| US 7,511,871 B2 | ||
| Apparatus and methods relating to precision of control illumination exposure | ||
| Nicholas B. MacKinnon, Vancouver (Canada); and Ulrich Stange, Vancouver (Canada) | ||
| Assigned to Tidal Photonics, Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) | ||
| Filed on Sep. 14, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/522,102. | ||
| Application 11/522102 is a continuation of application No. 10/951438, filed on Sep. 27, 2004, granted, now 7,108,402, filed on Sep. 19, 2006. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 60/506120, filed on Sep. 26, 2003. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0274077 A1, Nov. 29, 2007 | ||
| This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer. | ||
| Int. Cl. G02F 1/03 (2006.01); G02B 26/00 (2006.01); F21V 17/02 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 359—259 [359/291; 359/298; 362/321] | 19 Claims |
| 1. A method of lighting an object comprising:
a) directing a light beam along a light path and past a first pixelated spatial light modulator (SLM) configured to accept
the light beam, the first pixelated SLM configured to shutter the light and pass substantially only desired light impinging
on the first pixelated SLM as a partially shuttered light beam,
b) directing the partially shuttered light beam past a second pixelated SLM configured to accept the partially shuttered light
beam from the first pixelated SLM and to pass substantially only desired light impinging on the second pixelated SLM as a
post-shutter light beam,
wherein the first and second pixelated SLMs are operably connected to at least one controller containing computer-implemented
programming that controls an on/off pattern of pixels in the first and second pixelated SLMs to display substantially the
same shutter configuration and thus to simultaneously reject a substantially same pattern of non-desired light from the light
beam or the partially shuttered light beam, respectively, and to pass desired light as the post-shutter light beam consisting
substantially only of a desired selected light output.
|