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Sony patents light source design for compact image displays

Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony has filed a patent for a light source device that pairs a light emitter with a specific type of lens. The design uses a lens with a low numerical aperture, which controls how much light is captured, combined with a light source that emits light at specific angles.

Why it mattersThis filing suggests Sony is working on optimizing the internal lighting components for its image display devices, potentially leading to more efficient or compact projector and display hardware.

In the filing’s own words

A light source device comprises a light source and an optical system including a lens in an optical path of light from the light source. The lens has a numerical aperture of 0.16 or less and the light source has a radiation angle sum, which is defined as a sum of a first radiation angle measured with respect to a first direction and a second radiation angle measured with respect to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A light source device, comprising: a light source; and an optical system including a lens in an optical path of light from the light source, wherein the lens has a numerical aperture of 0.16 or less, and wherein the light source has a radiation angle sum, the radiation angle sum being a sum of a first radiation angle measured with respect to a first direction and a second radiation angle measured with respect to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

Facts

Company: Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title: LIGHT SOURCE DEVICE AND IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE
Publication number: US20260310058A1
Application number: 18880643
Filed: Jun 2, 2023
Published: Oct 8, 2026
Inventors: 1
Claims: 20

Classified under

G03B 21/208 Physics & computingG03B 21/006 Physics & computingG03B 21/008 Physics & computingG03B 21/2013 Physics & computingG03B 21/2033 Physics & computing

Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.