Bending adjustment mechanism for phosphor wheel

Abstract

The present invention relates to an adjustment mechanism of a phosphor wheel.SOLUTION: The present invention provides a phosphor illumination system including a housing, a phosphor wheel, a condenser lens mounted to the housing and configured to focus light to an illuminated spot on the phosphor wheel, and a bend plate to which the phosphor wheel is mounted. The flexure plate includes a fixed fastener that fixedly fastens the flexure plate to the housing at a first location, and an adjustable fastener that adjustably fastens the flexure plate to the housing at a second location and is configured to change at least one of a distance and an angle of the flexure plate relative to the condenser lens when the adjustable fastener is tightened or loosened from the housing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to phosphor wheels, and more particularly to adjustment mechanisms for phosphor wheels. [Background technology]

[0002] In phosphor illumination systems, the accumulation of mechanical and optical tolerances adversely affects the focus quality of the light spot on the phosphor wheel, degrading the performance of the phosphor illumination system. Tightening the mechanical and optical tolerances of the phosphor illumination system's elements to improve focus quality significantly increases manufacturing costs. Furthermore, utilizing a sliding lens barrel and cam mechanism to adjust the position of the lens relative to the phosphor wheel is less expensive than reducing the element tolerances, but it still becomes more costly and complex due to the challenges of maintaining sufficient lens centering tolerances and ensuring smooth execution of the lens adjustment operation during the lens adjustment operation. Summary of the Invention

[0003] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a phosphor lighting system including a housing, a phosphor wheel, a focusing lens mounted to the housing and configured to focus light to an illumination spot on the phosphor wheel, and a flexure plate to which the phosphor wheel is mounted, the flexure plate including a fixing fastener that fixes and tightens the flexure plate to a first position in the housing, and an adjustable fastener that adjustably fastens the flexure plate to a second position in the housing and is configured to change at least one of a distance and an angle of the flexure plate relative to the focusing lens when fastened to or loosened from the housing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0004] Embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawings.

[0005] [Figure 1]1A-1C are top, back, and left side perspective views of an exemplary phosphor illumination system assembly.

[0006] [Figure 2] 2 is a perspective view of the bottom, back, and left side of the exemplary phosphor illumination system assembly of FIG. 1.

[0007] [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a rear plan view of the exemplary phosphor illumination system assembly of FIG. 1.

[0008] [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a left plan view of some elements of the exemplary phosphor illumination system assembly of FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] As discussed above, mechanical and optical tolerance stackup adversely affects the focus quality of a phosphor illumination system. Mitigating tolerance stackup by reducing the mechanical and optical tolerances of various elements of a phosphor illumination system significantly increases manufacturing costs. Providing a mechanical adjustment mechanism that adjusts the position of the lens using a lens barrel and cam mechanism adds complexity to the system and still significantly increases the cost of the system. Therefore, a novel phosphor illumination system adjustment mechanism with a simple and cost-effective design to accommodate deviations due to tolerance stackup without compromising the ease of centering or adjusting the lens is highly desirable.

[0010] 1-3 illustrate an exemplary phosphor illumination system assembly 100 with a bending adjustment mechanism. Assembly 100 includes a housing 102 in which an optical system, such as a lens 104, is mounted. Lens 104 may be a focusing lens, particularly an aspheric focusing lens, that focuses light emitted from a light-emitting element, such as a laser diode or laser diode array, to form a narrow, thin beam of light. Lens 104 may be mounted to assembly 100 by any known means, such as a series of mechanical fasteners, such as screws, bolts, pins, or the like.

[0011] The assembly 100 further includes a phosphor wheel 108, which can be oriented so that an illuminated spot is formed on a surface when the focused light strikes the surface. The phosphor wheel 108 can be coated with a phosphorescent material, also called a phosphor, such as a yellow phosphor, a green phosphor, a red phosphor, or a blue phosphor, such that when the focused light strikes the phosphorescent material, the phosphorescent material fluoresces and changes color. The phosphor wheel 108 is configured to rotate at a constant speed by a rotary drive 112, e.g., an electric motor such as a brushless DC motor. The phosphor wheel 108 is rotatably mounted to the drive 112, e.g., by being directly attached to the drive shaft of the drive 112, and the drive 112 is mounted to the bending plate 116 by any known means, such as a series of mechanical fasteners, such as screws, bolts, or pins. The phosphor wheel 108 is mounted on the bending plate 116 via a drive 112 so that the position of the plane of the phosphor wheel 108 is fixed relative to the position of the plane of the bending plate 116, with both planes facing the lens 108.

[0012] The flexing plate 116 may be formed from any suitable flexible material, such as polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), etc.; metals such as aluminum, copper, etc.; or composite materials such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, etc. The flexing plate 116 is attached to the housing 102 by a series of fasteners, including at least one adjustable fastener 120. The flexing plate 116 may further be attached to the housing 102 by at least one fixed fastener 124. The exemplary assembly 100 shown in FIGS. 1-3 shows the flexing plate 116 attached to the housing 102 by a single adjustable fastener 120 and two additional fixed fasteners 124-1 and 124-2 (individually referred to as fixed fasteners 124 and collectively referred to as fixed fasteners 124).

[0013] The adjustable fastener 120 is positioned to adjustably fasten the flexion plate 116 in position on the housing 102. The adjustable fastener 120 is configured to change at least one of the distance and angle of the flexion plate 116 relative to the lens 104 when fastened to or loosened from the housing. The distance between the flexion plate 116 and the lens 104 may be determined along a line constituting the optical axis of the lens 104. The angle between the flexion plate 116 and the lens 104 may be determined as the angle between a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens 104 and a plane parallel to the plane of the flexion plate 116 facing the lens 104. The adjustable fastener 120 may include an adjustment screw and a resilient member 128, such as a spring, such as a coil spring. The housing 102 includes a threaded channel configured to accommodate the adjustment screw. The resilient member 128 is mounted to surround the adjustment screw between the head of the adjustment screw and the flexion plate 116. Additionally, the resilient member 128 may be attached, for example, between the bending plate 116 and a surface of the housing 102 that includes a threaded channel. Tightening or loosening the adjustment screw causes an angular deflection of the bending plate 116, thereby adjusting the position of the bending plate 116 and the position of the phosphor wheel 108 relative to the lens 104, as described further below with reference to FIG. 4 . The adjustment includes changing the distance and / or angle of the phosphor wheel 108 relative to the collecting lens 104. The distance between the phosphor wheel 108 and the lens 104 may be determined along a line that constitutes the optical axis of the lens 104. The angle between the phosphor wheel 108 and the lens 104 may be determined as the angle between a plane that is perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens 104 and a plane that is parallel to the plane of the phosphor wheel 108 facing the lens 104.

[0014] The fastening fastener 124 may be, for example, a fastening screw. The housing 102 may further include an additional threaded channel configured to accommodate the fastening screw. The fastening fastener 124 may also be any other suitable type of fastener, such as a bolt, a pin, or the like, for attaching the bending plate 116 to the housing 102.

[0015] 4 is a left-side plan view of some elements of an exemplary phosphor illumination system assembly 100. A portion 400 of the housing 102 to which the bending plate 116 is attached is shown schematically in dashed lines for reference. The adjustable fastener 120 is shown, including a resilient member 128 and an adjustment screw including a screw head 404 and a screw body 408. When the adjustable fastener 120 is tightened, for example, by rotating the screw head 404 in a first radial direction R1, the screw body 408 enters a channel provided in the portion 400. Because the bending plate is further secured to the portion 400 by the fixing fastener 124, tightening the adjustable fastener 120 further deflects the bending plate 116 in the first angular direction D1, thereby reducing the width W between the lens 104 and the phosphor wheel 108. The width W may be the distance between the lens 104 and the phosphor wheel 108, as described above. 4 , width W may alternatively be the distance between lens 104 and bending plate 116, as described above. Conversely, when adjustable fastener 120 is loosened, for example, by rotating screw head 404 in a second radial direction opposite first radial direction R1, screw body 408 retracts from the channel provided in portion 400 and bending plate 116 deflects in a second angular direction opposite first angular direction D1, thereby increasing width W. Adjusting adjustable fastener 120 to adjust width W can adjust the position of phosphor wheel 108 relative to lens 104, thereby addressing tolerance stackup effects that affect the focal quality of the illumination spot on phosphor wheel 108 to which the focused light beam from lens 104 is directed.Adjusting width W to approximately 1 mm results in a total angular change Δα of less than 1°, e.g., approximately 0.84°, such that angular shift of the illumination spot on phosphor wheel 108 due to its Lambertian properties is negligible, while width W can be corrected to set the illumination spot at the focal point of lens 104, thereby accommodating misalignment between lens 104 and phosphor wheel due to tolerance stackup, without requiring additional lens adjustment mechanisms, such as sliding lens barrels and cams, to adjust the position of lens 104 relative to phosphor wheel 108, which would add complexity and cost to system 100. The angular change may be a change in the angle between lens 104 and phosphor wheel 108 or the angle between lens 108 and bending plate 116, as described above.

[0016] The present invention has been described by way of example. Modifications and variations on the above-described examples are possible and will occur to those skilled in the art given the benefit of this disclosure. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims. For example, while the exemplary bending plate 116 has been described as being configured to attach to the housing 102 with a single adjustable fastener 120 and two fixed fasteners 124-1 and 124-2, alternative bending plates may be configured to attach to alternative housings with more than two adjustable fasteners 120, e.g., three adjustable fasteners 120, with two of the three adjustable fasteners 120 replacing the two fixed fasteners 124-1 and 124-2. In general, bending plates may be configured to attach to a housing with at least one adjustable fastener 120 and at least one additional fastener, which may be an adjustable fastener 120 or a fixed fastener 124. Additionally, although the adjustable clamp 120 is described as including a resilient member 128, which may be, for example, a coil spring, different types of springs may be used, such as leaf springs, flat springs, etc. Further alternatively, the resilient member 128 may have a different form factor, such as a disk or washer, and may be made of a resilient material, such as rubber, polyurethane foam, silicone, etc.

[0017] It should be appreciated that features and aspects of the various embodiments provided above can be combined into additional embodiments that fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Also, the drawings are not to scale and may be exaggerated in size and shape for illustrative purposes.

[0018] The scope of the claims should not be limited by the embodiments set forth in the examples above, but should be accorded the broadest interpretation consistent with the specification as a whole.

Claims

1. Housing and a phosphor wheel; a focusing lens mounted to the housing and configured to focus light to an illuminated spot on the phosphor wheel; The bent plate on which the phosphor wheel is mounted, a fastener for fastening the bending plate in a first position on the housing; an adjustable fastener configured to adjustably fasten the bending plate to a second position on the housing and change at least one of a distance and an angle of the bending plate relative to the collecting lens when fastened to or loosened from the housing; A phosphor illumination system comprising:

2. The bending plate is a second fastener for fastening the bending plate to a third position on the housing; The phosphor lighting system of claim 1 further comprising:

3. 10. The phosphor lighting system of claim 1, wherein the adjustable fastener includes an adjustment screw, and the second portion of the housing includes a threaded channel configured to support the adjustment screw.

4. The phosphor lighting system of claim 3 , wherein the adjustable clamp further comprises a resilient member.

5. 5. The phosphor illumination system of claim 4, wherein the resilient member is mounted to surround the adjustment screw between a head of the adjustment screw and the bending plate.

6. The phosphor lighting system of claim 4 , wherein the resilient member is mounted between the bending plate and the surface of the housing that includes the threaded channel.

7. The phosphor lighting system of claim 4 , wherein the resilient member is a coil spring.

8. 10. The phosphor illumination system of claim 1, wherein adjusting the distance between the focusing lens and the bending plate by 1 mm by tightening or loosening the adjustable fastener adjusts the angle of the bending plate by less than 1°.

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