Patent ID: 7751066

Claim:
A projecting apparatus for use in projecting patterned light onto an object, wherein the patterned light is generated to define a stripe configuration made up of alternating bright portions and dark portions, the projecting apparatus comprising: a light source; modulating optics allowing at least part of incoming light from the light source to be optically modulated, by angular modulation, and to go out; and an optical system adapted to allow a selected one of a plurality of angular components of light outgoing from the modulating optics, to pass through the optical system, the selected angular component having a radiant angle characteristic that achieves a predetermined entrance numerical aperture, wherein the modulating optics includes: a substrate; and at least one pair of two portions having different surface shapes, wherein the portions are formed on the substrate, such that the portions are alternately arrayed on the substrate, one of the two portions is a portion for allowing light to travel straight, which portion has a surface perpendicular to the incoming light, to thereby allow the incoming light to go out without undergoing modulation by the surface, the other of the two portions is a portion for allowing light to be modulated, which portion has an oblique surface with respect to the incoming light, to thereby allow the incoming light to go out after undergoing modulation by the surface, and outgoing light from one of the portion for allowing light to travel straight and the portion for allowing light to be modulated is a passed-through optical component which will pass through the optical system, and which forms at least one of the bright portions, while outgoing light from the other is a non-passed-through optical component which will not pass through the optical system, and which forms at least one of the dark portions.