LED collimation optics with improved performance and reduced size
First Claim
1. An LED module comprising an LED (light emitting diode) and a rotationally symmetrical, bowl-shaped collimator lens which comprises an inner refractive wall, an outer reflective wall, a first entrance surface having an entrance aperture at a recess in which the LED is situated, said first surface bounding a central portion of said recess, and a second surface from which light generated by the LED emerges,wherein the inner refractive wall includes a curved portion which is an additional entrance surface bounding said recess, and refracting light generated by the LED and impinging thereon, said recess being further bounded by a connecting surface extending between said first surface and said curved portion, arranged such that said connecting surface is free from impingement by light generated by the LED, said outer reflective wall being configured in accordance with the structure of said inner refractive wall to achieve substantial collimation of light generated by the LED.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An LED module that includes an LED (light-emitting diode) and a rotationally symmetrical, bowl-shaped collimator lens is provided. The collimator lens has an inner refractive wall, an outer reflective wall, a first surface having an entrance aperture with a recess in which the LED is situated and which collimator lens is also provided with a second surface from which light generated by the LED emerges, the normal to the surface extending substantially parallel to the axis of symmetry of the lens, and the LED module also includes one or more of the following structures: (1) a conic wall portion of the recess of the inner refractive wall at the entrance aperture that includes a curved portion, and an outer reflective wall so configured in accordance with the structure of the inner refractive wall to achieve substantial collimation of a source of light at the entrance aperture; and/or (2) a first surface of the lens that is recessed away from the LED source; and/or (3) two surfaces of said refractive wall between which the refractive function of said refractive wall is divided. The LED module offers an improvement in the performance of the Flat top Tulip Collimator disclosed and claimed in our co-pending application Ser. No. 09/415,833 in terms of reduced size, beam divergence, beam uniformity, and to some degree efficiency. Moreover, it allows a wider variety of choices in optimizing various performance characteristics, and this in turn allows more flexibility in the structure design.
496 Citations
31 Claims
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1. An LED module comprising an LED (light emitting diode) and a rotationally symmetrical, bowl-shaped collimator lens which comprises an inner refractive wall, an outer reflective wall, a first entrance surface having an entrance aperture at a recess in which the LED is situated, said first surface bounding a central portion of said recess, and a second surface from which light generated by the LED emerges,
wherein the inner refractive wall includes a curved portion which is an additional entrance surface bounding said recess, and refracting light generated by the LED and impinging thereon, said recess being further bounded by a connecting surface extending between said first surface and said curved portion, arranged such that said connecting surface is free from impingement by light generated by the LED, said outer reflective wall being configured in accordance with the structure of said inner refractive wall to achieve substantial collimation of light generated by the LED.
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30. An LED module comprising an LED (light emitting diode) and a rotationally symmetrical, bowl-shaped collimator lens which comprises an inner refractive wall, an outer reflective wall, a first surface having an entrance aperture at a recess in which the LED is situated, said first surface bounding a central portion of said recess, and a second surface from which light generated by the LED emerges,
wherein the inner refractive wall includes a curved portion which is an additional entrance surface, said curved portion having a slope angle of a tangent to said curved portion at an angle of 90 degrees to the optic axis is farther away from the vertical than is a comparable portion of the refractive wall in a Reference Collimator, said outer reflective wall being configured in accordance with the structure of said inner refractive wall to achieve substantial collimation of a source of light at the entrance aperture.
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31. An LED module comprising an LED (light emitting diode) and a rotationally symmetrical, bowl-shaped collimator lens which comprises an inner refractive wall, an outer reflective wall, a first surface having an entrance aperture at a recess in which the LED is situated, said first surface bounding a central portion of said recess, and a second surface from which light generated by the LED emerges,
wherein the inner refractive wall includes a curved portion which is an additional entrance surface, said curved portion having a slope angle of a tangent to a part of said curved portion, at an angle of approximately 90 degrees to the optic axis at the entrance aperture, having a value such that an impinging ray of light from the LED is refracted toward the second surface, said outer reflective wall being configured in accordance with the structure of said inner refractive wall to achieve substantial collimation of a source of light at the entrance aperture.
Specification