Patent ID: 8186832

Claim:
A projector comprising: a light source; a polarization conversion element array having an entrance surface on which an effective entrance area and an ineffective entrance area are disposed to form stripes, an incident light beam emitted from the light source being required to pass through the effective entrance area, but not to pass through the ineffective entrance area; a modulation device adapted to modulate a linearly polarized light beam emitted from the polarization conversion element array in accordance with an image signal; a projection device adapted to project the modulated light beam; thin film provided on a part of the entrance surface, the thin film including light shielding sections adapted to shield parts of the effective entrance area from the incident light beam; opening sections that are located on other areas of the entrance surface than the parts on which the light shielding sections are provided, at least a part of the opening sections reaching an end of the entrance surface; and a light shielding plate having opening sections and light shielding sections, the opening sections each being formed like a stripe corresponding to the effective entrance area, and the light shielding sections being formed like stripes corresponding to the ineffective area and adapted to block the incident light beam.