Illumination systems and methods
First Claim
1. A light source comprising:
- one or more light emitters having one or more light emitting surfaces disposed about a longitudinal axis and oriented to output light radially outwardly away from the longitudinal axis; and
a collimating reflector disposed radially outward of the one or more light emitters, all or part of the collimating reflector configured to at least partially collimate light output by the one or more light emitters and to substantially preserve etendue of the light output by the one or more light emitters, the collimating reflector including an input aperture having a width in a direction of the longitudinal axis, the one or more light emitting surfaces extending across substantially the entire width of the input aperture in the direction of the longitudinal axis, wherein the collimating reflector includes an upper reflective surface above the input aperture and a lower reflective surface below the input aperture, wherein the upper reflective surface has a parabolic curvature with a focal point located substantially at a lower end of the input aperture, and wherein the lower reflective surface has a parabolic curvature with a focal point located substantially at an upper end of the input aperture.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus for providing illumination for lighting systems. One or more light emitters can be disposed about a longitudinal axis, such as in an at least partial polygonal shape, so that the light sources emit light radially outwardly away from the longitudinal axis. A collimating reflector can be disposed radially outward of the one or more light emitters and can be configured to at least partially collimate the light and to substantially preserve etendue of the light emitted from the light emitters. The one or more light emitters can substantially fill an input aperture of the collimating reflector in a direction of the longitudinal axis. The light can be coupled into a light guide, which can be configured to distribute the light to a target lighting area.
81 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A light source comprising:
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one or more light emitters having one or more light emitting surfaces disposed about a longitudinal axis and oriented to output light radially outwardly away from the longitudinal axis; and a collimating reflector disposed radially outward of the one or more light emitters, all or part of the collimating reflector configured to at least partially collimate light output by the one or more light emitters and to substantially preserve etendue of the light output by the one or more light emitters, the collimating reflector including an input aperture having a width in a direction of the longitudinal axis, the one or more light emitting surfaces extending across substantially the entire width of the input aperture in the direction of the longitudinal axis, wherein the collimating reflector includes an upper reflective surface above the input aperture and a lower reflective surface below the input aperture, wherein the upper reflective surface has a parabolic curvature with a focal point located substantially at a lower end of the input aperture, and wherein the lower reflective surface has a parabolic curvature with a focal point located substantially at an upper end of the input aperture. - 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)
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27. A light source comprising:
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means for emitting light, the light emitting means disposed about a longitudinal axis and oriented to output light radially outwardly away from the longitudinal axis; and means for at least partially collimating the light output by the light emitting means, the at least partially collimating means disposed radially outward of the light emitting means, all or part of the at least partially collimating means configured to substantially preserve etendue of the light output by the light emitting means, the at least partially collimating means including an input aperture having a width in a direction of the longitudinal axis, and the light emitting means extending across substantially the entire width of the input aperture in the direction of the longitudinal axis, wherein the at least partially collimating means includes an upper reflective surface above the input aperture and a lower reflective surface below the input aperture, wherein the upper reflective surface has a parabolic curvature with a focal point located substantially at a lower end of the input aperture, and wherein the lower reflective surface has a parabolic curvature with a focal point located substantially at an upper end of the input aperture. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method of making a light source, the method comprising:
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providing one or more light emitters having one or more light emitting surfaces disposed about a longitudinal axis and oriented to output light radially outwardly away from the longitudinal axis; and coupling a collimating reflector radially outward of the one or more light emitters, the collimating reflector including an input aperture having a width in a direction of the longitudinal axis, the one or more light emitting surfaces extending substantially entirely across the width of the input aperture in the direction of the longitudinal axis, and all or part of the collimating reflector configured to at least partially collimate the light output by the one or more light emitters and to substantially preserve etendue of the light, wherein the collimating reflector includes an upper reflective surface above the input aperture and a lower reflective surface below the input aperture, wherein the upper reflective surface has a parabolic curvature with a focal point located substantially at a lower end of the input aperture, and wherein the lower reflective surface has a parabolic curvature with a focal point located substantially at an upper end of the input aperture. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37)
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Specification