High-density illumination system
First Claim
1. An illuminating system, comprising:
- an electrical interconnection system for interconnecting at least one LED light emitting element to a power source;
at least one LED light emitting element positioned on a common light-emitting plane;
a first light redirecting element disposed above the at least one LED light-emitting element on said common light emitting plane, each said first light redirecting element including at least one diffusing medium, a diffusing layer, and a component, said component selected from the group consisting of a metallically reflecting bin and a lens system, said metallically reflecting bin having a circular or rectangular cross-section with mathematically curving shape necessitated by meeting the geometrical relationship between input and output aperture sizes, AinSin 2θ
in=AoutSin2θ
out, whereAinis;
if circular, the area of the reflecting bin inlet π
rin2, rin being the radius of the bin'"'"'s inlet opening, andif rectangular, (xin)(yin)θ
in is the maximum half-angle emitted by the at least one LED at bin'"'"'s input opening disposed above it, the full beam angle being 2θ
in,Aout is the area of the aperture existing at the bin'"'"'s ideal height H given asif circular, H=(rin+rout)/Tanθ
out with rout being the diameter of the bin'"'"'s ideal output aperture, and θ
out is the corresponding output beam'"'"'s half-angle, the beam'"'"'s full angle being 2θ
out;
if rectangular, H being the larger of H1=0.5(xin+xout)/Tanθ
out,x and H2=0.5 (yin+yout)/Tanθ
out,y with xout and yout being the aperture edge sizes, θ
out,x and θ
out,y being the corresponding output beam half-angles in each orthogonal meridians;
and Hbin is the actual bin height of the metallically reflecting bin of the first light redirecting element, Hbin is equal to or less than the ideal bin height H;
a second light redirecting element disposed beyond said first light redirecting element comprised of at least one condensing element having effective focal length F and an elevation above said first light redirecting means in the range 0 to 2 F above the output plane of said first light redirecting layer;
said at least one condensing element of the second light redirecting layer selected from the group consisting of a Fresnel lens, two sequentially stacked Fresnel-type cylindrical lenses where the axes of each form an angle of 90-degrees with each other, a reflecting plane having a circular or rectangular cutout that allows for a substantial portion of the emitted light to pass outwards without change in brightness or angular direction, and two sequentially stacked lenticular lenses where the axes of each form an angle of 90-degrees with each other; and
an output aperture disposed beyond said second light redirecting element, said output aperture containing at least one of a clear window and a spatial light modulator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A compact and efficient optical illumination system featuring planar multi-layered LED light source arrays concentrating their polarized or un-polarized output within a limited angular range. The optical system manipulates light emitted by a planar array of electrically-interconnected LED chips positioned within the input apertures of a corresponding array of shaped metallic reflecting bins using at least one of elevated prismatic films, polarization converting films, micro-lens arrays and external hemispherical or ellipsoidal reflecting elements. Practical applications of the LED array illumination systems include compact LCD or DMD video image projectors, as well as general lighting, automotive lighting, and LCD backlighting.
178 Citations
14 Claims
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1. An illuminating system, comprising:
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an electrical interconnection system for interconnecting at least one LED light emitting element to a power source; at least one LED light emitting element positioned on a common light-emitting plane; a first light redirecting element disposed above the at least one LED light-emitting element on said common light emitting plane, each said first light redirecting element including at least one diffusing medium, a diffusing layer, and a component, said component selected from the group consisting of a metallically reflecting bin and a lens system, said metallically reflecting bin having a circular or rectangular cross-section with mathematically curving shape necessitated by meeting the geometrical relationship between input and output aperture sizes, AinSin 2θ
in=AoutSin2θ
out, whereAinis; if circular, the area of the reflecting bin inlet π
rin2, rin being the radius of the bin'"'"'s inlet opening, andif rectangular, (xin)(yin) θ
in is the maximum half-angle emitted by the at least one LED at bin'"'"'s input opening disposed above it, the full beam angle being 2θ
in,Aout is the area of the aperture existing at the bin'"'"'s ideal height H given as if circular, H=(rin+rout)/Tanθ
out with rout being the diameter of the bin'"'"'s ideal output aperture, and θ
out is the corresponding output beam'"'"'s half-angle, the beam'"'"'s full angle being 2θ
out;if rectangular, H being the larger of H1=0.5(xin+xout)/Tanθ
out,x and H2=0.5 (yin+yout)/Tanθ
out,y with xout and yout being the aperture edge sizes, θ
out,x and θ
out,y being the corresponding output beam half-angles in each orthogonal meridians;and Hbin is the actual bin height of the metallically reflecting bin of the first light redirecting element, Hbin is equal to or less than the ideal bin height H; a second light redirecting element disposed beyond said first light redirecting element comprised of at least one condensing element having effective focal length F and an elevation above said first light redirecting means in the range 0 to 2 F above the output plane of said first light redirecting layer; said at least one condensing element of the second light redirecting layer selected from the group consisting of a Fresnel lens, two sequentially stacked Fresnel-type cylindrical lenses where the axes of each form an angle of 90-degrees with each other, a reflecting plane having a circular or rectangular cutout that allows for a substantial portion of the emitted light to pass outwards without change in brightness or angular direction, and two sequentially stacked lenticular lenses where the axes of each form an angle of 90-degrees with each other; and an output aperture disposed beyond said second light redirecting element, said output aperture containing at least one of a clear window and a spatial light modulator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An illuminating system, comprising:
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an electrical interconnection system for interconnecting at least one LED light emitting element to a power source; at least one LED light emitting element positioned on a common light-emitting plane; a first light redirecting element disposed above the at least one LED light-emitting element on said common light emitting plane, each said first light redirecting element including at least one diffusing medium, a diffusing layer, and a component, said component selected from the group consisting of a metallically reflecting bin and a lens system, said metallically reflecting bin having a circular or rectangular cross-section with mathematically curving shape necessitated by meeting the geometrical relationship between input and output aperture sizes, AinSin2θ
in=AoutSin2θ
out, whereAin is (xin)(yin); θ
in is the maximum half-angle emitted by the at least one LED at bin'"'"'s input opening disposed above it, the full beam angle being 2θ
in,Aout is the area of the aperture existing at the bin'"'"'s ideal height H given as H being the larger of H1=0.5 (xin+xout)/Tanθ
out,x and H2=0.5 (yin+yout)/Tanθ
out,y with xout and yout being the aperture edge sizes, θ
out,x and θ
out,y being the corresponding output beam half-angles in each orthogonal meridians;and Hbin is the actual bin height of the metallically reflecting bin of the first light redirecting element, Hbin is equal to or less than the ideal bin height H; a second light redirecting element disposed beyond said first light redirecting element comprised of at least one condensing element having effective focal length F and an elevation above said first light redirecting means in the range 0 to 2 F above the output plane of said first light redirecting layer; said at least one condensing element of the second light redirecting layer selected from the group consisting of a Fresnel lens, two sequentially stacked Fresnel-type cylindrical lenses where the axes of each form an angle of 90-degrees with each other, a reflecting plane having a circular or rectangular cutout that allows for a substantial portion of the emitted light to pass outwards without change in brightness or angular direction, and two sequentially stacked lenticular lenses where the axes of each form an angle of 90-degrees with each other; and an output aperture disposed beyond said second light redirecting element, said output aperture containing at least one of a clear window and a spatial light modulator. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification