Beam shaping system and an illumination system using the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9946055-B2
Application number	US-201515121651-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2015
Priority date	Mar 4, 2014
Publication date	Apr 17, 2018
Grant date	Apr 17, 2018

Abstract

A beam shaping system is for example for use over an array of light sources. An array of beam shaping units is arranged in a general plane, each beam shaping unit comprising a central refracting area, an intermediate total internal reflection area for processing of light from a light source beneath the central area, and an outer total internal reflection area for processing light from the nearest light source and an adjacent light source. This outer area essentially extends the useful size of the adjacent beam shaping unit to improve the beam shaping performance and/or the optical efficiency.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A beam shaping system comprising an array of beam shaping units arranged in a general plane, each beam shaping unit comprising:
a central area for providing a beam passing function by refracting light from a light source beneath the central area;
an intermediate area for providing a beam shaping function via total internal reflection of light from the light source beneath the central area;
an outer area for providing a beam shaping function via total internal reflection of light from the light source beneath the central area and also providing total internal reflection of light from a light source beneath the central area of an adjacent beam shaping unit, and
each beam shaping unit having a contoured surface for facing an array of light sources, wherein the contoured surface in the intermediate area and the outer area comprises a set of light deflecting prismatic elements, each having a first face for facing towards the light source and a second face for facing away from the light source,
wherein the first face extends from the general plane at a first angle α and the second face extends from the general plane at a second angle β,
wherein for the set of light deflecting prismatic elements in the intermediate area α<85°, β>50°, |α−β|>5°,
wherein for the set of light deflecting prismatic elements in the outer area 50°<α, β<60° and |α−β|<5°.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a plate or a foil on which the beam shaping units are arranged.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein for the outer area α=β.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein for the intermediate area α>β, preferably α−β<30°.

5. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the central area comprises a set of said light deflecting prismatic elements, wherein for the central area α>80° and β<50°, preferably α−β>35°.

6. A system as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the material of the plate or foil has a refractive index in the range 1.4 to 1.7.

7. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the deflecting prismatic elements are ridges, preferably these ridges are arranged as concentric circles.

8. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each beam shaping unit has a hexagonal outer shape, the boundary between the central area and the intermediate area is circular, hexagonal or hexagonal with rounded corners, and the boundary between the intermediate area and the outer area is circular, hexagonal or hexagonal with rounded corners.

9. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the beam shaping function of the intermediate area and of the outer area is a collimation function.

10. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the beam passing function provided by the central area is a collimation function.

11. A system as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the central area comprises a Fresnel lens.

12. A system as claimed in claim 1 , comprising a second array of second beam shaping units arranged in a general plane over said array of beam shaping units, wherein the beam passing function provided by the central area of said array of beam shaping units provides a pass through function.

13. An illumination system, comprising:
an array of light sources; and
a beam shaping system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the central area of each beam shaping unit is provided over a respective light source.

14. An illumination system as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the light sources comprise LEDs.

15. An illumination system as claimed in claim 13 , comprising a spot light illumination system.

Assignees

• Philips Lighting Holding Bv

Inventors

• Krijn Marcellinus Petrus Carolus Michael
• Sepkhanov Ruslan Akhmedovich

Classifications

• G02B19/0066

  in the form of an LED array · CPC title

• G02B19/0028 Primary

  refractive and reflective surfaces, e.g. non-imaging catadioptric systems · CPC title

• F21Y2115/10

  Light-emitting diodes [LED] · CPC title

• G02B3/08

  with discontinuous faces, e.g. Fresnel lens {(diffractive Fresnel lenses G02B5/1876)} · CPC title

• F21Y2105/10

  comprising a two-dimensional [2D] array of point-like light-generating elements · CPC title