DEVICE FOR LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY MEANS OF REFLECTIONS IN CABLES

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device for light amplification by means of multiple reflections in lines.

[0002] Devices serving a similar purpose are quite well known. For example, there are channels or pipes for fluids that have mirrored walls. These serve to allow the radiation from light sources to act longer in the pipes and the medium contained therein through reflection. For example, DE 20 2021 100 238 U1 or EP 3 378 501 A1. The disadvantage of this type of mirroring is that after a few reflections, the radiation evaporates in the axial direction, reducing the desired effects, such as the intensification of radiation when disinfecting the air from the pipes with UV radiation, and requiring a higher power and number of UV light sources.DE 17 64 878 A and DE 12 04 747 A each disclose devices and methods for light amplification used in the field of laser technology. Light is reflected multiple times from walls and, in the process, repeatedly follows the same path within a defined area within a solid-state line. These devices can only amplify intrinsic and strictly parallel or coherent beams and are not suitable as amplifiers for divergent light sources, especially UV emitters.

[0003] In one embodiment, the present invention comprises the use of a special arrangement of parallel pairs of mirrors that are at a 90° angle to each other, with each mirror at a 45° angle to the axis and attached to only one of the four duct walls, while the other walls are simply mirrored. These pairs of mirrors are oriented transversely to the longitudinal axis of the respective duct. This system of mirrors also makes it possible to reflect the radiation from small-area and relatively strongly diverging light emitters, such as UV light-emitting diodes, in such a way that the rays remain in a limited area of ​​the duct or duct. The double reflection in the pairs of mirrors, which are at a 90° angle to each other, always sends the axially directed portion of the radiation back to where the radiation came from; the lateral portion of the radiation only leads to a lateral offset in the duct.This ensures that the radiation remains only in a very limited area of ​​the pipe or duct, where it becomes increasingly intense the higher the reflectivity of the mirrors. If these ducts are filled with a fluid that is transparent to radiation, such as air for UV radiation, a relatively weak light source can cause the radiation density in the duct to reach such high values ​​that it is entirely sufficient for the desired purpose - usually disinfection. In most cases, a rectangular cross-section for the pipes is chosen, but others such as polygonal or round profiles are also applicable. To ensure unhindered reflection of the radiation, metallic mirrors without a cover or protective layer are required.Since the effect of double reflection is independent of the size of the mirrors, very small and elongated mirror segments can be used, making this type of mirror coating easy to fabricate. The often disruptive effect of divergence during radiation emission is negligible with this type of multiple reflection. Since the radiation density achieved with this device, depending on the reflectance of the mirror coating, reaches significantly high values, many times exceeding the radiation intensity of the bare light source, it can be referred to as a light amplifier using reflections in the local area, or LARLA for short.

[0004] An embodiment of the device according to the invention is shown in the drawings and is explained in more detail below.

[0005] It shows: Fig. 1 Longitudinal section through the device Fig. 2 Cross-section through the device

[0006] The present invention relates to a device for light amplification by means of reflection in lines with an approximately rectangular cross-section, the walls being mirrored and provided with regularly arranged light sources 1, such that the light rays are reflected several times by the walls.

[0007] The amplification of the light from a quasi-point light source 1 occurs through multiple special reflections in a limited area of ​​a duct 3 for the transport of fluids that are transparent to the light used, by using a special design or geometry of the mirrored duct walls 2, 4, 5, 6, which forces the light rays to mostly always take the same path and cause repeated illumination of the same room or area, thus preventing evaporation of the radiation along the duct 3. The reflective properties of the walls are chosen differently, such that only one wall tends to send the rays in the direction from which they come, while the other walls reflect the rays quasi-normally, with the effect that no rays can leave a delimited area of ​​the duct 3.

[0008] The radiation density, depending on the degree of reflection of the mirror coating, reaches significantly high values, which exceed the radiation intensity of the bare light source many times over and thus the device can be used as Light amplifiers using reflections in the local area, or LARLA for short. Any beam 12, located in an axial plane which is also perpendicular to the walls 2, 5, of a light source 1 present in the wall 2 of the duct 3 falls on a mirror surface 7 of the wall 5 and is reflected as beam 13 and falls on a mirror surface 8 which is part of a double pair of mirrors 8, 9, from where it falls as beam 14 onto the other half of the pair of mirrors 9, from there it goes back to the wall 5 as beam 15 parallel to beam 13.

[0009] Ray 15 from the mirror surface 7 of wall 5 returns as ray 16, parallel to the first ray 12, to wall 2, where it is sent by the double mirror surface 10, 11 there as ray 17 and then as ray 18 to wall 5. Ray 18 is not only parallel to the first ray 12, but also very close to it, so that from this point onward, the pattern of reflections repeats itself as described above. It is evident that the rays cannot leave the confined area.

[0010] Also other rays of the light source 1 which are not in the normal plane to the walls 2, 5, with additional lateral reflections on the walls 4, 6, ultimately experience a similarly limited propagation in the space of the line 3, as the rays analyzed previously.

[0011] In a plane across the line 3, as shown in Fig. 2, the mirroring 7 of the wall 5 causes a concentration of the diverging rays 19, 20, 21, so that they go quasi parallel to the walls 4, 6 to the mirroring of the wall 2, from there again to the wall 5, from where they go somewhat bundled in the direction of the light source 1, from where the path of the rays takes place again, as already described.

[0012] The rays outside the cone marked by rays 19, 20 experience additional reflections at the walls 4, 6, but remain in the delimited area.

[0013] An inner wall of a quasi-rectangular line 3 is covered with a row of parallel arranged mirror pairs 8, 9, ..., whereby these mirror pairs consist of individual elongated mirrors at a 90° angle to each other, which are also at a 45° angle to the line axis.

[0014] A small-area light source 1 is placed in the valley between the mirror elements of a suitable pair of mirrors, or if it is placed outside the mirror plane, its radiation is sent into the line through a breakthrough of small spatial extent.

[0015] The side surfaces 4, 6 of the line 3 are mostly smooth and mirrored, while the wall 5, which is opposite the wall 2 with the double mirror pairs, has a cylindricity along the longitudinal axis of the line 2, with the radius approximately twice as large as the distance between the wall 2 and 5.

[0016] In another embodiment of the invention, a polygonal or even circular cross-section of the line 3 is used instead of a rectangular one, whereby the property of limited axial propagation of the rays is approximately retained. All mirror pairs used are generally metallic mirrors without a cover or protective layer.

[0017] Primarily, relatively very small and elongated mirror segments are used, which leads to an easy production of such mirror coatings of the line 3.

Claims

1. Conduit for amplifying light by means of reflection in conduits with an approximately rectangular cross-section, the walls being mirrored and provided with regularly arranged light sources (1), such that the light rays are reflected several times by the walls, characterized in that a. an amplification of the light from a quasi-point light source (1) by multiple special reflections in a limited area of a conduit (3) for the transport of fluids, that are transparent to the light used, takes place by a special design or geometry of the mirrored conduit walls (2, 4, 5, 6) is used, which force the light rays to mostly always take the same path and cause repeated illumination of the same room or area, so that the radiation is prevented from disappeare along the conduit (3), b. The reflection properties of the walls are chosen differently in such a way, that only one wall tends to send the rays in the direction from which they come, while the other walls reflect the rays more or less normally, with the effect that no rays of a defined area of the conduit (3) can leave it, c. whereby the radiation density, depending on the degree of reflection of the mirror coating, reaches significantly high values, which exceeds the radiation intensity of the mere light source many times over.

2. Conduit according to claim 1, characterized in that a. any beam (12), located in an axial plane, which is also perpendicular to the walls (2, 5), of a light source (1) present in the wall (2) of the conduit (3) on a mirror surface (7) of the wall (5) falls and is reflected as a beam (13) and falls on a mirror surface (8), which is part of a double mirror pair (8, 9), from where it falls as a beam (14) onto the other half of the mirror pair (9 ) falls, in order to go from there as a beam (15) parallel to the beam (13) back to the wall (5), 6 b. wherein the beam (15) goes from the mirror surface (7) of the wall (5) as a beam (16) parallel to the first beam (12) back to the wall (2) in order to be reflected from the double mirror surface (10, 11) as beam (17) and then as a beam (18) to be sent to the wall (5), wereby the beam (18) not only being parallel to the first beam (12), but also being very close to it, so that from this moment the game of reflections repeats itself, as already described; whereby the rays cannot leave the demarcated area; c. whereby other rays from the light source (1), which are not in a normal plane to the walls (2, 5,) ultimately experience a similarly limited propagation in the space of the conduit (3) with additional lateral reflections on the walls (4, 6), like rays (15) to (18); d. wherein in a plane transverse to the conduit (3), the mirroring (7) of the wall (5) causes a concentration of diverging rays (19, 20, 21), so that they go quasi-parallel to the walls (4, 6) to the mirroring the wall (2), in order to go from there again to the wall (5), from where they go somewhat bundled towards the light source (1), from where the path of the rays takes place again, e. wherein the rays outside the cone, marked by the rays (19, 20), experience additional reflections on the walls (4, 6), but remain in the delimited area.

3. Conduit according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that a. an inner wall side of a quasi-rectangular conduit (3) is covered with a row of mirror pairs (8, 9) arranged in parallel, these mirror pairs consisting of individual elongated mirrors at 90° angles to one another, which are also at a 45° angle to the conduit axis, b. wherein a small-area light source (1), which can also be part of a series of such regularly installed light sources, in the valley which is placed between the mirror elements of a suitable pair of mirrors, or if it is placed outside the mirror plane, sends its radiation into the conduit (3) through a breakthrough of small spatial extent, c. wherein the side surfaces (4, 6) of the conduit (3) are mostly smooth and mirrored, while the wall (5), which is opposite the wall (2) with the double mirror pairs, has a cylindricity to the longitudinal axis of the conduit (3), which cylindricity has a radius approximately twice as large as the distance between the wall (2) and (5).

4. Conduit according to claim 3, characterized in that an approximately rectangular and polygonal or even partially rounded cross section of the conduit (3) is used, the property of the limited axial spread of the beams being approximately retained.

5. Conduit according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that a. all pairs of mirrors used are usually metallic mirrors without a cover or protective layer; b. wherein relatively very small and elongated mirror segments are primarily used, which leads to easy production of such mirror coatings on the conduit (3).

6. Conduit according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that for use a conduit which is filled with air in order to achieve effective disinfection with the aid of one or a few weak UV light sources.