1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a window system and light guiding film therein, and more particularly to a window system and light guiding film capable of changing the direction of incident light.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional sunlight guiding apparatus is of various types, such as plate, shutter or film, which is disposed on or near a window of a room and used for guiding the sunlight beams outside the room into the room. The sunlight beams are directed to illuminate a reflector on the ceiling in the room. Then, the sunlight beams are reflected by the reflector, and used for indoor lighting or auxiliary illumination. In addition, in some of the conventional sunlight guiding apparatus, the sunlight beams are guided into the room directly without being reflected by the reflector on the ceiling.
The conventional sunlight guiding apparatus can guide the direct light beams and the diffused light beams of the sunlight to the reflector on the ceiling by retraction and/or reflection, so as to illuminate the interior of the room uniformly and reduce the discomfort glare. Further, the use of the conventional sunlight guiding apparatus can save the energy used by the lighting equipment during daytime.
The defect of the conventional sunlight guiding apparatus is described as follows. If there is no reflector on the ceiling, the sunlight beams can not be directed to the space far away from the window. That is, the guided sunlight beams in the room fall on the floor or upon the ceiling near the window. Thus, the illuminating effect is not ideal.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide a window system and light guiding film therein to solve the above problems.
The present invention is directed to a light guiding film, which comprises a film base and at least one microstructure. The film base has a first side and a second side opposite the first side. The microstructure is disposed on the first side or the second side of the film base, and comprises a first surface and a second surface above the first surface. A first inclination angle is between the first surface and a reference plane, the reference plane is perpendicular with the film base, and a second inclination angle is between the second surface and the reference plane.
Whereby a plurality of incident light beams becomes a plurality of output light beams after passing through the light guiding film. An output angle is defined as the angle between the output light beam and the light guiding film. The output angle is defined as 0 degree when the output light beam is downward and parallel with the light guiding film, and the output angle is defined as 180 degrees when the output light beam is upward and parallel with the light guiding film. The total energy of the output light beams with the output angles from 85 to 120 degrees is more than 40% of the total energy of the output light beams with the output angles from 0 to 180 degrees.
In the present invention, the light guiding film can guide the incident light beams into a room near horizontally and avoid glare.
The present invention is further directed to a window system, which comprises a first protective plate, a second protective plate and a light guiding film. The second protective plate is fixed to the first protective plate. The light guiding film is the same as the above-mentioned light guiding film, and is disposed in an accommodating space between the first protective plate and the second protective plate. The light guiding film is attached to the first protective plate or the second protective plate, and comprises a film base and at least one microstructure.
The microstructure 12 is disposed on the second side 112 of the film base 11, and comprises a first surface 121 and a second surface 122. The second surface 122 is above the first surface 121. A reference plane 20 is defined as a phantom plane that is perpendicular with the first side 111 or the second side 112 of the film base 11. That is, when the light guiding film 1 stands upright, the reference plane 20 is a phantom horizontal plane. A first inclination angle θ1 is between the first surface 121 and the reference plane 20. A second inclination angle θ2 is between the second surface 122 and the reference plane 20.
As shown in
In the embodiment, the cross section of the microstructure 12 is substantially triangle, and the first surface 121 intersects the second surface 122. However, the microstructure 12 may further comprises a curved chamfer 123, as shown in
The material of the film base 11 is the same as that of the microstructure 12. They are made of light transmissible material, such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), arcylic-based polymer, polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS) or a copolymer thereof, with a refraction index of 1.35 to 1.65. It is to be understood that the material of the film base 11 may be different from that of the microstructure 12.
During actual application, a plurality of incident light beams 30 becomes a plurality of output light beams 31 after passing through the light guiding film 1. In the embodiment, the light guiding film 1 is attached to a glass (not shown) of a window of a room, the incident light beams 30 are the sunlight beams outside the room, and the output light beams inside the room. The microstructure 12 faces the incident light beams 30.
As shown in
An incident angle θ4 is defined as the angle between the incident light beam 30 and the reference plane 20. The incident angle θ4 is defined as positive when the incident light beam 30 is downward, the incident angle θ4 is defined as 0 degree when the incident light beam (not shown) is horizontal and parallel with the reference plane 20, and the incident angle θ4 is defined as negative when the incident light beam (not shown) is upward.
As shown in
In the embodiment, the incident angles θ4 of the incident light beams 30 are from 30 to 60 degrees, and the total energy of the output light beams 31 with the output angles from 85 to 120 degrees is more than 40% of the total energy of the output light beams 31 with the output angles from 0 to 180 degrees.
In other embodiments, the incident angles θ4 of the incident light beams 30 are from 30 to 60 degrees, and the total energy of the output light beams 31 with the output angles from 85 to 120 degrees is more than 50%, 60% or 70% of the total energy of the output light beams 31 with the output angles from 0 to 180 degrees.
The light source 61 is used for generating the incident light beam with 30 degrees, the light source 62 is used for generating the incident light beam with 40 degrees, the light source 63 is used for generating the incident light beam with 50 degrees, and the light source 64 is used for generating the incident light beam with 60 degrees. The light sources 61, 62, 63, 64 are turned on at the same time.
The simulation parameters are as follows. The refraction index of the light guiding film 1 is 1.59. The size of the light guiding film 1 is 10*10 mm2. The diameter of each of the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64 is 4 mm. The diameter of each of the receivers 65 is 13 mm. The distance between the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64 and the light guiding film 1 is 100 mm. The distance between the receivers 65 and the light guiding film 1 is 157 mm.
Table 1 below shows the simulation results of the light guiding film 1. In the Table 1, the ratio of energy (73.86%) of the θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 0 to 180 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (65.90%) of the θt90°˜180° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 90 to 180 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (44.97%) of the θt90°˜105° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 90 to 105 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (65.74%) of the θt90°˜120° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 90 to 120 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (70.32%) of the θt85°˜120° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 85 to 120 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64.
The ratio of energy (89.23%) of the θt90°˜180°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (65.90%) of the θt90°˜180° to the energy ratio (73.86%) of the θt0°˜180°. The ratio of energy (60.89%) of the θt90°˜105°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (44.97%) of the θt90°˜105° to the energy ratio (73.86%) of the θt0°˜180°. The ratio of energy (89.00%) of the θt90°-120°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (65.74%) of the θt90°-120° to the energy ratio (73.86%) of the θt0°˜180°. The ratio of energy (95.21%) of the θt85°˜120°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (70.32%) of the θt85°˜120° to the energy ratio (73.86%) of the θt0°˜180°.
As shown in Table 1, because of the specific design of the first inclination angle θ1 (23 degrees) and the second inclination angle θ2 (24 degrees) of the embodiment, the ratio of energy of θt85°˜120°/θt0°˜180° is 95.21%, which means 95.21% of the output light beams 31 are directed in the output angles from 85 to 120 degrees. Such range of the output angles from 85 to 120 degrees is desired, because the output light beams 31 with larger than 120 degrees will fall upon the ceiling near the window, and the output light beams 31 with less than 85 degrees will illuminate the human eye directly and cause glare. Therefore, the light guiding film 1 can guide the incident light beams 30 into the room near horizontally and avoid glare.
Table 2 below shows the simulation results of the light guiding film 2. In the Table 2, the ratio of energy (72.11%) of the θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 0 to 180 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (52.74%) of the θt90°˜180° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 90 to 180 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (31.81%) of the θt90°˜105° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 90 to 105 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (52.08%) of the θt90°-120° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 90 to 120 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (56.80%) of the θt85°˜120° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 85 to 120 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64.
The ratio of energy (73.14%) of the θt90°˜180°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (52.74%) of the θt90°˜180° to the energy ratio (72.11%) of the θt0°˜180°. The ratio of energy (44.11%) of the θt90°˜105°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (31.81%) of the θt90°˜105° to the energy ratio (72.11%) of the θt0°˜180°. The ratio of energy (72.22%) of the θt90°-120°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (52.08%) of the θt90°-120° to the energy ratio (72.11%) of the θt0°˜180°. The ratio of energy (78.76%) of the θt85°˜120°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (56.80%) of the θt85°˜120° to the energy ratio (72.11%) of the θt0°˜180°.
Compared with the Table 1, the ratio of energy (78.76%) of θt85°˜120°/θt0°˜180° of the second embodiment is less than that (95.21%) of the first embodiment. However, the sum of the first inclination angle θ1 and the second inclination angle θ2 of the second embodiment is greater than that of the first embodiment, which make the processing of the light guiding film 2 easier.
Table 3 below shows the simulation results of the light guiding film 3. In the Table 3, the ratio of energy (86.92%) of the θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 0 to 180 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (84.96%) of the θt90°˜180° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 90 to 180 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (23.52%) of the θt90°˜105° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 90 to 105 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (65.91%) of the θt90°-120° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 90 to 120 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64. The ratio of energy (65.98%) of the θt85°˜120° represents the ratio of the total energy of the output light beams 31 measured by the receivers 65 from 85 to 120 degrees to the total energy provided by the light sources 61, 62, 63, 64.
The ratio of energy (97.74%) of the θt90°˜180°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (84.96%) of the θt90°˜180° to the energy ratio (86.92%) of the θt0°˜180°. The ratio of energy (27.06%) of the θt90°˜105°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (23.52%) of the θt90°˜105° to the energy ratio (86.92%) of the θt0°˜180°. The ratio of energy (75.83%) of the θt90°-120°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (65.91%) of the θt90°-120° to the energy ratio (86.92%) of the θt0°˜180°. The ratio of energy (75.91%) of the θt85°˜120°/θt0°˜180° represents the ratio of the energy ratio (65.98%) of the θt85°˜120° to the energy ratio (86.92%) of the θt0°˜180°.
The light guiding film 1 is attached to the first protective plate 41 or the second protective plate 42. In the embodiment, the first side 111 of the film base 11 is attached to the first protective plate 41, the microstructure 12 is disposed on the second side 112 of the film base 11, the value of the first inclination angle θ1 is between 21 to 25 degrees, and the value of the second inclination angle θ2 is between 20 to 28 degrees. Preferably, the value of the first inclination angle θ1 is 23 degrees, and the value of the second inclination angle θ2 is 24 degrees.
It is to be understood that the light guiding film 1 can be replaced by the light guiding film 2 of the second embodiment. The first side 111 of the film base 11 of the light guiding film 2 is attached to the first protective plate 41, the microstructure 12 is disposed on the second side 112 of the film base 11, the value of the first inclination angle θ1 is between 17 to 23 degrees, and the value of the second inclination angle θ2 is between 35 to 45 degrees. Preferably, the value of the first inclination angle θ1 is 20 degrees, and the value of the second inclination angle θ2 is 40 degrees.
The light guiding film 3 is attached to the second protective plate 42. In the embodiment, the second side 112 of the film base 11 is attached to the second protective plate 42, the microstructure 12 is disposed on the first side 111 of the film base 11, the value of the first inclination angle θ1 is between 3 to 5 degrees, and the value of the second inclination angle θ2 is between 27 to 33 degrees. Preferably, the value of the first inclination angle θ1 is 4 degrees, and the value of the second inclination angle θ2 is 30 degrees.
While several embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications and improvements can be made by those skilled in the art. The embodiments of the present invention are therefore described in an illustrative but not restrictive sense. It is intended that the present invention should not be limited to the particular forms as illustrated, and that all modifications which maintain the spirit and scope of the present invention are within the scope defined in the appended claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
721256 | Wadsworth | Feb 1903 | A |
4089594 | Ewin | May 1978 | A |
4557565 | Ruck et al. | Dec 1985 | A |
5295051 | Cowling | Mar 1994 | A |
5461496 | Kanada et al. | Oct 1995 | A |
5650875 | Kanada et al. | Jul 1997 | A |
5880886 | Milner | Mar 1999 | A |
6311437 | Lorenz | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6367937 | Koster | Apr 2002 | B2 |
6435683 | Milner | Aug 2002 | B1 |
6616285 | Milner | Sep 2003 | B2 |
7538943 | Shinbo | May 2009 | B2 |
7872801 | Kojima et al. | Jan 2011 | B2 |
20050068630 | Nitz et al. | Mar 2005 | A1 |
20050254130 | Graf et al. | Nov 2005 | A1 |
20080030859 | Usami | Feb 2008 | A1 |
20080291541 | Padiyath et al. | Nov 2008 | A1 |
20090009870 | Usami | Jan 2009 | A1 |
20110043919 | Ko et al. | Feb 2011 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2297498 | Nov 1998 | CN |
M379027 | Apr 2010 | TW |
WO0017477 | Mar 2000 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20110296795 A1 | Dec 2011 | US |