Decorative lighting apparatus with light source and luminescent material

• US 6,299,338 B1
• Filed: 11/30/1998
• Issued: 10/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Srivastava, Alok Mani, Duclos, Steven Jude, Duggal, Anil Raj, Levinson, Lionel Monty
• Primary Examiner(s): CARIASO, ALAN B
• Application Number:
  US09/203,213
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: 362/84, 362/230, 362/231, 362/293, 362/556, 362/560, 362/559, 362/565, 362/555, 362/566, 362/582, 362/27, 405/42, 405/43, 404/44, 405/81, 405/47
• US Class Current: 362/559
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/001 the light being emitted along at least a portion of the lateral surface of the fibre

Abstract

An exemplary lighting apparatus comprises a light source such as an LED, a transmissive body optically coupled to the light source, and at least one region of luminescent material formed on a portion of the transmissive body, the at least one region of luminescent material forming an ornamental design on the transmissive body, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material absorbs light having a first spectrum transmitted through the transmissive body and emits light having a second spectrum outside of the transmissive body. The lighting apparatus can be used in a decorative manner, such as for holiday lighting or as a display. The lighting apparatus can be used to display a variety of patterns and shapes and can operate safely at low power over a long lifetime.

Claims

1. A lighting apparatus comprising:

a light source;

a transmissive body optically coupled to the light source; and

at least one region of luminescent material formed on a defined portion of the transmissive body, the at least one region of luminescent material forming an ornamental design on the transmissive body, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material absorbs light having a first spectrum transmitted through the transmissive body and emits light having a second spectrum outside of the transmissive body and wherein substantially all light emitted by the light source is transmitted through the transmissive body by total internal reflection.

2. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material comprises a phosphor.

3. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material is formed on an outside surface of the transmissive body.

4. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a coating on a second portion of the transmissive body not occupied by the at least one region of luminescent material, which coating prevents light from escaping from the transmissive body.

5. The lighting apparatus of claim 4, wherein the coating comprises a reflective metal.

6. The lighting apparatus of claim 4, wherein the coating comprises a reflective multilayer dielectric film.

14. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmissive body is in the form of a thin sheet, and the at least one region of luminescent material comprises a decorative pattern on the surface of the sheet.

15. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmissive body is in the form of a thin sheet, and the at least one region of luminescent material includes at least one of:

letters of the alphabet and numbers.

16. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmissive body comprises at least one of a polymer, a silicone, and glass material.

17. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmissive body comprises a flexible material.

18. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a light emitting diode.

19. The lighting apparatus of claim 18, wherein the light emitting diode emits blue light.

20. The lighting apparatus of claim 18, wherein the light emitting diode emits ultraviolet radiation.

21. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a laser diode.

22. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material includes at least one of the following phosphors:

Y₃Al₅O₁₂—

Ce³⁺;

Ba₂MgSi₂O₇;

Eu²⁺;

Ba₂SiO₄;

Eu²⁺;

SrS;

Eu²⁺;

SrY₂S₄;

Eu²⁺;

CaLa₂S₄;

Ce³⁺;

(Ca,Sr)S; and

(Sr,Ca,Ba)(Al,Ga)₂S₄;

Eu²⁺.

23. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material includes at least one of the following phosphors:

(Sr,Ba,Ca)₅(PO₄)₃Cl;

Eu ²⁺;

BaMg₂Al₁₆O₂₇;

Eu²⁺;

BaMgAl₁₀O₁₇;

Eu²⁺;

Ca₈Mg(SiO₄)₄Cl₂;

Eu²⁺, Mn²⁺;

Ba₂SiO₄;

E²⁺;

Ba₂(Mg,Zn)Si₂O₇;

Eu²⁺;

(Ba,Sr)Al₂O₄;

Eu²⁺; and

Y₂O₃;

Bi³⁺,Eu³⁺.

24. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material comprises a first region of luminescent material which emits a first spectrum and a second region of luminescent material which emits a second spectrum different from the first spectrum.

25. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material comprises a first region of luminescent material which emits red light and a second region of luminescent material which emits green light.

26. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material comprises phosphor blend which absorbs at least one of:

blue light and UV radiation, and which emits white light.

30. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second transmissive body optically coupled to the light source.

31. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a part of the at least one region of luminescent material is formed in a defined and distinct portion inside the transmissive body.

7. A lighting apparatus comprising:

a light source;

a transmissive body optically coupled to the light source; and

at least one region of luminescent material formed on a defined portion of the transmissive body, the at least one region of luminescent material forming an ornamental design on the transmissive body, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material absorbs light having a first spectrum transmitted through the transmissive body and emits light having a second spectrum outside of the transmissive body, and wherein the transmissive body includes at least one indentation upon which the at least one region of luminescent material is deposited.

8. A lighting apparatus comprising:

a light source;

a transmissive body optically coupled to the light source; and

at least one region of luminescent material formed on a defined portion of the transmissive body, the at least one region of luminescent material forming an ornamental design on the transmissive body, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material absorbs light having a first spectrum transmitted through the transmissive body and emits light having a second spectrum outside of the transmissive body, and wherein the transmissive body includes at least one roughened surface upon which the at least one region of luminescent material is deposited.

9. A lighting apparatus comprising:

a light source;

a transmissive body optically coupled to the light source, the transmissive body comprising a fiber optic cable; and

at least one region of luminescent material formed on a portion of the transmissive body, the at least one region of luminescent material forming an ornamental design on the transmissive body, wherein the at least one region of the luminescent material absorbs light having a first spectrum transmitted through the transmissive body and emits light having a second spectrum outside of the transmissive body.

10. The lighting apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material comprises a plurality of discrete regions of luminescent material which are distributed along the surface of the fiber optic cable.

11. A lighting apparatus comprising:

a light source;

a transmissive body optically coupled to the light source; and

at least one region of luminescent material formed on a defined portion of the transmissive body, the at least one region of luminescent material forming an ornamental design on the transmissive body, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material absorbs light having a first spectrum transmitted through the transmissive body and emits light having a second spectrum outside of the transmissive body, and wherein the transmissive body comprises a fiber optic cable, the fiber optic cable including a splice region which scatters light outside of the transmissive body.

12. The lighting apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material is sandwiched between two pieces of fiber optic cable in the splice region.

13. The lighting apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material is formed on an outside surface of the fiber optic cable around the splice region.

27. A lighting apparatus comprising:

a light source;

a transmissive body optically coupled to the light source; and

at least one region of luminescent material formed on a defined portion of the transmissive body, the at least one region of luminescent material forming an ornamental design on the transmissive body, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material absorbs light having a first spectrum transmitted through the transmissive body and emits light having a second spectrum outside of the transmissive body, and wherein the light source comprises a first light emitting diode which emits a first spectrum and a second light emitting diode which emits a second spectrum different from the first spectrum.

28. The lighting apparatus of claim 27, wherein the at least one region of luminescent material comprises a first luminescent material responsive to radiation from the first light emitting diode, and a second luminescent material responsive to radiation from the second light emitting diode.

29. The lighting apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first luminescent material is substantially unresponsive to radiation from the second light emitting diode, and the second luminescent material is substantially unresponsive to radiation from the first light emitting diode.

32. A decorative lighting apparatus comprising:

a first light source;

a second light source;

a transmissive body;

a first luminescent material formed on a first defined and distinct portion of the transmissive body, the first luminescent material being activated by the first light source;

a second luminescent material formed on a second defined and distinct portion of the transmissive body, the second luminescent material being activated by the second light source; and

a controller which activates the first and the second light sources according to a predetermined schedule.

33. A decorative lighting apparatus comprising:

a first light source;

a second light source;

a transmissive body;

a first luminescent material formed on the transmissive body which is activated by the first light source;

a second luminescent material formed on the transmissive body which is activated by the second light source, wherein the first and second luminescent materials produce an ornamental design; and

a controller which activates the first and second light sources according to a predetermined schedule.

34. The lighting apparatus of claim 33, wherein the first and second luminescent materials comprise first and second phosphors, respectively.

37. The decorative lighting apparatus of claim 33, wherein light from the first and second light sources propagates through the transmissive body.

38. The decorative lighting apparatus of claim 33, wherein the ornamental design is in the form of at least one of:

a picture, a letter, and a number.

35. A method of making a lighting apparatus comprising the steps of:

optically coupling a light source to a transmissive body such that substantially all light emitted by the light source is transmitted through the transmissive body by total internal reflection;

forming at least one defined region of luminescent material on the transmissive body, the at least one defined region of luminescent material having an ornamental design; and

generating light from the light source to activate the at least one defined region of luminescent material.

39. The method of claim 35, wherein

the light generated by the light source has a first wavelength; and

the luminescent material absorbs the first wavelength and emits light having a second wavelength.

40. The method of claim 35, wherein the ornamental design is in the form of at least one of:

a picture, a letter, and a number.

36. A method of making a lighting apparatus comprising the steps of:

optically coupling a light source to a transmissive body;

forming at least one region of luminescent material on the transmissive body, the at least one region of luminescent material having an ornamental design; and

generating light from the light source to activate the at least one region of luminescent material, wherein;

the light source comprises at least one LED; and

the at least one region of luminescent material comprises a first phosphor region emitting a first color and a second phosphor region emitting a second color.

41. A method of making a lighting apparatus comprising the steps of:

providing a transmissive body;

optically coupling a light source to the transmissive body such that light emitted from the light source propagates into and through the transmissive body; and

forming at least one defined and distinct region of luminescent material on a surface of the transmissive body, the at least one defined and distinct region of luminescent material being in the form of at least one of;

a picture, a letter, and a number.

42.The method of claim 41, wherein

the light emitted from the light source has a first wavelength; and

the luminescent material absorbs the first wavelength and emits light having a second wavelength.