Patent ID: 7419266

Claim:
A projector that projects lights to a screen for displaying a visible projection image observed from a projection side, the projector comprising: a laser beam source that outputs a laser beam being modulated based on an image signal, the laser beam being shaped into light parallel to a first direction; a scanning unit that scans the laser beam output by the laser beam source in a second direction, which is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, in a reciprocating manner such that the projection image is displayed on the screen; a scan driving unit that drive controls the scanning unit by a first force; a retaining unit that stops and retains the scanning unit at a predetermined position by a second force, when the second force is greater than the first force; and a light shielding unit being disposed at a position where the laser beam is prevented from emitting to the outside of the projector for shielding the laser beam from the scanning unit that is retained at the predetermined position by the retaining unit, the position being where the laser beam reflected from the scanning unit enters when the scanning unit is retained at a predetermined position, wherein the scan driving unit releases the scanning unit retained by the retaining unit and drives the scanning unit when the first force is greater than the second force.