18818923. COMPACT POLARIZED ILLUMINATORS USING REFLECTIVE POLARIZERS (3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY)
Contents
COMPACT POLARIZED ILLUMINATORS USING REFLECTIVE POLARIZERS
Organization Name
3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY
Inventor(s)
Andrew J. Ouderkirk of Kirkland WA (US)
Erin A. Mcdowell of Afton MN (US)
Zhisheng Yun of Sammamish WA (US)
COMPACT POLARIZED ILLUMINATORS USING REFLECTIVE POLARIZERS
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18818923 titled 'COMPACT POLARIZED ILLUMINATORS USING REFLECTIVE POLARIZERS
Original Abstract Submitted
Projection systems and components thereof are described that are well suited to miniaturization. These systems and components may use one or more of the following features: a folded optical path, as in a reflective cavity or a beamsplitter; an illumination beam that is converging at the place where it impinges upon the spatial light modulator; a beamsplitter that uses opposed prisms of substantially different sizes; a beamsplitter whose obliquely disposed partial reflector defines a first rectangular reference space, and where at least a portion of the light source or at least a portion of the projector lens is disposed within such first rectangular reference space; a system in which a ratio of areas of the first rectangular reference space and a second rectangular reference space is within a specified range, where the second rectangular reference space is just large enough to encompass the optical components of the projector; a system in which the projector lens is small compared to the spatial light modulator.
