2665results about "Color photography" patented technology

There are many inventions described herein. Some aspects are directed to methods and / or apparatus to provide relative movement between optics, or portion(s) thereof, and sensors, or portion(s) thereof, in a digital camera. The relative movement may be in any of various directions. In some aspects, relative movement between an optics portion, or portion(s) thereof, and a sensor portion, or portion(s) thereof, are used in providing any of various features and / or in the various applications disclosed herein, including, for example, but not limited to, increasing resolution, optical and electronic zoom, image stabilization, channel alignment, channel-channel alignment, image alignment, lens alignment, masking, image discrimination, range finding, 3D imaging, auto focus, mechanical shutter, mechanical iris, multi and hyperspectral imaging, and / or combinations thereof. In some aspects, movement is provided by actuators, for example, but not limited to MEMS actuators, and by applying appropriate control signal thereto.

There are many, many inventions described herein. In one aspect, what is disclosed is a digital camera including a plurality of arrays of photo detectors, including a first array of photo detectors to sample an intensity of light of a first wavelength and a second array of photo detectors to sample an intensity of light of a second wavelength. The digital camera further may also include a first lens disposed in an optical path of the first array of photo detectors, wherein the first lens includes a predetermined optical response to the light of the first wavelength, and a second lens disposed in with an optical path of the second array of photo detectors wherein the second lens includes a predetermined optical response to the light of the second wavelength. In addition, the digital camera may include signal processing circuitry, coupled to the first and second arrays of photo detectors, to generate a composite image using (i) data which is representative of the intensity of light sampled by the first array of photo detectors, and (ii) data which is representative of the intensity of light sampled by the second array of photo detectors; wherein the first array of photo detectors, the second array of photo detectors, and the signal processing circuitry are integrated on or in the same semiconductor substrate.

An imaging system, comprising a broadband unpolarized white light source (81), a polarization converter system for converting polarization axes of unpolarized white light into a substantially single polarization axis, to produce a beam of polarized light, a selective polarization filter (82), adapted to selectively rotate a polarization axis of a selected spectral band of light of the with respect to remaining polarized light based on a control signal (119), a polarized beam splitter (84), for separating light having a the substantially single polarization axis from light having a rotated polarization axis, a pair of electro-optic spatial light modulators (86, 89), disposed along a path of light within the spectral band and a path of remaining light outside the spectral band, respectively, and being adapted to modulate an image therein, and a polarized beam splitter (88), for recombining modulated light from the pair of light modulators. In a preferred embodiment, the selective polarization filter (82, 72) is divided into a plurality of regions (70, 71), each adapted to independently and selectively rotate a polarization axis of a selected spectral band of light of the with respect to remaining polarized light.

A light source apparatus includes: an excitation light source including a laser light source; a first wheel that is controlled to rotate, and includes, in a part of a surface thereof to be illuminated by excitation light emitted from the excitation light source, a phosphor layer to be excited by the excitation light; a dichroic mirror that guides fluorescence emitted from the phosphor layer of the first wheel and the excitation light to an illumination optical system; and a second wheel that is controlled to rotate, and includes a dichroic filter that transmits light having a desired wavelength component of each of the fluorescence and the excitation light output from the dichroic mirror.

An apparatus, system, and method for generating a projected display is disclosed. A light source generates red, green, and blue light using arrays of extended cavity surface emitting semiconductor lasers. The beams of individual lasers overlap and have a distribution of optical attributes selected to reduce speckle on a display surface.

A small-sized and light-weight projector apparatus capable of projecting images of high picture quality. A color separation / synthesis section of a projector apparatus includes a glass block body composed of a plurality of glass blocks combined together in such a manner that the corresponding sides are in close contact with each other; and a plurality of dielectric multilayer films for separating corresponding component rays of white light included in incident light and for synthesizing emitted rays from a plurality of corresponding spatial modulators. Shapes of individual glass blocks are respectively chosen in so that unnecessary rays generated by the reflection or transmission of reflected rays from respective spatial modulators at the corresponding dielectric multilayer films to be transmitted through or reflected from do not travel toward the reflective surface of any of spatial modulators and moreover after the reflection or transmission at the corresponding dielectric multilayer film, the unnecessary rays first enter the surface of the glass block with an incidence less than 30.

A projection display system has at least one light-recycling illumination system, a color scroller and an imaging light modulator. The light-recycling illumination system includes a light source that is enclosed within a light-recycling envelope. The light source is a light-emitting diode that emits light, and a fraction of that light will exit the light-recycling envelope through an aperture. The light-recycling envelope recycles a portion of the light emitted by the light source back to the light source in order to enhance the luminance of the light exiting the aperture. The fraction of the light that exits the aperture is partially collimated and is directed to a color scrolling means. The color scroller scans the partially collimated light across the face of the imaging light modulator. The imaging light modulator spatially modulates the scrolled beam of light to form an image.

A digital micro-mirror device (DMD) format conversion system for outputting a stereoscopic encoded optical signal using a DMD and a color wheel is provided. The DMD format conversion system includes a 3D data formatter for receiving an input signal and a DMD data formatter for receiving an output signal having stereoscopic image information and control information from the 3D data formatter and for outputting a DMD output signal having stereoscopic image information and control information. A color wheel control signal and output digital micro-mirror device data are synchronized based on an output frame rate generated by the 3D data formatter independent of the original input frame rate.

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) emit light at a first wavelength. A phosphor material close to LEDs converts at least some of the light to a second wavelength. The light at both wavelengths passes through a light collecting unit. A reflecting polarizer transmits both wavelengths in a first polarization state and reflects light at both wavelengths in a second, orthogonal, polarization state. Light reflected by the reflective polarizer is directed back towards the phosphor material without any substantial increase in angular range. The resulting output light beam contains polarized light at the first and second wavelengths. In some embodiments, an array of LEDs includes LEDs that emit light at a first wavelength and others that emit light at a second wavelength. The phosphor material is disposed on the LEDs emitting the light at the first wavelength.

The phosphor wheel (wavelength conversion element) includes: a substrate; a light-emitting element having at least a phosphor layer provided on one surface of the substrate; and a first reflective portion provided in at least a first side face of the phosphor layer to change a propagation direction of the light propagating inside the phosphor layer such that an angle with respect to a normal line of the emission face where the fluorescent light is emitted from the light-emitting element is reduced.

An illumination system for increasing the brightness of a light source comprises an optical recycling device coupled to the light source, preferably light emitting diode (LED), for spatially and / or angularly recycling light. The optical recycling device spatially recycles a portion of rays of light emitted by the LED back to the light source using a reflector or mirror and / or angularly recycles high angle rays of light and transmits small angle rays of light, thereby increasing the brightness of the light source's output.

An illuminating device for emitting light onto a light modulating element that forms an image in accordance with a modulation signal and irradiates a target to be illuminated with light, the illuminating device includes a substrate on which equal to or more than two phosphors that emit light with exciting light are formed in a band-like form along a predetermined direction, equal to or more than two light collecting units that are arranged for the respective equal to or more than two phosphors, and collect light components emitted from the respective equal to or more than two phosphors, and a driving unit that drives the substrate in the predetermined direction.

A light source device includes a phosphor layer formed on a base, and an excitation light source exciting the phosphor. A dichroic mirror is arranged between the phosphor layer and the excitation light source and inclined with respect to a propagation direction of excitation light from the excitation light source. An incident region of the excitation light and an exiting region of fluorescence emitted from the phosphor belong to a space on the same side with respect to the surface with the phosphor layer disposed. In a dominant wavelength of the excitation light, the dichroic mirror has a spectral characteristic of transmitting 50% or more of light of a p-polarized component and reflecting 50% or more of light of a s-polarized component. Fluorescence emitted from the phosphor layer can be extracted highly efficiently and propagated by a compact and simple optical system.

The light source device includes a first light source component, a fluorescent component, a first illuminance homogenizer, and a relay optical system. The first light source component emits laser light. The fluorescent component has a phosphor. The phosphor is excited by laser light. The first illuminance homogenizer converts the laser light into laser light showing a spatially uniform light intensity distribution. The first illuminance homogenizer is disposed between the first light source component and the fluorescent component. The relay optical system guides laser light emitted from the first illuminance homogenizer to the fluorescent component. The relay optical system is disposed between the first illuminance homogenizer and the fluorescent component.

A 2-dimensional beam scan unit (2) reflects emission beams from a red laser light source (1a), a green laser light source (1b) and a blue laser light source (1c) and scans in a 2-dimensional direction. Diffusion plates (3a, 3b, 3c) diffuse the respective light beams scanned in the 2-dimensional direction to introduce them to corresponding spatial light modulation elements (5a, 5b, 5c). The respective spatial light modulation elements (5a, 5b, 5c) modulate the respective lights in accordance with video signals of the respective colors. A dichroic prism (6) multiplexes the lights of the three colors after the modulation and introduces the multiplexed lights to a projection lens (7) so that a color image is displayed on a screen (8). Since the 2-dimensional light emitted from the beam scan unit is diffused to illuminate the spatial light modulation element, it is possible to change the optical axis of the beam emerging from the light diffusion member for irradiating the spatial light modulation element moment by moment, thereby effectively suppressing speckle noise.

A light source device has: a light source unit including solid-state light sources emitting blue-color light and a condensing lens; a dichroic mirror polarization separating color light into first and second polarization components; a fluorescence emission plate excited with the first polarization component, emitting fluorescence of green and red components to enter the dichroic mirror; a first retardation plate converting the second polarization component to a circularly polarized light; and a reflection plate reflecting a light passed through the first retardation plate to reenter the same. The color lights from the fluorescence emission plate and the first retardation plate are combined at the dichroic mirror. A second retardation plate converts the polarization direction of the light from the light source unit, so as to control the ratio of p-polarization and s-polarization components. Lights from solid-state light sources are condensed efficiently and a high spectrum-utilization factor is obtained.

An illumination device includes: a light source device adapted to emit an excitation light beam; and a rotating fluorescent plate having a single fluorescent layer adapted to convert a part or whole of the excitation light beam into a fluorescent light beam. The fluorescent light beam includes two or more colored light beams, and the single fluorescent layer is formed on a circular disk, which can be rotated by a motor, continuously along a circumferential direction of the circular disk.

The invention provides electroluminescent (EL) elements, such that a red EL light source, a green EL light source and a blue EL light source emit red color light, green color light, and blue color light, respectively, and are disposed at the rear of liquid crystal display elements. Each EL light source includes an organic EL element in which an organic thin film emits light. Each EL light source has a structure in which an organic luminescent layer is sandwiched between an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode and a metal electrode which have striped patterns which are orthogonal to each other, and sections (luminescent sections) at which the striped patterns of the ITO electrode and the metal electrode intersect with each other emit light. The luminescent sections are arrayed two-dimensionally on a glass substrate and illuminate the entire display area of the liquid crystal display element.

The invention has two main embodiments, a first called column switching and blanking and a second embodiment called doubling. The first embodiment is a projector for displaying a stereoscopic image with projector using one or more digital micromirror devices positioned into a plurality of columns and rows. The projector itself includes a light source, an optical system, a video processing system and a data system for driving the micromirror devices. The data subsystem provides separate data to a plurality of column pairs of the micromirrors. The projector includes a stereoscopic control circuit having a first state of the control circuit for inputting a first eye view of the stereoscopic image and causing the micromirrors of a first column of each column pair to be in various on and off states during said first eye view of said stereoscopic image and for causing all of said micromirrors of a second column of each column pair to be in an off state during said first eye view of said stereoscopic image. A second state of the control circuit is used for inputting a second eye view of the stereoscopic image and causes the micromirrors of the second column of each column pair to be in various on and off states during the second eye view of the stereoscopic image and for causing all of the micromirrors of the first column of each column pair to be in an off state during the second eye view of said stereoscopic image. The second embodiment is a projector for displaying a stereoscopic image with the projector using one or more digital micromirror devices positioned into a plurality of columns and rows. The projector includes a light source, an optical system, a video processing system and a data system for driving said micromirror devices. The data subsystem provides separate data to a plurality of column pairs of the micromirrors. The projector includes a stereoscopic control circuit having a first state for inputting a first eye view of the stereoscopic image and causing each micromirror of each column pair to be in various but identical on and off states during said first eye view of said stereoscopic image. A second state of the control circuit for inputs a second eye view of the stereoscopic image and causes each micromirror of each column pair to be in various but identical on and off states during the second eye view of the stereoscopic image.

A color wheel unit of a projector includes a motor and a color wheel. The color wheel is synchronized with the rotating motion of the motor. The color wheel has a light-irradiated area and a non-irradiated area. The light-irradiated area is positioned in an outer margin of the color wheel and at least a phosphor layer is located on the light-irradiated area. The non-irradiated area is positioned at the inner portion of the color chip. A number of fan blades are located in the non-irradiated area. The fan blades are synchronized with the rotating motion of the color wheel that generates air flow to enhance heat dissipation efficiency of the color wheel.

An image displaying apparatus displaying a color image with favorable quality on a predetermined surface comprises; light source unit for emitting light beams within different wavelength ranges optically modulated by image information; light combining unit for combining light beams from the light source unit into a light beam; scanning unit for scanning a scanned surface with the light beam from the light combining unit and forming image thereon; and controlling unit for synchronously controlling the scanning unit and the light source unit, wherein dividing unit for dividing a light beam into light beams is provided within an arbitrary optical path on light-incident side of the scanning unit; receiving unit and adjustment unit for adjusting quantity of light emission of one or more light source unit based on the light quantity received by the receiving unit are provided on one of the optical paths divided by the dividing unit.