# US 11,079,095 B2 · Lighting apparatus

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- Number: US 11,079,095 B2
- Document ID: US11079095B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/987,791
- Filed: 2020-08-07
- Published: 2020-11-19
- Granted: 2021-08-03
- Earliest claimed: 2018-02-16
- Assignees: Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Masaki Koyama
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11079095B2

## CPC

- F21V 9/38: Combination of two or more photoluminescent elements of different materials
- F21V 7/0008: {providing for indirect lighting}
- F21V 7/0033: {with successive reflections from one reflector to the next or following}
- F21V 7/26: the material comprising photoluminescent substances
- F21V 14/003: {by interposition of elements with electrically controlled variable light transmissivity, e.g. liquid crystal elements or electrochromic devices}
- G02F 1/13: based on liquid crystals, e.g. single liquid crystal display cells
- G02F 1/292: {by controlled diffraction or phased-array beam steering (controlled diffraction for optical switching G02F1/31)}
- F21Y 2115/30: Semiconductor lasers
- F21V: FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G02F: OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
- F21Y: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED

## Abstract

A lighting apparatus includes: a laser light source emitting laser light; a liquid crystal device that transmits the laser light from the laser light source and diffracts the laser light; a phosphor unit that receives laser light from the liquid crystal device, converts a wavelength of the laser light to emit illumination light, the phosphor unit including a first phosphor of a first color and a second phosphor of a second color differing from the first color. The liquid crystal device controls an angle of the laser light and selects one of the first phosphor or the second phosphor.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A lighting apparatus comprising:
a laser light source emitting laser light;
a liquid crystal device that transmits the laser light from the laser light source and diffracts the laser light;
a phosphor unit that receives laser light from the liquid crystal device, converts a wavelength of the laser light to emit illumination light, the phosphor unit including a first phosphor of a first color and a second phosphor of a second color differing from the first color,
wherein the liquid crystal device controls an angle of the laser light and selects one of the first phosphor or the second phosphor.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the liquid crystal device deflects the laser light by forming a gradient of refractivity.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the liquid crystal device is a diffraction grating that emits 0th-order diffracted light and ±first order diffracted light, and
the liquid crystal device includes a first area where a first electrode is provided and a second area where a second electrode is provided, and changes an intensity ratio of the 0th-order diffracted light and the ±first order diffracted light by changing a phase difference between the first area and the second area.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The lighting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
the first phosphor is arranged so as to receive the 0th-order diffracted light, and
the second phosphor is arranged so as to receive the ±first order diffracted light.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The lighting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
the phosphor unit further comprises a third phosphor of a third color differing from the first color, and
the third phosphor is arranged so as to receive the ±first order diffracted light.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The lighting apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:
a first reflection member provided on a side opposite to the liquid crystal device of the phosphor unit; and
a second reflection member that reflects, in a traveling direction of the laser light, illumination light emitted from the phosphor unit and reflected by the first reflection member.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The lighting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein
the first reflection member is a plane mirror, and
the second reflection member is a concave mirror.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The lighting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first reflection member that reflects illumination light emitted from the phosphor unit in a direction opposite to a traveling direction of the laser light.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The lighting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein
the first reflection member is a concave mirror.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The lighting apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a telecentric optical system provided between the liquid crystal device and the phosphor unit and refracting laser light so as to be parallel to an optical axis of the laser light source.