Composite TIR Lens Segmentation and Void Elimination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional TIR lenses for extended light sources like COBs or multi-die emitters face challenges in collimation due to manufacturing difficulties, leading to fragile and uneven lenses, and composite lenses with voids between surfaces cause undesired light effects such as rings and halos on illuminated surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A composite TIR lens design with a central and peripheral lens structure, where the side surfaces act as TIR surfaces to collimate light, and a removable opaque strip or paint is used to prevent unwanted light incidence on side surfaces, eliminating undesired light effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If traditional TIR lenses are manufactured for extended light sources using molding techniques, then the lens size can be reduced, but the lenses become fragile and uneven due to non-uniform cooling and internal strains
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the TIR lens into multiple smaller lens segments (first, second, and third lens segments) that are manufactured separately using conventional molding techniques. Each segment is then assembled into a composite lens structure. This segmentation allows each small segment to cool uniformly during molding, avoiding internal strains and fragility, while the assembled composite lens achieves the required size for extended light sources.
2Manufacturing precision
If composite lenses are assembled with voids between adjacent lenses to enable TIR collimation, then excellent light beam collimation is achieved, but undesired light effects such as rings and halos are generated on illuminated surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the harmful air gaps (voids) between adjacent lens segments that cause unwanted light reflections and ring artifacts. Instead, it introduces optical coupling material to fill these gaps, eliminating the TIR effect at the interfaces between segments. This extraction of the harmful element (air gaps) removes the source of light rings and halos while preserving the collimation function through the optimized geometry of the lens segments themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an optical coupling material as an intermediary substance between adjacent lens segments. This coupling material has a refractive index matched to the lens material, eliminating refraction and reflection at the interfaces. The intermediary material allows the lens segments to be optically integrated without the harmful effects of air gaps, while still enabling the overall lens assembly to achieve the required collimation performance.
3Manufacturing precision
If larger TIR lenses are manufactured to match extended light sources, then the light beam collimation can be improved, but the manufacturing difficulty increases and the lenses become cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the large TIR lens into multiple smaller, manageable lens segments that can be manufactured using conventional molding techniques. Each small segment is easy to manufacture with high precision, and the segments are then assembled into a complete large-aperture lens system. This approach maintains the collimation performance of a large lens while avoiding the manufacturing difficulties of producing a single large lens.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple small lens segments into a single composite lens assembly that functions as a large TIR lens. The segments are arranged and coupled together to form an integrated optical system with the required aperture size and collimation capability. This merging allows the system to achieve the optical performance of a large lens through the coordinated action of multiple smaller, easier-to-manufacture components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves effective light beam collimation while minimizing the overall lens size and eliminating light rings and halos, maintaining the advantages of LED technology in terms of size and cost.
Implementation Method 1
The various adjacent lenses of the prior art often have voids between the respective facing surfaces so that the air layer present in said voids allows said facing surfaces to work as TIR type surfaces, and thus to act as a collimator of the light beams which cross them.
Implementation Method 2
a removable opaque strip or paint is used to prevent unwanted light incidence on side surfaces, eliminating undesired light effects
Data Source
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AI summary
A composite lens comprising a plurality of lenses and provided with means for eliminating undesired light effects related to the presence of voids between the facing surfaces of the adjacent lenses.