Light emitting panel assemblies and method of making same
AssigneeLumitex, Inc.
InventorJeffrey R. Parker
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Light emitting panel assemblies and method of making same include one or more layers of woven fiber optic material having disruptions or bends at discrete locations along the length of the fibers to allow light to be emitted therefrom. Only selected areas of the disruptions or bends are coated with a suitable coating material that has a refractive index that changes the attenuation of the light emitted from the selected areas. The coating material may be applied to the selected areas using one or more carrier members which become part of the panel. Alternatively, a non-permanent carrier such as a roller may be used to coat selected areas of the optical fiber disruptions or bends with the coating material after the weaving process.
Claims62
A light emitting panel having one side and an other side opposite said one side comprising a plurality of optical fibers having bends at discrete locations along the length of said fibers to allow light to be emitted therefrom, and coating means applied only to selected areas of the outer surfaces of said bends, said coating means extending part way around the sides of said bends and having a refractive index that changes the attenuation of the light emitted from said selected areas.
A panel assembly comprising a light emitting panel made of a plurality of optical fibers having bends at discrete locations along the length of said fibers to allow light to be emitted therefrom, coating means applied only to selected areas of the outer surfaces of said bends, said coating means extending part way around the sides of said bends and having a refractive index that changes the attenuation of the light emitted from said selected areas, a light cable connected to said panel for transmitting light to said panel from a remote light source, and connector means at a remote end of said cable which serves as an interface between said light cable and remote light source.
A method of making a light transmitting panel having one side and an other side opposite said one side comprising the steps of forming a plurality of optical fibers into a panel, with bends the fibers at discrete locations along the length of the fibers to allow light to be emitted therefrom, and applying a coating only to selected areas of the outer surfaces of the bends, such coating extending part way around the sides of said bends and having a refractive index that is different from the refractive index of the optical fibers to change the attenuation of light emitted from such selected areas.
A light emitting panel having one side and an other side opposite said one side comprising a plurality of woven optical fibers having disruptions or bends at discrete locations along the length of said fibers to allow light to be emitted therefrom, and coating means applied only to selected areas of said disruptions or bends on both sides of said panel, said coating means having a refractive index that changes the attenuation of the light emitted from said selected areas, said coating means on one side of said panel having a higher index of refraction than said optical fibers, and said coating means on the other side of said panel having a lower index of refraction than said optical fibers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.