Illumination device with encapsulated lens

US11415808B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Facebook Technologies, LLC · US

Inventors

• Robin Sharma · Redmond, US
• Andrew John Ouderkirk · Kirkland, US
• Christopher Yuan Ting Liao · Seattle, US
• Qi Zhang · State College, US
• Tanya Malhotra · Redmond, US
• Karol Constantine Hatzillias · Kenmore, US
• Maik Andre Scheller · Redmond, US
• Sheng Ye · Carlsbad, US
• Gregory Olegovic Andreev · Kirkland, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 19, 2019
• Grant date: Aug 16, 2022
• Expiry date: Aug 18, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06T19/006
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An example device may include a light source, an optical element, and an encapsulant layer. A light beam generated by the light source may be received by the optical element, and redirected into the encapsulant layer. The optical element may include a high-index material, for example, with a refractive index of at least approximately 1.5 at the wavelength of the light beam. The light source may be a semiconductor light source, such as a light emitting diode or a laser. The optical element may be embedded in the encapsulant layer, and the optical element may have a curved exit surface. Refraction at the exit surface of the optical element may redirect the light beam towards a target. In some examples, the curvature of a freeform exit surface may be configured to improve the uniformity of target illumination