Illumination devices including multiple light emitting elements

• US 9,028,120 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2012
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quarkstar LLC
• Original Assignee: Quarkstar LLC
• Inventors: Dau, Wilson, Gardner, Robert C., Lerman, George, Lerman, Louis, Lowery, Christopher H., Ogonowsky, Brian D., Smith, George E., Speier, Ingo, Steele, Robert V., Teng, Jacqueline, York, Allan Brent
• Primary Examiner(s): BANNAN, JULIE A
• Application Number:
  US13/570,243
• Publication Number:
  US 20130039090A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,007 Days
• US Class Current: 362/555
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 8/04 intended only for mounting on a ceiling or the like overhead structures F21S8/02 takes precedence; details of ceiling bases F21V21/03
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/0016 on lighting devices that also provide for direct lighting, e.g. by means of independent light sources, by splitting of the light beam, by switching between both lighting modes
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/0025 Combination of two or more reflectors for a single light source array of reflectors for a cluster of light sources F21V7/0083
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/0033 with successive reflections from one reflector to the next or following
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2103/10 comprising a linear array of point-like light-generating elements
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0001 specially adapted for lighting devices or systems lighting or signalling on vehicles using light guides B60Q1/00; lighting devices for vehicle dashboards B60Q3/10; lighting devices for vehicle interior using light guides B60Q3/62; lighting devices mounted on the vehicle rear part using light guides F21S43/235; measuring arrangements having light conducting pointers G01D13/265; illumination of liquid crystal displays G02F1/1336; illuminated signs G09F13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0011 the light guides being planar or of plate-like form
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0096 the lights guides being of the hollow type

Abstract

A variety of illumination devices are disclosed that are configured to manipulate light provided by one or more light-emitting elements (LEEs). In general, embodiments of the illumination devices feature one or more optical couplers that redirect illumination from the LEEs to a reflector which then directs the light into a range of angles. In some embodiments, the illumination device includes a second reflector that reflects at least some of the light from the first reflector. In certain embodiments, the illumination device includes a light guide that guides light from the collector to the first reflector. The components of the illumination device can be configured to provide illumination devices that can provide a variety of intensity distributions. Such illumination devices can be configured to provide light for particular lighting applications, including office lighting, task lighting, cabinet lighting, garage lighting, wall wash, stack lighting, and downlighting.

Claims

1. A luminaire, comprising:

at least one light-emitting diode (LED);

a light guide comprising two opposing planar surfaces both extending from a first end to a second end, the light guide being positioned to receive at the first end light emitted by the light-emitting diode and guide it between the planar surfaces to the second end; and

an optical extractor optically coupled to the light guide at the second end, the optical extractor comprising a cylindrical element having a cylinder axis and a wedge-shaped groove extending along a cylinder axis, wherein the wedge-shaped groove forms a first optical interface and a cylindrical surface of the cylindrical element forms a second optical interface, the first optical interface being positioned to reflect light exiting the light guide and the second optical interface being configured to transmit light reflected by the first optical interface,

wherein for a cross-sectional plane, the first optical interface has a shape that comprises a vertex of the wedge-shaped groove.

2. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the at least one LED comprises a plurality of LEDs arranged in a row.

3. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one LED has substantially the same emission spectrum.

4. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one LED emits white light during operation.

5. The luminaire of claim 4, wherein each of the at least one LED emits white light during operation.

6. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein at least some of the at least one LED are colored LEDs.

7. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein at least some of the at least one LED are blue, violet, or ultra-violet LEDs.

8. The luminaire of claim 7, further comprising a wavelength conversion material positioned remote from the at least one LED in a path of light emitted by the at least one LED, the wavelength conversion material being arranged to convert at least some of the light from the at least one LED into light of a longer wavelength.

9. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the at least one LED has a nominal power in a range from 0.1 W to 2 W.

10. The luminaire of claim 1, further comprising an optical element positioned to receive light emitted from the at least one LED and direct the light to the first end of the light guide.

11. The luminaire of claim 10, wherein the optical element comprises at least one optical interface shaped to collimate the light in at least one dimension.

12. The luminaire of claim 11, wherein the at least one optical interface of the optical element is shaped to collimate the light in two dimensions.

13. The luminaire of claim 11, wherein the at least one optical interface of the optical element has a parabolic cross-sectional profile.

14. The luminaire of claim 11, wherein the optical element is optically coupled to the first end of the light guide.

15. The luminaire of claim 11, wherein the optical element is integrally-formed with the light guide.

16. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the opposing planar surfaces of the light guide are parallel.

17. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the light guide is formed from a dielectric material.

18. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the light guide is a rectangular piece of dielectric material having a length, a width, and a thickness, where the width corresponds to the dimension of the rectangle between the first and second ends, the thickness corresponds to the dimension between the opposing planar surfaces, and the length corresponds to the dimension orthogonal to the width and the thickness, the length being larger than the width and the thickness.

19. The luminaire of claim 18, wherein the width is larger than the thickness.

20. The luminaire of claim 19, wherein the thickness is 1 cm or less.

21. The luminaire of claim 18, wherein the dielectric material is an organic polymer.

22. The luminaire of claim 21, wherein the organic polymer is acrylic.

23. The luminaire of claim 21, wherein the dielectric material is an inorganic glass.

24. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the optical extractor has a uniform cross-sectional shape along an axis extending orthogonal to the cross-sectional plane.

25. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the wedge-shaped groove comprises a first planar portion and a second planar portion that meet at an edge corresponding to the vertex of the wedge-shaped groove in the cross-sectional plane.

26. The luminaire of claim 25, wherein

planar light guide surfaces are arranged symmetrically about a notional plane extending between the first and second ends, and

the edge of the wedge-shaped groove lies in the notional plane.

27. The luminaire of claim 26, wherein the first and second planar portions are arranged symmetrically with respect to the notional plane.

28. The luminaire of claim 26, wherein the first and second planar portions are arranged asymmetrically with respect to the notional plane.

29. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the first optical interface of the optical extractor has a v-shape in the cross-sectional plane.

30. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the second optical interface has a portion having an arcuate shape in the cross-sectional plane.

31. The luminaire of claim 30, wherein the arcuate portion has a constant radius of curvature.

32. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the optical extractor comprises a portion formed from a dielectric material, wherein a first surface of the portion corresponds to the first optical interface and a second surface of the portion corresponds to the second optical interface.

33. The luminaire of claim 32, wherein the optical extractor comprises a portion formed from a second material adjacent to the first surface, the first optical interface being the interface between the portion of the second material and the portion of the dielectric material.

34. The luminaire of claim 33, wherein the second material is a reflective material.

35. The luminaire of claim 33, wherein the second material is a metal.

36. The luminaire of claim 35, wherein the metal is aluminum.

37. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein

the cylindrical element is formed from a dielectric material, and

the optical extractor further comprises a second material disposed on surfaces of the wedge-shaped groove which form the first optical interface.

38. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the light guide is integrally-formed with the optical extractor.

39. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein for a cross-sectional plane, the first optical interface has a first arcuate shape and the second optical interface has a second arcuate shape.

40. The luminaire of claim 39, wherein the optical extractor has a uniform cross-sectional shape along an axis extending orthogonal to the cross-sectional plane.

41. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the light guide and optical extractor are shaped so that, in a first plane, the luminaire directs substantially all of the light into a range of angles from 110 degrees to 250 degrees, where 0 degrees corresponds to a direction from the first end to the second end of the light guide.

42. The luminaire of claim 41, wherein the light guide and optical extractor are shaped so that the luminaire asymmetrically distributes the light about 0 degrees in the first plane.

43. The luminaire of claim 41, wherein the at least one LED is configured so that, in a second plane parallel to the opposing planar surfaces of the light guide, the luminaire directs substantially all of the light into a range of angles from 135 degrees to 225 degrees, where 0 degrees corresponds to the direction from the first end to the second end of the light guide.

44. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein for a cross-sectional plane, the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical element is an arc of constant radius, R, and the wedge-shaped groove is inscribed within a notional circle of radius R/n concentric with the arc, where n is a refractive index of a material from which the optical extractor is formed.