Optical light pipes with laser light appearance
First Claim
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1. A simulated laser light system comprising:
- a light source which emits substantially parallel light rays; and
a prismatic element having a plurality of prismatic surfaces and a centerline, said prismatic surfaces defining a curved surface, said prismatic surfaces being on the inside or the outside of the prismatic element, the prismatic surfaces redirecting the light rays to be emitted from the prismatic element in a plurality of planes which are perpendicular to a tangent to said curved surface and extend through the centerline;
wherein the prismatic element comprises a tube, said prismatic surfaces being located on the inside of said tube and said light rays being axially projected by the light source along the centerline of said tube.
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Abstract
A simulated laser light system includes a light source which emits substantially parallel light rays and a prismatic element having a plurality of prismatic surfaces. The prismatic surfaces define a curved surface either on the inside or the outside of the prismatic element. The prismatic surfaces redirect the light rays emitted from the prismatic element in a plurality of planes which are perpendicular to a tangent to said curved surface. The simulated laser light system appears to emit light from a centerline of the prismatic element when the light is actually emitted from an exterior surface of the prismatic element.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A simulated laser light system comprising:
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a light source which emits substantially parallel light rays; and a prismatic element having a plurality of prismatic surfaces and a centerline, said prismatic surfaces defining a curved surface, said prismatic surfaces being on the inside or the outside of the prismatic element, the prismatic surfaces redirecting the light rays to be emitted from the prismatic element in a plurality of planes which are perpendicular to a tangent to said curved surface and extend through the centerline; wherein the prismatic element comprises a tube, said prismatic surfaces being located on the inside of said tube and said light rays being axially projected by the light source along the centerline of said tube.
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2. A simulated laser light system comprising:
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a light source which emits substantially parallel light rays; and a prismatic element having a plurality of prismatic surfaces and a centerline, said prismatic surfaces defining a curved surface, said prismatic surfaces being on the inside or the outside of the prismatic element, the prismatic surfaces redirecting the light rays to be emitted from the prismatic element in a plurality of planes which are perpendicular to a tangent to said curved surface and extend through the centerline; wherein the prismatic element comprises a cylindrical rod, the prismatic surfaces being located on the outside of said rod, said light rays being projected by the light source along a centerline of said rod, and the prismatic surfaces are protected by a protective coating around the cylindrical rod.
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3. A simulated laser light system comprising:
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a light source which emits substantially parallel light rays; and a prismatic element having a plurality of prismatic surfaces and a centerline, said prismatic surfaces defining a curved surface, said prismatic surfaces being on the inside or the outside of the prismatic element, the prismatic surfaces redirecting the light rays to be emitted from the prismatic element in a plurality of planes which are perpendicular to a tangent to said curved surface and extend through the centerline; wherein said prismatic element comprises a cylindrical rod and concentrically mounted tube, said rod having prismatic surfaces on the outside of said rod and said tube having prismatic surfaces on the inside of said tube, said prismatic surfaces of said rod and tube being complimentary to each other and in contact with each other.
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4. A simulated laser light system comprising:
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a light source which emits substantially parallel light rays; and a prismatic element having a plurality of prismatic surfaces and a centerline, said prismatic surfaces defining a curved surface, said prismatic surfaces being on the inside or the outside of the prismatic element, the prismatic surfaces redirecting the light rays to be emitted from the prismatic element in a plurality of planes which are perpendicular to a tangent to said curved surface and extend through the centerline; wherein the prismatic element is an elongated element, the light source is positioned at one end of the element, and a second light source is positioned at a second end of the elongated element.
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5. A simulated laser light system comprising:
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a light source which emits substantially parallel light rays; and a prismatic element having a plurality of prismatic surfaces and a centerline, said prismatic surfaces defining a curved surface, said prismatic surfaces being on the inside or the outside of the prismatic element, the prismatic surfaces redirecting the light rays to be emitted from the prismatic element in a plurality of planes which are perpendicular to a tangent to said curved surface and extend through the centerline; wherein a plurality of prismatic elements are arranged in an array as an alphanumeric display.
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6. A simulated laser light system comprising:
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a light source which emits substantially parallel light rays; and a prismatic element having a plurality of prismatic surfaces and a centerline, said prismatic surfaces defining a curved surface, said prismatic surfaces being on the inside or the outside of the prismatic element, the prismatic surfaces redirecting the light rays to be emitted from the prismatic element in a plurality of planes which are perpendicular to a tangent to said curved surface and extend through the centerline; wherein the light emitted from the prismatic element in a plurality of planes appears to an observer to be emitted from the center line of the prismatic element regardless of the observer'"'"'s location. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A simulated laser light system comprising:
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a light source which emits substantially parallel light rays; and a prismatic element having a plurality of prismatic surfaces and a centerline, said prismatic surfaces defining a curved surface, said prismatic surfaces being on the inside or the outside of the prismatic element, the prismatic surfaces redirecting the light rays to be emitted from the prismatic element in a plurality of planes which are perpendicular to a tangent to said curved surface and extend through the centerline; wherein the prismatic element acts as a filter to extract non-parallel light rays.
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24. A toy comprising:
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a toy body; a light source mounted on the toy body; and an elongated prismatic element having a plurality of curved prismatic surfaces, the prismatic element redirecting light from the light source in a plurality of planes which intersect at a centerline of the prismatic element causing the light emitted from the prismatic element to appear to an observer to be emitted from approximately the centerline of the prismatic element.
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25. An optical light pipe comprising:
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a cylindrical prismatic element having an outer diameter; a light source directing light into the cylindrical prismatic element; and a plurality of prismatic surfaces on the prismatic element for reflecting and refracting the light emitted by the light source substantially radially from the prismatic element to create an observed beam of radial light with a diameter which is smaller than the outer diameter of the prismatic element when the prismatic element is viewed at any position 360 degrees around the light pipe. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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29. An optical element comprising:
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a semiconductor diode; a cylindrical prismatic element encapsulating the semiconductor diode, the prismatic element having an outer diameter; and a plurality of prismatic surfaces on the prismatic element for reflecting and redirecting light emitted by the semiconductor diode substantially radially from the prismatic element to create an observed beam of light with a diameter which is smaller than the outer diameter of the prismatic element when the prismatic element is viewed from a side. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification