Collimating waveguide apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A collimating waveguide, comprising:
- an input surface comprising a microstructure to receive radiant electromagnetic energy from a point source, wherein the microstructure comprises a plurality of linear prisms each one defining an apex angle, a convex portion defining a radius, and a concave portion defining a radius, wherein the radius of the convex portion is greater than the radius of the concave portion;
an output surface to emit an output beam of substantially collimated radiant electromagnetic energy;
a first collimating surface to receive a beam of the radiant electromagnetic energy entering from the input surface traveling in a first direction and to reflect the radiant electromagnetic energy into a substantially collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy traveling in a second direction, which is the reverse of the first direction, wherein the first collimating surface comprises a curved surface, wherein the curved surface is defined by a first radius of curvature R1 about a first axis and a second radius of curvature R2 about a second axis, wherein the first and second axes are orthogonal; and
a second collimating surface to receive the substantially collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy and to redirect the substantially collimated beam toward the output surface.
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Abstract
A collimating waveguide, an optical backlight apparatus, and a method of producing a collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy are disclosed. A collimating waveguide comprises an input surface to receive radiant electromagnetic energy from a point source and an output surface to emit an output beam of substantially collimated radiant electromagnetic energy. A first collimating surface of the waveguide receives a beam of the radiant electromagnetic energy entering from the input surface traveling in a first direction and reflects the radiant electromagnetic energy into a substantially collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy traveling in a second direction, which is the reverse of the first direction. A second collimating surface of the waveguide receives the substantially collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy and to redirect the substantially collimated beam toward the output surface. An optical backlight apparatus comprises a reflective cavity to receive the collimating waveguide and a diffuser located over the output surface of the collimating waveguide.
167 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A collimating waveguide, comprising:
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an input surface comprising a microstructure to receive radiant electromagnetic energy from a point source, wherein the microstructure comprises a plurality of linear prisms each one defining an apex angle, a convex portion defining a radius, and a concave portion defining a radius, wherein the radius of the convex portion is greater than the radius of the concave portion; an output surface to emit an output beam of substantially collimated radiant electromagnetic energy; a first collimating surface to receive a beam of the radiant electromagnetic energy entering from the input surface traveling in a first direction and to reflect the radiant electromagnetic energy into a substantially collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy traveling in a second direction, which is the reverse of the first direction, wherein the first collimating surface comprises a curved surface, wherein the curved surface is defined by a first radius of curvature R1 about a first axis and a second radius of curvature R2 about a second axis, wherein the first and second axes are orthogonal; and a second collimating surface to receive the substantially collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy and to redirect the substantially collimated beam toward the output surface. - 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. A collimating optical backlight, comprising:
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a reflective cavity; and a collimating waveguide located with the reflective cavity, wherein the collimating waveguide comprises; an input surface comprising a microstructure to receive radiant electromagnetic energy from a point source, wherein the microstructure comprises a plurality of linear prisms each one defining an apex angle, a convex portion defining a radius, and a concave portion defining a radius, wherein the radius of the convex portion is greater than the radius of the concave portion; an output surface to emit an output beam of substantially collimated radiant electromagnetic energy; a first collimating surface to receive a beam of the radiant electromagnetic energy entering from the input surface traveling in a first direction and to reflect the radiant electromagnetic energy into a substantially collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy traveling in a second direction, which is the reverse of the first direction, wherein the first collimating surface comprises a curved surface, wherein the curved surface is defined by a first radius of curvature R1 about a first axis and a second radius of curvature R2 about a second axis, wherein the first and second axes are orthogonal; and a second collimating surface to receive the substantially collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy and to redirect the substantially collimated beam toward the output surface. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of producing a collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy, the method comprising:
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optically coupling radiant electromagnetic energy from a point source into an input surface comprising a microstructure, wherein the microstructure comprises a plurality of linear prisms each one defining an apex angle, a convex portion defining a radius, and a concave portion defining a radius, wherein the radius of the convex portion is greater than the radius of the concave portion; transmitting the radiant electromagnetic energy from the input surface to a first collimating surface in a first direction by reflection and total internal reflection (TIR); reflecting the radiant electromagnetic energy by the first collimating surface into a substantially collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy traveling in a second direction, which is the reverse of the first direction, wherein the first collimating surface comprises a curved surface, wherein the curved surface is defined by a first radius of curvature R1 about a first axis and a second radius of curvature R2 about a second axis, wherein the first and second axes are orthogonal; redirecting the substantially collimated beam of radiant electromagnetic energy by a second collimating surface into a substantially collimated beam toward an output surface; and emitting the substantially collimated beam of electromagnetic energy from the output surface. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification