Cone Light Guide Redirects LED Light to Reduce Glare
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Solution Overview
Problem
LED light sources emit light in a half-sphere pattern, leading to glare and requiring cost- and capacity-intensive reflectors, while standard applications suffer from inefficiencies in light distribution and reflection losses.
Innovation Solution
A luminaire with a light guide that directs a major part of the light from an LED source in a different direction using a cone or elliptic paraboloid shape, providing total internal reflection and a diffusive exit to reduce glare and enhance homogeneous beam patterns, and can be used with reflectors designed for high intensity discharge or halogen lamps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If LED light sources are used to generate light in a half-sphere pattern, then cost and capacity efficiency is improved, but glare increases and requires additional reflectors
Solution Approach 1:
A light guide is introduced as an intermediary component between the LED light source and the reflector. The light guide redirects a major part of the light from the first direction to a second direction, reducing glare while maintaining cost efficiency by enabling the use of standard LED sources with existing reflectors designed for other lamp types.
2Ease of manufacture
If standard reflectors designed for HID or halogen lamps are used with LED sources, then cost efficiency is improved, but light distribution uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide serves as a mediator that adapts the light output from LED sources to work effectively with standard reflectors. By redirecting and mixing the light before it enters the reflector, the light guide ensures uniform light distribution while allowing the use of cost-effective standard reflectors designed for other lamp types.
Solution Approach 2:
The light guide changes the spatial distribution parameters of the light emitted by the LED source. It redirects a major part of the light from the first direction to a second direction and mixes the light to some extent, transforming the half-sphere emission pattern into a more uniform distribution suitable for standard reflectors.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a light guide redirects a major part of light to a different direction, then glare is reduced, but reflection losses may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide utilizes total internal reflection to redirect light, converting what would be reflection losses into useful light redirection. By carefully designing the light guide geometry, the patent achieves glare reduction while minimizing energy loss through efficient total internal reflection mechanisms.
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 solution effectively reduces glare, improves light distribution uniformity, and allows for cost-efficient use of existing reflectors, minimizing reflection losses and offering flexible luminaire design possibilities.
Implementation Method 1
The light guide may be arranged to provide total internal reflection
Implementation Method 2
the light will be mixed to some extent, enabling a more homogeneous beam pattern
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosed embodiments relate to a light guide (100) and a luminaire (700) including such a light guide (100). The light guide (100) guides light emitted in a first direction (500) from a light source (200) comprising at least one light emitting diode (210). The light guide (100) directs a major part of the light in a second direction (600), wherein the first direction (500) is not equal to the second direction (600). The light guide (100) comprises an upper part (110) having a shape of a cone, and a center axis (120) of the upper part (110) is in the first direction (500). The light guide (100) can be used with reflectors (800) that have originally been manufactured for use with high intensity discharge lamps or halogen lamps but because of the light guide (100), the reflectors (800) can be used together with light sources (200) in the form of at least one light emitting diode (210).