Patent ID: 8335030

Claim:
A method of driving light controlling apparatus which includes a substrate, which has an aperture, a plurality of incident-light controlling units, each having an aperture of different diameter formed thereon, which are displaced on the substrate, a plurality of driving unit which exert on the incident-light controlling unit, an aperture-displacing driving force which displaces the incident-light controlling unit to an aperture position, and a retracting-displacement driving force which displaces the incident-light controlling unit to a retracted position which is different from the aperture position, the incident-light controlling unit is displaced by the driving unit to the aperture position and the retracted position alternately, and incident light passing through the aperture is adjusted, and when one incident-light controlling unit is at the aperture position, the remaining incident-light controlling units are displaced to the retracted position, each of the plurality of incident-light controlling units having a non-coincident axis of rotation, comprising: a step of displacing the incident-light controlling unit, which includes a step of displacing a first incident-light controlling unit disposed at the aperture position, to the retracted position, and a step of displacing a second incident-light controlling unit disposed at the retracted position, to the aperture position, after completion of the step of displacing the first incident-light controlling unit to the retracted position.