Patent Application
20080245976
This invention generally relates to light engines for image display projectors
The separation of light into usable colors is a critical function incorporated into projector light engines. Various technologies, such as the sequential color wheels, prism systems, etc., have been developed for such separation of colors from full visible spectrum or “white” light. Color wheels are particular to reflective image generation devices (“imagers”) such as DLP manufactured by Texas Instruments Corp. and may also used in some LCOS systems available from various suppliers. The light source for projection systems is generally broad spectrum (“white light”) sources such as high intensity discharge (“HID”) lamps manufactured by Philips and others. These lamps are typically use 75 to 150 watts power and provide adequate light for projection but are generally inefficient, light quality degrades over time, extensive cooling is required and HID lamps have lifetime limitations. An emerging technology is the use of light emitting diodes (“LED”), which are solid-state laser light sources. They can be monochromatic and can be pulsed. Table 1 is a description of typical design requirements for an LED light source as incorporated into a light engine. Ideally at least three separate, monochromatic LED's, usually in red, blue and green, would be used. Each respective color is turned on and off at a frequency of 3 to 5 KHz. LED light sources are limited by the total lumens generated per color and the relatively large size of the emitting region (etendue) required. LED's can be long lived but are generally low efficiency and generate significant beat that must be removed.
This invention is a method and apparatus for producing a light engine with three separate monochromatic light sources, typically red, blue and green, combined into one light generation device powered by microwaves pulsed at 3-5 KHz rates. The individual light sources are cylindrical or spherical in shape with internal dimensions in any direction generally less than 0.6 mm. They would generally generate power densities exceeding 15,000 watt/cm3.
The principal claim is a light engine with three separate, microwave powered, pulsed, monochromatic light sources, typically one each in red, green and blue. The light sources are lamps that contain selected light generating materials in a background inert gas contained within sapphire or quartz envelopes.
Another principal claim is a new light source, which is microwave powered, pulsed, and either broad spectrum or monochromatic, with applications for light generation in image display projection system, medical or other industrial uses.
Another principal claim is a microwave powered light engine incorporating three separate monochromatic lamps, with a waveguide coupling structure that has three spatially separated resonance locations, and a power supply that can be controlled to adjust the phase of the microwaves by means of an electronic digital phase shifter used to sequentially shift the phase of the microwaves in order to concentrate the power at the three spatially separated resonance locations corresponding to the location of the lamps. Another principal claim is a sapphire envelope lamp with a fill of ZnCl2, or ZnBr2 and Xenon to produce emission primarily in the red spectrum between 620 and 630 nm. It may include a blocking filter to transmit only the radiation within the 620 to 630 nm band.
Another principal claim is a sapphire envelope lamp with a fill of ThCl2, or ThBr2 and Xenon to produce emission primarily in the green spectrum between 520 and 540 nm. It may include a blocking filter to transmit only the radiation within the 520 to 540 nm band.
Another principal claim is a sapphire envelope lamp with a fill of InCl2, or InBr2 and Xenon to produce emission primarily in the blue spectrum between 455 and 465 nm. It may include a blocking filter to transmit only the radiation within the 455 to 465 nm band.
A summary comparison of this new light source with the LED specifications above is as follows:
The Tricolor Microwave Lamp light Engine comprises, for example, the following components:
A microwave power supply 109 feeds microwaves to a microwave coupler 108. The light generated by each respective lamp is directed through a lens, which may be coated with a band pass filter material to eliminate light outside of the desired spectrum. The lens focuses the monochromatic light on an optical guide 107 that directs the light into the optical system of a projector. The lens 104 focuses the light from lamp 103. The lens 105 focuses the light from lamp 102. The lens 106 focuses the light from 101.
A schematic drawing of the elements of the microwave power supply are shown in
The lamp is designed to ignite and emit light during a pulse such as that shown in
It is advantageous for small DLP or LCOS imaging devices, less than 0.65″ in diameter, to have the dimensions of the emitting area from a light source as small as possible while providing sufficient light to project the image generated by the system onto a viewing surface.
With a cylindrical envelope lamp of the subject invention having an internal dimension of approximately 0.3 mm and a length of approximately 0.6 mm, the light output as a function of wavelength is projected to be:
This application claims the benefit of the priority date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/921,791, which was filed on Apr. 4, 2007, and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60921791 | Apr 2007 | US |
