Illuminating system

• US 6,379,017 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2001
• Issued: 04/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakabayashi, Koki, Tatsuta, Ken, Watanabe, Hiroshi, Fukui, Atsushi, Nishii, Kanji
• Primary Examiner(s): Spyrou, Cassandra
• Assistant Examiner(s): WINSTEDT, JENNIFER E
• Application Number:
  US09/769,497
• Publication Number:
  US 20010019479A1
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 362/31, 362/27, 362/26, 362/297, 385/146, 385/901, 349/62, 349/63, 349/61, 349/113, 349/64, 359/599
• US Class Current: 362/619
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0018 Redirecting means on the surface of the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0028 Light guide, e.g. taper
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0031 Reflecting element, sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0036 2-D arrangement of prisms, protrusions, indentations or roughened surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0038 Linear indentations or grooves, e.g. arc-shaped grooves or meandering grooves, extending over the full length or width of the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0046 Tapered light guide, e.g. wedge-shaped light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0048 with stepwise taper
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/005 provided by one optical element, or plurality thereof, placed on the light output side of the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0053 Prismatic sheet or layer; Brightness enhancement element, sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0055 Reflecting element, sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0068 Arrangements of plural sources, e.g. multi-colour light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133616 Front illuminating devices

Abstract

The illuminating system comprises a linear light source, and a light guide member with the light source placed beside a side face thereof, in which the top face and the bottom face of the light guide member are generally parallel to each other and in which slits made of a different material or air are arranged at specified intervals in the top face of the light guide member. Therefore, most of light propagating within the light guide member is totally reflected at the slits formed in the light guide member so as to be outputted from the light guide member, thereby illuminating a reflecting plate. Its reflected light is incident again on the light guide member and the resulting totally reflected light is transmitted to the observer'"'"'s side at places other than the slits, while the observer'"'"'s field of view is not obstructed at the slit portions.

Claims

1. An illuminating system for illuminating an object by overhead light irradiation, said illuminating system comprising:

a light source; and

a light guide member, wherein a plurality of grooves are provided on a top face of said light guide member at specified intervals and in a direction parallel to a longitudinal direction of said light source;

wherein each of said plurality of grooves provided on the top face of said light guide member is a V-shaped groove having a first slope of the groove located on a side closer to said light source and a second slope of the groove located on a side farther from said light source, and wherein an angle θ

₂ formed by the second slope and a bottom face of said light guide member satisfies a condition of θ

₂≦

(1/2)sin<sup>−

1</sup>(1/n), wherein n is a refractive index of said light guide member;

wherein flat portions constituting a part of the top face of said light guide member are arranged in between adjacent ones of said plurality of the grooves; and

wherein the object is disposed on a side of the bottom face of said light guide member and is observable from the top face side of said light guide member.

2. An illuminating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a pitch of said plurality of grooves provided on the top face of said light guide member is not more than a dot pitch of the object.

3. An illuminating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a length of the first slope of each of the V-shaped grooves on said light guide member is not more than, where L is a distance between the top face of said light guide member and an observation point for observing the object.

4. An illuminating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said light guide member is a transparent plate which is made from either quartz, glass, transparent resin, or polycarbonate.

5. An illuminating system as claimed in claim 1, where said light guide member is approximately wedged shaped and wherein a side face of said light guide member which is closest to said light source has a thickness at least equal to a thickness of another side face of said light guide member.

6. An illuminating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said illuminating system further comprises a reflector disposed so as to cover said light source, said reflector having an inner surface having a high reflectivity so as to reflect light which is emitted from said light source and direct such reflected light into said light guide member.

7. An illuminating system as claimed in claim 6, wherein a height of said reflector and a thickness of a side face of said light guide member which is closest to said light source are equal to each other.