LED Luminaire Light Guide Asymmetrical Emission Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing LED lamps with highly asymmetrical light distribution face challenges in achieving compact design while maintaining manufacturing tolerances and avoiding color shifts, especially in limited installation spaces, due to complex geometries and inaccuracies in extrusion lenses.
Innovation Solution
A lamp design featuring an LED light source in one plane, a frame element, a reflector, and a light guide with a curved entry surface parallel to the LED plane, and a planar emission surface at an angle, allowing for compact optics and efficient light coupling, with a light guide that tapers and has decoupling structures for asymmetrical light emission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If lenses with complicated geometry are used to achieve highly asymmetrical light distribution, then light distribution control is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to tolerances and positioning issues
Solution Approach 1:
The optical system is segmented into multiple functional elements: a light guide with specific geometry for light transport, a reflector element for light redirection, and a lens array with multiple individual lenses. This segmentation allows each element to be manufactured separately with standard tolerances while achieving the overall complex light distribution pattern through their combined action.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple optical elements (light guide, reflector, and lens array) into a single integrated optical system. The light guide and reflector work together to pre-condition the light before it reaches the lens array, allowing the lenses to be simpler in geometry while still achieving the desired asymmetrical light distribution.
2Illumination intensity
If extrusion lenses are used to achieve asymmetrical light distribution, then light direction control is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates leading to color shifts
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single complex extrusion lens, the patent segments the optical function across multiple elements. The light guide and reflector handle the primary light directioning, while the lens array provides fine-tuned directional control. This segmentation reduces the manufacturing precision requirements for each individual component, minimizing color shifts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses an array of multiple identical or similar lenses rather than a single complex lens. This copying approach allows for easier manufacturing of each lens with standard tolerances, and the collective array achieves the desired light direction control that would require a much more complex single lens.
3Volume of moving object
If compact design is pursued to minimize installation space, then space utilization is improved, but optical system complexity increases making tolerances harder to meet
Solution Approach 1:
The optical elements are nested within each other: the reflector element is positioned around the light guide, which contains the LED light source. The lens array is integrated with the light guide structure. This nested arrangement minimizes the overall installation space while keeping each individual element relatively simple in geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes three-dimensional spatial arrangement of the optical elements to achieve compact design. The light guide extends in one dimension while the reflector and lens array are arranged in other dimensions, creating a compact volumetric configuration that maintains functional simplicity of each element while achieving space efficiency.
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 a highly asymmetrical light distribution with minimal installation space, optimizing light penetration into a room while maintaining manufacturing ease and avoiding light loss, suitable for compact wall luminaire applications.
Implementation Method 1
a light guide (4), which is arranged above the reflector element and - viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the plane of the LEDs - starting from the first edge region extends towards the LED light source in such a way that the first light shines through a front end surface (41) of the light guide (4) facing the LED light source (1) into the light guide (4) and then at least partially leaves the light guide (4) in the opposite direction to the reflector element (5)
Implementation Method 2
a reflector element (5), which extends between the first edge region and the second edge region of the frame element (6)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
A luminaire comprises an LED light source (1) with several LEDs (2) for emitting a first light, a frame element (6) for holding the LED light source (1), wherein the frame element (6) has a first edge region (61) and an opposing second edge region (62) designed to hold the LED light source (1), a reflector element (5) extending between the first edge region (61) and the second edge region (62), and a light guide (4) arranged above the reflector element (5) and extending from the first edge region (61) to the LED light source (1), such that the first light shines into the light guide (4) through an end face (41) facing the LED light source (1) and subsequently exits the light guide (4) at least partially in the opposite direction to the reflector element (5) and is emitted to the outside.