An off-axis, segmented, variable-focus high-intensity illumination system

Abstract

The application discloses an off-axis split variable focal intensity lighting system. The system comprises a laser, a shaping lens, a converging and combining lens, a diffraction sheet, a light conversion device, an off-axis split reflector bowl and a split focusing lens. The laser, the shaping lens, the converging and combining lens, the diffraction sheet and the light conversion device are sequentially arranged along the optical axis. The distance between the split focusing lens and the off-axis split reflector bowl is changed to realize near and far distance lighting. The application has high thermal conductivity and excellent mechanical properties, and can directly use the blue excitation light source in the existing high-brightness projector to generate white light, solving the light shielding problem of the traditional back-reflection mechanical support.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to laser lighting, and more particularly to an off-axis, segmented, variable-focus, high-intensity lighting system. Background Technology

[0002] Laser lighting uses semiconductor lasers as the core light source and employs laser-based remote excitation of phosphors. The laser beam is focused onto a fluorescent material, typically using a blue laser to excite a yellow phosphor. The phosphor, stimulated, produces high-brightness excited light, which mixes with the remaining unconverted blue light to form white light, which is then collected and emitted by a subsequent system. Due to the complexity of laser-based remote excitation of phosphors, the optical system design must comprehensively consider laser focusing and homogenization, phosphor collection and emission, and the mixing of laser and phosphor. Traditional focusing schemes used in LED flashlights are no longer suitable for zoom lighting systems using lasers as the light source. Furthermore, while using a traditional reflector as the light collection device in a laser lighting system can design a long-range, high-intensity lighting system with a divergence angle of up to 2°, achieving illumination distances of several kilometers, it cannot guarantee a good illumination spot while simultaneously varying the beam angle, making it unsuitable for close-range lighting. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to address the problem that the focusing scheme commonly used in existing LED flashlights is no longer suitable for zoom lighting systems using lasers as light sources, and to provide a novel off-axis, segmented, zoomable high-intensity lighting system.

[0004] To achieve this objective, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows: an off-axis lobed variable focus high-intensity illumination system, comprising: a laser, a shaping lens, a beam-combining lens, a diffraction plate, a light conversion device, an off-axis lobed reflector, and a lobed focusing lens; the laser, the shaping lens, the beam-combining lens, the diffraction plate, and the light conversion device are arranged sequentially along the optical axis; the off-axis lobed reflector is located between the diffraction plate and the light conversion device, with the reflective surface of the off-axis lobed reflector facing the light-emitting surface of the light conversion device, and the off-axis lobed reflector has a reflector through-hole; The segmented focusing lens is located on the optical conversion device side of the optical conversion device; the emitted beam from the laser passes sequentially through the shaping lens, the focusing lens, the diffraction plate, and the aperture of the off-axis segmented reflector to reach the light-emitting surface of the optical conversion device. Under the action of the emitted beam from the laser, the optical conversion device generates a converted beam. The converted beam is reflected by the reflective surface of the off-axis segmented reflector and emitted outward through the segmented focusing lens; by changing the distance between the segmented focusing lens and the off-axis segmented reflector, illumination at near and far distances can be achieved.

[0005] As a preferred embodiment of an off-axis, segmented, variable-focus high-intensity lighting system, it further includes: a fixed bracket, the fixed bracket having a star-shaped structure, the fixed bracket having a central portion and a radial portion, and the light conversion device being fixed to the central portion.

[0006] As a preferred embodiment of an off-axis segmented variable focus high-intensity illumination system, the fixed bracket is used for active heat dissipation of the light conversion device. The contact portion between the fixed bracket and the light conversion device is made of a high thermal conductivity metal. The number of its radial portions is equal to the number of segments of the off-axis segmented reflector bowl, and its width is configured to allow for the internal arrangement of heat pipes while minimizing obstruction of the converted light beam.

[0007] As a preferred embodiment of an off-axis, segmented, variable-focus, high-intensity illumination system, the laser is a single laser diode and its constituent one-dimensional or two-dimensional array, or a laser module and its constituent array, used to emit blue laser light.

[0008] As a preferred embodiment of an off-axis, segmented, variable-focus high-intensity lighting system, the light conversion device is a single crystal, a cemented phosphor, or a fluorescent ceramic, and its surface may be coated with a 0° anti-reflection film.

[0009] As a preferred embodiment of an off-axis segmented variable focus high-intensity illumination system, the off-axis segmented reflector and the segmented focusing lens have the same number of segments, and the segments of the off-axis segmented reflector and the segments of the segmented focusing lens have a one-to-one correspondence.

[0010] As a preferred embodiment of an off-axis segmented variable focus high-intensity lighting system, the segments of the off-axis segmented reflector bowl are ellipsoidal.

[0011] As a preferred embodiment of an off-axis segmented variable focus high-intensity illumination system, the segments of the segmented focusing lens are either positive or negative lenses.

[0012] The present invention also discloses an off-axis segmented variable focus high-intensity lighting system, comprising: an LED light source, an off-axis segmented reflector, and a segmented focusing lens; the LED light source is located between the off-axis segmented reflector and the segmented focusing lens, with the reflective surface of the off-axis segmented reflector facing the light-emitting surface of the LED light source.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are at least as follows: the light source can be a combination of single or multiple lasers, and the laser power coverage is relatively wide; the optical path structure is compact, especially the use of the reflector effectively folds the optical path and shortens the system length; by changing the optical conversion device or the surface parameters of the focusing lens or the diffraction plate, the size of the laser spot incident on the surface of the optical conversion device can be adjusted, and its optical power density can be varied; the combined use of the off-axis lobed reflector and the lobed focusing lens can enable the optical system to emit illumination beams with different divergence angles, and ensure that no dark area appears in the center of the illumination beam during the entire zoom process. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fixed bracket in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the use of Embodiment 1 of the present invention (first scenario).

[0017] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the use of Embodiment 1 of the present invention (second scenario).

[0018] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the different proportions of light splitting achieved by the off-axis segmented reflector bowl in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of splitting the off-axis split reflector bowl in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to specific embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be noted that these descriptions of embodiments are intended to aid in understanding the present invention and do not constitute a limitation thereof. Furthermore, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0022] Example 1:

[0023] Please see Figure 1 The figure shows an off-axis, segmented, variable-focus, high-intensity lighting system. This off-axis, segmented, variable-focus, high-intensity lighting system can be configured in devices such as flashlights.

[0024] The off-axis split-type variable focus high-intensity illumination system includes: a laser 1, a shaping lens 2, a focusing and beam-combining lens 3, a diffraction plate 4, a light conversion device 5, an off-axis split-type reflector 6, and a split-type focusing lens 8, etc.

[0025] The laser 1, the shaping lens 2, the focusing lens 3, the diffraction plate 4, and the light conversion device 5 are arranged in sequence from left to right.

[0026] The off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6 is located between the diffractor plate 4 and the light conversion device 5. The reflective surface of the off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6 faces the light-emitting surface of the light conversion device 5. That is, the reflective surface of the off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6 faces to the right, and the light-emitting surface of the light conversion device 5 faces to the left. The off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6 has a reflector bowl passage hole. The purpose of providing the reflector bowl passage hole is to ensure that the emitted beam of the laser 1 passes smoothly through the off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6.

[0027] The segmented focusing lens 8 is located to the right of the light conversion device 5. The position of the segmented focusing lens 8 is movable and can move along the optical axis.

[0028] Preferably, the optical conversion device 5 is fixed by a mounting bracket 7. See also... Figure 2 The fixing bracket 7 has a central portion and a radial portion. The number N of the radial portions is less than the number of lobes in the off-axis segmented reflector 6, preferably 3 ≤ N ≤ 6. To avoid blocking the effective light beam and meet the intensity requirements, the width D of the radial portions should not be too large, preferably 5 mm ≤ D ≤ 10 mm. In addition to fixing the light conversion device 5, the fixing bracket 7 is also used to quickly conduct the heat generated by the light conversion device 5 during operation outward. Furthermore, the part of the fixing bracket 7 that directly contacts the light conversion device 5 is made of a high thermal conductivity metal, and its number of brackets is less than the number of lobes in the off-axis segmented reflector. Its width is designed to allow for the distribution of heat pipes inside the bracket while avoiding the effective incident light beam.

[0029] Please see Figure 3 and Figure 4 The emitted beam from the laser 1 passes sequentially to the right through the shaping lens 2, the focusing lens 3, the diffraction plate 4, and the aperture of the off-axis segmented reflector 6, reaching the light-emitting surface of the light conversion device 5. Under the influence of the emitted beam from the laser 1, the light conversion device 5 generates a converted beam and emits it to the left. The converted beam from the light conversion device 5 is reflected by the off-axis segmented reflector 6 and passes to the right through the segmented focusing lens 8 before being emitted outwards. By changing the distance between the segmented focusing lens 8 and the off-axis segmented reflector 6, near- and far-distance illumination can be achieved.

[0030] The laser 1 can be a laser diode array. In this embodiment, the laser diode array is arranged in a 4×5 array.

[0031] The shaping lens 2 is used to shape the emitted beam from the laser 1. In this embodiment, the shaping lens 2 is used to homogenize the elongated beam from the laser 1 into a near-circular beam. The shaping lens 2 can be a pair of cylindrical mirrors with mutually perpendicular diffusion directions.

[0032] The beam-combining lens 3 is used to combine and focus the emitted beam of the laser 1, so that the light spot falls on the light-emitting surface of the light conversion device 5. In this embodiment, the beam-combining lens 3 combines and focuses the elongated light spot of the laser 1 into a spot with a diameter of less than 1.5 mm. The beam-combining lens can be a spherical lens with f=80 mm.

[0033] The diffraction plate 4 is used to homogenize the emitted beam of the laser 1 and reduce the peak power density at the beam focal point.

[0034] The light conversion device 5 is used to convert the wavelength of the emitted beam from the laser 1 to form a secondary surface light source. For example, converting blue light to white light.

[0035] The off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6 is composed of segments pieced together. The light conversion device 5 is located at the main focal point of the off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6. In this embodiment, the off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6 consists of eight segments. The main focal point is the common focal point of the eight segments. The off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6 divides the converted light beam from the light conversion device 5 into eight beams, which converge at the eight secondary focal points formed by the eight segments.

[0036] The segmented focusing lens 8 corresponds to the off-axis segmented reflector 6. The segmented focusing lens 8 and the off-axis segmented reflector 6 have the same number of segments, thereby distributing and emitting the light beams segmented by the off-axis segmented reflector 6 in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0037] To achieve ultra-high brightness illumination at a small angle, each segment of the lobed focusing lens 8 has a hyperboloidal surface, ideally capable of collimating the light emitted from a point light source located at its focal point. In this implementation, the beam angle is minimized when the focal point of each segment coincides with the focal point of the corresponding segment. If each segment is a negative lens, the beam angle increases as the lobed focusing lens 8 moves axially away from the lobed reflector bowl 7; if each segment is a positive lens, the beam angle increases as the lobed focusing lens 8 moves axially closer to the lobed reflector bowl 7.

[0038] Specifically, in this embodiment, each lens is a negative lens, and at the initial position (see...). Figure 3 Its focal point coincides with the focal point of each corresponding reflector bowl, at which point the beam angle is minimized, enabling long-distance illumination. During zooming, the segmented focusing lens 8 moves to the right, at which point the beam angle increases, enabling short-distance illumination.

[0039] The opening size of the reflector through hole in the off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6 is influenced by the combined effect of the emitting surface size of the laser 1 and the focal length of the focusing lens 3. The smaller the emitting surface size of the laser 1 and the longer the focal length of the focusing lens 3, the smaller the required opening size.

[0040] In this embodiment, the off-axis segmented reflector 6 divides the light source at the main focal point into equal energy segments, with each segment having an equal plane angle. In other embodiments, this can be extended further. Figure 5 The diagram illustrates a non-off-axis segmented reflector (N=4) that divides energy according to a ratio of 1:2:3:4, with each segment of the reflector's plane angle proportionally divided to achieve energy segmentation.

[0041] Please see Figure 6 The figure shows the schematic diagram of the off-axis segmented reflector surface of this invention. When the single-segment reflector parabola 21 rotates around the first rotation axis 22, a continuous loop of secondary focal points 23 can be obtained. When the single-segment reflector parabola 21 rotates around the second rotation axis 24, discrete secondary focal points 23 can be obtained.

[0042] Preferably, the laser 1 can be a single laser diode and a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array thereof, or a laser module and an array thereof, for emitting blue laser light.

[0043] Preferably, the diffusion angle of the diffractometer 4 is 1°, 1.5°, 2° or 3°.

[0044] Preferably, the light conversion device can be a single crystal, a bonded phosphor, or a fluorescent ceramic. The surface of the fluorescent material is coated with a 0° anti-reflection film to maximize the use of laser light incident perpendicularly on the surface of the light conversion material and reduce stray light. The size and aspect ratio of the light spot on its surface depend on the shaping lens group.

[0045] Preferably, the off-axis segmented reflector bowl 6 has segments that are ellipsoidal, which can effectively avoid energy loss caused by structural components blocking the optical path during transmission and reduce the system length.

[0046] Example 2:

[0047] Please see Figure 7Based on Example 1, the laser, shaping lens, focusing lens, diffraction plate, and light conversion device are omitted. The LED light source 101 is fixed by the fixing device 103, and its light emission direction faces the reflecting surface of the off-axis segmented reflector 102. The emitted beam of the LED light source 101 is reflected by the off-axis segmented reflector 102 and then passes to the right through the segmented focusing lens 104 to be emitted outward. Similarly, by changing the distance between the segmented focusing lens 104 and the off-axis segmented reflector 102, near- and far-distance illumination can be achieved.

[0048] The above description merely illustrates the embodiments of this invention, and while the description is relatively specific and detailed, it should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this invention, and these all fall within the scope of protection of this invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of this invention should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An off-axis, segmented, variable-focus high-intensity illumination system, characterized in that, include: A laser, a shaping lens, a beam-combining lens, a diffraction plate, an optical conversion device, an off-axis split-type reflector, and a split-type focusing lens; the laser, the shaping lens, the beam-combining lens, the diffraction plate, and the optical conversion device are arranged sequentially along the optical axis. The off-axis segmented reflector bowl is located between the diffraction plate and the light conversion device, with its reflective surface facing the light-emitting surface of the light conversion device. The off-axis segmented reflector bowl has a reflector bowl through-hole. The segmented focusing lens is located on the light conversion device side of the light conversion device. The laser beam emitted from the laser sequentially passes through the shaping lens, the focusing lens, the diffraction plate, and the reflector bowl through-hole of the off-axis segmented reflector bowl to reach the light-emitting surface of the light conversion device. Under the action of the laser beam emitted from the laser, the light conversion device generates a converted beam. The converted beam is reflected by the reflective surface of the off-axis segmented reflector bowl and emitted outwards through the segmented focusing lens. By changing the distance between the segmented focusing lens and the off-axis segmented reflector, illumination can be achieved at both near and far distances. The device further includes: a fixed bracket, the fixed bracket having a star-shaped structure, the fixed bracket having a central portion and a radial portion, and the optical conversion device being fixed to the central portion; The fixed bracket is used for active heat dissipation of the light conversion device. The contact portion between the fixed bracket and the light conversion device is made of a high thermal conductivity metal. The number of its radial portions is equal to the number of lobes of the off-axis segmented reflector bowl, and its width is configured to allow for the internal arrangement of heat pipes while minimizing obstruction of the converted light beam.

2. The off-axis segmented variable focus high-intensity illumination system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The laser is a single laser diode and its constituent one-dimensional or two-dimensional array, or a laser module and its constituent array, used to emit blue laser light.

3. The off-axis, segmented, variable-focus high-intensity illumination system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light conversion device is a single crystal, a bonded phosphor, or a fluorescent ceramic, with a 0° antireflection coating on its surface.

4. The off-axis, segmented, variable-focus high-intensity illumination system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The off-axis segmented reflector and the segmented focusing lens have the same number of segments, and the segments of the off-axis segmented reflector and the segments of the segmented focusing lens have a one-to-one correspondence.

5. An off-axis, segmented, variable-focus high-intensity illumination system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The off-axis segmented reflector bowl has segments that are ellipsoidal in shape.

6. The off-axis segmented variable focus high-intensity illumination system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The segments of the segmented focusing lens can be either positive or negative lenses.

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