This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 96204241, filed on Mar. 16, 2007. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a projection apparatus and an illumination system thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Along with the progress of science and technology, diversified projection apparatus have been broadly applied in various situations, such as bulletin, addressing, theater, AV teaching, interactive teaching, home theater combination, and the like. Conventionally, a projection apparatus usually includes an illumination system, a light valve and an imaging system, and the illumination system includes multiple optical elements, such as a lamp, a color wheel, a light integration rod and lenses. The lamp is employed for providing a light beam, which sequentially passes through the optical elements, the light valve and the imaging system, followed by being projected onto a screen to display an image.
While the lamp is providing a light beam, extremely-high heat energy is generated, therefore, the projection apparatus often includes a fan for cooling the lamp. On the other hand, while the light beam passes through the optical elements, additional heat energy is also generated. To resolve the problem, some projection apparatus include wind-guiding devices for shunting the cooling airflow provided by the fan into the optical elements for cooling. Among the projection apparatus with the above-mentioned scheme, an U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,575 (as shown by
Referring to
Referring to
It is remarkable that each of the projection apparatus provided by the above-mentioned two patents includes multiple ducts for guiding a cooling airflow, while the lamp and the multiple optical elements of the projection apparatus share the cooling airflow through the ducts for heat dissipation. However, the above-mentioned duct has a plurality of bending corners, which not only increases the production cost of a wind-guiding device (i.e. the first duct 16, the second duct 17 and the ventilating manifold 26), but also lowers the cooling efficiency of the cooling airflow due to a larger wind resistance resulting from the bending corners.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a projection apparatus and an illumination system thereof, and a part of the cooling airflow provided by a fan directly is blown to a lamp of the illumination system, while another part of the cooling airflow is guided by multiple bending corners of a wind-guiding device to be directly blown to optical elements of the illumination system, which enables the lamp and the optical elements share the cooling airflow provided by the fan for heat dissipation.
The present invention is also directed to a projection apparatus and an illumination system thereof, wherein a wind-guiding device with a less wind resistance is included.
As embodied and broadly described herein, one embodiment of the present invention provides an illumination system, which includes a lamp, at least an optical element, a fan and a wind-guiding device. The lamp herein is employed for providing an illumination beam having an optic axis. The optical element is disposed on the transmission path of the illumination beam. The fan has a central axis and the extended direction of the central axis is slanted to the optic axis with an angle. The wind-guiding device includes a frame and a wind-guiding portion, the frame is disposed beside the lamp, and has a first carrying surface, a second carrying surface opposite to the first carrying surface and an opening going through the first carrying surface and the second carrying surface. The fan is disposed on the first carrying surface, and the second carrying surface faces towards the lamp and the optical element. The wind-guiding portion includes a wind-guiding plate and two baffles opposite to each other, and the wind-guiding plate is extended from a side of the frame towards the optical element and has a bending corner. The baffles are extended from a side towards the optical element and respectively connected to the top and the bottom of the wind-guiding plate. The fan is suitable for providing a cooling airflow. A part of the cooling airflow passes through the opening and then is blown directly to the lamp, and another part of the cooling airflow is guided by the bending corner of the wind-guiding portion and then blown directly to the optical element.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention also provides a projection apparatus, which includes the above-mentioned illumination system, a light valve and a projection lens, wherein the illumination system is for providing an illumination beam, the light valve is disposed on the transmission path of the illumination beam for converting the illumination beam into an image beam and the projection lens is disposed on the transmission path of the image beam.
According to the present invention, the angle is formed between the extended direction of the central axis of the fan and the optic axis, and the wind-guiding plate has the bending corner, therefore, a part of the cooling airflow provided by the fan is able to be directly blown to the lamp, while another part thereof is directly blown to the optical element by means of guiding of the wind-guiding device. Accordingly, the lamp and the optical element may share the cooling airflow provided by the fan for heat dissipation. Moreover, the second carrying surface of the frame faces towards the lamp and the optical element, which is able to reduce the quantity of the bending corners of the wind-guiding portion and lower the wind resistance of the wind-guiding portion. Thus, the dissipation efficiency of the cooling airflow is effectively promoted and the number of fans required in the projection apparatus and the illumination system thereof may be comparative reduced.
Other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be further understood from the further technological features disclosed by the embodiments of the present invention wherein there are shown and described preferred embodiments of this invention, simply by way of illustration of modes best suited to carry out the invention.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. The components of the present invention can be positioned in a number of different orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. On the other hand, the drawings are only schematic and the sizes of components may be exaggerated for clarity. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein are meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. Similarly, the terms “facing,” “faces” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect facing, and “adjacent to” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass directly and indirectly “adjacent to”. Therefore, the description of “A” component facing “B” component herein may contain the situations that “A” component facing “B” component directly or one or more additional components is between “A” component and “B” component. Also, the description of “A” component “adjacent to” “B” component herein may contain the situations that “A” component is directly “adjacent to” “B” component or one or more additional components is between “A” component and “B” component. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
Referring to
The wind-guiding device 140 includes a frame 142 and a wind-guiding portion 144 extended from a side of the frame 142 towards the optical element 120. The frame 142 is disposed beside the lamp 110 and has a first carrying surface 142a, a second carrying surface 142c (shown in
According to the embodiment, the projection apparatus 30 includes the above-mentioned illumination system 100, a light valve 200 and a projection lens 300. The light valve 200 is disposed on the transmission path of the illumination beam 110a and capable of converting the illumination beam 110a into an image beam 200a. The projection lens 300 is disposed on the transmission path of the image beam 200a and capable of projecting the image beam 200a onto a screen (not shown) to display an image.
Referring to
The fan 130 is, for example, an axial fan. In addition, the illumination system 100 further includes a light box 150, and the lamp 110 (shown in
The illumination system 100 further includes an optical engine base 160, and the optical element 120 (shown in
Referring
In more detail, the wind-guiding device 140 further has a first side wall 146 and a second side wall 148 opposite to the first side wall 146. The first side wall 146 has multiple first thread holes 146a, while the second side wall 148 has two embedding portions 148a (shown in
It is noted that the top surface 146b of the first side wall 146 and the top surface 148b of the second side wall 148 are parallel to the first carrying surface 142a, the connection line of the first thread holes 146a is not parallel to the first carrying surface 142a, and the bottom surfaces 148c of the embedding portions 148a are not parallel to the first carrying surface 142a, therefore, when the first thread holes 146a are aligned with the corresponding second thread holes 156a and the lugs 154b are supported onto the bottom surfaces 148c of the embedding portions 148a, the opening 142b and the second carrying surface 142c of the wind-guiding device 140 face towards the lamp 110 and the optical element 120.
The above-described embodiment does not limit the scope of the present invention as such. For example, the first side wall 146 may have embedding portions (not shown), and the second surface 154 may also have two lugs located at the edge of the second surface 154 and adjacent to the third surface 156 to make the opening 142b and the second carrying surface 142c facing towards the lamp 110 and towards the optical element 120 with an angle slanted to the direction of the optical element 120 once the lugs adjacent to the third surface 156 are supported onto the embedding portions of the first side wall 146. Alternatively, the second side wall 148 and the fourth surface (not shown) may also respectively have first thread holes (not shown) and second thread holes (not shown) to make the opening 142b facing towards the optical element 120 with an angle slanted to the direction of the optical element 120 once the first thread holes of the second side wall 148 are aligned with the corresponding second thread holes of the fourth surface.
In addition, the illumination system 100 may further include another wind-guiding device 170 disposed beside the lamp 110, and the wind-guiding device 170 is connected to, for example, the surface opposite to the second surface 152 of the light box 150, so that the cooling airflow 130a blown to the lamp 110 is discharged out of the illumination system 100 via the wind-guiding device 170.
In summary, the projection apparatus and the illumination system thereof according to the embodiment of the present invention has at least one or more of the following advantages.
1. The frame has no bending corner, so that a part of the cooling airflow provided by the fan is directly blown to the lamp, and the frame poses a negligible wind resistance over the cooling airflow.
2. Another part of the cooling airflow is directly blown to the optical element by means of guiding of the bending corner of the wind-guiding portion, thus, the lamp and the optical element share the cooling airflow provided by the fan for heat dissipation.
3. The wind-guiding plate of the wind-guiding portion has a bending corner only, which makes the wind-guiding portion to cause a less wind resistance. Therefore, the dissipation efficiency of the cooling airflow is improved and the projection apparatus and the illumination system thereof are allowed to employ fewer fans with better dissipation efficiency.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. The embodiments are chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its best mode practical application, thereby to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Therefore, the term “the invention”, “the present invention” or the like is not necessary limited the claim scope to a specific embodiment, and the reference to particularly preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention does not imply a limitation on the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The abstract of the disclosure is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure of any patent issued from this disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Any advantages and benefits described may not apply to all embodiments of the invention. It should be appreciated that variations may be made in the embodiments described by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Moreover, no element and component in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element or component is explicitly recited in the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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96204241 | Mar 2007 | TW | national |