Lighting apparatus
First Claim
1. An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- a cavity having reflective surfaces and an output area;
at least one light source disposed in said cavity, said light source comprising a point source and an optical diverter having a flared reflecting surface; and
an optical conditioning element over said output area, said optical conditioning element comprising at least a diffuser.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An illumination apparatus provides an output with high spatial uniformity of luminance. The illumination apparatus includes a cavity that has reflective surfaces and an output area. At least one light source is disposed in the cavity, with the light source including a point source (such as an LED) and an optical diverter having a flared (e.g., cuspated) reflecting surface. Light from the point source is distributed by the optical diverter towards the reflective surfaces within the cavity. Before exiting the device, light passes through an optical conditioning element that is positioned over the output area of the cavity. The optical conditioning element includes at least a diffuser, such as a translucent film or plastic sheet, and preferably also includes one or more prism sheets such as a brightness-enhancing film.
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Citations
52 Claims
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1. An illumination apparatus, comprising:
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a cavity having reflective surfaces and an output area;
at least one light source disposed in said cavity, said light source comprising a point source and an optical diverter having a flared reflecting surface; and
an optical conditioning element over said output area, said optical conditioning element comprising at least a diffuser. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An illumination apparatus, comprising:
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a housing comprising a cavity having reflective surfaces and an output aperture;
an optical conditioning element across the output aperture, said conditioning element comprising at least one sheet having a plurality of pixels;
at least one light source disposed within said cavity directly beneath said conditioning element, said at least one light source comprising a point source spaced less than 3½
inches from said sheet and illuminating said reflective surfaces such that the ratio of the luminance of adjacent pixels is between 0.95 and 1.05 and the ratio of the luminance of non-adjacent pixels is between 0.5 and 2.0, whereby the appearance of illumination at said sheet is substantially uniform.- View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An illumination apparatus, comprising:
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a cavity formed by reflective material, said cavity having an output area;
an optical conditioning element at said output area;
a light source in said cavity, said light source comprising a point source and an optical diverter having a reflecting surface that is partially reflective and partially transmissive, said reflective surface allowing a portion of light incident thereon to pass through the reflecting surface, while reflecting another portion of the incident light onto the reflective material, said reflective material reflecting light within said cavity, whereby said output area and optical conditioning element are illuminated. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. An illumination apparatus, comprising:
an optical diverter comprised of transparent material having a reflecting surface formed by a refractive index interface configured to totally internally reflect light from a point source positioned to emit a first portion of light rays towards the reflecting surface and a second portion of light rays towards a side surface of the diverter, said diverter comprising a refracting interface that refracts the second portion of light rays towards the reflecting surface, such that both the first and second portions of light rays are reflected from said reflecting surface. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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44. An illumination apparatus, comprising:
an optical diverter comprised of transparent material having a flared reflecting surface formed by a refractive index interface, said interface configured to totally internally reflect light from a point source that is positioned adjacent to an apex of the flared reflecting surface and which emits light rays for reflection by the reflecting surface. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. An illumination apparatus, comprising:
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a cavity having reflective surfaces and an output area;
at least one light source disposed in said cavity, said light source comprising a point source and an optical diverter having a surface that is partially reflective and partially transmissive;
an optical conditioning element over said output area, said optical conditioning element comprising a diffuser, said diverter positioned between the point source and optical conditioning element such that (a) a portion of light emitted by the point source is reflected from the diverter towards the reflective surfaces of the cavity, and (b) another portion of light emitted by the point source is transmitted through the surface of the diverter towards the optical conditioning element, said diverter sized to allow at least a substantial portion of the reflected light to reach the optical conditioning element without passing through the diverter, said diverter and said reflective surfaces of said cavity arranged to allow at least a substantial portion of the transmitted light to reach the optical conditioning element without undergoing reflection. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52)
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Specification