DISCRETE LIGHTING ELEMENTS AND PLANAR ASSEMBLY THEREOF

• US 20090161361A1
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Published: 06/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oree Advanced Illumination Solutions Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Oree, Advanced Illumination Solutions Inc.
• Inventors: Zimmermann, Micha, Meir, Noam
• Granted Patent: US 8,172,447 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/238
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0065 Manufacturing aspects; Material aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0068 Arrangements of plural sources, e.g. multi-colour light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0073 Light emitting diode [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/008 of the partially overlapping type
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0088 of the light guide or other optical sheets in the package

Abstract

In one aspect, a light-emitting surface includes a plurality of discrete, substantially flat light-emitting illumination devices arranged in a tiled configuration. Each device has a light-emitting area and an unilluminated area, the light-emitting area of a first device occluding at least a portion of the unilluminated area of a second, adjacent device.

Claims

1. A light-emitting surface comprising a plurality of discrete, substantially flat light-emitting illumination devices arranged in a tiled configuration, each device having a light-emitting area and an unilluminated area from which light is not emitted, the light-emitting area of a first device occluding at least a portion of the unilluminated area of a second, adjacent device, wherein each device comprises a light-guide element including spatially distinct in-coupling and out-coupling regions, whereby light entering the in-coupling region is substantially retained within the light-guide element for emission from the out-coupling region.

2. The light-emitting surface of claim 1 wherein each device comprises at least one LED, light emitted from the LED being coupled to the light-guide element in the in-coupling region.

3. The light-emitting surface of claim 2 wherein the LED is a Lambertian light source.

4. The light-emitting surface of claim 2 wherein each illumination device comprises a single LED.

5. The light-emitting surface of claim 2 wherein each illumination device comprises a plurality of LEDs.

6. The light-emitting surface of claim 5 wherein each illumination device comprises a pair of opposed LEDs.

7. The light-emitting surface of claim 5 wherein each illumination device comprises a plurality of adjacent LEDs.

8. The light-emitting surface of claim 1 wherein each light-guide element has a folded architecture such that its out-coupling region hides its in-coupling region.

9. The light-emitting surface of claim 1 wherein the light-emitting surface is flexible.

10. The light-emitting surface of claim 1 wherein the light-guide element further comprises a concentration region for directing a substantial fraction of multidirectional light received in the in-coupling region toward the out-coupling region.

11. The light-emitting surface of claim 10 wherein the light-guide element further comprises a propagation region through which light from the concentration region travels before reaching the out-coupling region.

12. The light-emitting surface of claim 1, further comprising a liquid crystal display panel comprising a plurality of pixels and disposed proximate and in front of the light-emitting illumination devices.

13. A method of forming a planar light-emitting surface from a plurality of light-guide elements, the method comprising:

providing a first light-guide element comprising a first in-coupling region and a first out-coupling region spatially separated therefrom, whereby light entering the first in-coupling region is substantially retained within the first light-guide element for emission from the first out-coupling region; and

overlapping a portion of a second light-guide element above a portion of the first light-guide element to form an overlapping region, the second light-guide element comprising a second in-coupling region and a second out-coupling region spatially separated therefrom, whereby light entering the second in-coupling region is substantially retained within the second light-guide element for emission from the second out-coupling region,

wherein the overlapping region comprises at least the first in-coupling region and at least a portion of the second out-coupling region that completely occludes the first in-coupling region.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein light from the second out-coupling region fully occludes any unilluminated areas of the second light-guide element.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the first light-guide element further comprises a first propagation region and a first concentration region, the second out-coupling region also occluding the first propagation region and the first concentration region.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the first light-guide element is part of a first stripe of elements and the second light-guide element is part of a second stripe of elements.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first and second stripes of elements are asymmetric and arranged adjacently.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first and second stripes of elements are symmetric and interwoven within a matrix of additional symmetric stripes of elements.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

overlapping at least a portion of a third light-guide element above at least a portion of the second light-guide element to form a second overlapping region, the third light-guide element comprising a third in-coupling region and a third out-coupling region spatially separated therefrom, whereby light entering the third in-coupling region is substantially retained within the third light-guide element for emission from the third out-coupling region,

wherein the second overlapping region comprises at least a portion of the third out-coupling region.

20. The method of claim 13 further comprising illuminating each light-guide element using an illumination device comprising a socket formed by the union of a sub-assembly platform and the light-guide element, the socket containing a discrete light source coupled to the in-coupling region of the light-guide element.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the discrete light source is an LED.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the LED is a Lambertian light source.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein each illumination device comprises a single LED.

24. The method of claim 20 wherein each illumination device comprises a plurality of LEDs.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein each illumination device comprises a pair of opposed LEDs.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein each illumination device comprises a plurality of adjacent LEDs.

27. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

providing additional light-guide elements each comprising an in-coupling region and an out-coupling region spatially separated therefrom, whereby light entering an in-coupling region is substantially retained within the corresponding light-guide element for emission from the out-coupling region; and

overlapping a portion of each additional light-guide element above a portion of an adjacent light-guide element such that an out-coupling region occludes every in-coupling region.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the overlapping comprises bending light-guide elements.

29. A discrete, substantially flat light-emitting illumination device comprising a light-guide element including spatially distinct in-coupling and out-coupling regions and at least one light source optically coupled to the in-coupling region, the in-coupling region being adjacent the out-coupling region along a side thereof and folded thereover, light entering the in-coupling region from the light source being substantially retained within the light-guide element for emission from the out-coupling region.

30. The discrete illumination device of claim 29, further comprising a second in-coupling region adjacent the out-coupling region along a second side thereof and folded thereover, light entering the second in-coupling region being substantially retained within the light-guide element for emission from the out-coupling region.

31. The discrete illumination device of claim 29, further comprising at least one light source optically coupled to the second in-coupling region.

32. The discrete illumination device of claim 29, wherein the in-coupling region and the second in-coupling region are optically coupled to different light sources.

33. The discrete illumination device of claim 29, wherein the in-coupling region and the second in-coupling region are optically coupled to the same at least one light source.

34. A method of forming a planar light-emitting surface from a plurality of light-guide elements, the method comprising:

providing a first light-guide element comprising a first in-coupling region and a first out-coupling region, the first in-coupling region and the first out-coupling region being spatially distinct, whereby light entering the first in-coupling region is substantially retained within the light-guide element for emission from the first out-coupling region; and

providing a second light-guide element adjacent to the first light-guide element, the second light-guide element comprising a second in-coupling region and a second out-coupling region, the second in-coupling region and the second out-coupling region being spatially distinct, whereby light entering the second in-coupling region is substantially retained within the light-guide element for emission from the second out-coupling region,

wherein the first out-coupling region occludes the first in-coupling region and the second out-coupling region occludes the second in-coupling region so that the adjacent first and second light-guide elements emit a continuous surface of light.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the light-guide element is flexible.

36. The method of claim 34, further comprising folding the first out-coupling region over the first in-coupling region and folding the second out-coupling region over the second in-coupling region.