Illumination device with built-in light coupler
First Claim
1. An illumination device comprising:
- a light guide including;
a front surface exposed to ambient light;
a back surface;
a light coupling section including a diffraction grating, said light coupling section disposed at least partially between said front surface and said back surface, said light coupling section configured to receive optical energy through said back surface at an angle about normal to said back surface, said diffraction grating configured to direct light through said light guide; and
a light turning section configured to redirect at least a portion of the light received from said light coupling section out of said back surface, said redirected light being emitted from said back surface at an angle about normal to said back surface; and
a light source disposed to provide optical energy to said back surface of said light coupling section at an angle about normal to said back surface,wherein said light guide is a film stack or said light guide has a film applied directly thereto.
3 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention comprises devices and methods for coupling a light source to a display illumination device. In one embodiment, an illumination device includes a light guide comprising a front surface, a back surface, a light coupling section configured to receive optical energy from a light source in to the light guide through said front surface or said back surface at an angle about normal to the optical energy receiving surface, and further configured to direct light through said light guide, and a light turning section configured to redirect out of the light guide at least a portion of the light received from said light coupling section, said redirected light at an angle about normal to the optical energy receiving surface.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. An illumination device comprising:
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a light guide including; a front surface exposed to ambient light; a back surface; a light coupling section including a diffraction grating, said light coupling section disposed at least partially between said front surface and said back surface, said light coupling section configured to receive optical energy through said back surface at an angle about normal to said back surface, said diffraction grating configured to direct light through said light guide; and a light turning section configured to redirect at least a portion of the light received from said light coupling section out of said back surface, said redirected light being emitted from said back surface at an angle about normal to said back surface; and a light source disposed to provide optical energy to said back surface of said light coupling section at an angle about normal to said back surface, wherein said light guide is a film stack or said light guide has a film applied directly thereto. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 41, 42)
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31. An illumination device comprising:
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means for guiding light, said light guiding means having a front surface disposed towards ambient light and a back surface, said light guiding means including; means for coupling optical energy, disposed at least partially between said front surface and said back surface, and configured to receive optical energy through said back surface at an angle about normal to said back surface, said coupling means including a diffraction grating configured to direct light through said light guiding means; and means for turning light to redirect at least a portion of the light received from said coupling means out of said back surface, said redirected light being emitted from said back surface at an angle about normal to said back surface; and means for providing optical energy to said coupling means by illuminating said back surface with optical energy at an angle about normal to said back surface, wherein said light guiding means is a film stack or said light guiding means has a film applied directly thereto. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification