LED LUMINANCE-ENHANCEMENT AND COLOR-MIXING BY ROTATIONALLY MULTIPLEXED BEAM-COMBINING

• US 20100033946A1
• Filed: 02/11/2009
• Published: 02/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Light Prescriptions Innovators, LLC
• Original Assignee: Light Prescriptions Innovators, LLC
• Inventors: DROSS, Oliver, ALVAREZ, Roberto, FALICOFF, Waqidi, PARKYN, William A. JR., MINANO, Juan Carlos, BENITEZ, Pablo, CHAVES, Julio Cesar
• Granted Patent: US 7,798,675 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/35
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 10/06 flashing, e.g. with rotating reflector or light source signalling lighting devices mounted on vehicles B60Q1/26
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/04 by periodically varying the intensity of light, e.g. using choppers shutters, diaphragms for cameras G03B9/00; devices for eliminating or reducing the effect of flicker in projection systems G03B21/40
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0816 by means of one or more reflecting elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/315 Modulator illumination systems general applications of lighting devices F21V; general optical systems G02B; lamp houses for projectors not peculiar to the presence of an electronic spatial light modulator G03B21/20
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/80 Light emitting diode

Abstract

The present embodiments provide methods and systems for use in providing enhanced illumination. Some embodiments include at least two light sources and one or more smoothly rotating wheels, where the one or more wheels comprises at least one mirror sector, the circumferential portion of the mirror sector is the inverse of the number of said sources, a first source of the sources is so disposed that the mirror sector reflects light from the first source into a common output path, where the first source pulsing such that a duty cycle of the first source corresponds to a time the mirror sector reflects light from the first source into the common output path.

Claims

1. A lighting system comprising at least two light sources and one or more smoothly rotating wheels, said one or more wheels comprising at least one mirror sector, the circumferential portion of said mirror sector being the inverse of the number of said sources, a first source of said at least two sources is so disposed that said mirror sector reflects light from the first source into a common output path, said first source pulsing such that a duty cycle of the first source corresponds to a time said mirror sector reflects light from the first source into said common output path.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said light sources are collimated.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least two light sources are focused to a spot on a corresponding mirror sector of said at least one mirror sector of said one or more wheels.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said one or more wheels comprises multiple wheels each receiving one or more of said spots of said focusing light from said light sources, and further comprising relay lenses so disposed with one of said relay lenses positioned between said multiple wheels as to reimage each spot to a next successive wheel of the multiple wheels.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said wheel is planar and said mirror sector is generally pie-shaped portion thereof, and said wheel comprises a transparent sector that is pie-shaped.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said wheel is multi-conic with multiple mirror sectors, and said multiple mirror sectors are sectors of cones of differing slope

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the multiple mirror sectors comprises a number of mirror sectors equal to the number of said sources with said slope of each of said number of mirror sectors being configured to reflect light from a corresponding light source into said common output path.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of banks of light sources, each said bank of light sources producing a spectrum substantially distinct from each of the other banks of light sources.

9. The system of claim 8 also comprising one or more dichroic mixing mirrors that is positioned to combine respectively two or more of said plurality of banks of light sources producing the substantially distinct spectra.