Illumination apparatus
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An illumination apparatus comprising:
- a substantially planar flexible waveguide; and
at least one light source embedded within the waveguide,wherein the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source, and (iii) causes the light to propagate and diffuse within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An illumination apparatus, comprising at least one light emitting source embedded in a waveguide material is disclosed. The waveguide material is capable of propagating light generated by light emitting source(s), such that at least a portion of the light is diffused within the waveguide material and exits through at least a portion of its surface.
-
Citations
94 Claims
-
1. An illumination apparatus comprising:
-
a substantially planar flexible waveguide; and at least one light source embedded within the waveguide, wherein the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source, and (iii) causes the light to propagate and diffuse within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 85, 86)
-
-
7. An illumination apparatus comprising:
-
a substantially planar waveguide; and at least one light source embedded within the waveguide, wherein a refraction index of the waveguide and a refraction index of the at least one light source differ by about 1.5 to about 1.6, and the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source, and (iii) causes the light to propagate and diffuse within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof.
-
-
15. An illumination apparatus comprising:
-
a substantially planar waveguide; at least one light source embedded within the waveguide, wherein the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source, and (iii) causes the light to propagate and diffuse within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof; and disposed over the exit region of the waveguide, at least one photoluminescent material for converting a wavelength of a portion of the light emitted by the at least one light source. - View Dependent Claims (16, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92)
-
-
17. An illumination apparatus comprising:
-
a substantially planar waveguide; at least one light source embedded within the waveguide, wherein the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source, and (iii) causes the light to propagate and diffuse within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof; and a plurality of impurities disposed within the waveguide proximate the exit region. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
-
-
20. An illumination apparatus comprising:
-
a substantially planar waveguide; and at least one light source embedded within the waveguide, wherein the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source, (iii) causes the light to propagate and diffuse within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof, and (iv) comprises a plurality of layers, and the at least one light source is embedded at least partially within a first layer having a refractive index larger than a refractive index of a second layer disposed above the first layer. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. An illumination apparatus comprising:
-
a substantially planar waveguide; and at least one light source embedded within the waveguide, wherein the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source, (iii) causes the light to propagate and diffuse within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof, and (iv) comprises a material having a specific heat capacity sufficiently high enough to substantially prevent heating of the waveguide during operation of the at least one light source.
-
-
26. An illumination apparatus comprising:
-
a substantially planar waveguide; at least one light source embedded within the waveguide; and a thermal-isolating encapsulation material disposed around the at least one light source, wherein the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source, and (iii) causes the light to propagate and diffuse within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof.
-
-
27. An illumination apparatus comprising:
-
a substantially planar waveguide; at least one light source embedded within the waveguide; and a structured film embedded within the waveguide, wherein the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source, and (iii) causes the light to propagate and diffuse within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof.
-
-
28. An illumination apparatus comprising:
-
a substantially planar waveguide; and at least one light source embedded within the waveguide, wherein the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source, and (iii) causes the light to propagate and diffuse within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof, and light exiting the exit region has a uniformity of at least 70%. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84)
-
-
29. A method of illumination, the method comprising:
-
providing a substantially planar waveguide having at least one light source embedded therewithin; and applying a pulsed electrical current to the at least one light source, thereby causing the at least one light source to emit light, wherein the emitted light propagates within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof, and the waveguide (i) has a planar top surface above the at least one embedded light source, and (ii) retains therein substantially all light emitted by the at least one embedded light source. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 93)
-
-
35. A method of illumination, the method comprising:
-
providing a substantially planar waveguide having at least one light source embedded therewithin; and applying a pulsed electrical current to the at least one light source, thereby causing the at least one light source to emit light, wherein (i) the emitted light propagates within the waveguide until the light is caused to exit from an exit region of a surface thereof, and (ii) a thermal-isolating encapsulation material is disposed around the at least one light source. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 94)
-
Specification