Light Source Device Beam Reduction and Combination
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in miniaturizing a light source device while maintaining high alignment accuracy, as high afocal magnification ratios require precise alignment but result in insufficient reduction of luminous flux width, preventing the miniaturization of optical elements downstream.
Innovation Solution
A light source device comprising a first and second light source unit, a reduction optical system, and a combining optical system that reduces the bundle of light beams by adjusting the distance between light beams and utilizing a light transmitting and reflecting area configuration to efficiently combine and emit reduced light beams, allowing for miniaturization of downstream optical elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the afocal magnification ratio is high to compress the luminous flux width, then the optical elements can be miniaturized, but the alignment accuracy requirement becomes excessively high
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the light source system into multiple independent light source units (first light source unit and second light source unit with multiple light beams). Each unit is processed separately through the combining optical system, which reduces the alignment sensitivity of the overall system while still achieving luminous flux width compression.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a nested structure where multiple light beams (second light beam and third light beam) are combined within a unified optical path through the combining optical system. This nesting allows the system to achieve high compression ratios while maintaining tolerance to individual beam alignment variations.
2Ease of operation
If the afocal magnification ratio is low to relax alignment requirements, then the installation variation is tolerated, but the luminous flux width compression is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple light beams from different light source units through the combining optical system to form a composite luminous flux. This merging process achieves effective width compression (equivalent to high magnification ratio) while each individual beam can tolerate larger alignment variations (low magnification ratio characteristics).
3Illumination intensity
If multiple light source units are used to improve illumination uniformity, then the light distribution is enhanced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The combining optical system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it combines multiple light beams from different source units, compresses the luminous flux width, and maintains alignment tolerance. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate optical elements for each function, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity despite using multiple light source units.
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 efficient reduction of light beams, minimizing loss and allowing for the miniaturization of optical elements, resulting in a smaller-sized illumination device and projector.
Implementation Method 1
a reduction optical system adapted to reduce the bundle of light beams in the first direction to emit as a reduced bundle of light beams
Implementation Method 2
a combining optical system adapted to one of transmit and reflect the first light beam and one of reflect and transmit the reduced bundle of light beams to thereby combine the first light beam and the reduced bundle of light beams with each other
Data Source
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AI summary
A light source device, an illumination device, and a projector which are capable of thinning a bundle of light beams while being low in afocal magnification ratio, and are small in size are to be provided. The light source device includes a first light source unit adapted to emit a first light beam, a second light source unit adapted to emit a bundle of light beams including a second light beam and a third light beam, a reduction optical system adapted to reduce the bundle of light beams, and a combining optical system adapted to combine the first light beam and the reduced bundle of light beams with each other. There is related the light source device in which defining a plane including an optical axis of the reduced bundle of light beams and parallel to the first direction as a reference plane, a distance between the first light beam and the reference plane is different from a distance between the second light beam and the reference plane, the reduction optical system reduces a distance between the second light beam and the third light beam in the first direction to emit as a fourth light beam and a fifth light beam, the combining optical system is provided with a light transmitting area and a light reflecting area, and the first light beam enters one of the light transmitting area and the light reflecting area, and the fourth light beam and the fifth light beam enter the other of the light transmitting area and the light reflecting area.