Scanning light source system
First Claim
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1. A high brightness illumination system, said system comprising:
- a plurality of modulatable light sources spatially separated in a prearranged pattern;
drive means for exciting said light sources in a predetermined sequence to provide a plurality of light pulses that are separated in space and time; and
scanning means for serially receiving and redirecting the outputs of said plurality of light pulses for travel in rapid succession along one or more collection paths to provide a collective output that is comparatively higher in brightness than would otherwise be possible with the light sources operating individually.
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Abstract
A scanning light source system combines the outputs from multiple, spatially separated, sequentially pulsed light sources for travel in rapid succession along one or more common delivery paths to provide one or more collective outputs that are comparatively higher than would otherwise be possible with the light sources operating singly.
32 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A high brightness illumination system, said system comprising:
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a plurality of modulatable light sources spatially separated in a prearranged pattern;
drive means for exciting said light sources in a predetermined sequence to provide a plurality of light pulses that are separated in space and time; and
scanning means for serially receiving and redirecting the outputs of said plurality of light pulses for travel in rapid succession along one or more collection paths to provide a collective output that is comparatively higher in brightness than would otherwise be possible with the light sources operating individually. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A high brightness illumination system, said system comprising:
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a plurality of modulatable light sources spatially separated in a prearranged pattern wherein said plurality of light sources comprises an array of sources each of which is arranged to emit radiation in a given direction and an array of compound parabolic concentrators (CPC), said array of sources and said array of CPCs being arranged with respect to one another so that each source emits radiation into a corresponding one of said CPCs and the outputs of said CPCs all are pointed in given directions;
collimating optics for receiving said outputs from said CPCs and collimating them for downstream travel as a plurality of collimated beams;
drive means for exciting said light sources in a predetermined sequence to provide a plurality of light pulses that are separated in space and time; and
scanning means for serially receiving and redirecting the outputs of said plurality of light pulses for travel in rapid succession along one or more collection paths to provide a collective output that is comparatively higher in brightness than would otherwise be possible with the light sources operating individually, said scanning means comprising a focusing lens, a re-imaging lens, and a scanning subsystem located intermediate said focusing lens and said re-imaging lens. said focusing lens, said drive means, said scanning subsystem, and said re-imaging lens being configured and arranged with respect to one another so that, when an individual one of said sources is sequenced on by said drive means, said focusing lens images its corresponding collimated beam onto said scanning subsystem, and said re-imaging lens, in turn, re-images it onto the entrance of said collection path. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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33. A method for providing high brightness source of illumination, said method comprising the steps of:
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mounting a plurality of modulatable light sources so that they are spatially separated in a prearranged pattern;
exciting said light sources in a predetermined sequence to provide a plurality of light pulses that are separated in space and time and higher in intensity than would otherwise be produced by said sources operating continuously; and
scanning said outputs of said light sources to serially receive and redirect said outputs for travel in rapid succession along one or more collection paths to provide a collective output that is comparatively higher in brightness than would otherwise be possible with the light sources operating individually. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification