Illumination Unit With Multi-Spot Solid-State Light Sources
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Solution Overview
Problem
Projectors using high-intensity discharge lamps are large and consume high power, making it challenging to increase the luminance of illumination light, especially when there are intensity differences between primary color light beams emitted by solid-state light-emitting devices.
Innovation Solution
The use of an illumination unit with multiple solid-state light-emitting devices, each emitting red, green, and blue light beams, where at least one light source has multiple light-emitting spots to adjust relative light emission intensities and eliminate the need for optical unification members, allowing for improved luminance and compactness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a high-intensity discharge lamp is used as a light source, then the luminance of illumination light is improved, but the size of the projector and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the light source system into multiple independent solid-state light-emitting devices, each emitting light of a specific wavelength band (red, green, blue). This segmentation allows each device to be compact while collectively achieving high luminance through additive combination of their light outputs, resolving the contradiction between high luminance and compact size.
2Illumination intensity
If a high-intensity discharge lamp is used as a light source, then the luminance of illumination light is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces a single high-power discharge lamp with multiple low-power solid-state light-emitting devices operating in parallel. Each device consumes less power individually, and their combined light output achieves the required luminance level, thus reducing total power consumption while maintaining high illumination intensity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If individual light beams of three primary colors are used with different intensities, then color display capability is improved, but the luminance of illumination light as a whole decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent assigns different light emission intensities to light-emitting spots of the same wavelength band based on their local characteristics and requirements. By optimizing the intensity distribution locally across multiple spots rather than uniformly, the system achieves both accurate color display and maximized overall luminance output.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines light beams from multiple light-emitting spots of the same wavelength band without requiring optical unification members. The light beams are merged directly through spatial overlap and additive combination, eliminating the need for complex optical components while maintaining color accuracy and maximizing luminance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enables adjustment of light emission intensities between wavelength bands, enhancing the luminance of the illumination light without relying on lower intensity references, thus improving the overall light output and maintaining projector compactness.
Implementation Method 1
a light source which emits a light beam in each of wavelength bands different from one another includes a solid-state light-emitting device
Implementation Method 2
at least one of the light sources includes a laser diode
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~4B
AI summary
An illumination unit includes one or more light sources each including a solid-state light-emitting device configured to emit light from a light emission region including a single or a plurality of light-emitting spots. The solid-state light-emitting device includes a single chip or a plurality of chips each emitting a light beam. Three or more of the light-emitting spots are provided within the whole of one or more light sources, to allow the whole of one or more light sources to emit light beams in two or more wavelength bands different from one another, and the solid-state light emitting device in a first light source which is at least one of the one or more light sources, has a plurality of light-emitting spots which emit light in the same wavelength band.