Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
B 2~3ul9,9J8~n3:03PM JONES & AS1~o22304o9 1998-02-24 NO 9151 p 3l~loo3
Co~e: 343-~0993
Re~.: 02058-003
Opt~cal si~nal 'c~an~mitter with multiple lig~t sour~e
The irl~ on c!oncerns a si~r~l tran~JniCter lens~ sy~tem,
especially fo~ tra~fic sigrlal~, consisti~g prefer~bly of a two-
piece lens syqtesn ~ith a conder~er lens ~nd a dispersion lens, as
well ~s a light :30urce at a f ixed in~erval ~ ~ the area of the
o~tical ~ of the ~y~tem, con~isting of a base pla~ ~rit~
ndividual lam~ e}e~nent~ .
e it has ~ecom~ pc~si~l~ to manuf~c~ure li~tht-e~nitti~
diodes ~ h stronger l~ght ~ea~s and intensity in -~ mul~itude of
~lors, the effort ha~ }~ee~ ma~e tO transfer to t~affic: l~ght
sig~a~s ~he a~vanta~es of h~-emittin~ diode~ as com~red to
th~ cn~ l y used ~ nde-scent lamE: s, ~uch a6 radiatior~ of a
direc:ted ligh~ bea~h, significan~ly lon~er life, and ~Tery
ef f icien~ energy relation~hips ln colored lighe, ~s well a~
reduced ~hos~ light ~the ~ ~sion of a ~raffic signal cha~ying
due to su~light falling on it) th~ough lo~s of ~ehe re~1ec~or. Fox
this purpose a smooth pla~e i~ ~et in ~he front of ~he ~is~al
~ha~~ in pla~e of the lens, the pl~tc~ l~sually bein~ desls~ned as
print~d c:ir~uit board and provided wi~ch an iIltegrated powe~
~upply. This plate i~i cove~d wi~ a sufficient nwnber of
indi~ridu~l light~ ing diodes in th~ d~pr~ ia.te c:olor
appearan~e, prefe~ably distri~ ed e~enly a~ross ~che sur~ace. ~
is u~3u~lly pro~cected f~om wea~er ~y a rran-~paren~ ~ove~lng p~ne
~et in fx~or~ o~ it, ~rhic~h often also has cG.~ md lenses to
pro~uce the de~ir~3d di~ribut~on of ~i~ht.
q~here are ~l~o de~ in which li~he-emi~ing diode~ aLe
densely placed directl~ on ~ carrier pl~te wl~ is optimally
02~2~FEB 23V~1993 3:03PM JONES & AS~cFw0223o4o9 1998-02-24 NO. 9151 P. 4~~~4
black, ~nd ~heir connec~ions are cold~red in :~ suit,able p~in~ed
circuit boa~ lying behi~d it.
Also Co~mnon are designs in ~hioh the s~l~face is ~ot everlly
cove~ed, bUt rathe~ certain s~bols such as ~rrohr~; o~ pedes~risn
f iS3ures are d~ layed ~hro~lgh a~propria~ely ordered Iigh~-
emi~ting dio~les.
Bu~ there a~e also de~i~ns ir~ which the end~ C~f f ib~r-optic
light s~uides of a f iber~optic ligh~ ide b~ a~ce the place o~
the light-emit~ing diode~ ese have a ~3imilar light
di~rib~tion, BO othe~ de~ o~ms ~fhi~:h ~re ~asica~ly ~he sanle
a~e po~si~le. S~ch cons~l~uc~ions a~e de~i~ned mainly to redu~e
ghost light ~nd ~o display sy~ols. T~e design in ~iber-c~p~ic
light guide eechnology allow~ the conventional l~mp ~o ~e
po~i~ioned outside o~ the signal charn~er, in a pla~e which allows
eas~r mairl~e.~ e ~cess.
~ oweve~, che ad~r~ntage~ di~cussed a~ove m~ls~ ~e cont~ted
wi~h sev~al disa~ nt~ge~. whioh is ~hy signal ~a~smittex~ of
th~ lesign type have not yec be~ome con~non.
On the one ~and, ~ considera~le nu~ r of lig~t-en it~cing
diodes is necessa~y ~o a~:hie-re a light in~ensity comp~ble to
~cha~. of i ~nn~le~3cent lamps . Light-emitting ~iiode op~ic~;, in
installatlon, are significantl~ more expensive, cheap~ only i~
oper~lon and maintenance than ~}~,e usual opti~s, Fiber-opti~
3.ight suide te~hnology is also expensive in ins~-al la~on;
maintenarlce costs are dePend~t orl ~he placement of the
in~n~4eCCent 1a~PP9.
On ~he other hand, the appearance req~lires getting used ~o,
b~cause the usu~l op~ics whic:h gl~re che well-known, r~31ativ~1y
even radia~ion now is divided i~to dozens or hund~ed~ of single,
intensely gl~win5~ ligh~ Sp~tl;.
FEB 23. 1998 3:04PM JONES & ASKEW NO. 9151 P 54~~~5
~2/Z~f~ . .~................. CA 02230409 1998-02-24
F'u~'cher, in o~der to achie~re ~he ~es~ elect~ical
connection~ eve~l light-emitting diodes are elec~tricall5r
~onnec ~ed in serie~ . Such groups are then o~erated in paralle~ in
sufficient nu~ers. ~his has the resul~ th~t i~ a single light-
em. t~ing di~e ~oe~ ou~, ~he en~ire g~oup in~nediatel~ fails,
whi~ gr~atly af~ects ~he ~pe~ra~ce. Buc i~ is nc~ ~orthwhile
exchanging the en~ire in~tallation due to a single f~iled light-
e~nitting diodç.
~ n fiber-optic li~ht gui~le ~echs~ology, individual light
s~ots can also be extin~uished due to a bre~lc in the fi~er-oPti~
l~ht ~uide .
Further, it i~ technl~ally diffi~ul~ to a~a~ge ~ he
light-emitt~ng diodes evenly in the direction of ~heir be~n~. So
individ~l light-~it~cing diodes ~f ten appea~ strong, o'chers
~eak, when ~riewed fxom the ~ide, whi eh also affe~ts the overall
appearan~e ~cn addieioTl, a p~oce~s ~lerance in ~he fiber-op~i~
light gllide design also r~ lts in an uneven liS~h~ dist~ u~cion
when vif~wed f~om ~he side.
In addition, fur~her technical develnpmen~s can be ex~ected
i~ which ~he intensity of ~che light-emit~ing aiodes ~ont;n-~lly
in~reases. ln thie: case fewer and fewer of them are requi~ed, so
~he sign~l surface ~ill be composed of fewer light spoes, placed
farther ~rom one an~he~ This una~t~acti~e and ~mpractical
~rr~ nce ~ot~ld 'chen ~a~e to be neu~rali~ed by supplernentary
op tic~l measure~ .
A fur~her di~ad~Tentage i~ e ~ual circular syn~et~y of the
light be~h of ~h~ indi~idual larnps, ~hic:h lead~ to a lar~e par~
of ~he light }~eing un~sed and ~ irg in irrelev~t area~.
~ urther, ~s~omar~f light-emitting diode:s ha~,re a
p:cedete~nilled xadia'cion cha~acteris~cic which us~lally does no~
FEE. ~3. 199~ 3:04PM JONES & ASKFW NO 9151 p 6~OOB02~23/98 ~U~ lJ;~ rA~ CA 02230409 1998-02-24
~ coincide with t~e specified lig~t distribution of the si~n~l
transmitter. Often d~sp~40~tionately mo~e pieces must be
utilized, only to have sufficient light in the badl~ reas.
Also, in a fibe~-o~tic li~ht guide, the ligbt di~tri~tion which
exa~tly fits the re~Uire~entS CannOt ~e achie~d, or~~an only be
achie~ed with di~rapo~tion~e e~fo~t.
Finally, ehe light-emitt~ng A~o~Cs ~hemselveg con~nuall~
demonserate a hi~er ~host light because they haye i~crea~ing
mixro~ed internal s~rfaces in order to increase the lig~ output.
In cu~xentl~ known ~e~igns, Gunlight ~alls dire~ nto the
~i~ht-e~i~tin~ diodes and there~y p~od~ce~ g~ost light in them
~ he ~oal o~ the in~ention is to retain ~he ad~antages of
li~ht-emittin~ diode~, e~pecially the limited electricity
~ons~mption and long life, bu~ ~o avoid the ~isadvan~es. ~t
would ~l~o b~ ad~antageous for economic reasons if ~e~er lighC-
~mitting diodes could be used to produ~e the same light effect.
~urther, the ~yste~ should be compa~ible wit~ design forms in
fiber-optic technolo~y.
In t~e in~entio~. ~hi~ is a~hie~ed by arranging th~
ind~idual lamps in3ide the signal c~h~r and thereby forming a
more or le~s fl~ ~;n~nt in placG~ he ;n~n~lp-~3cent l~mps
comInon ~lp un~cil now, which wo~ld al~c~ gi~re ou'c a light direc~l~
orien~ed to the dl~pe~sion lerl:3 even wl~h~ue ~ r~flec~or, ~nd
w~lo~e for~ ~nd siz~:, as well ~s the ~pecified lenc syste~n,
de~ermi~e~ the radiation charac~eristic o~ light distrib~tion.
ln the diagram, She ~ect of the in~ention i~ further
el~ri~ied ~hro~g~ ~he u~e of schematic illustrations. Figure 1
shows the general ~y~tem comp~nents in bas~c order, Fi~ure 2
shows a variation o$ the ligh~ ~our~ in fiber-op~ic ~echnology,
FEB 23. 1998 3:04PM JONES & AS~cFAw0223o4og 1998-02-24 NO 9151 P. 7 ~007
and Figu~e 3 ill~s~rates a cross-section of a sys~e~ wi~h light
radiat~ng in se~eral dire~ti~ns.
The prima~y funetioPal ~inciple i5 explained by Figure 1.
~a~ plate 1, prefera~ly designed as a printed circ~it board an~
more or less ~ompactly covered wieh individual l~mp~ 2, sends t~e
light onto ~ condenser ~, ~hi~h i~ ~es~- de~i~ned a~ a ~re~n~l
lens, ~hiçh ~em~n~tra~e~ for the most par~ the dimen~ions o~ the
dispersion lens and d~rects the l~ght ln a known way as parallel
as possible or ~olle~s the light in another advantageou~ way.
The disper~ion le~s 4 ~hen pro~ides ~or ~he disper~ion ~f the
li~h~ and ~e d~fiired ligh~ distribution in ~he us~al way ~y
m~ans o~ a ~ultitude of single l~n5e 5.
Ba~e plate 1, indi~idual lampa 2 and condense~ 3 ~hereby
replace the sy~tem with ~ncAn~escent lamp~ ~nd ~eflecto~s u~ed up
until no~. ~ase plate 1 sits p~eferably in a connector 6, which
us~ally connects it with po~er ~pply 7 ~o ~hae they can be
easily and che~ply exchan~ed in case of def~c~.
Ind~vidual l~mps 2 radiate the~r li~ht pxefe~bly within an
angle w ~uch ~hat as much as possible can be collected ~y
conden~er 3. In this way li~ht portion~ of ea~ individual llg~t
ele~en~ axe available in almost every area of co~n~ 3 and are
~iGper~e~ by the single len~es 5 of the disper~ion len~ 4 in the
s~ipulated are~ X~. So a parti~lax amount of light from each
individual l~m~ e~eived in each dlre~ ,. and to the
obser~rer each lig~t element 2 appears in a n~T~er o~ single
len~e. 5. Through l~yering of ~11 individual lam~s 2 in the
single le~ses 5, ~ecogni~ion o~ an individual light el~men~ i~ no
longer possi~le, and the appe~ance of the o~tic lens s~ste~ is
uniform as befoxe.
FEB.23.1998 3:05PM ~ONES ~ ASKFW NO 9151 P. 8 ~~~~
OY/~ h ~U~ lJ:lo rAA CA 02230409 1998-02-24
~ }~ou~h the S~t~lk ef~e~t, the loss of an indi-~idu~1 lamp, or
a ~roup o~ them, is not ~ ediately ~e~ognizable; only the
averall ligh~ intensity is p~opor~ionately lessened.
In addition, fo~ the same rea~on, a diver0ent optical
arrangemen~ of a single individ~al lamp 2 i~ no~ rec~gniz~ble,
Finally, ~he nu~ber of indi~idu~l lamps 2 place~ on the b~se
plate 1 ~ill n~t affect t~e appe~rance, because ~he~ ~e no
longer individua-l~ re~o~nizable. rrhis desi~n ~o~m i~ therefo~e
adap~able wi~ho~t difficult~ for future developmen~ with ~ewer
but ~righee~ lndividual lanlp8.
A good con~ig~ration of t~e c~n~e~er 3 exi~t~ when s~e
light beam 11, which ~rises betwe~n c:onden~er 3 ~nd disper~sion
lens 4, i~ e~ual a~ every point on condense~ 3, in ~erm~ of i~$
orienta~ion, intenSity and ligh~ dive~gence. This ~e~hod c~eates
fo~ the observer an evenly glowing ~ront lens o~erall.
An economical design ~ossibili~y e~is~s whe~ co~n-~er ~
foc~ses the li~ht exac~ly ~s in usual ~eflectors. In ~his case,
the same di~pe~ lense~ ~ ~a~ be utiliz~d, w~ich ~e~erally are
already constructed ~or ~he speclfied li~ht distribution.
~ fu~her desi~n possibility ~xi~ts ~hen one vaxies the
dis~ance o~ the i~divid~al lamps 2 ~o ~he ~ase plate 1 and the
conden~er 3~ One p~ticular di~tance maY prove to ~e optim~m,
dependi~ on the ~ize and covering of base pla~e 1. Dispex~ion
le~ 4 a~d conden~e~ 3 ~ust be de~enmined according to
specifica~ions.
ln ~ fur~her de~ign, individ~al lamps ~ ~re arranged with
one another in ~u~h a ~ay thaC each indi~idual li~ht cone ~
illu~inate~ the condenser 3 as preei~ely and fully ~ po~ le.
This can be a~hieved through til~ih~ or be~iny ~he ~asç pla~e
FEB.23.1998 3:05PM JONES ~ AS~W NO.9151 P. 9 ~009
02~2~ Uh lJ~ AA CA 02230409 1998-02-24
accordingly. In thi~ ~Ya~ each ligh~ element c~n ~ ll~ninate the
entire co~enRer ~ux~a~e withou~ significan~ loss.
A ~llr~-~er design possi~llity exi~ts when base ~lace 1 i
va~ied ~ith individual lam~s 2 in their size, ~?osition ~nd ~orm,
as well as ln the den6i~y of th~ indi~ridual lamps.
If, ~or example, base plat~ 1 is doubled ir~ siz~ but the
density on ehe le~ ~P~ .s the same, ~he result i~ a
co~respQnd;t~s~ly iIlc~eased liç~t distri~l~io~ XY of thq signal, i~
aecc~dan~:e w~ th t~e laws o~ optics . Because ~he len~ ~ystems,
light di~t~lb~l~ion and i~r~nge~ t of the i~divi~ual lamps a~e
. related ~ one anotheF in ac~:ordar~c~ wi~ ~he laws of op~ics, one
can zlchie~e ~he r~ecessary lig~t dist~ibutio~ al~o throus~
apE?ropriate ir~eyular arrarlge~nent of individual la~ o~ the base
plate wi~hou~ changing the opti~a~ c:o~npo~ents. I~ this way a
sys~em c:an be se~c up wh~ ch req~ es only on~3 single cor~n~er 3
and a di~ersion lens 4. ~l~rious light dis~ utions ~d
brightne~es are then achie~ed ~hrotlgh dif feren~ ar~angements o~
the individ~ 2 o~ ~he ~ase plate 1.
A f~ h~r de~ign po~ ility ari~e f~om the conbinat~ons o~
desi~n forms. Li~ht distri~u~io~ is achi~ved thro~lg~ the effe~:~
of the dispersion le~ 4, thR ~o~denser 3, and the aP4~Lop~iat~
dis~rib~ltion ~nd a~raIlgemen~ of individual 1amp5 2 on th~ bas~
plate ~ a!3 well as thei~ ~is~e~ce ~o the len~ system .
The rep~esentatio~ o~i ~ymbols caI~ ~Q a~ie~ed through
~emx~ e~, pain~ g t~e di~trib~lt~on lens, etc.
Figure ~ . hows a ligh~ source whose in~ividual lamp~ ~L nre
formed b~ ends of a fibe~-op~ic ~ighs guide ~ e same op~ic c~n
~e ll~ed by utilizi~g ~he ~ame çreome~ry in constnlction.
Figu$es 1 and 3 show the beam p~th of a fa~rorable deEiign
~m. The co~non light-emitting diode~3, like fiber-op~cic light
02/2?~ 30l993:l3 05PM ~ONES & ASKcFAw0223o4og 1998-02-24 NO 9151 P 10alO10
g~ides the~selves, ~adiate their l~ht a~ an angle ~ t~rhich is
ci rcularly symmetrical, with t~e highe~t ligh'c intensity A t ~e
c~enter. Ho~7e~rex, t}~ specified ligh~ ~adiation of ~raf~i~ signals
ranges from th~ horizontal, ~i~h the highest sI?ecified li~ht
in~ensi ~y, to pointinç~ dias~onally dow~ rds, ir~ a¢co~danc:e with
area XY. ~ 1~ g~t e~niS~ing diode placed dixectly in th2 front disX
therefore be ali~ned rela~i~rely ~lorizon~ally. In ~hi~ case,
the u~pe:r hal~ of the radia~ed li~ht is ~ availabl~ for the
signal light. In the system illu~trated, howe~er, the entire
amo~t o~ ht of liyht element 2 is utilized, bec~use ~he
requi~ed li~ht di~cri~tion results ~rom the 5ingl~ s 5 of
dispersiorl lens g~, which in the right placemen~ deflec:t~ ~he
~ ht such tha~ it i~ ~ire~ed only horizonc~lly or ~lownwards.
'rhis is economically a~lvantageou~, as significantly ~ewer
ir~dividual lamps c~n be used for ~he ~ne amount o f ligh~ in ~he
is~n~l lis~ht .
~ ecause the si~nal tr~nsmitter cannot send arly lig~
upwards, by th~ ~me to~en, n~ sunli~ 10 ~an fall on ~he
ind~idual l~p-~ 2, 50 this cannot produce any gho~t lig~t.
Be~ause no fl~rther re~ ti~e ~urf~ces ~re present, ~he
a~range~ent ~s an e~pe~ially good one for ~re~ ing ~he
occurrence of gh~t light.
The exa~ ~dapt~tion of ~he light dis~ribution to the
specifications by means of a dispersisn len~ 4 a~lows at ~east a
fur~he~ redu~eion of the xequired ~um~er o~ individu~l lamps The
los~ of light ~aus~d by the interfa~e of the front optic i~ ~ar
ex~eeded khrough these two conserva~io~ me~hod~.
I~ ~ further de~ign form ~s illu~tra~ed i~ Figure 3, the
base pla~e 1 is p~sitioned ~ith lndividual la~ps 2 in ~h ~ way
that t~e lowest row o~ the indivi~ual la~ps is at ~he height of
02~23/a8 r~UI~ lJ~ ~ JONES & ASKCFAw0223o4o9 1998-02-24 NO 9151 P 1l~0
~he optical aXiS ~. A~co~ding ~o ~p~ie~l laws, ap~?rop~iate
¢onstruction of ~he lens :3yste~n re$ults in l~gh~ distri~u~ion xY,
~rhich beçlins to e~ nd downward o~ the optlcal axis. This
~avor~ble ll~ht dis~ribution is achie~e~ :by means of condenser 3
alone, and preven~s loss of light upward~ d simultas~ usly
reduces the potential ~Or ghost: light.
Suc:h a desi~ll is alYo y40~1 for tightly grouped signal
treansmi~cters, such as railroad ~ ls. With a fixed ~ocu~ on
d~n~er 3 and without dispersion lens 5 [sic; 4~, th~
indi~rid~al lan~ps ~rr~eAr as~ain a~ single gl~wing points or as
l ight rayC in the ~ur~lm~ nsrS . If the ob~erver i~ direc~ly
be~-ween !3uch lis~ht ra~s, ~he xignal app~ars d~rk. Thi~ effe~t can
~e countered in that ~he corl~Pn~er ~ i~ provided wlth several
approp~iate foc~l ~Oir~ts or wi~ch a c~n~ing fo~ns so that no
shar~ image of ~he indl~ridual l~np~3 ean occu~. Further
possibilities are defo~using, or a m; n~ l disx~ersil~n through the
di~3pe~sio~ ~ ens 4 ~o that the light spotc are only ~isperse~ so
far t~at they still o~rerlap w~th adiaoent li~h~ s~ots enous~h that
the losr- o~ si~gle ~ndivid~al lamps lea~res no la~e da~k zon~s
visible .
~ further po~sible design of the in~rention consis~s in
co~ering the }:~ase pla~e with various indi~ dual lamps whi~h ~n
be ~ur~ed on ~t di~feren~ me~. So fo~ example red, yello~ ~d
gxeen light-emit~ing diodes ~an be mixed ~nd pla~ed ~ogether o~
b~e plate 1 and the si~al can ~hen selectively r~Ld~te red,
yellow or gxeen 3.i~ht, as well ~ ixed colors thro~g~
simul~aneous use of ~e~eral type~ of i~dividual la~nps~
A further po:3~ible design of t~Q ir~ventioIl consiC~ in
urlifyln~ the construc:~ion o~ co~ cer 3 and disper~ion leL6 4 by
CA 02230409 1998-02-24
FEB 23. 1998 3:06PM JONES & ASKEW NO. 9151 P. 12~~l2
02/2v~o ~vl- ~v:~v ....~
:LO
l~yering both lens 6ys te~n~ so ~ha~ only one ~ron~ di~k ~rit}~
corre~i~oIld:in~ly complex lenses ~ s ne~e~ary.
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