Directed lighting system utilizing a conical light deflector

• US 6,007,225 A
• Filed: 03/04/1998
• Issued: 12/28/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ABL IP Holding LLC (Acuity Brands, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Advanced Optical Technologies, LLC
• Inventors: Rains, Jack C. Jr., Ramer, David P., Green, Albert, Phillips, E. Alan, Reim, John F.
• Primary Examiner(s): CARIASO, ALAN B
• Application Number:
  US09/034,760
• Time in Patent Office: 664 Days
• Field of Search: 362/551, 362/554, 362/576, 362/581, 362/304, 362/346, 385/43, 385/146, 385/901
• US Class Current: 362/554
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0001 specially adapted for lighting devices or systems lighting or signalling on vehicles using light guides B60Q1/00; lighting devices for vehicle dashboards B60Q3/10; lighting devices for vehicle interior using light guides B60Q3/62; lighting devices mounted on the vehicle rear part using light guides F21S43/235; measuring arrangements having light conducting pointers G01D13/265; illumination of liquid crystal displays G02F1/1336; illuminated signs G09F13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0006 Coupling light into the fibre in general G02B6/4298
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/262 Optical details of coupling light into, or out of, or between fibre ends, e.g. special fibre end shapes or associated optical elements

Abstract

A conical deflector receives light from a source through an opening at the narrow end of the cone. In one embodiment, an optical fiber bundle supplies light directly into the cone. In another embodiment, the conical deflector receives light via an optical integrating cavity. A substantial portion of the inner surface of the cones has a specular reflectivity. The entire surface may be uniformly specular (e.g., highly specular). Alternatively, one or more sections of the inner walls of the cone may have a diffuse reflectivity or a different degree of specular reflectivity (e.g., quasi-specular). The deflector is dimensioned relative to a narrow, desired field of view and the light source to deflect light that would otherwise pass out of the desired field of view, so as to efficiently illuminate the desired field of view. The conical deflector provides a substantially uniform light intensity distribution over the desired field of view.

Claims

1. A lighting system, comprising:

a source of light;

an optical fiber bundle having a proximal end coupled to receive the light from the source so that the fiber bundle carries the light from its proximal end to a distal end;

a deflector having an interior wall forming a truncated right-circular cone expanding from a small end adjacent one end of the deflector to a large end adjacent an opposite end of the deflector at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the deflector, the small end of the cone being optically coupled to the distal end of the optical fiber bundle such that the bundle transmits the light into the interior of the cone; and

a specular reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior wall of the deflector, such that light emerges from the large end of the cone within a field of view defined by the angle of the wall of the cone and with a desired intensity distribution over the field of view.

2. A lighting system as in claim 1, further comprising a mechanical connector securing the distal end of the optical fiber bundle adjacent to the small end of the conical deflector, so as to optically couple light emerging from the distal end of the fiber bundle into the interior of the conical deflector.

20. A lighting system as in claim 1, wherein the angle of the wall of the cone with respect to the longitudinal axis has value selected from the group consisting of 15°

, 24° and

40°

.

3. A lighting system, further comprising:

source of light;

an optical fiber bundle having a proximal end coupled to receive the light from the source so that the fiber bundle carries the light from its proximal end to a distal end;

a conical deflector, interior walls of which expand from a small end of the deflector to a large end of the deflector at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the deflector the small end of the conical deflector being optically coupled to the distal end of the optical fiber bundle such that the bundle transmits the light into the conical deflector;

a specular reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior walls of the conical deflector, such that light emerges from the large end of the conical deflector within a field of view defined by the angle of the walls of the conical deflector and with a desired intensity distribution over the field of view; and

an optical integrating cavity connected between the distal end of the fiber bundle and the small end of the conical deflector.

4. A lighting system as in claim 3, wherein the conical deflector has a lateral cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of circular, rectangular, triangular, oval, elliptical and semicircular.

5. A lighting system, comprising:

a source of light;

an optical fiber bundle having a proximal end coupled to receive the light from the source so that the fiber bundle carries the light from its proximal end to a distal end;

a conical deflector, interior walls of which expand from a small end of the deflector to a large end of the deflector at a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the deflector, the small end of the conical deflector being optically coupled to the distal end of the optical fiber bundle such that the bundle transmits the light into the conical deflector;

a specular reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior walls of the conical deflector, such that light emerges from the large end of the conical deflector within a field of view defined by the predetermined anile of the walls of the conical deflector and with a desired intensity distribution over the field of view; and

another reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior walls of the conical deflector, said another reflective surface having a reflective characteristic different from the specular reflective surface.

6. A lighting system as in claim 5, wherein said specular reflective surface is highly specular, and another reflective surface has a quasi-specular reflective characteristic.

7. A lighting system as in claim 5, wherein said another reflective surface has a substantially diffuse reflective characteristic.

8. A lighting system as in claim 5, wherein the interior walls expand from the small end of the conical deflector through a first section at a first angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conical deflector, and the interior walls expand through a second section to the large end of the conical deflector at a second angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conical deflector, the second angle forming the predetermined angle so as to define the field of view.

10. A lighting system as in claim 5, wherein the conical deflector has a lateral cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of circular, rectangular, triangular, oval, elliptical and semi-circular.

9. A lighting system, comprising:

a source of light;

an optical integrating cavity receiving the light from the source;

a deflector having an interior wall forming a truncated right-circular cone expanding from a small end adjacent one end of the deflector to a large end adjacent an opposite end of the deflector at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the deflector, the small end of the cone being optically coupled to an opening of the optical integrating cavity such that the cavity transmits light into the interior of the cone; and

a specular reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior wall of the deflector, such that light emerges from the large end of the cone within a field of view defined by the angle of the wall of the cone and with a desired intensity distribution over the field of view.

11. A lighting system as in claim 9, wherein the optical integrating cavity is spherical.

12. A lighting system as in claim 9, wherein the optical integrating cavity is cylindrical.

14. A lighting system as in claim 9, wherein the source comprises a lighting element positioned within the optical integrating cavity.

19. A lighting system as in claim 9, further comprising:

another conical deflector having a small end optically coupled to an opening of the optical integrating cavity such that the cavity transmits light into said another conical deflector; and

a specular reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior walls of said another conical deflector.

13. A lighting system, comprising:

a source of light;

an optical integrating cavity receiving the light from the source;

an optical fiber coupling the source to the optical integrating cavity;

a conical deflector interior walls of which expand from a small end of the deflector to a large end of the deflector at a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the deflector the small end of the conical deflector being optically coupled to an opening of the optical integrating cavity such that the cavity transmits light into the conical deflector; and

a specular reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior walls of the conical deflector, such that light emerges from the large end of the conical deflector within a field of view defined by the predetermined angle of the walls of the conical deflector and with a desired intensity distribution over the field of view.

15. A lighting system, comprising;

a source of light;

an optical integrating cavity receiving the light from the source;

a conical deflector, interior walls of which expand from a small end of the deflector to a large end of the deflector at a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the deflector, the small end of the conical deflector being optically coupled to an opening of the optical integrating cavity such that the cavity transmits light into the conical deflector;

a specular reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior walls of the conical deflector, such that light emerges from the large end of the conical deflector within a field of view defined by the predetermined angle of the walls of the conical deflector and with a desired intensity distribution over the field of view; and

another reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior walls of the conical deflector, said another reflective surface having a reflective characteristic different from the specular reflective surface.

16. A lighting system as in claim 15, wherein the specular reflective surface is highly specular, and said another reflective surface has a quasi-specular reflective characteristic.

17. A lighting system as in claim 15, wherein said another reflective surface has a substantially diffuse reflective characteristic.

21. A lighting system as in claim 15, wherein the conical deflector has a circular lateral cross-section.

22. A lighting system as in claim 15, wherein the conical deflector has a rectangular lateral cross-section.

23. A lighting system as in claim 15, wherein the conical deflector has a triangular lateral cross-section.

24. A lighting system as in claim 15, wherein the conical deflector has an oval lateral cross-section.

25. A lighting system as in claim 15, wherein the conical deflector has an elliptical lateral cross-section.

26. A lighting system as in claim 15, wherein a lateral cross-section of the conical deflector is semi-circular.

18. A lighting system, comprising:

a source of light;

an optical integrating cavity receiving the light from the source;

a conical deflector, interior walls of which expand from a small end of the deflector to a large end of the deflector, the small end of the conical deflector being optically coupled to an opening of the optical integrating cavity such that the cavity transmits light into the conical deflector;

wherein the interior walls expand from the small end of the conical deflector through a first section at a first angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conical deflector, and the interior walls expand through a second section to the large end of the conical deflector at a second angle; and

a specular reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior walls of the conical deflector, such that light emerges from the large end of the conical deflector within a field of view defined by the second angle of the walls of the conical deflector and with a desired intensity distribution over the field of view.

27. A conical light deflector, comprising:

a rigid cone having interior walls which expand from a small end of the cone to a large end of the cone at a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cone;

a coupler attached to the cone for mechanically securing an end of an optical fiber so as to optically couple light emerging from the end of the fiber into the interior of the rigid cone;

a specular reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior walls of the cone; and

another reflective surface on a substantial portion of the interior walls of the cone, said another reflective surface having a reflective characteristic different from the specular reflective surface.

28. A conical light deflector as in claim 27, wherein the specular reflective surface is highly specular, and said another reflective surface has a quasi-specular reflective characteristic.

29. A conical light deflector as in claim 27, wherein said another reflective surface has a substantially diffuse reflective characteristic.

30. A conical light deflector as in claim 27, wherein the interior walls expand from the small end of the cone through a first section at a first angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cone, and the interior walls expand through a second section to the large end of the cone at a second angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cone, the second angle forming the predetermined angle.