Illumination – Light fiber – rod – or pipe – Diffuser or diffusing of incident light
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-14
2001-12-11
Husar, Stephen (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Light fiber, rod, or pipe
Diffuser or diffusing of incident light
C362S337000, C362S551000, C362S339000, C362S329000, C362S581000, C385S036000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328464
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to luminaires, and more particularly, to luminaires in which light is output radially outwardly in a complete circumferential 360° arc or a predetermined circumferential pattern.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A luminaire is a light or lamp and is usually a floodlight fixture having a lamp or reflector. A luminaire can be used as a navigational light fixture, for signaling other ships of the direction of travel using green, red, white and other colored lights.
FIG. 1
depicts a prior art luminaire. The luminaire includes lens
10
(or light transformer) having an upper curved surface
12
and an inverted cone
20
above the light transformer within an outer housing assembly
38
.
The lens
10
is a light transformer. The lens
10
is an optically clear conical shaped device, usually made from lucite, glass, plexiglass or other like materials that takes a light beam from a light source and focuses or diffuses the beam. The light source entry is below the lens
10
. The luminaire includes an outer housing assembly
38
including an upper housing
40
and a lower housing
45
, each made of a composite material and/or metal. The lens
10
is mounted in the lower housing
45
and the cone
20
is mounted in the upper housing
40
. A clear, hollow cylindrical support member
50
made of an optical acrylic joins the upper housing
40
and the lower housing
45
. Upper housing
40
has an opening
46
therein which is substantially concentric to the cone
20
. The opening
46
is optional and provides access to the cone
20
to adjust the orientation of the cone
20
when the cone
20
is masked to provide less than 360° light projection. Between the upper curved surface
12
of the light transformer and the inverted cone
20
is a diffuser
35
. The diffuser
35
is a holographic diffuser and is either glass or plastic for shaping the beam. The cone
20
can be solid or hollow and has a highly polished reflective conically shaped exterior surface
25
facing the upper curved surface
12
of the lens
10
. A color mechanism (not shown) can be provided in the light source.
The upper curved surface
12
of the cone
20
is spaced from the diffuser
35
by a gap. In some cases, either using mechanical baffles or not plating or polishing part of the cone, the light output can be limited to something less than 360° in the horizontal direction as depicted in FIG.
1
. Light from the lens
10
shines on this conical surface
25
if there are no baffles or areas which are unplated on the cone
20
, there will be a 360° light dispersion. The interior volume of the luminaire is sealed to prevent moisture from entering. The positioning of the cone
20
with regard to the lens
10
is somewhat critical in order to get maximization of the light output. The cone
20
is typically symmetrical with respect to the lens
10
. Disadvantageously, the
FIG. 1
luminaire requires a relatively expensive and heavy cone
20
.
FIG. 2
is another prior art luminaire. The lower housing
45
is identical to
FIG. 1
except that the optional light diffuser
35
is omitted. In luminaire in
FIG. 2
is directional in that light is not output horizontally at 360°. There is a flat mirror
100
for reflecting light emitted from the flat mirror
100
only in the direction illustrated in FIG.
2
. The flat mirror
100
extends from the lower housing
40
towards the upper housing
45
. Although the mirror
100
can be rotated by a motor (not shown), light cannot be emitted continually in a 360° arc but can only be emitted in less than a 360° arc and then the mirror is rotated. Disadvantageously, the
FIG. 2
luminaire can emit light in less than 360°. Although the
FIG. 2
luminaire eliminates the cone
20
, the
FIG. 2
luminaire cannot emit light in 360°.A need exists in the art for a luminaire which does not require a cone and yet can disperse light in 360°.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a luminaire which does not have a cone but can continually emit light in a 360° arc.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a luminaire which is inexpensive to manufacture, and reliable in operation.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a luminaire which uses a prismatic film for emitting light.
The present invention is directed to a luminaire in which light can be directed for a full 360° arc or can be selectively emitted for less than a 360° arc. Light is emitted from a lens and reflected off of a surface into a longitudinally extending prismatic film and light is directed outwardly from the luminaire at a direction transverse to the lens.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by a luminaire including a housing for receiving light axially and having at least one optical surface for emitting light. A lens is mounted in the housing and has a light input portion and a light output portion. A prismatic film is mounted in the housing onto which light output from the output portion of the lens is incident thereon wherein light is reflected by the prismatic film radially outwardly therefrom.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description thereof are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4344110 (1982-08-01), Ruediger
patent: 4898450 (1990-02-01), Jannson et al.
patent: 5315491 (1994-05-01), Spencer et al.
patent: 5475785 (1995-12-01), Johanson
patent: 5544019 (1996-08-01), Tatavoosian
patent: 5692822 (1997-12-01), Dreyer
patent: 5919551 (1999-06-01), Cobb, Jr. et al.
patent: 6155703 (2000-12-01), Rizkin et al.
patent: 6169839 (2001-01-01), Johanson
patent: 6222971 (2001-04-01), Veligdan et al.
patent: 0 449 219 A1 (1991-10-01), None
patent: 2 592 133 (1987-06-01), None
Husar Stephen
Litton Systems Inc.
Lowe Hauptman & Gilman & Berner LLP
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