Color corrected laser illumination system for night vision applications
First Claim
1. A lighting system for night vision applications comprising:
- a near infrared light source;
a visible, non-red light source;
a beamsplitter arranged to reflect light emitting from one of said near infrared light source or visible light source and transmit light emitting from the other of said near infrared light source or visible light source so as to produce a color-corrected light source; and
an optical element disposed a distance from said color-corrected light source, the optical element having an input surface for receiving light from said color-corrected light source and an output surface for emitting said received light in a desired emission pattern.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A lighting system for night vision applications including a near infrared light source, a visible light source, a beamsplitter and an optical element. The beamsplitter is arranged to reflect light emitting from either the near infrared light source or the visible light source and transmit light emitting from the other of the near infrared light source or visible light source so as to produce a color-corrected light source. The optical element is disposed a predetermined distance from the color-corrected light source. The optical element includes an input surface for receiving light from the color-corrected light source and an output surface for emitting the received light in a desired emission pattern. In one embodiment, each of the near infrared light source and visible light source is associated with respective first and second optical elements. The first and second optical elements are arranged such that the emission patterns of each optical element are substantially identical and overlapping to form a single color-corrected light emission pattern.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A lighting system for night vision applications comprising:
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a near infrared light source;
a visible, non-red light source;
a beamsplitter arranged to reflect light emitting from one of said near infrared light source or visible light source and transmit light emitting from the other of said near infrared light source or visible light source so as to produce a color-corrected light source; and
an optical element disposed a distance from said color-corrected light source, the optical element having an input surface for receiving light from said color-corrected light source and an output surface for emitting said received light in a desired emission pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A lighting system for night vision applications comprising:
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a near infrared light source;
a non-red visible light source;
a first optical element disposed a distance from said near infrared light source, the first optical element having an input surface for receiving light from said near infrared light source and an output surface for emitting said received light in a desired emission pattern; and
a second optical element disposed a distance from said visible light source, the second optical element having an input surface for receiving light from said visible light source and an output surface for emitting said received light in a desired emission pattern, wherein the first and second optical elements are arranged such that the emission patterns of each optical element are substantially identical and overlapping to form a single color-corrected light emission pattern. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A night vision system comprising:
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a near infrared light source;
a non-red visible light source;
a beamsplitter arranged to reflect light emitting from one of said near infrared light source or visible light source and transmit light emitting from the other of said near infrared light source or visible light source so as to produce a color-corrected light source;
a thin-sheet optical element disposed a distance from said color-corrected light source, the optical element having an input surface for receiving light from said color-corrected light source, an output surface approximately perpendicular to the input surface for emitting said received light, and a stepped surface angled between the input surface and the output surface, the stepped surface having a plurality of reflecting facets arranged such that the light is reflected by the plurality of reflecting facets in passing from the input surface to the output surface; and
a camera adapted to receive near infrared light from said near infrared light source reflected off an object within a camera field of view; and
a display adapted to receive data from said camera and display said detected objects. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification