Method and device for concentrating, collimating, and directing light
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a light concentrator to convert incident light to converging light;
a light collimating element to receive said converging light and to reduce an angle of convergence of said converging light; and
a light directing element to re-direct and transfer said reduced-angle converging light along a portion of a light guide to transmit said directed light;
wherein said light directing element comprises a curved reflective interior surface for total internally reflecting said light at a particular angle based, at least in part, on a curvature of said curved reflective interior surface, such that said total internally reflected light enters said light guide at a nonparallel angle that allows total internal reflection to occur in said light guide, and further wherein an optical axis of said light guide is perpendicular to an optical axis of said light concentrator.
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Abstract
An optical system for light energy concentration may comprise a light concentrator to convert incident light to converging light, a light collimating element to receive the converging light and to reduce an angle of convergence of the converging light, and a light directing element to direct the reduced-angle converging light to a light guide to transmit the directed light.
22 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a light concentrator to convert incident light to converging light; a light collimating element to receive said converging light and to reduce an angle of convergence of said converging light; and a light directing element to re-direct and transfer said reduced-angle converging light along a portion of a light guide to transmit said directed light; wherein said light directing element comprises a curved reflective interior surface for total internally reflecting said light at a particular angle based, at least in part, on a curvature of said curved reflective interior surface, such that said total internally reflected light enters said light guide at a nonparallel angle that allows total internal reflection to occur in said light guide, and further wherein an optical axis of said light guide is perpendicular to an optical axis of said light concentrator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method comprising:
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collecting and focusing incident light from a light concentrator onto a light collimating element to increase an f-number of said incident light, wherein said f-number of said incident light represents a quantitative measure of a steepness of a cone of said incident light; steering and transferring said f-number-increased light received from said light collimating element via a curved reflective interior surface of a light directing element configured for total internally reflecting said f-number-increased light at a particular angle based, at least in part, on a curvature of said curved reflective interior surface, said f-number-increased light entering a light guide at a nonparallel angle that allows total internal reflection to occur in said light guide; and transmitting said steered light to an energy converting device via said light guide, wherein the optical axis of said light guide is perpendicular to the optical axis of said light concentrator. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. An apparatus comprising:
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a light concentrator to convert incident light to converging light; a light collimating element to receive the converging light and to reduce an angle of convergence of the converging light; and a light directing element to re-direct and transfer the reduced-angle converging light along a portion of a light guide to transmit the directed light; wherein at least two of the light collimating element, the light directing element, and the light guide may form a single optical element; and wherein the light directing element comprises a curved reflective interior surface for total internally reflecting the light at a particular angle based, at least in part, on a curvature of the curved reflective interior surface, such that the total internally reflected light enters the light guide at a nonparallel angle that allows total internal reflection to occur in the light guide, and further wherein an optical axis of said light guide is perpendicular to an optical axis of said light concentrator. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification