Optical Fibre Lighting Device with Surface Modifications
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighting devices based on optical fibers suffer from non-homogeneous light diffusion and intensity variation along their length, especially when curved, leading to inconsistent brightness and manufacturing challenges for large-scale production.
Innovation Solution
A method involving weaving optical fibers into a fabric with binding yarns, treating the fabric surface, and then removing and bundling the fibers for insertion into a translucent casing, allowing controlled surface modifications and homogeneous light distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If optical fibres are subjected to high pressure blasting treatment to create surface modifications, then light diffusion is improved, but fibres risk breaking due to bending during treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a support fabric as an intermediary medium that holds the optical fibres in a tensioned state during blasting treatment. The fabric acts as a mediator between the fibres and the blasting process, preventing fibre bending and breakage while allowing controlled surface modifications to be created on the fibre sheaths for improved light diffusion.
2Illumination intensity
If fibres are treated with high density surface modifications to increase light escape, then brightness is improved, but curved areas produce non-uniform light distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different densities of surface modifications to different areas of the fibres based on their curvature. Straight sections receive higher density modifications for maximum light escape, while curved areas receive lower density modifications to maintain uniform light distribution. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction between brightness and uniformity.
3Illumination intensity
If multiple light sources are placed at each end of long lighting devices to overcome attenuation, then light intensity is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the light source from the system, relying instead on modified optical fibres that can be passively illuminated from a single source. By creating surface modifications on the fibre sheaths, light is enabled to escape along the entire length of the fibre, eliminating the need for multiple active light sources and reducing assembly complexity.
4Manufacturing precision
If fibres are held in tension during blasting to prevent bending, then treatment precision is improved, but fibre breakage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support fabric serves as a protective intermediary that distributes and absorbs the mechanical stress during blasting treatment. The fabric holds fibres in a controlled tensioned state for precise surface modifications while preventing excessive stress concentration that would cause fibre breakage, thus resolving the contradiction between treatment precision and fibre strength.
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
Enables reliable, large-scale production of lighting devices with consistent light intensity across their length, including curved areas, and reduces the risk of fiber breakage during treatment.
Implementation Method 1
A known technique, for example described in document FR 2 714 147, consists of scrolling free optical fibres in a blasting cabinet where a nozzle spraying an abrasive under high pressure is positioned
Implementation Method 2
by connecting the fibres to a light source, some light propagates in the fibres and emerges through the surface modifications created in their sheaths
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing a lighting device, comprising the steps of: (a) weaving a fabric comprising warp and weft yarns that form the core of the fabric, weft- or warp-woven optical fibres within the fabric, said optical fibres being formed by a core and a sheath surrounding the core, and binding yarns forming part of the warp or weft yarns, maintaining the optical fibres inside the fabric; (b) treating the surface of the fabric comprising the binding yarns in order to form surface modifications on the surface of the fibres; (c) removing the optical fibres fully from the treated textile; and (d) inserting a portion of the fibres, grouped together in a bundle, into a translucent casing.