Illuminator having forward lighting
US7172304B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 2, 2006 |
| Grant date | Feb 6, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 2, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/0051
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A box-like illuminator includes a top wall having a flat sheet of clear material through which an illuminated image is viewed. A bottom wall of the illuminator is also formed of a flat sheet of clear material and is positioned atop the object to be illuminated. Light from an LED is directed in a first, downward direction onto a deflection wall where it is deflected into a substantially horizontal plane, substantially orthogonal to the first direction. The deflected light impinges upon a horizontally-disposed diffuser that bends the light about ninety degrees so that it travels though the diffuser a first time in a first direction and illuminates the object atop which the illuminator is positioned. The light is then reflected by the object, travels upwardly through the diffuser a second time in a direction opposite to the first direction, and is viewed by the user through the clear material.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.