Laser illuminated image producing system and method of using same

Claim 1

An image producing system, comprising: light source means including at least one laser device switchable between an on state and an off state for generating pulses of coherent projection light along an input optical path, wherein said coherent projection light is generated at a maximum luminosity level when said laser device is switched to said on state; spatial light modulator means disposed in said input optical path for modulating said coherent projection light to produce output light representative of the image along an output optical path for facilitating the projection of the image onto a remote surface, wherein substantially all of said output light produced by said spatial light modulator means is projected onto said remote surface; said spatial light modulator means includes a light valve for controlling the luminosity of said output light produced by said spatial light modulator means to facilitate reproducing the image with varying shades on said remote surface; and wherein said light source means includes at least three laser devices, said laser devices including a red laser device, a green laser device, and a blue laser device which are each switched between their on and off states to generate sequential mono-colored pulses of coherent projection light for facilitating the reproduction of the image in full color.

Claim 18

A method of projecting an image, comprising: generating pulses of coherent projection light along an input optical path with a light source means including at least one laser device selectively switchable between an on state and an off state, wherein said coherent projection light is generated at a maximum luminosity level when said laser device is switched to said on state; modulating said coherent projection light with a spatial light modulator means disposed in said input optical path to produce output light representative of the image along an output optical path for facilitating the projection of the image onto a remote surface, wherein substantially all of said output light produced by said spatial light modulator means is projected onto said remote surface; controlling the luminosity of said output light produced by said spatial light modulator means with a light valve to facilitate reproducing the image with varying shades on said remote surface; and using a light source including at least three laser devices, said laser devices including a red laser device, a green laser device, and a blue laser device, and switching each of said laser devices between their on and off states to generate sequential mono-colored pulses of coherent projection light for facilitating the reproduction of the image in full color.

Claim 19

A method of projecting an image, comprising: generating pulses of coherent projection light along an input optical path with a light source means including at least one laser device selectively switchable between an on state and an off state, wherein said coherent projection light is generated at a maximum luminosity level when said laser device is switched to said on state; modulating said coherent projection light with a spatial light modulator means disposed in said input optical path to produce output light representative of the image along an output optical path for facilitating the projection of the image onto a remote surface, wherein substantially all of said output light produced by said spatial light modulator means is projected onto said remote surface; controlling the luminosity of said output light produced by said spatial light modulator means with a light valve to facilitate reproducing the image with varying shades on said remote surface; and using a light source including at least three laser devices, said laser devices including a red laser device, a green laser device, and a blue laser device, and switching each of said laser devices between their on and off states to generate sequential mono-colored pulses of coherent projection light for facilitating the reproduction of the image in full color.

Claim 20

A system for producing a bright image comprising: a plurality of lasers for generating a plurality of different colored laser lights; means for controlling each one of the lasers individually and sequentially to cause them to be energized at a substantially peak ON output luminosity for a short ON period of time, thereby providing a high average output luminosity at a low average energy cost; means for controlling each one of the lasers individually and sequentially to cause them to be activated and deactivated selectively during a portion only of a frame time interval between a near ON output luminosity for a long OFF period of time and said substantially peak ON output luminosity for said short ON period of time to enable the lasers to switch between OFF and ON in an efficient manner; means for forming a bright image from the laser lights; wherein said means for forming includes a deformable mirror device; and an image relaying arrangement for the deformable mirror device to shorten effectively the optical path of the ON light reflected from the deformable mirror device.

Claim 21

A system for producing a bright image comprising: a plurality of lasers for generating a plurality of different colored laser lights; means for controlling each one of the lasers individually and sequentially to cause them to be energized at a substantially peak ON output luminosity for a short ON period of time, thereby providing a high average output luminosity at a low average energy cost; means for controlling each one of the lasers individually and sequentially to cause them to be activated and deactivated selectively during a portion only of a frame time interval between a near ON output luminosity for a long OFF period of time and said substantially peak ON output luminosity for said short ON period of time to enable the lasers to switch between OFF and ON in an efficient manner; means for forming a bright image from the laser lights; wherein said means for forming includes a deformable mirror device; and an image relaying arrangement for the deformable mirror device to shorten effectively the optical path of the ON light reflected from the deformable mirror device.

Claim 24

A method of producing a bright image utilizing a plurality of different colored lasers, comprising: generating a plurality of different colored laser lights; controlling each one of the laser lights individually and sequentially to cause them to be energized at a substantially peak ON output luminosity for a short ON period of time, thereby providing a high average output luminosity at a low average energy cost; controlling each one of the laser lights individually and sequentially to cause them to be activated and deactivated selectively during a portion only of a frame time interval between a near ON output luminosity for a long OFF period of time and said substantially peak ON output luminosity for said short ON period of time to enable the laser lights to switch between OFF and ON in an efficient manner; forming a bright image from the laser lights; wherein the image is formed by using a deformable mirror device; and image relaying from the deformable mirror device to shorten effectively the optical path of the ON light reflected from the deformable mirror device.

Claim 25

A method of producing a bright image utilizing a plurality of different colored lasers, comprising: generating a plurality of different colored laser lights; controlling each one of the laser lights individually and sequentially to cause them to be energized at a substantially peak ON output luminosity for a short ON period of time, thereby providing a high average output luminosity at a low average energy cost; controlling each one of the laser lights individually and sequentially to cause them to be activated and deactivated selectively during a portion only of a frame time interval between a near ON output luminosity for a long OFF period of time and said substantially peak ON output luminosity for said short ON period of time to enable the laser lights to switch between OFF and ON in an efficient manner; forming a bright image from the laser lights; wherein the image is formed by using a deformable mirror device; and image relaying from the deformable mirror device to shorten effectively the optical path of the ON light reflected from the deformable mirror device.