Lenticulated lens with improved light distribution

• US 5,442,252 A
• Filed: 11/16/1992
• Issued: 08/15/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Golz, Thomas M.
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Shea, Sandra L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Vip
• Application Number:
  US07/976,794
• Time in Patent Office: 1,002 Days
• Field of Search: 362/309, 362/337, 362/340, 362/332, 313/111, 313/116, 313/113, 359/619, 359/621, 359/626, 340/468
• US Class Current: 313/111
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0028 refractive and reflective surfaces, e.g. non-imaging catadioptric systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0047 for use with a light source G02B19/009, G02B19/0095 take precedence; details of lighting devices in general F21V; non-semiconductor lasers having optical devices external to the laser cavity H01S3/005
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0043 Inhomogeneous or irregular arrays, e.g. varying shape, size, height
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0056 arranged along two different directions in a plane, e.g. honeycomb arrangement of lenses G02B3/0043 takes precedence; miniaturised objectives for electronic devices employing wafer level optics G02B13/0085
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/02 with non-spherical faces G02B3/10 takes precedence

Abstract

A lenticular lens containing a multiplicity of multi-sided lenticules useful with reflector lamps provides improved light distribution by having the lenticules oriented to avoid parallelism with a projected light image and distributed in a plurality of zones or bands concentric about said optical center. The size and light-spreading ability of the lenticules in each zone is selected to provide the desired light distribution. Parallelism is avoided by having the lenticules arrayed in a plurality of wedge-shaped sections circumferentially arranged in a circle around the optical center of the lens and extending through the zones with the lenticules in each section arrayed in a uniform, close-packed hexagonal array of parallel rows with the longitudinal axis of one of the rows being radially aligned with respect to the optical center of the lens, so that none of the sides of the lenticules are parallel to the light source image projected off the reflector.

Claims

1. A lenticular lens comprising an optical center and a multiplicity of multi-sided lenticules for dispersing and spreading light arranged in a plurality of zones or bands concentric around the optical center of said lens, the light dispersing ability of each zone becoming progressively greater toward the outermost edges of said lens, and oriented to avoid parallelism when used to disperse light from a light source into a desired beam pattern.

2. A lenticular lens comprising an optical center, an optical edge, a light-receiving side, a light-transmitting side and a multiplicity of multi-sided lenticules on said light-receiving side for spreading and dispersing light, said lenticules arranged in a plurality of zones or bands concentric around said optical center, the light dispersing ability of each zone becoming progressively greater toward the outermost edges of said lens, wherein at least a portion of said lenticules are oriented to reduce parallelism.

3. A lens according to claim 2 wherein said lenticules are arranged in a plurality of sections circumferentially arranged in a circle around said optical center and extending through at least a portion of said zones, and wherein the size and light-spreading ability of said lenticules in each zone is selected to provide a uniform light distribution over the desired light beam pattern.

4. A lens according to claim 3 wherein said sections are wedge-shaped.

5. A lens according to claim 4 wherein said lenticules in each said zone are of substantially the same size and have essentially the same light-spreading ability.

6. A lens according to claim 5 in which said lenticules are distributed in said sections in a close-packed array of parallel rows whose longitudinal axis is oriented to avoid the sides of said lenticules from being parallel to a light image projected through each lenticule.

7. A lens according to claim 6 in which said lenticules are arranged in a uniform, close-packed hexagonal array of parallel rows with the longitudinal axis of one of said rows in each said section radially aligned from said optical center.

8. A lens according to claim 2 wherein at least a portion of said lenticules have a curved, light-receiving surface.

9. A lens .according to claim 8 in which said lenticules have a hexagonal shape in said plane of the lens.

10. A lamp comprising a reflector having a forward, light-projecting end covered by a lenticular lens and enclosing a source of electric light within, with said lens having a multiplicity of multi-sided lenticules for dispersing and spreading light arranged in a plurality of zones or bands concentric around the optical center of said lens, the light dispersing ability of each zone becoming progressively greater toward the outermost edges of said lens, and oriented to avoid parallelism with the optical image of said light source which is reflected forward through said lenticules and projected forward of said lamp.

11. A lamp according to claim 10 wherein said lens has an optical center, an optical edge, a light-receiving side and a light-transmitting side and wherein said lenticules are on said light-receiving side.

12. A lamp according to claim 11 in which said lenticules are contained in a plurality of sections circumferentially arranged around said optical center of said lens and extending through said zones and wherein the size and light-spreading ability of said lenticules in each zone is selected to provide a uniform light distribution over the desired light beam pattern.

13. A lamp according to claim 12 in which said sections are wedge-shaped.

14. A lamp according to claim 13 in which said lenticules in said lens are distributed in said wedge-shaped sections in a close-packed array of parallel rows whose longitudinal axis is oriented to reduce or avoid said sides of said lenticules from being parallel to said light source image projected through each lenticule.

15. A lamp according to claim 14 in which said lenticules are arranged in a uniform, close-packed hexagonal array of parallel rows in said sections with the longitudinal axis of one of said rows in each said section radially aligned from said optical center.

16. A lamp according to claim 15 in which said lenticules have a curved, light-receiving surface.

17. A lamp according to claim 16 in which said lenticules on said lens have a hexagonal shape in the plane of said lens.

18. A lens comprising an optical edge, an optical center, a light-receiving surface and a light-transmitting surface with a multiplicity of hexagonal-shaped lenticules having a spherical, light-receiving surface arrayed in a plurality of zones concentric around said optical center wherein the light-spreading ability of said lenticules is the greatest in the zone nearest said optical edge and least in the zone nearest said optical center and wherein all of said lenticules are arrayed in a uniform, hexagonal, close-packed pattern across said lens.