Optics: image projectors – Lamp control
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-06
2003-02-18
Adams, Russell (Department: 2851)
Optics: image projectors
Lamp control
C353S086000, C348S743000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06520648
ABSTRACT:
RELATED APPLICATION(S)
Not Applicable
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to color sequential video and multimedia projectors and more particularly to lamp power pulsing apparatuses and methods for improving the projected brightness and color balance of such projectors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Projection systems have been used for many years to project motion pictures and still photographs onto screens for viewing. More recently, presentations using multimedia projection systems have become popular for conducting sales demonstrations, business meetings, and classroom instruction.
In a common operating mode, multimedia projection systems receive analog video signals from a personal computer (“PC”). The video signals may represent still, partial-, or full-motion display images of a type rendered by the PC. The analog video signals are typically converted in the projection system into digital video signals that control a digitally driven image-forming device, such as a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) or a digital micro mirror device (“DMD”).
Significant effort has been invested into developing projectors producing bright, high-quality, color images. However, the optical performance of conventional projectors is often less than satisfactory. For example, suitable projected image brightness is difficult to achieve, especially when using compact portable color projectors in a well-lighted room.
Because LCD displays have significant light attenuation and triple path color light paths are heavy and bulky, portable multimedia projectors typically employ DMD displays in a single light path configuration. Producing a projected color image with this configuration typically requires projecting a frame sequential image through some form of sequential color modulator, such as a color wheel.
The use of color wheels in frame sequential color (“FSC”) display systems has been known for many years and was made famous (or infamous) in early attempts to develop color television sets. With technological advances, however, color wheel display implementations are still useful today.
FIG. 1
shows the operational concept of a typical prior art FSC display system
10
in which a sensor
12
senses a timing mark
14
to detect a predetermined color index position of a motor
16
that rotates a color wheel
18
having respective red (“R”), green (“G”), and blue (“B”) filter segments. A light source
20
projects a light beam
22
through color wheel
18
and a relay lens
24
onto a display device
26
, such as an LCD-based light valve or a DMD. A display controller (not shown) drives display device
26
with sequential R, G, and B image data that are timed to coincide with the propagation of light beam
22
through the respective R, G, and B filter segments of color wheel
18
. Popular commercially available color wheel-based FSC multimedia projection systems are the LP300 series manufactured by In Focus Systems, Inc., of Wilsonville, Oreg., the assignee of this application.
To improve their projected image brightness, multimedia projection systems typically employ a high-intensity discharge (“HID”) arc lamp, which produces a point source of intense polychromatic light that is readily focused by a reflector onto a color wheel. HID arc lamps have many attributes, such as high intensity, efficiency, and reliability. Unfortunately, HID arc lamps provide more light at the blue end of the spectrum than at the red end. This leads to color balance problems, which prior workers attempted to solve in various ways including increasing the angular extent (physical size) of the color wheel R filter segment relative to the B filter segment and/or increasing the attenuation of the color wheel B filter segment relative to the R filter segment. Other workers tried reducing overall brightness levels through color lookup electronics to achieve “headroom” for color adjustments. Unfortunately these “solutions” either caused temporal artifacts or decreased image brightness.
Still other workers added a white (“W”) filter segment to the color wheel to provide a “white peaking” function, which does increase image brightness albeit at a loss of color saturation. Yet others have simply employed more powerful arc lamps, which in compact portable projectors, leads to heat, size, weight, cost, and reliability issues.
What is needed, therefore, is a multimedia projection system having an improved technique for achieving increased image brightness, color saturation, and adjustable color-balance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of this invention is, therefore, to provide an apparatus and a method for improving the brightness, color saturation, and color balance of an image projected by an FSC multimedia projector.
A frame sequential color display projection system of this invention includes an arc lamp having a predetermined power rating for providing a source of polychromatic light that propagates through a color wheel that sequentially provides R, G, B, and optionally, W light colors during respective sequential time periods. A display controller is synchronized with the color wheel to generate color image data during the respective time periods. A light valve, such as a DMD, receives the color image data for generating the frame sequential color display. A lamp ballast power supply is also synchronized with the color wheel to provide nominal and boosted power levels to the arc lamp during selected ones of the time periods such that the projector provides a brighter display without requiring the arc lamp to operate at an average power level exceeding its predetermined power rating.
In a preferred embodiment, the color wheel includes a W filter segment and the lamp ballast provides the boosted power level during the time period when the W filter segment traverses the light source to provide a W peaking function.
In an alternative embodiment, the color wheel provides R, G, and B light colors during respective first, second, and third time periods, and the lamp ballast provides different power levels to the arc lamp during predetermined combinations of the time periods to balance the colors displayed by the system.
In yet another alternative embodiment in which the arc lamp is deficient in R emission, the color wheel has R, G, and B filter segments with different angular extents, and the R filter segment has a larger angular extent to compensate for the reduced R emission of the arc lamp. The lamp ballast provides different power levels to the arc lamp during non-R time periods to compensate for the brightness loss resulting from the larger angular extent of the R filter segment.
The main advantages of this invention are that it boosts brightness or white peaking of an FSC projection system, enables color-balancing functions, and improves color saturation without resorting to higher average power illumination, reduced overall brightness, or decreased color saturation caused by increasing the angular extent of color wheel white segments.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5706061 (1998-01-01), Marshall et al.
patent: 6054832 (2000-04-01), Kunzman et al.
patent: 6155687 (2000-12-01), Peterson
Pruett Henry Frazier
Stark Steven E.
Adams Russell
InFocus Corporation
Sever Andrew
Stoel Rives LLP
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