Dual-Direction Phosphor Lighting Unit for High Luminance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lighting units, such as those using LEDs, often have limited spectral range and energy efficiency compared to incandescent lamps, and struggle to maximize luminous flux and radiation power due to the restricted illumination of phosphor elements.
Innovation Solution
A lighting unit design that incorporates at least two pump light sources, where primary pump light illuminates the phosphor element from the rear and secondary pump light is incident on the emission surface, increasing the coupled pump light and resulting in enhanced luminous flux and radiation power, allowing for higher luminance with compact construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single pump light source illuminates the phosphor element in transmission, then the structure is simple, but the luminous flux and radiation power are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The illumination system is segmented into two independent pump light sources: one illuminating the phosphor element from the rear (transmission mode) and another illuminating from the front (reflection mode). This segmentation allows each light source to contribute independently to the total luminous flux, overcoming the limitation of a single light source while maintaining manageable system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from single-direction (one-sided) illumination to multi-directional illumination by adding front-side illumination in addition to rear-side illumination. This dimensional change in light coupling geometry enables the system to achieve higher radiation power by utilizing the emission surface for both light output and additional light input
2Power
If the phosphor element size is increased to achieve higher radiation power, then the luminous flux increases, but the space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
By utilizing dual-directional illumination (transmission and reflection modes), the invention achieves higher radiation power from a compact phosphor element without increasing its volume. The additional light coupling path from the front allows the same physical size to produce higher luminous flux
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs a composite illumination approach combining two different light coupling methods (transmission through the element and reflection from the emission surface) to achieve enhanced radiation power from a compact phosphor element structure
3Illumination intensity
If the emission surface is used solely for emitting converted light, then the light output is maximized in one direction, but the total coupled pump light is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The emission surface is assigned multiple functions: it serves as the primary surface for emitting converted light in transmission mode, and simultaneously as a coupling surface for additional pump light input in reflection mode. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by allowing the same surface to contribute to both light output and additional light input
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
This design achieves increased luminous flux and radiation power, enabling higher luminance with reduced space requirements, suitable for various applications including endoscopy, projection, and industrial lighting.
Implementation Method 1
a phosphor element provided for converting pump light to converted light
Implementation Method 2
the phosphor at least partly absorbs said light and emits converted light
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting unit (1) comprising a phosphor element (2) provided for converting pump light to converted light and designed to emit conversion light at an emission surface (6), and at least two pump light sources (3, 8) configured for emitting pump light, wherein the lighting unit (1) is designed such that primary pump light emitted by a first pump light source (3) illuminates the phosphor element (2) at an incidence surface (5), which differs from the emission surface (6), and secondary pump light emitted by a second pump light source (8) illuminates the phosphor element (2) at the emission surface (6).