Patent ID: 7564505

Claim:
An optical device comprising: a plurality of light modulators that modulate a plurality of color light components according to image information about each of the color light components, portions of the light modulators being attached to fixing frames; a combining optical unit having an upside, a bottom, an irradiating surface and a plurality of incident surfaces, the combining optical unit configured to combine each of the modulated color light components and irradiate the combined modulated color light components outside of the optical device through the irradiating surface, wherein the light modulators are arranged to face corresponding incident surfaces which the modulated color light components pass through, parts of the light modulators being supported by supporting substrates mounted at the upside and the bottom of the combining optical unit, wherein the supporting substrates and the fixing frames are fixed together by an adhesive comprising a UV-ray curable resin, the supporting substrates made of a same optically transparent glass material and having a same coefficient of thermal expansion as the combining optical unit, and wherein the supporting substrates have rectangular shapes similar in shape to the upside and the bottom of the combining optical unit, the supporting substrates being bonded to the combining optical unit such that one of the four sides of each of the rectangular shapes in a thickness direction is arranged flush with the irradiating surface of the combining optical unit, and the other sides protrude beyond the incident surfaces of the combining optical unit to form protruding portions; and a plurality of heat discharge plates, each of the plates attached to one of the incident surfaces of the combining optical unit and interposed between the protruding portions of the supporting substrates.