Light emitting device with optical redundancy

• US 9,103,956 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2011
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FLEx Lighting II, LLC
• Original Assignee: FLEx Lighting II, LLC
• Inventors: Nichol, Anthony J., Coleman, Zane A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Breval, Elmito
• Application Number:
  US13/812,750
• Publication Number:
  US 20130208508A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,475 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0013 Means for improving the coupling-in of light from the light source into the light guide coupling light into light guides in general G02B6/42
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0028 Light guide, e.g. taper
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0043 provided on the surface of the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0058 varying in density, size, shape or depth along the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0068 Arrangements of plural sources, e.g. multi-colour light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0073 Light emitting diode [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0076 Stacked arrangements of multiple light guides of the same or different cross-sectional area

Abstract

An optically redundant light emitting device includes a light transmitting film comprising an array of coupling lightguides extending from a light emitting area defined within the light transmitting film. Each coupling lightguide is bent to form a stacked array of coupling lightguides. A first group of light sources comprising at least one light source is positioned to emit light into the stacked array of coupling lightguides, and a second group of light sources comprising at least one light source is positioned to emit light into the stacked array of coupling lightguides. A first optical path of the light emitted from the first group of light sources overlaps with a second optical path of the light from the second group of light sources in each coupling lightguide.

Claims

1. An optically redundant light emitting device comprising:

a. a light transmitting film comprising a lightguide region defining a light emitting area and an array of coupling lightguides extending from the light emitting area wherein each coupling lightguide of the array of coupling lightguides is bent to form a stacked array of coupling lightguides;

b. a first group of light sources comprising at least two light sources positioned to emit light into end edges of the stacked array of coupling lightguides; and

c. a second group of light sources comprising at least one light source positioned to emit light into the end edges of the stacked array of coupling lightguides, the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources positioned in a linear array parallel to the end edges of the stacked array of coupling lightguides, wherein;

i) when the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources are emitting light, each coupling lightguide in the stacked array of coupling lightguides receives light emitted from the first group of light sources and light emitted from the second group of light sources, the light travels by total internal reflection through the light transmitting film to the light emitting area, the light emitted from the first group of light sources and the light emitted from the second group of light sources exit the light transmitting film in the light emitting area with a spatial luminance uniformity of the light emitting area along an edge of the lightguide region disposed to receive light from the array of coupling lightguides greater than 70%; and

ii) when the first group of light sources is emitting light and the second group of light sources is not emitting light, the light emitted from the first group of light sources exits the light transmitting film in the light emitting area with a spatial luminance uniformity of the light emitting area along the edge of the lightguide region disposed to receive light from the array of coupling lightguides greater than 70%.

2. The light emitting device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources comprises at least two light emitting diodes.

3. The light emitting device of claim 1 wherein the first group of light sources has a first color temperature and the second group of light sources has a second color temperature different than the first color temperature.

4. The light emitting device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the light emitted from the first group of light sources and the light emitted from the second group of light sources has an angular light output profile with an angular full-width at half maximum intensity less than 80 degrees.

5. The light emitting device of claim 1 wherein the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources comprise light emitting diodes from different luminance bins.

6. The light emitting device of claim 1 wherein:

a. when the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources are emitting light, the light emitted from the first group of light sources and the light emitted from the second group of light sources exit the light transmitting film in the light emitting area along the edge of the lightguide region disposed to receive light from the array of coupling lightguides with a spatial color non-uniformity (Δ

u′

v′

₁) less than 0.2; and

b. when the first group of light sources is emitting light and the second group of light sources is not emitting light, the light emitted from the first group of light sources exits the light transmitting film in the light emitting area along the edge of the lightguide region disposed to receive light from the array of coupling lightguides with a spatial color non-uniformity (Δ

u′

v′

₂) less than 0.2.

7. The light emitting device of claim 6 wherein Δ

u′

v′

₁ is less than 0.1 and Δ

u′

v′

₂ is less than 0.1.

8. The light emitting device of claim 6 wherein the first group of light sources has a first color temperature and the second group of light sources has a second color temperature different than the first color temperature.

9. A display comprising the light emitting device of claim 1 and a spatial light modulator operatively coupled to the light emitting device.

10. A display comprising the light emitting device of claim 1 and a spatial light modulator operatively coupled to the light emitting device.

11. The light emitting device of claim 1 wherein the light transmitting film further comprises a light mixing region positioned between the array of coupling lightguides and the light emitting area, and when the first group of light sources are emitting light the light exits the array of coupling lightguides and intermixes within the light mixing region and propagates to the light emitting area, and a surface area of the light mixing region is greater than 60% of a total outer surface area of a light emitting surface.

12. The light emitting device of claim 1 wherein the light transmitting film further comprises a light mixing region positioned between the array of coupling lightguides and the light emitting area, and when the first group of light sources are emitting light the light exits the array of coupling lightguides and intermixes within the light mixing region and propagates to the light emitting area, and a surface area of the light mixing region is greater than 90% of a total outer surface area of a light emitting surface.

13. An optically redundant light emitting device comprising:

a light transmitting film comprising an array of coupling lightguides extending from a light emitting area defined within a lightguide region of the light transmitting film wherein each coupling lightguide of the array of coupling lightguides is bent to form a stacked array of coupling lightguides;

a first group of light sources comprising at least two light sources positioned to emit white light into end edges of the stacked array of coupling lightguides; and

a second group of light sources comprising at least two light sources positioned to emit white light into the end edges of the stacked array of coupling lightguides, the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources positioned in a linear array parallel to the end edges of the stacked array of coupling lightguides,

wherein light from the first group of light sources and light from the second group of light sources propagates by total internal reflection through the light transmitting film and exits the light transmitting film in the light emitting area, the light from the first group of light sources has a spatial luminance uniformity of the light emitting area along an edge of the lightguide region disposed to receive light from the array of coupling lightguides greater than 70%, and the light from the second group of light sources has a spatial luminance uniformity of the light emitting area along an edge of the lightguide region disposed to receive light from the array of coupling lightguides greater than 70%.

14. The light emitting device of claim 13 wherein the light emitting area has a VESA 9-spot sampled spatial luminance uniformity greater than 70% when the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources are emitting light and when only the first group of light sources is emitting light.

15. The light emitting device of claim 13 wherein the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources each comprises at least two light emitting diodes.

16. The light emitting device of claim 13 wherein the light transmitting film further comprises a light mixing region positioned between the array of coupling lightguides and the light emitting area, light exiting the array of coupling lightguides intermixes within the light mixing region and propagates to the light emitting area, and a surface area of the light mixing region is greater than 90% of the total outer surface area of a light emitting surface.

17. A light emitting device comprising:

a light transmitting film comprising an array of coupling lightguides extending from a light emitting area defined within a lightguide region of the light transmitting film wherein each coupling lightguide of the array of coupling lightguides is bent to form a stacked array of coupling lightguides; and

a first group of light sources comprising at least two light sources of a first color positioned to emit light into end edges of the stacked array of coupling lightguides; and

a second group of light sources comprising at least two light sources of a second color different from the first color positioned to emit light into the end edges of the stacked array of coupling lightguides, the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources positioned in a linear array parallel to the end edges of the stacked array of coupling lightguides,

wherein each coupling lightguide in the stacked array of coupling lightguides is positioned to receive light emitted from the first group of light sources and light emitted from the second group of light sources, and the light emitting area has a spatial color non-uniformity (Δ

u′

v′

) less than 0.2 along an edge of the lightguide region disposed to receive light from the array of coupling lightguides when the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources are emitting light and when only the first group of light sources is emitting light.

18. The light emitting device of claim 17 wherein the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources each comprises white light emitting diodes.

19. The light emitting device of claim 18 wherein the first group of light sources comprises at least two white light emitting diodes of a first color temperature and the second group of light sources comprises at least two white light emitting diodes of a second color temperature different than the first color temperature.

20. The light emitting device of claim 19 wherein the first group of light sources and the second group of light sources comprise light emitting diodes from different color bins.

21. A display comprising the light emitting device of claim 17 and a spatial light modulator operatively coupled to the light emitting device.