Optical coupler for distributive lighting system
US5931576A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 25, 1997 |
| Grant date | Aug 3, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 25, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF21S41/43
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A headlamp for a vehicle includes a holder for a light-distribution optical fiber of the type that has an output end emanating light of known spatial-intensity distribution, an optical coupler that has an input end adjacent the holder and includes a plurality of elements, each of which is positioned to receive light from a selected area of the light of known spatial intensity distribution and to alter the intensity or spatial distribution of that light to provide a predetermined spatial intensity distribution at an output of said coupler, and a projection lens to project the predetermined spatial intensity distribution to a desired illumination pattern. The optical coupler may be in the form of a mask and one or more filters or may be a number of light-transmitting elements that carry light from one spatial part of the input to a different spatial part in the output. In general, the optical coupler alters the intensity or angular distribution of the light pattern at the input to produce a desired light pattern at the output for projection onto the road by the projection lens.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.