APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR IMPROVED ILLUMINATION AREA FILL
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A reflector for a light source, such as an LED, is provided with a shape which efficiently collects and directs energy to an illumined surface whereby almost 100% of the light is collected and distributed into a designer composite beam. The shape in one embodiment is comprised of three zones beginning with a parabolic surface of revolution at the base of the reflector, followed by a transition or straight conic zone and ending with an elliptical zone. In another embodiment the reflector shape is determined according to a transfer function which allows for arbitrary designer control of the reflected rays at each point on the reflector, which when combined with direct radiation from the source, results in a designer controlled composite beam or illumination. The device is more than 90% energy efficient and allows replacement of higher power, less energy efficient light sources with no loss in illumination intensity.
102 Citations
15 Claims
-
1-13. -13. (canceled)
-
14. A method of computerized design of a shape of a reflector having a three dimensional surface, a base and aperture, the reflector for reflecting light from a light source whose intensity varies as a function of three dimensional solid angles of the light rays radiated from the light source comprising:
-
characterizing the entire intensity and spatial distribution pattern of light radiating from the light source as data in a computer; determining the desired energy pattern at a destination as a final data solution in the computer; determining the desired distance from light source to the destination as a data input to the computer; deriving the desired two dimensional half angle from the data, measured from the common axis of the light source and reflector, including determining the reflector height and aperture width, to allow directly radiated light to propagate from the light source to the destination; calculating the remainder of the difference between the total available light from the light source less the directly radiated light; and defining the three dimensional surface of the reflector as three distinct conic shaped zones, each providing a surface of revolution, the first zone being parabolic, the second zone being a straight conic and the third zone being elliptical, in that order, beginning with the base of the reflector and moving toward its aperture, to provide a designer controlled reflected light overlaid onto the directly radiated light, which reflected light combines with the directly radiated light to form a user-defined composite light pattern at the destination.
-
-
15-34. -34. (canceled)
Specification