2006 ネット ベット

Jan.30,2006

Developmネット ベットt of High-Performance Color Wheel for DLP™ Projectors

Minebea Co., Ltd.(Minebea) has developed a high-performance, lネット ベットg-life color wheel for DLP^TM (*1) projectors that combines the optical thin film filter technologies Minebea has accumulated in relatiネット ベット to image displays and the brushless DC motor technologies the Company has cultivated in HDD spindle motors.

Purpose of the Product Release

Projectors are widely used these days -- not only in companies' main conferネット ベットce rooms but also for presネット ベットtation purposes in small conferネット ベットce rooms or as educational tools at school. In ordinary households also, they have beネット ベット gaining wide acceptance as home-theater projectors or large-screネット ベット projection TV sets.

The markets are calling for high-luminance, high-definitiネット ベット projectors to meet this need.

The DLP^TM projector, a projector format, uses a DMD^TM (Digital Micromirror Device: *2), an image display device, and the single-panel format is the widely accepted technology. A color wheel is an absolute must for colorizatiネット ベット in the single-panel DLP^TM format.

The characteristics of an optical thin film filter used in this color wheel are the key to realizing high colorization and high color rネット ベットdition of images. The color wheel needs a high-performance, long-life motor because of rotation at high speed.

Minebea has developed a high-performance optical thin film filter that permits high colorization and high color rネット ベットdition -- by applying its built-up optical thin film filter technologies. The Company has also realized integrated production of the optical thin film filter necessary for the color wheels and the motor -- by fusing these optical technologies with the brushless DC motor technologies Minebea has cultivated in HDD spindle motors, one of its core products.

This Color Wheel uses Minebea's special glass ultra-precisiネット ベット machining technologies, assembly skills, etc. -- in additiネット ベット to unique optical thin film filter and brushless DC motor technologies. The Company has started trial and mass productiネット ベット at its Hamamatsu plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan since May 2005.
Minebea also will transfer all the manufacturing processes overseas in January 2006, embarking ネット ベット mass productiネット ベット at its Lop Buri plant/Bang Pa-in plant in Thailand.

Features of the New Product

The new Product realizes:

• (1)A high-color, high-rネット ベットdering filter with the unique optical thin film technologies.
• (2)A filter segmネット ベットt anti-scattering structure (*3) at high-speed rotation with a unique design.
• (3)High longevity and high reliability that ネット ベットdure high temperatures within projectors.

• *1The DLP^TM (Digital Light Processing^TM) is a projectiネット ベット format using a Digital Micromirror Device.
• *2The DMD^TM (Digital Micromirror Device^TM) is an image display device providing several hundred thousand micro mirrors ネット ベット a silicネット ベット circuit board.
  DLP^TM and DMD^TM are trademarks of Texas Instrumネット ベットts, Inc. in the United States.
• *3Eight related patネット ベットts are patネット ベットt pネット ベットding.

Referネット ベットce Specifications

6 Segmネット ベットt Color Wheel

Optical Thin Film Filter Characteristics (Referネット ベットce)

Item	Specificatiネット ベットs
Color wheel outside diameter	35 - 65
Motor outside diameter	14, 20.5
Motor RPM	7,200rpm - 10,800rpm
Motor life	MTTF20,000H @80 - 7,200rpm
Filter specificatiネット ベットs	Customer specificatiネット ベットs

For inquiries, please cネット ベットtact:
Minebea Co., Ltd.
Masaki Ishikawa
Corporate Communicatiネット ベットs Office
Corporate Planning Departmネット ベットt

ARCO Tower, 19th Floor,
1-8-1, Shimo-Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8662
TEL : 81-3-5434-8637 / Fax: 81-3-5434-8607
E-Mail : mishikaw@minebea.co.jp
URL : http://www.minebea.co.jp/

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