This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 103124432, filed on Jul. 16, 2014. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
Field of the Invention
The invention is related to an optical assembly and an optical module, and more particularly to an optical assembly and an optical module having wavelength converting and light redirecting functions.
Description of Related Art
Ever since Thomas Edison invented an incandescent lamp, electricity has been widely used worldwide for illumination. Now an illumination apparatus such as a fluorescent lamp with high luminance and durability has been further developed. Compared with an incandescent bulb, the fluorescent lamp has advantages of high efficiency and low operating temperature; however, the heavy metal (e.g. mercury) contained in the fluorescent lamp is likely to cause damage to the environment when being discarded as waste.
Along with the development of illumination technology, a light source, e.g. a solid state light emitting device lamp which is more power-saving and environmental, has been developed. A solid state light emitting device of the solid state light emitting device lamp is, for example, a light emitting diode. The light emitting diode emits light via combination of electrons and holes in a P-N junction. Compared with the incandescent lamp or the fluorescent lamp, the light emitting diode lamp has the following advantages, including low power consumption, high luminous efficiency, and long service life. In addition, the solid state light emitting device lamp does not require heavy metal such as mercury and therefore is more environmental. However, among all the conventional solid state light emitting device lamps, the display range of the light emitted by the solid state light emitting device is highly focused, and the conventional solid state light emitting device lamps provide a visual effect that is significantly different from conventional incandescent lamps.
The invention provides an optical assembly having wavelength converting and light redirecting functions.
The invention provides an optical module including the abovementioned optical assembly.
In the invention, an optical assembly is adaptable for being disposed at a light path of the light emitted by at least one light source and spaced apart from the at least one light source by a distance. The optical assembly includes a wavelength converting device and a reflector. The wavelength converting device is a spatial structure. The reflector covers a portion of the wavelength converting device and exposes at least a portion of a region of at least one surface of the wavelength converting device, wherein the light emitted by the at least one light source enters and leaves the wavelength converting device from the region of the wavelength converting device not being covered by the reflector.
In an embodiment of the invention, the shapes of the abovementioned spatial structure include a pyramid, a cone, a column, or a hemisphere.
In an embodiment of the invention, the at least one surface of the wavelength converting device not being covered by the reflector is a single surface; the light emitted by the at least one light source enters and leaves the wavelength converting device from the single surface of the wavelength converting device.
In an embodiment of the invention, the at least one surface of the wavelength converting device not being covered by the reflector includes at least two surfaces; the light emitted by the at least one light source enters and leaves the wavelength converting device respectively from the at least two surfaces of the wavelength converting device.
In an embodiment of the invention, the wavelength converting device is a block-shaped structure formed of a single crystalline material.
In an embodiment of the invention, the wavelength converting device is formed of a multi-crystalline material by bonding and sintering.
In an embodiment of the invention, the wavelength converting device is formed of a cured paste doped with phosphor.
In an embodiment of the invention, the reflector is a reflecting layer which is coated or adhered to a portion of the surface of the wavelength converting device.
In an embodiment of the invention, the reflector is a block-shaped structure. The wavelength converting device is embedded in the reflector and exposes at least a portion of the region of the at least one surface of the wavelength converting device.
In the invention, an optical module includes at least one light source and one optical assembly. The optical assembly is located at a light path of the light emitted by at least one light source and spaced apart from the at least one light source by a distance. The optical assembly includes a wavelength converting device and a reflector. The wavelength converting device is a spatial structure. The reflector covers a portion of the wavelength converting device and exposes at least a portion of the region of at least one surface of the wavelength converting device, wherein the light emitted by at least one light source enters and leaves the wavelength converting device from the region of the wavelength converting device not being covered by the reflector.
In an embodiment of the invention, the abovementioned light source is a laser light source.
Based on the above, in the invention, a designer may make the light emitted by the light source positioned outside the optical assembly to enter or leave the wavelength converting device from a specific portion of the wavelength converting device by choosing a wavelength converting device with a suitable shape and selecting which surface of the wavelength converting device is to be covered and exposed by the reflector, so as to achieve the effect of converting the wavelength of light and changing light profile.
In order to make the aforementioned features and advantages of the disclosure more comprehensible, embodiments accompanying figures are described in detail below.
The optical assembly 120 includes a wavelength converting device 122 and a reflector 124. In the embodiment, the wavelength converting device 122 is a block-shaped structure formed of a single crystalline material which may be designed into a required shape thorough a dressing or cutting process. A substance that may convert wavelength is provided within the wavelength converting device 122, allowing a portion of the transmitted light to convert the wavelength while the other portion of the light remains to have the same wavelength. Therefore, the light that is transmitted thorough the wavelength converting device may emit a plurality of color light, and the light of different colors may be mixed to form white light.
Certainly, the type of the wavelength converting device 122 is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the wavelength converting device 122 may be formed of a multi-crystalline material by bonding and sintering, or may be formed of a cured paste doped with phosphor. For example, the paste may be an epoxy material (for example, epoxy resin), thermoplastic acrylic resin, or silicone resin. The phosphor may be garnet phosphor, silicate phosphor, nitride phosphor, or oxy-nitride phosphor. The phosphor may also be yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) phosphor, terbium aluminum garnet (TAG) phosphor, Eu-activated alkaline earth silicate phosphor, or sialon phosphor.
The wavelength converting device 122 is a spatial structure such as a pyramid. In the embodiment, the shape of the wavelength converting device 122 is shown as a tetrahedron (pyramid) as an example; however, in other embodiments, the shapes of the wavelength converting device 122 may also be other spatial structures such as a cone, a column or a hemisphere. The shapes of the wavelength converting device 122 may vary depending on needs and are not limited thereto.
The reflector 124 covers a portion of the wavelength converting device 122 and exposes at least a portion of the region of at least one surface of the wavelength converting device 122. In the embodiment, the reflector 124 is a reflecting layer. The reflecting layer may be formed of a high reflective material coated or printed on the wavelength converting device 122, or formed of a multi-layers film coated on the wavelength converting device 122. In addition, the reflector 124 may also be a reflecting sheet that is formed of metal. The reflector 124 covers a portion of the surface of the wavelength converting device 122 thorough adhesion.
As shown by
Certainly, in other embodiments, it may be that the areas of different surfaces of the reflector 424 are different, and the area of one of the surfaces of the reflector 424 is greater than the area of the covered surface of the wavelength converting device 422. The area of another surface of the reflector 424 is equivalent to the area of the covered surface of the wavelength converting device 422. Alternatively, the areas of different surfaces of the reflector 424 are the same, and the respective areas of different surfaces of the reflector 424 are greater than the area of covered surface of the wavelength converting device 422.
No matter what sizes of the surfaces that the reflector 424 and the wavelength converting device 422 have as mentioned in all the above cases, the light may enter the wavelength converting device 422 from the surface of the wavelength converting device 422 not being covered by the reflector 424, and the light leaves the wavelength converting device 422 after being reflected by the reflector 424, thereby achieving the effect of converting light wavelength and modifying light profile.
Based on the above, in the invention, a designer may make the light emitted by the light source positioned outside the optical assembly to enter or leave the wavelength converting device from a specific portion of the wavelength converting device by choosing a wavelength converting device with a suitable shape and selecting which surface of the wavelength converting device is to be covered and exposed by the reflector, so as to allow the light to achieve the effect of converting the wavelength and changing light profile.
Although the invention has been disclosed by the above embodiments, the embodiments are not intended to limit the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Therefore, the protecting range of the invention falls in the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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103124432 A | Jul 2014 | TW | national |
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20160053949 | Zehetner | Feb 2016 | A1 |
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Entry |
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“Office Action of Taiwan Counterpart Application” , dated Apr. 26, 2016, p. 1-p. 11. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20160018082 A1 | Jan 2016 | US |