Apparatus and method for evenly illuminating a rotating element with single or minimal light source(s)
OwnerWilliam Birgen, Hakim Hillinventors
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Abstract
An apparatus for illuminating a rotating element of the apparatus with as few as a single light source and a method for assembling such apparatus are disclosed herein. The apparatus comprises a center, a clear substrate element that may rotate about the center, and a light source for evenly illuminating the clear substrate element. The light source is configured to emit light toward the clear substrate element at an angle, which is predetermined based on one or more attributes of the clear substrate element, such as the geometry and the index of refraction.
Claims19
An apparatus, comprising:
- (a) a center;
- (b) a clear substrate element having a critical angle θc, the clear substrate element being coupled to the center and configured to rotate about a horizontal axis and pivot about a vertical axis, the horizontal and vertical axes crossing each other at the center;
- and
- (c) a light source movably coupled to the center, the light source being configured to emit a light toward the clear substrate element at an angle and move along the vertical axis relative to the clear substrate and the center, wherein
- the angle is predetermined based on attributes of the clear substrate element, the attributes being selected from a group consisting of a geometry, an index of refraction, and a combination thereof, so that at least a first incident angle of the light after entering the clear substrate element is at least as great as the critical angle θc.
A method for evenly illuminating an object comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing the object comprising a center and a clear substrate element, the clear substrate element having a critical angle θc and being coupled to the center and configured to rotate about a horizontal axis and pivot about a vertical axis, the horizontal and vertical axes crossing each other at the center;
- (b) movably coupling a light source to the object, the light source being configured to move along the vertical axis relative to the center and the clear substrate;
- and
- (c) configuring the light source to emit a light toward the clear substrate element at an angle, the angle being predetermined based attributes of the clear substrate element, the attributes being selected from a group consisting of a geometry, an index of refraction, and a combination thereof, so that at least a first incident angle of the light after entering the clear substrate element is at least as great as the critical angle θc.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.