Patent ID: 6805450
Filing Date: 2004-10-19
Classification: G03B

Abstract:
A projector that projects and displays an image, comprising:an illuminating optical system that emits illumination light having an optical path; an optical modulation device that modulates the illumination light emitted from the illuminating optical system; and a projection optical system that projects light emitted from the optical modulation device, the optical modulation device being an emitting direction control-type optical modulation device that controls a direction of emission of illumination light applied to a light application surface of the optical modulation device according to a given image signal to modulate the illumination light, thereby emitting image light representing an image, and the illuminating optical system comprising: a light source; a first condenser lens and a second condenser lens; and a first lens array having a plurality of first small lenses for dividing light emitted from the source into a plurality of partial light beam fluxes, each of the first small lenses having a surface outline of quadrilateral shape of unequal cross-diagonal lengths, at least one pair of opposite sides of the quadrilateral shape being non-parallel: and a second lens array having a plurality of second small lenses corresponding to the plurality of first small lenses, the illumination optical system including a color wheel having a plurality of color filters rotatably formed thereon, and the first condenser lens, the color wheel and the second condenser lens being respectively arranged between the light source and the first lens array, thereby shortening a length of the optical path.