can be simplified.

[0044] Furthermore, since light beam width reduction element 17 is provided before second light combining element 16, the red light beam LR, whose light beam width has been reduced, enters second light combining element 16. With this configuration, second light combining element 16 can be made smaller, and light source device 100 can be made smaller.

[0045] First diffusing plate 19 is provided on optical axis AX2 between first light combining element 15 and second light combining element 16. First diffusing plate 19 diffuses first combined light flux LC emitted from first light combining element 15. The first diffusion plate 19 of this embodiment corresponds to the first diffusion element in the claims.

[0046] The second diffuser 20 is provided on the optical axis AX3 between the third light source unit 13 and the second light combining element 16. The second diffuser 20 diffuses the red light beam LR emitted from the third light source unit 13. The second diffuser 20 of this embodiment corresponds to the second diffuser element in the claims.

[0047] The diffuser 21 is provided between the second light combining element 16 and the integrator optical element 24, i.e., on the optical axis AX2 on the light exit side of the second light combining element 16. The diffuser 21 includes a third diffuser plate 45 and a motor 47 that rotates the third diffuser plate 45 about a rotation axis 46. The third diffuser plate 45 diffuses the second combined light beam LW exiting from the second light combining element 16. The third diffusion plate 45 of this embodiment corresponds to the third diffusion element in the claims.

[0048] The first diffuser 19, the second diffuser 20, and the third diffuser 45 each have a similar configuration. Although not shown, one surface of each diffuser has a concave-convex structure for diffusing the light beam incident on the diffuser. The concave-convex structure may be configured with a plurality of irregularly shaped and sized concave and convex portions, or may be configured with an array of a plurality of microlenses. Other diffuser configurations may also be used, such as frosted glass, a holographic diffuser, a transparent substrate subjected to a blasting process, or a transparent substrate with a scattering material dispersed therein. These diffusers are configured as transmissive diffusers that transmit and diffuse the light beam incident on the diffuser. Like the third diffuser 45, the first diffuser 19 and the second diffuser 20 may also be rotatable.

[0049] As described above, the light source device 100 of this embodiment includes a first diffuser 19 that diffuses the first combined light beam LC, a second diffuser 20 that diffuses the red light beam LR, and a third diffuser 45 that diffuses the second combined light beam LW. This configuration allows the illuminance distribution of the light beams of each color to be uniform, thereby reducing color unevenness in the image. Furthermore, because the light beams of each color, which are coherent light emitted from the semiconductor lasers, are diffused, speckle noise in the image when applied to the projector 10 can be suppressed. Furthermore, because the second combined light beam LW is diffused by the third diffuser 45, the illumination area of the second combined light beam LW incident on the integrator optical element 24 is expanded, thereby improving the overlap of the second combined light beam LW in the image formation area of the light modulation device. This allows color unevenness in the image to be efficiently suppressed.

[0050] The condensing element 22 is provided on the optical axis AX2 between the second light combining element 16 and the third diffuser plate 45. In this embodiment, the condensing element 22 is configured with one convex lens, but the number of lenses is not particularly limited. The condensing element 22 condenses the second combined light flux LW emitted from the second light combining element 16 toward the third diffuser plate 45.

[0051] The pickup element 23 is disposed on the optical axis AX2 between the third diffuser 45 and the integrator optical element 24. In this embodiment, the pickup element 23 is composed of two convex lenses, but the number of lenses is not particularly limited. The pickup element 23 collimates the second combined light beam LW diffused by the third diffuser 45 and emits it toward the subsequent optical system.

[0052] The integrator optical element 24 includes a first multi-lens array 49 and a second multi-lens array 50. The first multi-lens array 49 has a plurality of first lenses for splitting the second combined light beam LW into a plurality of light beams.

[0053] The lens surfaces of the first multi-lens array 49, i.e., the surfaces of the first lenses, and the image forming areas of the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B for each color light are conjugate with each other. Therefore, when viewed from the direction of the optical axis AX2, the shape of each of the first lenses is a rectangle that is approximately similar to the shape of the image forming areas of the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B. This allows each of the multiple light beams emitted from the first multi-lens array 49 to efficiently enter the image forming areas of the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B.

[0054] The second multi-lens array 50 has a plurality of second lenses corresponding to the plurality of first lenses of the first multi-lens array 49. The second multi-lens array 50, together with the superimposing lens 26, forms an image of each of the first lenses of the first multi-lens array 49 near the image forming area of each of the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B.

[0055] The second combined beam LW transmitted through the integrator optical element 24 is incident on the polarization conversion element 25. The polarization conversion element 25 has a configuration in which a polarization separation film, a reflective film, and a retardation plate (not shown) are arranged in an array. The polarization conversion element 25 aligns the polarization direction of the second combined beam LW in a predetermined direction. Specifically, the polarization conversion element 25 aligns the polarization direction of the second combined beam LW in the direction of the transmission axis of the incident-side polarizer of the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B.

[0056] As a result, the polarization directions of the red light beam LR, green light beam LG, and blue light beam LB separated from the second combined light beam LW that has passed through the polarization conversion element 25 coincide with the transmission axis directions of the incident-side polarizing plates of each of the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B. Therefore, the red light beam LR, green light beam LG, and blue light beam LB are not absorbed by the incident-side polarizing plates, and are incident on the image formation areas of the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B, respectively.

[0057] The second combined light beam LW that has passed through the polarization conversion element 25 is incident on the superimposing lens 26. The superimposing lens 26 cooperates with the integrator optical element 24 to homogenize the illuminance distribution in the image forming areas of the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B, which are the illuminated areas.

[0058] In this embodiment, the first surface 33a of the first substrate 33 of the first light source unit 11 and the second surface 36a of the second substrate 36 of the second light source unit 12 are parallel to the XZ plane and are arranged on the same imaginary plane K1. The first light source unit 11 and the second light source unit 12 are provided on a common first heat sink 27. The first heat sink 27 dissipates heat generated in the first light source unit 11 and the second light source unit 12 to the outside, thereby cooling the first light source unit 11 and the second light source unit 12. The third surface 39a of the third substrate 39 of the third light source unit 13 is parallel to the YZ plane and is arranged so as to intersect with the imaginary plane K1 on which the first surface 33a and the second surface 36a are arranged. The third light source unit 13 is provided on a second heat sink 28. The second heat sink 28 dissipates heat generated in the third light source unit 13 to the outside, thereby cooling the third light source unit 13.

[0059] As described above, the light source device 100 of this embodiment includes the third reflecting section 43 that reflects the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light source section 11 and guides it to the first reflecting section 41. In the present embodiment, for example, the first light source unit 11, the second light source unit 12, the first light combining element 15, and the first diffuser 19 may be arranged shifted in the +Y direction. In this case, when viewed along the emission direction (X-axis direction) of the red light beam LR emitted from the third light source unit 13, the optical path of the blue light beam LB reflected by the third reflecting unit 43 overlaps with the third surface 39a of the third substrate 39 of the third light source unit 13. This configuration makes it possible to prevent the light source device 100 from becoming larger in size in the extension direction (Y-axis direction) of the third substrate 39 of the third light source unit 13, on which the largest number of light-emitting elements are provided.

[0060] The behavior of the light emitted from each light source will be described below. The blue light beam LB emitted from the first light source unit 11 in the +Y direction is reflected by the third reflecting unit 43 of the first light combining element 15, travels inside the light-guiding member 40 in the -X direction, and is incident on the first reflecting unit 41. Of the blue light beam LB incident on the first reflecting unit 41, 50% of the blue light beam LB is reflected by the first reflecting unit 41, travels in the +Y direction, and is emitted from the first light combining element 15. The other 50% of the blue light beam LB is transmitted through the first reflecting unit 41, travels in the -X direction, and is incident on the second reflecting unit 42. The blue light beam LB incident on the second reflecting unit 42 is reflected by the second reflecting unit 42, travels in the +Y direction, and is emitted from the first light combining element 15.

[0061] In this way, the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light source unit 11 is split into two blue light beams LB by the first light combining element 15, and the two blue light beams LB are emitted parallel to each other in the +Y direction, separated by the gap between the first reflecting unit 41 and the second reflecting unit 42. As a result, the beam width WB of the blue light beam LB after being emitted from the first light combining element 15 becomes larger than the beam width WB of the blue light beam LB before it entered the first light combining element 15, and becomes approximately the same as the beam width WG of the green light beam LG.

[0062] Furthermore, of the two rows of green light beams LG emitted in the +Y direction from the two rows of second light-emitting elements 34 of second light source unit 12, the green light beams LG of the left row are transmitted through first reflecting unit 41, and the green light beams LG of the right row are transmitted through second reflecting unit 42, and both are emitted in the +Y direction from first light combining element 15. Therefore, the beam width WG of the green light beams LG emitted from second light source unit 12 changes little before and after the green light beams LG are transmitted through first light combining element 15. In this way, the blue light beams LB and the green light beams LG are combined by first light combining element 15 and emitted from first light combining element 15 as first combined beams LC.

[0063] In contrast, the red light beam LR emitted in the −X direction from the third light source unit 13 is incident on the light beam width reduction element 17. The light beam width reduction element 17 makes the light beam width WR of the red light beam LR emitted from the light beam width reduction element 17 smaller than the light beam width WR of the red light beam LR emitted from the light beam width reduction element 17 so that the light beam width WR of the red light beam LR emitted from the light beam width reduction element 17 approaches the light beam width WG of the green light beam LG. As a result, the light beam width WR of the red light beam LR emitted from the light beam width reduction element 17 becomes approximately the same as the light beam width WG of the green light beam LG.

[0064] The first combined light beam LC emitted from the first light combining element 15 is diffused by the first diffuser 19, then passes through the second light combining element 16, and travels in the +Y direction. On the other hand, the red light beam LR emitted from the light beam width reduction element 17 is diffused by the second diffuser 20, then reflected by the second light combining element 16, and travels in the +Y direction. In this way, the first combined light beam LC and the red light beam LR are combined by the second light combining element 16 to become the white second combined light beam LW, which travels in the +Y direction.

[0065] The change in the luminous flux width of each color luminous flux will be described below. FIG. 3 shows the illuminance distribution of the blue light beam LB at multiple positions. FIG. 4 shows the illuminance distribution of the green light beam LG at multiple positions. FIG. 5 shows the illuminance distribution of the red light beam LR at multiple positions. In FIGS. 3 to 5, the leftmost diagrams show the cross sections of each light beam immediately after it is emitted from each light source unit 11, 12, or 13. The central diagrams show the cross sections of each light beam immediately before it is incident on the first diffuser plate 19 or the second diffuser plate 20. The rightmost diagrams show the cross sections of each light beam immediately after it is emitted from the third diffuser plate 45 and incident on the pickup element 23. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the horizontal axis indicates the length in the X-axis direction, and the vertical axis indicates the length in the Z-axis direction. Because the traveling direction of the red light beam LR bends 90 degrees before and after it is incident on the second light combining element 16, in the leftmost and central diagrams in FIG. 5, the horizontal axis indicates the length in the Y-axis direction, and the vertical axis indicates the length in the Z-axis direction. In the diagram on the far right, the horizontal axis represents the length in the X-axis direction, and the vertical axis represents the length in the Z-axis direction.

[0066] [Changes in luminous flux width of blue light beam] As shown in the leftmost diagram in FIG. 3, the blue light beam LB immediately after being emitted from the first light source unit 11 has a configuration of four blue light beams LB1 arranged in a single row. The beam width WB1 of the blue light beam LB is the smallest among the three beams. The blue light beam LB is then split into two blue light beams LB in the X-axis direction by the first light combining element 15, changing the blue light beam LB to a configuration of four blue light beams LB1 arranged in two rows, as shown in the center diagram in FIG. 3. As a result, the beam width of the blue light beam LB expands from WB1 to WB2, becoming approximately equal to the beam width WG2 of the green light beam LG. The blue light beam LB is then diffused by the third diffuser 45, resulting in a broader illuminance distribution of each blue light beam LB1, as shown in the rightmost diagram in FIG. 3. However, the beam width WB3 of the blue light beam LB does not change significantly from WB2.

[0067] [Change in luminous flux width of green luminous flux] As shown in the leftmost diagram in FIG. 4, the green light beam LG immediately after being emitted from the second light source unit 12 has a configuration in which eight green light beams LG1 are arranged in two rows of four. The beam width WG1 of the green light beam LG is the second smallest among the three beams. The green light beam LG simply passes through the first light combining element 15 and travels straight without being split like the blue light beam LB. Therefore, as shown in the center diagram in FIG. 4, the beam width WG2 of the green light beam LG immediately before entering the first diffuser 19 is almost unchanged from the beam width WG1 of the green light beam LG immediately after being emitted from the second light source unit 12. The green light beam LG is then diffused by the third diffuser 45, and the illuminance distribution of each green light beam LG1 becomes wider, as shown in the rightmost diagram in FIG. 4. The beam width WG3 of the green light beam LG is not significantly different from WG2.

[0068] [Change in luminous flux width of red luminous flux] As shown in the leftmost diagram of FIG. 5, the red light beam LR immediately after being emitted from the third light source unit 13 has a configuration in which 14 red light beams LR1 are arranged in seven rows of two each. The beam width WR1 of the red light beam LR is the largest of the three beams. Then, as shown in the center diagram of FIG. 5, the beam width of the red light beam LR is reduced from WR1 to WR2 by the beam width reduction element 17, and becomes approximately equal to the beam width WG2 of the green light beam LG. Then, the red light beam LR is diffused by the third diffuser 45, and as shown in the rightmost diagram of FIG. 5, the illuminance distribution of each red light beam LR1 becomes wider and more connected. The beam width WR3 of the red light beam LR does not change significantly from WR2.

[0069] As described above, the blue light beam LB, green light beam LG, and red light beam LR constituting the second combined light beam LW have substantially equal beam widths. In FIGS. 3 to 5, the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) corresponds to the horizontal direction of the image forming areas of the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B. The vertical direction (Z-axis direction) corresponds to the vertical direction of the image forming areas of the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B. The beam widths of the blue light beam LB, green light beam LG, and red light beam LR may be equal in either the horizontal or vertical direction, but it is preferable to make them equal in the horizontal direction. This is because the horizontal direction, for example, is the direction in which the striped light shielding plates of the polarization conversion element 25 are arranged, and therefore has a greater impact on display characteristics than the vertical direction. In this embodiment, as shown on the right side of FIGS. 3 to 5, it is most preferable to make the beam widths of the blue light beam LB, green light beam LG, and red light beam LR equal in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0070] [Effects of the first embodiment] Light source device 100 of this embodiment includes first light source unit 11 that emits a blue light beam LB, second light source unit 12 that emits a green light beam LG, third light source unit 13 that emits a red light beam LR, first light combining element 15 that expands the light beam width WB of blue light beam LB and combines the blue light beam LB and green light beam LG to generate a first combined light beam LC, second light combining element 16 that combines the first combined light beam LC and red light beam LR to generate a second combined light beam LW, and light beam width reduction element 17 that reduces the light beam width WR of red light beam LR emitted from third light source unit 13. The light beam width WB of blue light beam LB is smaller than the light beam width WG of green light beam LG and smaller than the light beam width WR of red light beam LR. First light combining element 15 makes the beam width WB of blue light beam LB emitted from first light combining element 15 larger than the beam width WB of blue light beam LB incident on first light combining element 15 so as to approximate the beam width WG of green light beam LG. The beam width reduction element 17 makes the beam width WR of red light beam LR emitted from beam width reduction element 17 smaller than the beam width WR of red light beam LR incident on beam width reduction element 17 so as to approximate the beam width WG of green light beam LG.

[0071] With this configuration, the beam width WB of the blue light beam LB, the beam width WG of the green light beam LG, and the beam width WR of the red light beam LR can be made substantially equal to one another. This makes it possible to suppress color unevenness in the image when the light source device 100 is applied to the projector 10. Furthermore, because the first light combining element 15 has both the function of splitting the blue light beam LB and the function of combining the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and make the light source device 100 more compact.

[0072] In particular, in this embodiment, the beam width WB of the smallest blue light beam LB is matched to the beam width WG of the green light beam LG, and the beam width WR of the largest red light beam LR is matched to the beam width WG of the green light beam LG. This configuration allows the light source device 100 to be efficiently miniaturized. The reason for this is that if the beam widths of the green light beam LG and the red light beam LR were matched to the beam width of the smallest blue light beam LB, the optical path length of the afocal optical element constituting the beam width reduction element 17 would have to be lengthened, making it difficult to miniaturize the light source device 100. Furthermore, if the beam widths of the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG were matched to the beam width of the largest red light beam LR, the beam width of the finally emitted second combined beam LW would be large, resulting in an overall increase in the size of the light source device 100.

[0073] The projector 10 of this embodiment includes the light source device 100 of this embodiment, light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B that modulate light including the second combined light beam LW emitted from the light source device 100 according to image information, and a projection optical device 600 that projects the light modulated by the light modulation devices 400R, 400G, and 400B.

[0074] According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a projector 10 that has excellent display quality and has little color unevenness in the image.

[0075] [Second embodiment] A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. The basic configuration of the projector of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the configuration of the light source device is different from that of the first embodiment, so a description of the basic configuration of the projector will be omitted.

[0076] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a light source device 120 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 6, the same components as those in FIG. 2 used in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0077] As shown in FIG. 6, the light source device 120 of this embodiment includes a first light source unit 11, a second light source unit 12, a third light source unit 13, a first light combining element 15, a second light combining element 52, a light beam width reduction element 17, a first diffuser plate 19, a second diffuser plate 20, a diffusion device 21, a focusing element 22, a pickup element 23, an integrator optical element 24, a polarization conversion element 25, a superimposing lens 26, a first heat sink 27, and a second heat sink 28.

[0078] In this embodiment, the arrangement of each optical element is different from that of the first embodiment. The second light source unit 12, the first light combining element 15, the first diffuser plate 19, and the second light combining element 52 are provided on the optical axis AX2. The third light source unit 13, the light beam width reduction element 17, the second diffuser plate 20, the second light combining element 52, the condensing element 22, the diffuser 21, the pickup element 23, the integrator optical element 24, the polarization conversion element 25, and the superimposing lens 26 are provided on the optical axis AX3.

[0079] The second light combining element 52 of this embodiment has optical characteristics opposite to those of the second light combining element 16 of the first embodiment. That is, the second light combining element 52 is composed of a dichroic mirror that reflects the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG and transmits the red light beam LR. The second light combining element 52 combines the first combined light beam LC, which includes the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG, with the red light beam LR to generate the second combined light beam LW. The other configurations of the light source device 120 are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0080] [Effects of the second embodiment] In this embodiment, too, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained, that is, a small light source device 120 capable of suppressing color unevenness in an image can be realized.

[0081] [Third embodiment] A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. The basic configuration of the projector of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the configuration of the light source device is different from that of the first embodiment, so a description of the basic configuration of the projector will be omitted.

[0082] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a light source device 130 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 7, the same components as those in FIG. 2 used in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 7, the light source device 130 of this embodiment includes a first light source unit 11, a second light source unit 62, a third light source unit 13, a first light combining element 63, a second light combining element 16, a light beam width reduction element 17, a first diffuser plate 19, a second diffuser plate 20, a diffusion device 21, a focusing element 22, a pickup element 23, an integrator optical element 24, a polarization conversion element 25, a superimposing lens 26, a first heat sink 27, and a second heat sink 28.

[0084] In this embodiment, the first light combining element 63 includes a light-guiding member 40, a first reflecting portion 65, a second reflecting portion 42, a third reflecting portion 43, a fourth reflecting portion 66, and a fifth reflecting portion 67. The second light source unit 62 has a plurality of second light-emitting elements 34 arranged in four rows at intervals in the X-axis direction.

[0085] In the first light combining element 63, the first reflecting section 65 is provided at a position facing the second light emitting elements 34 in the first row counting from the first light source section 11 side. The first reflecting section 65 transmits a part of the blue light beam LB in the -X direction, reflects another part of the blue light beam LB in the +Y direction intersecting the -X direction, and transmits the green light beam LG in the +Y direction. In the present embodiment, the first reflecting section 65 reflects 25% of the blue light beam LB incident on the first reflecting section 65 and transmits 75%.

[0086] The fourth reflecting section 66 is provided at a position facing the second light-emitting elements 34 in the second row counting from the first light source section 11 side. The fourth reflecting section 66 transmits a portion of the blue light beam LB that is transmitted through the first reflecting section 65 in the -X direction, reflects another portion of the blue light beam LB in the +Y direction intersecting the -X direction, and transmits the green light beam LG in the +Y direction. In the present embodiment, the fourth reflecting section 66 reflects 34% of the blue light beam LB that is incident on the fourth reflecting section 66 and transmits 66%.

[0087] The fifth reflecting portion 67 is provided at a position facing the second light-emitting elements 34 in the third row counting from the first light source portion 11. The fifth reflecting portion 67 transmits a portion of the blue light beam LB that is transmitted through the fourth reflecting portion 66 in the -X direction, reflects another portion of the blue light beam LB in the +Y direction intersecting the -X direction, and transmits the green light beam LG in the +Y direction. In the present embodiment, the fifth reflecting portion 67 reflects 50% of the blue light beam LB that is incident on the fifth reflecting portion 67 and transmits the other 50%.

[0088] The second reflecting portion 42 is provided at a position facing the second light-emitting elements 34 in the fourth row counting from the side of the first light source portion 11. The second reflecting portion 42 reflects the blue light beam LB transmitted through the fifth reflecting portion 67 in the +Y direction, and transmits the green light beam LG in the +Y direction.

[0089] As described above, the first reflecting portion 65, the fourth reflecting portion 66, and the fifth reflecting portion 67 each reflect a portion of the blue light beam LB incident on the reflecting portion and transmit the other portion, but as described above, the reflectivities are different from one another. Therefore, 25% of the blue light beam LB incident on the first reflecting portion 65 is reflected and emitted in the +Y direction from the first reflecting portion 65. 25% (=75%×34%) of the blue light beam LB incident on the first reflecting portion 65 is reflected and emitted in the +Y direction from the fourth reflecting portion 66. 25% (=75%×66%×50%) of the blue light beam LB incident on the first reflecting portion 65 is reflected and emitted in the +Y direction from the fifth reflecting portion 67. 25% (=75%×66%×50%) of the blue light beam LB incident on the first reflecting portion 65 is reflected and emitted in the +Y direction from the second reflecting portion 42. In this way, the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light source unit 11 is equally divided into four light beams by the first light combining element 63. Furthermore, the light beam width WB of the blue light beam LB divided into four light beams is approximately equal to the light beam width WG of the green light beam LG. The other configurations of the light source device 130 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0090] [Effects of the third embodiment] In this embodiment, too, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained, that is, a small light source device 130 capable of suppressing color unevenness in an image can be realized.

[0091] [Fourth embodiment] A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. The basic configuration of the projector of the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the configuration of the light source device is different from that of the first embodiment, so a description of the basic configuration of the projector will be omitted.

[0092] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a light source device 140 according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 8, the same components as those in FIG. 2 used in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 8, the light source device 140 of this embodiment includes a first light source unit 71, a second light source unit 72, a third light source unit 73, a first light combining element 75, a second light combining element 16, a first diffuser plate 19, a second diffuser plate 20, a diffuser 21, a focusing element 22, a pickup element 23, an integrator optical element 24, a polarization conversion element 25, a superimposing lens 26, a first heat sink 77, and a second heat sink 78.

[0094] In this embodiment, the arrangement of each optical element is different from that of the first embodiment. The first light source unit 71, first light combining element 75, first diffuser plate 19, second light combining element 16, condensing element 22, diffuser 21, pickup element 23, integrator optical element 24, polarization conversion element 25, and superimposing lens 26 are arranged on an optical axis AX4. The central axis of the second combined light beam LW emitted from the second light combining element 16 is defined as the optical axis AX4. The third light source unit 73, second diffuser plate 20, and second light combining element 16 are arranged on an optical axis AX2.

[0095] The first light source unit 71 includes a plurality of first light-emitting elements 31 arranged in two rows at intervals in the X-axis direction. The second light source unit 72 includes a plurality of second light-emitting elements 34 arranged in two rows at intervals in the Y-axis direction. The third light source unit 73 includes a plurality of third light-emitting elements 37 arranged in four rows at intervals in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, the luminous flux width WB of the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light source unit 71 is approximately the same as the luminous flux width WG of the green light beam LG emitted from the second light source unit 72. The luminous flux width WB of the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light source unit 71 is smaller than the luminous flux width WR of the red light beam LR emitted from the third light source unit 73.

[0096] In the first embodiment, the first surface 33a of the first substrate 33 of the first light source unit 11 and the second surface 36a of the second substrate 36 of the second light source unit 12 were arranged on the same imaginary plane K1, and the third surface 39a of the third substrate 39 of the third light source unit 13 was arranged so as to intersect with the imaginary plane K1. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the second surface 36a of the second substrate 36 of the second light source unit 72 and the third surface 39a of the third substrate 39 of the third light source unit 73 are parallel to the YZ plane and arranged on the same imaginary plane K2. The first surface 33a of the first substrate 33 of the first light source unit 71 is arranged so as to intersect with the imaginary plane K2. That is, in the present embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the second light source unit 72 is arranged on the same side as the third light source unit 73, not on the same side as the first light source unit 71. Therefore, the first light source unit 71 is provided on a first heat sink 77. The second light source unit 72 and the third light source unit 73 are provided on a common second heat sink 78 .

[0097] The first light combining element 75 includes a light-guiding member 80, a first reflecting portion 81, and a sixth reflecting portion 82. Unlike the first embodiment, the present embodiment does not include a third reflecting portion for bending the optical path of the blue light beam LB by 90 degrees. An end face of the light-guiding member 80 is disposed opposite the two rows of second light-emitting elements 34 of the second light source unit 72. Therefore, the green light beam LG emitted from the second light source unit 72 travels in the −X direction and enters the first light combining element 75 from the end face of the light-guiding member 80.

[0098] The first reflecting portion 81 is oriented at a 45-degree angle with respect to the light incident surface 80a. The first reflecting portion 81 reflects a portion of the blue light beam LB incident on the first reflecting portion 81 toward the −X direction, transmits another portion of the blue light beam LB toward the +Y direction, reflects a portion of the green light beam LG traveling in the −X direction toward the −X direction, and transmits another portion of the green light beam LG toward the +Y direction. In this embodiment, the first reflecting portion 81 reflects 50% of the blue light beam LB incident on the first reflecting portion 81 and transmits 50% of the blue light beam LB, reflects 50% of the green light beam LG incident on the first reflecting portion 81, and transmits 50% of the green light beam LG. The first reflecting portion 81 functions as a half mirror for both the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG.

[0099] The sixth reflecting portion 82 is provided parallel to the first reflecting portion 81 and oriented at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the light incident surface 80a. The sixth reflecting portion 82 reflects the light beam incident on the sixth reflecting portion 82 regardless of the wavelength band.

[0100] With the above configuration, the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light source unit 71 is split into two light beams by the first light combining element 75, and the two light beams are emitted parallel to each other in the +Y direction with a gap between the first reflecting unit 81 and the sixth reflecting unit 82. As a result, the light beam width WB of the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light combining element 75 is greater than the light beam width WB of the blue light beam LB incident on the first light combining element 75. Similarly, the green light beam LG emitted from the second light source unit 72 is split into two light beams by the first light combining element 75, and the two light beams are emitted parallel to each other in the +Y direction with a gap between the first reflecting unit 81 and the sixth reflecting unit 82. As a result, the light beam width WG of the green light beam LG emitted from the first light combining element 75 is greater than the light beam width WG of the green light beam LG incident on the first light combining element 75. As a result, the luminous flux width WB of the blue luminous flux LB and the luminous flux width WG of the green luminous flux LG become substantially the same.

[0101] As in the first embodiment, the second light combining element 16 is configured with a dichroic mirror that reflects the red light beam LR and transmits the blue light beam LB and green light beam LG. Therefore, the second light combining element 16 combines the red light beam LR with a first combined light beam LC containing the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG to generate a second combined light beam LW. The distance between the first reflecting portion 81 and the sixth reflecting portion 82 of the first light combining element 75 is set to be approximately the same as the beam width WR of the red light beam LR. Therefore, the beam width WB of the blue light beam LB and the beam width WG of the green light beam LG are each enlarged by the first light combining element 75, so that they are aligned approximately the same as the beam width WR of the red light beam LR. The other configurations of the light source device 140 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0102] [Effects of the fourth embodiment] In this embodiment, too, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained, that is, a small light source device 140 that can suppress color unevenness in an image can be realized.

[0103] [Fifth embodiment] Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The basic configuration of the projector of the fifth embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the configuration of the light source device is different from that of the first embodiment, so a description of the basic configuration of the projector will be omitted.

[0104] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a light source device 150 according to the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 9, the same components as those in FIG. 2 used in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0105] As shown in FIG. 9, the light source device 150 of this embodiment includes a first light source unit 91, a second light source unit 92, a first light combining element 93, a second light combining element 94, a diffusion device 21, a focusing element 22, a pickup element 23, an integrator optical element 24, a polarization conversion element 25, a superimposing lens 26, a first heat sink 95, and a second heat sink 96.

[0106] In the first to fourth embodiments, light-emitting elements of the same color are provided on one substrate to form one light source section that emits a light beam of a specific color. In contrast, in this embodiment, light-emitting elements that emit light of different colors are provided mixed on one substrate to form one light source unit. The first light source unit 91 and the second light source unit 92 have the same configuration.

[0107] Each of the first light source unit 91 and the second light source unit 92 includes a row of first light-emitting elements 31 that emit a blue light beam LB, a row of second light-emitting elements 34 that emit a green light beam LG, two rows of third light-emitting elements 37 that emit a red light beam LR, and a substrate 85 that supports these light-emitting elements. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first to third light source sections in the first to fourth embodiments are divided into two light source units 91 and 92. A first light beam L1 containing a blue light beam LB, a green light beam LG, and a red light beam LR is emitted from the first light source unit 91 in the +Y direction. A second light beam L2 containing a blue light beam LB, a green light beam LG, and a red light beam LR is emitted from the second light source unit 92 in the +X direction. The central axis of the first light beam L1 is defined as an optical axis AX5, and the central axis of the second light beam L2 is defined as an optical axis AX6.

[0108] The first light combining element 93 is provided at a position facing the light emitting elements 31, 34, and 37 of the first light source unit 91 and the first light emitting element 31 and the second light emitting element 34 of the second light source unit 92. The first light combining element 93 includes a light guiding member 99, a first reflecting portion 97, and a second reflecting portion 98. The first light combining element 93 increases the beam width of the blue light beam LB and the beam width of the green light beam LG, and emits a first combined beam LC1 that combines the blue light beam LB, the green light beam LG, and the red light beam LR.

[0109] The first reflecting portion 97 is disposed at a position facing the first light emitting element 31 and the second light emitting element 34 of the first light source unit 91 and the first light emitting element 31 and the second light emitting element 34 of the second light source unit 92. The first reflecting portion 97 is disposed at a 45-degree angle with respect to the light incident surface 99a. The first reflecting portion 97 is composed of a dielectric multilayer film disposed inside the light-guiding member 99. The first reflecting portion 97 transmits a portion of the blue light beam LB, reflects another portion of the blue light beam LB, transmits a portion of the green light beam LG, reflects another portion of the green light beam LG, and transmits the red light beam LR. The first reflecting portion 97 transmits 50% of the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG incident on the first reflecting portion 97 and reflects the other 50%. In this way, the first reflecting portion 97 functions as a half mirror for the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG and transmits the red light beam LR.

[0110] The second reflecting portion 98 is provided at a position facing the two rows of third light-emitting elements 37 of the first light source unit 91 and the first light-emitting elements 31 and second light-emitting elements 34 of the second light source unit 92. The second reflecting portion 98 is provided parallel to the first reflecting portion 97 and oriented at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the light incident surface 99a. The second reflecting portion 98 is composed of a dichroic mirror that reflects the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG and transmits the red light beam LR.

[0111] The second light combining element 94 is provided at a position facing the first light emitting elements 31 and second light emitting elements 34 of the first light source unit 91 and the two rows of third light emitting elements 37 of the second light source unit 92. The second light combining element 94 is provided parallel to the first reflecting portion 97. The second light combining element 94 is composed of a dichroic mirror that reflects the red light beam LR emitted from the third light emitting elements 37 of the second light source unit 92 and transmits the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light emitting elements 31 of the second light source unit 92 and the green light beam LG emitted from the second light emitting elements 34 of the second light source unit 92.

[0112] The blue light beam LB emitted from the first light-emitting element 31 of the first light source unit 91 passes through the second light combining element 94 and is incident on the first reflecting portion 97 of the first light combining element 93. The green light beam LG emitted from the second light-emitting element 34 of the first light source unit 91 passes through the second light combining element 94 and is incident on the first reflecting portion 97 of the first light combining element 93. The red light beam LR emitted from the third light-emitting element 37 of the second light source unit 92 is reflected in the +Y direction by the second light combining element 94 and is incident on the first reflecting portion 97 of the first light combining element 93.

[0113] The second light combining element 94 of this embodiment combines a portion of the blue light LB, a portion of the green light beam LG, and a portion of the red light beam LR emitted by the first light source unit 91 and the second light source unit 92, and causes the second combined light beam LW1 to be incident on the first light combining element 93. The portion of the blue light beam LB corresponds to the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light-emitting element 31 in the first light source unit 91, the portion of the green light beam LG corresponds to the green light beam LG emitted from the second light-emitting element 34 in the first light source unit 91, and the portion of the red light beam LR corresponds to the red light beam LR emitted from the third light-emitting element 37 in the second light source unit 92.

[0114] The blue light beam LB emitted from the first light-emitting element 31 in the second light source unit 92 and the green light beam LG emitted from the second light-emitting element 34 are incident on the first reflecting portion 97 of the first light combining element 93. 50% of the blue light beam LB and green light beam LG incident on the first reflecting portion 97 are reflected in the +Y direction by the first reflecting portion 97. The other 50% of the blue light beam LB and green light beam LG are transmitted through the first reflecting portion 97 and travel in the +X direction, are reflected by the second reflecting portion 98, and travel in the +Y direction.

[0115] Of the second combined light beam LW1 incident on the first reflecting unit 97, 50% of the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG are transmitted through the first reflecting unit 97 and travel in the +Y direction. The other 50% of the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG are reflected by the first reflecting unit 97 and travel in the +X direction, and are reflected by the second reflecting unit 98 and travel in the +Y direction.

[0116] In this way, each blue light beam LB and green light beam LG is split into two light beams by the first reflecting portion 97 of the first light combining element 93, and the light beam width of the blue light beam LB and green light beam LG after being emitted from the first light combining element 93 becomes larger by the distance between the first reflecting portion 97 and the second reflecting portion 98 compared to the light beam width of the blue light beam LB and green light beam LG before entering the first light combining element 93.

[0117] The red light beam LR emitted from the third light-emitting element 37 in the first light source unit 91 passes through the second reflecting portion 98 and travels in the +Y direction. Furthermore, the red light beam LR of the second combined light beam LW1 incident on the first reflecting portion 97 passes through the first reflecting portion 97 and travels in the +Y direction.

[0118] In this way, the first light combining element 93 expands the beam widths of the blue light beam LB and the green light beam LG to match the beam width of the red light beam LR, and combines another part of the blue light beam LB, another part of the green light beam LG, another part of the red light beam LR, and the second combined beam LW1 to generate a white first combined beam LC1, which is emitted in the +Y direction. The other part of the blue light beam LB corresponds to the blue light beam LB emitted from the first light-emitting element 31 in the second light source unit 92, the other part of the green light beam LG corresponds to the green light beam LG emitted from the second light-emitting element 34 in the second light source unit 92, and the other part of the red light beam LR corresponds to the red light beam LR emitted from the third light-emitting element 37 in the first light source unit 91.

[0119] [Effects of the fifth embodiment] This embodiment also has the same effect as the first embodiment, that is, it is possible to realize a small light source device 150 that can suppress color unevenness in an image. In particular, the configuration of this embodiment is suitable for use with a light source unit including light-emitting elements of three colors.

[0120] The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, one aspect of the present invention can be a configuration in which the characteristic portions of the above-described embodiments are appropriately combined.

[0121] For example, the first light combining element does not necessarily have to have a prism-type structure in which the first reflecting portion, the second reflecting portion, and the light guiding member are integrated. For example, the first reflecting portion and the second reflecting portion may each be formed of a plate-type element and supported by an arbitrary support member, and the first light combining element may not have a light guiding member.

[0122] In addition, the specific descriptions of the shape, number, arrangement, materials, etc. of each component of the light source device and the projector are not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified as appropriate. Furthermore, in the above embodiments, an example was shown in which the light source device according to the present invention was mounted in a projector using a liquid crystal panel, but this is not limiting. The light source device according to the present invention may also be applied to a projector using a digital micromirror device as a light modulation device. Furthermore, the projector does not need to have multiple light modulation devices, and may be a single-panel projector having only one light modulation device.

[0123] In the above embodiment, the light source device of the present invention is applied to a projector, but the present invention is not limited to this. The light source device of the present invention can also be applied to lighting fixtures, automobile headlights, and the like.

[0124] Summary of this disclosure A summary of this disclosure is provided below.

[0125] (Appendix 1) a first light source unit that emits a first light flux in a first wavelength band; a second light source unit that emits a second light flux in a second wavelength band different from the first wavelength band; a third light source unit that emits a third light flux in a third wavelength band different from the first wavelength band and the second wavelength band; a first light combining element that expands a beam width of the first beam and combines the first beam and the second beam to generate a first combined beam; a second light combining element that combines the first combined light beam and the third light beam to generate a second combined light beam; Equipped with a luminous flux width of the first luminous flux emitted from the first light source unit is equal to or smaller than a luminous flux width of the second luminous flux emitted from the second light source unit, a beam width of the first beam emitted from the first light source unit is smaller than a beam width of the third beam emitted from the third light source unit; The first light combining element makes the beam width of the first light beam emitted from the first light combining element larger than the beam width of the first light beam incident on the first light combining element so as to approach at least one of the beam width of the second light beam and the beam width of the third light beam.

[0126] According to the configuration of Appendix 1, the luminous flux width of the first luminous flux approaches at least one of the luminous flux width of the second luminous flux and the luminous flux width of the third luminous flux, thereby realizing a small light source device that can suppress color unevenness in the image.

[0127] (Appendix 2) a beam width of the first beam emitted from the first light source unit is smaller than a beam width of the second beam emitted from the second light source unit; 2. The light source device according to claim 1, wherein a luminous flux width of the second luminous flux emitted from the second light source unit is smaller than a luminous flux width of the third luminous flux emitted from the third light source unit.

[0128] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 2, when each light source unit has a laser light source, it is easy to adjust the color balance of the second combined light beam.

[0129] (Appendix 3) The light source device according to claim 2, further comprising a beam width reduction element that reduces the beam width of the third beam emitted from the third light source unit.

[0130] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 3, the beam width of the third beam, which is the largest, can be reduced, making it easy to make the beam widths of all the beams uniform.

[0131] (Appendix 4) 4. The light source device according to claim 3, wherein the light beam width reduction element is provided on an optical path of the third light beam between the third light source unit and the second light combining element.

[0132] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 4, the beam width of the third beam is reduced before it enters the second beam combining element, so that the second beam combining element can be made smaller.

[0133] (Appendix 5) the first light combining element makes the beam width of the first light beam emitted from the first light combining element larger than the beam width of the first light beam incident on the first light combining element so as to approach the beam width of the second light beam; 5. The light source device according to claim 3, wherein the light beam width reduction element reduces the light beam width of the third light beam emitted from the light beam width reduction element to be smaller than the light beam width of the third light beam incident on the light beam width reduction element so as to bring the light beam width of the third light beam emitted from the light beam width reduction element closer to the light beam width of the second light beam.

[0134] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 5, the beam width of the smallest first beam and the beam width of the largest third beam are each matched to the beam width of the second beam, thereby enabling the light source device to be efficiently miniaturized.

[0135] (Appendix 6) 6. The light source device according to claim 3, wherein the light beam width reduction element includes an afocal optical element.

[0136] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 6, the configuration of the light beam width reduction element can be simplified.

[0137] (Appendix 7) The first light combining element is a first reflecting section that transmits a portion of the first light beam in a first direction, reflects another portion of the first light beam in a second direction intersecting the first direction, and transmits the second light beam in the second direction; a second reflecting section that reflects a part of the first light beam that is transmitted through the first reflecting section in the second direction and transmits the second light beam in the second direction; 7. The light source device according to claim 1, comprising:

[0138] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 7, the beam width of the first beam can be appropriately adjusted by changing the distance between the first reflecting portion and the second reflecting portion.

[0139] (Appendix 8) the first light combining element further includes a light guiding member that guides the first light flux between the first reflecting portion and the second reflecting portion, 8. The light source device according to claim 7, wherein the first reflecting portion and the second reflecting portion are provided on the light-guiding member.

[0140] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 8, since the first reflecting portion and the second reflecting portion are supported by the light-guiding member, it is easy to improve the relative positional accuracy of the first reflecting portion and the second reflecting portion. Furthermore, since a separate support member for supporting the first reflecting portion and the second reflecting portion is not required, it can contribute to miniaturization of the light source device.

[0141] (Appendix 9) a first diffusing element disposed between the first light combining element and the second light combining element, the first diffusing element diffusing the first combined light beam; a second diffusing element provided between the third light source unit and the second light combining element, which diffuses the third light flux; The light source device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising: a third diffusion element provided on the light exit side of the second light combining element and diffusing the second combined light flux.

[0142] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 9, when this light source device is applied to a projector, speckle noise in an image can be suppressed.

[0143] (Appendix 10) the first light source unit includes a first light emitting element that emits first light that constitutes the first luminous flux, and a first substrate that has a first surface that supports the first light emitting element, the second light source unit includes a second light emitting element that emits second light that constitutes the second luminous flux, and a second substrate that has a second surface that supports the second light emitting element, the third light source unit includes a third light emitting element that emits third light that constitutes the third luminous flux, and a third substrate that has a third surface that supports the third light emitting element, the first surface and the second surface are disposed on the same virtual plane; 9. The light source device according to claim 7, wherein the third surface is disposed so as to intersect with the imaginary plane.

[0144] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 10, the light source units can be arranged efficiently, and the light source device can be made smaller. Furthermore, when a heat sink is provided to cool the light source units, the first light source unit and the second light source unit can share the heat sink.

[0145] (Appendix 11) a third reflecting section that reflects the first light flux emitted from the first light source section and guides it to the first reflecting section, A light source device as described in Appendix 10, wherein, when viewed along the emission direction of the third light beam emitted from the third light source unit, the optical path of the first light beam reflected by the third reflecting unit overlaps with the third surface.

[0146] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 11, it is possible to reduce the size of the light source device, particularly in the direction in which the third surface extends.

[0147] (Appendix 12) 12. The light source device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first light beam is a blue light beam, the second light beam is a green light beam, and the third light beam is a red light beam.

[0148] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 12, a white second combined light beam with excellent white balance can be obtained.

[0149] (Appendix 13) a first light source unit that emits a first light flux in a first wavelength band; a second light source unit that emits a second light flux in a second wavelength band different from the first wavelength band; a third light source unit that emits a third light flux in a third wavelength band different from the first wavelength band and the second wavelength band; a first light combining element that expands the light beam widths of the first light beam and the second light beam and that combines the first light beam, the second light beam, and the third light beam to emit a first combined light beam; a second light combining element that combines a portion of the first light beam, a portion of the second light beam, and a portion of the third light beam to form a second combined light beam that is incident on the first light combining element; Equipped with a luminous flux width of the first luminous flux emitted from the first light source unit is equal to a luminous flux width of the second luminous flux emitted from the second light source unit, a luminous flux width of the first luminous flux emitted from the first light source unit and a luminous flux width of the second luminous flux emitted from the second light source unit are smaller than a luminous flux width of the third luminous flux emitted from the third light source unit, the second light combining element transmits a portion of the first light beam and a portion of the second light beam to make them incident on the first light combining element, and reflects a portion of the third light beam to make them incident on the first light combining element; the first light combining element makes the beam width of the first light beam and the beam width of the second light beam emitted from the first light combining element larger than the beam width of the first light beam and the beam width of the second light beam incident on the first light combining element so as to approximate the beam width of the third light beam emitted from the first light combining element, and generates the first combined beam by combining another part of the first light beam, another part of the second light beam, another part of the third light beam, and the second combined beam.

[0150] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 13, the luminous flux widths of the first and second luminous fluxes approach the luminous flux width of the third luminous flux, thereby realizing a compact light source device that can suppress color unevenness in an image.

[0151] (Appendix 14) A light source device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 13; a light modulation device that modulates light including the second combined light beam emitted from the light source device in accordance with image information; a projection optical device that projects the light modulated by the light modulation device; A projector equipped with

[0152] According to the configuration of Supplementary Note 15, a projector capable of projecting an image with little color unevenness can be realized. [Explanation of symbols]

[0153] 10...Projector, 11,71...First light source unit, 12,62,72...Second light source unit, 13,73...Third light source unit, 15,63,75,93...First light combining element, 16,52,94...Second light combining element, 17...Light beam width reduction element, 19...First diffusion plate (first diffusion element), 20...Second diffusion plate (second diffusion element), 31...First light-emitting element, 33...First substrate, 33a...First surface, 34...Second light-emitting element, 36...Second substrate, 36a...Second surface, 37...Third light-emitting element, 39...Third substrate, 39a...Third surface, 40,80 ,99...light-guiding member, 41,65,81,97...first reflecting portion, 42,98...second reflecting portion, 43...third reflecting portion, 45...third diffuser (third diffuser element), 100,120,130,140,150...light source device, 400B,400G,400R...light modulation device, 600...projection optical device, LB...blue light beam (first light beam), LG...green light beam (second light beam), LR...red light beam (third light beam), LC,LC1...first combined light beam, LW,LW1...second combined light beam, WB,WG,WR...light beam width, K1,K2...virtual plane.

Claims

1. a first light source unit that emits a first light flux in a first wavelength band; a second light source unit that emits a second light flux in a second wavelength band different from the first wavelength band; a third light source unit that emits a third light flux in a third wavelength band different from the first wavelength band and the second wavelength band; a first reflecting portion and a sixth reflecting portion that expand the beam width of the first beam; a second light combining element that combines the first light beam and the second light beam, a luminous flux width of the first luminous flux emitted from the first light source unit is smaller than a luminous flux width of the second luminous flux emitted from the second light source unit; a light source device in which the first reflecting portion and the sixth reflecting portion make the beam width of the first light beam emitted from the first reflecting portion and the sixth reflecting portion larger than the beam width of the first light beam incident on the first reflecting portion and the sixth reflecting portion so as to bring the beam width closer to the beam width of the second light beam.

2. The luminous flux width of the first luminous flux emitted from the first light source unit is smaller than the luminous flux width of the second luminous flux emitted from the second light source unit; The light source device according to claim 1 , wherein a luminous flux width of the third luminous flux emitted from the third light source unit is smaller than a luminous flux width of the second luminous flux emitted from the second light source unit.

3. The third light beam is further incident on the first reflecting portion and the sixth reflecting portion, 3. The light source device according to claim 2, wherein the first reflecting portion and the sixth reflecting portion make the beam width of the third beam emitted from the first reflecting portion and the sixth reflecting portion larger than the beam width of the third beam incident on the first reflecting portion and the sixth reflecting portion so as to bring the beam width of the third beam closer to the beam width of the second beam.

4. A first diffusing element that diffuses two of the first light beam, the second light beam, and the third light beam; a second diffusing element that diffuses a light beam that does not pass through the first diffusing element among the first light beam, the second light beam, and the third light beam; The light source device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a third diffusion element that diffuses the first light flux, the second light flux, and the third light flux.

5. The first reflecting portion transmits a part of the first light beam in a first direction and reflects another part of the first light beam in a second direction intersecting the first direction; The sixth reflecting portion is The light source device according to claim 1 , wherein a part of the first light flux transmitted through the first reflecting portion is reflected in the second direction.

6. the first light source unit includes a first light-emitting element that emits first light constituting the first luminous flux, and a first substrate that has a first surface that supports the first light-emitting element, the second light source unit includes a second light-emitting element that emits second light constituting the second luminous flux, and a second substrate that has a second surface that supports the second light-emitting element, the third light source unit includes a third light emitting element that emits third light constituting the third luminous flux, and a third substrate that has a third surface that supports the third light emitting element, the first surface and the second surface are disposed on the same virtual plane; The light source device according to claim 5 , wherein the third surface is disposed so as to intersect with the imaginary plane.

7. A light source device as described in claim 1, wherein the first light beam is a green light beam, the second light beam is a red light beam, and the third light beam is a blue light beam.

8. The light source device according to claim 1 ; a light modulation device that modulates the light emitted from the light source device in accordance with image information; a projection optical device that projects the light modulated by the light modulation device; A projector equipped with

Images