| 20100128488 | SOLID STATE OPTICAL ILLUMINATION APPARATUS - An optical system having a solid state light source, such as an LED of any spectrum, includes a lens that provides an output illumination pattern of uniform distribution over a remote and larger target. The lens does not have an axis of revolution. The lens has a generally non-circular outer shape in cross section and on top views, where the outer optical surfaces are angled one relative to another. The lens includes refractive and reflective active optical surfaces to split, direct and shape the incoming beam from the light source towards the target in the form of several angled beams of prescribed energies calculated as a function of the shape of the target and distance to the target. The lens has an inner primary and partially open optical cavity of a polygonal cross section facing the light source. This optical cavity has a number of refractive optical surfaces whose shape and number is determined by the number of and shape of the illumination beams generated in conjunction with the other surfaces of the lens. This novel optical system may include an array of white LEDs that generate the input illumination to an array of these lenses to insure the proper illumination level and uniformity at particular remote targets. | 05-27-2010 |
