Patent ID: 7327521

Claim:
A colored light synthesis element for synthesizing interiorly light input from a plurality of incidence planes so as to emit the synthesized light, the colored light synthesis element comprising: a first incidence plane; a second incidence plane approximately orthogonal to the first incidence plane; a third incidence plane approximately parallel to the first incidence plane and approximately orthogonal to the second incidence plane; a first synthesis plane and a second synthesis plane located inside the color synthesis element approximately orthogonal to each other; a fourth incidence plane; and a third synthesis plane for transmitting first synthesized light synthesized through the first synthesis plane and the second synthesis plane input at the first, second and third incidence planes, and for reflecting light of a fourth color component input at the fourth incidence plane; wherein the first synthesis plane reflects light of a first color component input at the first incidence plane, and transmits light of a second color component input at the second incidence plane, at least a portion of the light of the second color component having the same color component as the first color component, and light of a third color component input at the third incidence plane; wherein the second synthesis plane reflects the light of the third color component input at the third incidence plane, and transmits the light of the first color component input at the first incidence plane and the light of the second color component input at the second incidence plane, so that each light input at the first, second, and third incidence planes is synthesized through the first synthesis plane and the second synthesis plane; and wherein the third synthesis plane is placed so that an incident angle of the first synthesized light and the fourth color component is smaller than an incident angle of light input at the first synthesis plane from the first, second and third incidence planes and an incident angle of light input at the second synthesis plane from the first, second and third incidence planes.