Illumination apparatus, use of the illumination apparatus, method for dazzle-free illumination and arrangement comprising the illumination apparatus

• US 9,273,849 B2
• Filed: 01/18/2013
• Issued: 03/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Diehl Aerospace GmbH (Diehl VA Systeme Stiftung & Company KG)
• Original Assignee: Diehl Aerospace GmbH (Diehl VA Systeme Stiftung & Company KG)
• Inventors: Schmid, Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): Dzierzynski, Evan
• Application Number:
  US13/744,653
• Publication Number:
  US 20130188345A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,138 Days
• Field of Search: 362/231
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2011/0038 Illumination systems for cabins as a whole
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2203/00 Aircraft or airfield lights using LEDs
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 47/02 Arrangements or adaptations of signal or lighting devices
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 9/00 Elements for modifying spectral properties, polarisation or intensity of the light emitted, e.g. filters coloured shades F21V1/00; elements characterised by cooling arrangements F21V29/502
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/28 Interference filters

Abstract

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved illumination apparatus for the comfortable illumination of a region monitored by a night vision instrument.

To this end, an illumination apparatus 1 having an illumination device 8 is provided, the illumination device 8 comprising at least one LED 9a,b,c and the illumination device 8 being formed in order to emit mixed light with light components in the visible range, and having an optical filter device 10 for filtering the mixed light emitted by the illumination device 8, the optical filter device 10 being formed in order to block light with a cutoff wavelength of more than 610 nm, wherein the illumination device 8 comprises a white LED 9a, a green LED 9b and a red LED 9c, which together produce the mixed light.

Claims

1. An NVIS (Night Vision Imaging System) illumination apparatus used to illuminate a region monitored by a night vision instrument, said illumination apparatus comprising:

an illumination device, the illumination device comprising at least one LED, the illumination device being formed to emit mixed light with light components in the visible range, and

an optical filter device for filtering the mixed light emitted by the illumination device, wherein the optical filter device is optically coupled to the illumination device when the illumination apparatus is used to illuminate the region, wherein the optical filter device blocks light with a cutoff wavelength of more than 610 nm,

wherein the illumination device comprises a white LED, a green LED and a red LED, which together produce the mixed light,

wherein the optical filter device comprises an interference filter device, and

wherein a transmission of the optical filter device in a visible wavelength range below the cutoff wavelength of 610 nm is more than 80% for the light of the illumination device in the visible wavelength range, and in a red wavelength range above 610 nm is less than 1% for the light of the illumination device in the red wavelength range, such that attenuation of the mixed light is minimized to protect the night vision instrument.

2. The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a spectrum of the green LED has an intensity maximum between 500 nm and 570 nm.

3. The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spectrum of the green LED has an intensity maximum between 520 nm and 540 nm.

4. The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spectrum of the red LED has an intensity maximum between 580 nm and 640 nm.

5. The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spectrum of the red LED has an intensity maximum between 590 nm and 625 nm.

6. The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spectrum of the white LED has a first intensity maximum in the UV or blue range and a tail section with a further intensity maximum in the visible range, the further intensity maximum of the white LED being arranged between the intensity maximum of the green LED and the red LED.

7. The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the white LED, the green LED and the red LED respectively define a point in a CIE-LUV colour space system according to the standard CIE 1976, which form a triangle, the mixed light forming a mixed point which is arranged in the triangle.

8. The illumination apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the mixed point in the CIE-LUV colour space system lies on a black-body curve or deviates therefrom by a distance of less than 0.04.

9. The illumination apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the mixed point in the CIE-LUV colour space system lies on a black-body curve or deviates therefrom by a distance of less than 0.02.

10. The illumination apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the mixed point lies in a circular region with a radius of 0.04 around a setpoint in the CIE-LUV colour space system, the setpoint having the coordinates (0.19;

0.49) and/or corresponding to the position of the NVIS white according to the specification MIL-STD-3009.

11. The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mixing ratio of the intensities between the white LED, the red LED and the green LED is 1.235:

0.518;

0.389.

12. The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission of the optical filter device in a visible wavelength range below the cutoff wavelength of 610 nm is more than 90% for the light of the illumination device in the visible wavelength range, and in a red wavelength range above 610 nm is less than 0.1% for the light of the illumination device in the red wavelength range.

13. The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the illumination apparatus is formed as instrument illumination, interior illumination, onboard computer illumination, cockpit illumination and/or as a reading lamp.

14. A method for the dazzle-free illumination of a region monitored by a night vision instrument comprising at least partially illuminating the region monitored by the night vision instrument by an illumination apparatus according to claim 1.

15. An arrangement comprising a night vision instrument and an illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the night vision instrument and the illumination apparatus are activated synchronously.