LIGHTING ASSEMBLY WITH EDGE-LIT LIGHT GUIDE AND STRUCTURED COVER

摘要

A cover element for use in a lighting assembly that includes an edge-lit light guide. The cover element includes a first major surface through which light output by the light guide enters the cover element, the light including light propagating at high angles relative to normal to the first major surface of the cover element. The cover element also includes a second major surface opposed to the first major surface and having optical elements that each have plural surfaces arranged relative one another so that the optical element redirects high angle light incident on any one of the surfaces of the optical element and travelling in a direction with any vector component orthogonal to the normal to have a reduced angle in the normal direction as the light exits the cover element through the optical element.

主权项

1. A lighting assembly, comprising:
a light guide comprising:
a first major surface and a second major surface opposed to the first major surface, the opposed major surfaces spaced apart in a thickness direction of the light guide and wherein light propagates by total internal reflection between the opposed major surfaces, the opposed major surfaces having a length in a length direction and a width in a width direction, the length, width and thickness directions being mutually orthogonal to each other and each major surface extending in a respective length-width plane;a light input edge that extends in the thickness direction between the opposed major surfaces and having a surface area through which the light is received into the light guide; andlight extracting elements at at least one of the major surfaces of the light guide, the light extracting elements disrupt the total internal reflection of the propagating light in the light guide to output the light from the light guide via at least the first major surface of the light guide; a light source positioned relative to the light input edge to input light into the light guide via the light input edge, some of the light from the light source disrupted by the light extracting elements and output from the light guide being at a high angle relative to the first major surface of the light guide; and a cover element comprising a first major surface and a second major surface opposed to the first major surface, the first major surface of the cover element juxtaposed with the first major surface of the light guide and the light output from the light guide via the first major surface of the light guide entering the cover element via the first major surface of the cover element and propagating toward the second major surface of the cover element; and wherein the second major surface of the cover element comprising optical elements, the optical elements each comprise plural surfaces arranged relative one another so that the optical element redirects high angle light incident on any one of the surfaces of the optical element and travelling in a direction with any length-width vector component to have a reduced angle in the thickness direction as the light exits the cover element through the optical element.