Patent ID: RE39951

Claim:
A polarizing conversion device, comprising: a polarizing separation element having a light incident side, a light emergent side, a polarizing separation plane that separate P and S polarized beams by transmitting one of the P and S polarized beams therethrough toward the light emergent side of the polarizing separation element and reflecting the other of the P and S polarized beams, and a reflecting plane disposed substantially parallel with said polarizing separation plane that reflects the other of the P and S polarized beams reflected by said polarizing separation plane toward the light emergent side of the polarizing separation element; a selective phase plate disposed at the light emergent side of said polarizing separation element that aligns a polarization direction of one of the P and S polarized beams separated by said polarizing separation element with a polarization direction of the other of the P and S polarized beams, and a device for preventing light from directly entering said reflecting plane disposed at the light incident side of said polarizing separation element.