LED Luminaire Homogenization via Dichroic Beam Combining
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current LED luminaire systems struggle to effectively homogenize light output from arrays comprising four or more different colors of LEDs, leading to issues like spill light and color fringing due to physical separation and varying optical effects of lenses or dichroic filters.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system with three arrays of LEDs, each emitting light of different colors, where dichroic filters selectively transmit and reflect wavelengths to combine red, amber, blue, cyan, green, and yellow LEDs into a single homogenized beam, maintaining parallel optical axes and allowing independent intensity control of each zone within the arrays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple colors of LEDs are arranged in an array with physical separation, then the gamut of colors available is enhanced, but color fringing and spill light occur due to differences in die size and placement
Solution Approach 1:
The LED array is divided into multiple independently controllable zones, each containing LEDs of different colors. This segmentation allows precise control of light from each zone to eliminate color fringing and spill light while maintaining the ability to produce a wide gamut of colors through selective activation and intensity control of individual zones.
Solution Approach 2:
Each zone in the LED array is equipped with its own optical device (lens or reflector) tailored to that specific zone's requirements. This local optimization ensures that each zone's light output is precisely controlled to achieve uniform color mixing and eliminate harmful effects like color fringing, while the overall system maintains enhanced color gamut through the combination of multiple colored LEDs.
2Ease of operation
If lenses or optical devices are used in front of each LED to control beam shape, then the angle of output beam is controlled, but color fringing and aberrations become visible due to differing effects on different colors
Solution Approach 1:
The optical control system is segmented into multiple zones, each with its own optical device. This allows independent optimization of each zone's beam characteristics while maintaining overall beam uniformity. The segmentation enables precise control of beam shape for each color group without the color fringing that occurs when a single optical device attempts to control all colors simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
Each zone is equipped with an optical device specifically optimized for that zone's LED colors and positioning. This local quality approach ensures that each optical device is tuned to minimize chromatic aberrations and color fringing for its specific set of LEDs, while the collective arrangement of all zones produces a uniform, well-controlled output beam with enhanced color gamut.
3Adaptability or versatility
If dichroic reflecting filters are used to combine three single colors of LED into a beam, then color mixing is achieved, but the system cannot mix more than three colors of LEDs
Solution Approach 1:
The LED array is divided into multiple zones, each containing a specific subset of colored LEDs. This segmentation allows the system to handle more than three colors by distributing different color combinations across different zones. Each zone can be independently controlled to produce specific colors, and the combination of all zones achieves a broader color gamut that exceeds the three-color limitation of traditional dichroic filter systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal LED array system that can produce a wide gamut of colors using more than three LED colors. By arranging multiple colored LEDs in independently controllable zones and using zone-specific optical devices, the system achieves multi-functionality, capable of producing any color within an expanded gamut while avoiding the three-color limitation of conventional dichroic filter-based systems.
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 solution achieves improved homogenization of multiple LED colors, reducing spill light and color fringing, and enabling the creation of a wide range of colors with enhanced gamut, resulting in a more uniform and consistent light output.
Implementation Method 1
dichroic filters selectively transmit and reflect wavelengths to combine red, amber, blue, cyan, green, and yellow LEDs into a single homogenized light beam
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A luminaire and light source are provided. The light source includes first (20), second (30), and third (30) arrays of light emitting diodes (LEDs) and a beam combiner (52, 54). The LEDs of the first (10), second (20), and third (30) arrays of LEDs emit beams whose optical axes are substantially parallel. Each of the first (10) and second (20) arrays of LEDs produce light of two colors. The third array (30) of LEDs produces light of a single color. Each of the arrays of LEDs includes a plurality of zones, each zone spatially separated from other zones. Each zone of the first (10) and second (20) arrays includes LEDs of two colors. The intensities of the LEDs of each zone are controlled independently from the LEDs of other zones. The beam combiner (52, 54) combines light beams from all three arrays (10, 20, 30) of LEDs and produces an emitted beam of light (56) and maintains the optical axes of the light beams as substantially parallel to each other in the emitted beam of light (56).