Patent US4758307A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent EP0117606A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0117606A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Collector for a LED array
Assignee: Xerox Corp
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Filing: 1984-01-13
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2004-01-13
Abstract
Abstract The present invention is a light collector (36) for an LED array for efficiently collecting and collimating light from the LEDs, and projecting the light into an optical wave guide (46) which directs that light onto a photoreceptor surface. Each LED is centered in a hemispherical cavity (40) in the collector array in order that radiation from the LED enters the collector essentially unrefracted. The collector array provides a convex lens portion (32) and a parabolic reflecting surface portion (34). Light that leaves the LED generally away from the substrate supporting the LED, is incident on the convex lens and is collimated. Light leaving generally along the substrate strikes a parabolic reflecting surface at greater than the critical angle and is also collimated. The two concentric collimated beams are combined and applied to the photoreceptor surface via a light pipe or opticl wave guide secured to the collector.
Inventors
- 👤 Virginia R. Nichols
- 👤 Iii Fred F. Hubble
- 👤 James Martin
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 18:26
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/42; G02B6/4201; G02B6/4249; G02B6/425; B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/435; B41J2/447; B41J2/45; B41J2/451; G02B6/4204; G02B6/4206; G02B6/4214; G03; G03G; G03G15/00; G03G15/04; G03G15/045; G03G15/047; G03G2215/00; G03G2215/04; G03G2215/0429; G03G2215/0431; G03G2215/0448; G03G2215/0451; H; H10; H10H; H10H20/00; H10H20/80; H10H20/85; H10H20/855; H10H20/856
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
20 words
A light collector for collimating light rays emitted from a relatively wide-angle emission light source (28) mounted on a substrate
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
20 words
A light collector for collimating light rays emitted from a relatively wide-angle emission light source (28) mounted on a substrate
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
(30), the light collector comprising: a lens portion (32) for collimating the light leaving the light source in a direction generally away from the substrate, and a reflecting portion (34a) for collimating the light leaving the light source in a direction generally parallel to the substrate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
(30), the light collector comprising: a lens portion (32) for collimating the light leaving the light source in a direction generally away from the substrate, and a reflecting portion (34a) for collimating the light leaving the light source in a direction generally parallel to the substrate.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
The light collector of claim 1, in which the lens portion is a convex lens collimating the light leaving the light source within an approximately 40° cone relative to a perpendicular to the substrate.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
39 words
The light collector of claim 1 or 2, wherein the reflecting portion is a parabolic reflector for collimating the light rays leaving the light source at an angle from 45° to 90° relative to a perpendicular to the substrate.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
The light collector of any preceding claim, wherein the collimated light beams are combined and applied to an optical wave guide (46).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
The light collector of any preceding claim, in which the light source is a light-emitting diode, and in which the light collector encloses the LED forming a hemispherical cavity (40) around it.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
The light collector of claim 5, wherein the hemispherical cavity forms an air pocket between the LED and the light collector.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
183 words
An electrophotographic machine having a photoreceptor surface (64) charged to receive an image and moving in a continuous path comprising: a charge generator (62) located along the path for producing a relatively uniform electrostatic charge on the surface, an exposing mechanism for projecting an image onto said photoreceptor surface, a developer (68) to develop an electrostatic image by depositing developing material on the photoreceptor surface, and a charge erase mechanism located along said path for removing charge from said surface, said charge erase mechanism including: an array of LEDs (28); a light collector (36) disposed adjacent to the array of light emitting diodes for capturing the light rays emitted from the diodes, and an optical wave guide (46), one end of the wave guide being secured to the light collector and the other end of the wave guide being disposed adjacent the photoreceptor surface, the light collector including convex lens portions (32) for collimating the light rays generally exiting from the top of the LEDs, and parabolic reflecting portions (34) for collimating the light rays generally exiting from the sides of the LEDs.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
183 words
An electrophotographic machine having a photoreceptor surface (64) charged to receive an image and moving in a continuous path comprising: a charge generator (62) located along the path for producing a relatively uniform electrostatic charge on the surface, an exposing mechanism for projecting an image onto said photoreceptor surface, a developer (68) to develop an electrostatic image by depositing developing material on the photoreceptor surface, and a charge erase mechanism located along said path for removing charge from said surface, said charge erase mechanism including: an array of LEDs (28); a light collector (36) disposed adjacent to the array of light emitting diodes for capturing the light rays emitted from the diodes, and an optical wave guide (46), one end of the wave guide being secured to the light collector and the other end of the wave guide being disposed adjacent the photoreceptor surface, the light collector including convex lens portions (32) for collimating the light rays generally exiting from the top of the LEDs, and parabolic reflecting portions (34) for collimating the light rays generally exiting from the sides of the LEDs.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
41 words
The machine of claim 7, wherein the optical wave guide includes a plurality of light pipes, each of the light pipes conveying a collimated light beam from selected LEDs of the LED array to a given portion of the photoreceptor surface.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
The machine of claim 7 or 8, wherein each of the LEDs of the LED array is selectively controlled.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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