KR100958392B1 - Optical pipe and illuminating apparatus comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a light pipe and a lighting device having the same. The light pipe and the lighting apparatus having the same according to the present invention are urethane acrylates substituted with bifunctional monomers having 9-ethylene glycol diacrylate and isophorone diisocyanate. An optical film including at least one of urethane acrylate and urethane acrylate substituted with hexamethylene diisocyanate macromer is provided. As a result, the optical film may have a soft property, and the total reflection effect may be improved to maintain uniformity of illuminance and brightness along the longitudinal direction of the light pipe.

Light pipe, soft, lighting equipment

Description

Optical pipe and illuminating apparatus comprising the same

The present invention relates to a light pipe and a lighting apparatus having the same, and more particularly, to a light pipe including an optical film including a soft material and a lighting apparatus having the same.

Lighting devices using light pipes that can transmit light to a far distance with relatively low transmission loss can be applied to a variety of interior and exterior buildings. Light pipes, also called light conduits, light guides or light tubes, are used to effectively distribute decorative or functional light over a relatively large area.

Light pipes are used for the purpose of illuminating any area, as well as the use of point illumination for illuminating a particular point. Light traveling inside the light pipe can be distributed to the outside to illuminate specific areas or to maximize decorative effects.

However, in general, the lighting apparatus using the light pipe is difficult to manufacture less than 4 inches (inch) due to the crack and distortion of the optical film, the total reflection effect may be reduced depending on the refractive index of the optical film in the light pipe. .

Disclosure of Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a light pipe having a soft property and improving the total reflection effect to maintain uniformity of illuminance and luminance along the longitudinal direction of the light pipe, and an illumination device having the same.

Light pipe according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a urethane acrylate substituted with bifunctional monomer, isophorone diisocyanate with 9-ethylene glycol diacrylate (9-Ethylene glycol diacrylate) An optical film including at least one of urethane acrylate substituted with (Urethane acrylate) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (Macromer).

In addition, the lighting apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes a light source for generating light and a light pipe for transmitting and distributing light generated by the light source, the light pipe is 9-ethylene glycol diacrylate Urethane acrylate (urethane acrylate) substituted with isophorone diisocyanate and hexamethylene diisocyanate (macromer) substituted with bifunctional monomer with (9-ethylene glycol diacrylate) An optical film including at least one of acrylate (urethane acrylate) is provided.

According to the present invention, since the optical film includes a material having a soft property, the optical film can be manufactured in the form of a roll having a small radius, and improve the total reflection effect to uniform the illuminance and luminance along the longitudinal direction of the light pipe. The present invention provides a light pipe and a lighting device having the same.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 illustrate a portion of an optical film to illustrate the transmission and reflection of light in a light pipe according to one embodiment of the invention.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of an optical film for transmitting and reflecting light in a light pipe, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a portion of an optical film for transmitting and reflecting light in a light pipe. However, for ease of understanding, the structured outer surface is shown as the upper side and the structured outer surface is shown as the lower side.

Looking at the transmission and reflection of light in the light pipe with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the light generated by the light source is incident and refracted by the unstructured inner surface of the optical film as shown by an arrow (one point), and the structured outer prism The light is totally reflected at both sides of (2 and 3 points), whereby the light directed outward is refracted at the inner surface (4 points) and input back into the inside.

When the total reflection process is repeated, the light proceeds substantially along the longitudinal direction of the light pipe, and almost no loss of light occurs in the air inside the light pipe. Thus, light can be transmitted through the light pipe at almost short distance as well as at a short distance.

3 is a perspective view showing a lighting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the lighting device 300 according to the present embodiment may include a light source unit 310, a light pipe 320, and may further include a reflective cap 330.

The light source unit 310 is a module that generates light and inputs it to the light pipe 320, and may include at least one lamp (not shown) that generates light. Light generated by the light source unit 310 is input to the light pipe 320 and output to the outside.

The light pipe 320 outputs light to the outside by receiving and transmitting and distributing light generated by the light source unit 310. The light pipe 320 may include an optical film (not shown) that evenly distributes the light generated by the light source unit 310 by reflecting or refracting the light.

The optical film (not shown) may include a surface structured by a prism pattern or the like, and may transmit light to an area spaced apart from the light source unit 310 by reflecting or refracting light generated by the light source unit 310.

The optical film (not shown) is cut to have a size corresponding to the length of the light pipe 320 and processed into a roll shape. In this case, when the optical film (not shown) does not have sufficient soft components, the optical film (not shown) may be broken in the longitudinal direction in which the prism pattern is formed during processing.

Detailed description of the ductility of the optical film (not shown) will be described later with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

On the other hand, the reflective cap 330 is attached to one end of the light pipe 320 reflects the light transmitted and distributed by the light pipe 320. The reflective cap 330 is preferably attached to one end of the light pipe 320 that is not connected to the light source unit 310, that is, opposite the light source unit 310, and reflects light to the inside connected to the light pipe 320. It is provided with a reflector that can reflect the light transmitted from the light pipe 320 into the light pipe 320. By confining the light in the light pipe 320 using the reflective cap 330, the brightness of the light output from the lighting device 300 can be increased.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cross section along AA ′ of the lighting apparatus shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the lighting device 300 according to the present embodiment, the light source unit 310 including the housing 316, the light source 312, and the reflector 314, the optical film 322 and the support The light pipe 320 may include a member 324, and may further include a reflective cap 330 including a cap 332 and a reflector 334.

The light source unit 310 stores a light source 312 that outputs light, a reflector 314 that reflects the light output by the light source 312, and guides the light pipe 320 to the light pipe 320, and the light source 312 and the reflector 314. It may include a housing 316 to.

The light source 312 is a lamp for generating light, and may use various types of lamps according to an environment in which the light pipe 320 is disposed. For example, a halogen lamp, a light emitting diode, a metal halide lamp, a plasma lighting source, or the like may be used as the light source 312.

The reflector 314 may be disposed behind the light source 312 and may include a metal material such as aluminum or silver having excellent reflectance on the surface. Although the structure of the reflector 314 is not particularly limited, it is preferable to be determined corresponding to the length of the light pipe 320, and may be formed as an aspherical reflector. For example, the reflectance can be increased by forming the reflector 314 as a non-caliber reflector and forming a film including a metal material such as aluminum or silver on the surface of the reflector 314 corresponding to the light source 312.

The housing 316 may include a space for accommodating the light source 312 and the reflector 314 therein, and may protect the light source 312 and the reflector 314 from an external impact or foreign matter. In order to protect the light source 312 and the reflector 314, the housing 316 is preferably formed of a material having excellent strength, heat dissipation characteristics, and workability.

The light pipe 320 is optically connected to the light source unit 310, and receives and transmits and distributes the light generated by the light source unit 310. The light pipe 320 may include an optical film 322 that is supported by the support member 324 and the support member 324 and includes a structured surface that reflects or refracts light.

The optical film 322 has a good transmittance and has a balance of mechanical properties, heat resistance, and electrical properties, such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or polycarbonate (PC). It is preferably composed of the same material.

The optical film 322 may have a surface corresponding to the support member 324, and transmit and distribute the light output from the light source unit 310 to uniformly output the light from the light pipe 320.

The structured surface of the optical film 322 may have a prism pattern. The prism pattern may be an isosceles triangle, an isosceles triangle, a trapezoid or an equilateral triangle, preferably an isosceles triangle with approximately a vertex angle of 90 degrees.

The optical film 322 is cut to have a size corresponding to the length of the support member 324 is processed in the form of a roll, if the optical film 322 is not sufficient ductility, the optical film 322 will be broken in the manufacturing process Can be. The general optical film 322 is difficult to make less than 4 inches in diameter because of the cracks and distortion of the optical film 322.

Accordingly, this problem may be solved by adding a material having ductile property to the optical film 322 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Examples of the ductile material include urethane acrylate or hexamethylene substituted with bifunctional monomer having 9-ethylene glycol diacrylate, isophorone diisocyanate. And urethane acrylates substituted with dimethyl isocyanate macromers.

The bifunctional monomer having 9-ethylene glycol diacrylate has the following structural formula.

In addition, urethane acrylate has a structural formula below.

The optical film 322 includes a material having the above-described soft properties in a cured resin such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), or the like constituting the optical film 322. After manufacturing the form of the cured it. As a method of curing, the optical film 322 not yet cured by UV (ultra violet) curing or thermal curing may be cured, but is not limited thereto.

When the material having the soft property as described above is added to the optical film 322, the optical film 322 has a ductility, and thus the optical film 322 can be manufactured in the form of a roll having a small diameter. ) Can be miniaturized.

On the other hand, the optical film 322 including the material having the soft properties described above will have a refractive index of 1.57 to 1.59. The refractive index is one of the requirements that total reflection of light may occur in the pattern portion on the optical film 322, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 7.

5 and 6 are views showing an optical film when the above-described substance is added and when it is not.

Referring to FIG. 5, the non-flexible optical film 322 does not have sufficient ductility, and thus it can be seen that the optical film 322 is broken in the longitudinal direction of the prism pattern portion as it is bent.

On the other hand, in the case of Figure 6, the above-described substance is added. As shown in FIG. 6, the case of the optical film 322 to which the flexible material is added does not appear to be broken even when folded in half.

Therefore, the optical film 322 may be manufactured in the form of a roll having a small radius, thereby miniaturizing the light pipe 320 having the optical film 322.

On the other hand, the material of the support member 324 is preferably a thermoplastic resin material having good light transmittance and having a good balance of mechanical properties, heat resistance and electrical properties, and the support member 324 is polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). , Polycarbonate (PC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Most preferably, the support member 324 is made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is high in strength and not easily broken and easily deformed. In addition, its high visible light transmittance is suitable as a light source material.

The reflective cap 330 may include a cap 332 attached to one end of the light pipe 320 and a reflector 334 disposed in the cap 332 to reflect light transmitted by the light pipe 320. The reflector 334 may include a coating film including a metal material having a high reflectance such as aluminum or silver so as to efficiently reflect light transmitted by the light pipe 320. The reflector 334 may have a planar or spherical shape, and when formed in a spherical shape, it is preferable that the reflector 334 is a concave mirror having a curvature of 0.001 or less.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B 'of the lighting apparatus shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 7, the lighting apparatus 300 according to the present exemplary embodiment may include an optical film 322 having a prism pattern structure, and a support member 324 supporting the optical film 322.

The optical film 322 may include a first surface structured in a prism pattern and a second surface opposite to the first surface. In particular, the prism pattern may extend in the longitudinal direction of the light pipe 320 and may have an isosceles triangle, equilateral triangle, or trapezoid shape. On the other hand, the prism pattern of the optical film 322 may be disposed outside. That is, the first surface of the optical film may be disposed to face the support member 324.

On the other hand, the refractive index of the optical film 322 is an important factor regarding the total reflection efficiency of light in the light pipe 320. The total reflection depends on the critical angle of the optical film 322 according to Snell's law, and the transmission ability of light in the light pipe 320 varies according to the total reflection.

Table 1 below shows the total reflection effect according to the refractive index of the optical film 322.

Distance (light source) n = 1.566 n = 1.57 n = 1.58 n = 1.585 n = 1.59 n = 1.592 Transmission illuminance by distance (lx) 40 cm 19650 9950 9900 9900 9900 18670 60 cm 17150 9400 9300 9500 9510 17520 80 cm 16940 8820 8830 8720 8840 16650 100 cm 16410 8550 8450 8280 8530 15390 120 cm 15780 8200 8000 7950 8100 14630 140 cm 14310 7950 7890 7850 7850 14000 160 cm 13370 7830 7850 7820 7830 13200 180 cm 12480 7790 7800 7790 7780 12380

As shown in Table 1, when the refractive index n is 1.566, the distance from the light source unit 310 is 19650 lx when 40 cm, and 12480 lx when 180 cm. This indicates that the illuminance of the light transmitted from the light source unit 310 at a distance of 180 cm is only 63.5% based on the 40 cm distance from the light source unit 310.

In addition, when the refractive index n is 1.592, it can be seen that only about 66% of the illuminance of the light transmitted to the point 180cm away from the light source unit 310 is transmitted based on the illuminance of the point 40cm away from the light source unit 310.

On the other hand, when the refractive index n is 1.585, the illuminance of light observed at a point 180 cm away from the light source unit 310 reaches about 79% based on a distance of 40 cm from the light source unit 310. Similarly, it can be seen that when the refractive index n is 1.57, 78%, and when the refractive index n is 1.59, 78.5%.

As a result, when the refractive index of the optical film 322 has 1.57 to 1.59, it can be seen that although the illuminance lx is relatively low, it has a uniform illuminance according to the distance from the light source unit 310. This means that when the refractive index of the optical film 322 is 1.57 to 1.59, the total reflection ability is excellent.

On the other hand, in order to have such a refractive index, the optical film 322 is a urethane acrylate substituted with a bifunctional monomer having 9-ethylene glycol diacrylate, isophorone diisocyanate (Isophorone diisocyanate) ( Urethane acrylate) and hexamethylene diisocyanate may include at least one of urethane acrylate (Urethane acrylate) substituted with a macromer (Macromer).

The optical film 322 including the material having the soft property described above has a refractive index of 1.57 to 1.59, and the total reflection ability is excellent. Therefore, uniform light may be emitted through the entire light pipe 320.

The support member 324 is disposed outside the optical film 322 to support the optical film 322, and protects the optical film 322 from dust that may be introduced from the outside or impact that may be applied from the outside. In addition, as the support member 324 guides the light guided by the optical film 322 once more, the light transmission efficiency of the light pipe 320 may be increased.

On the other hand, the support member 324 may be composed of at least one polymeric material selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), acrylic, polypropylene, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride. .

While the above has been shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, it is usually in the technical field to which the invention belongs without departing from the spirit of the invention claimed in the claims. Various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or the prospect of the present invention.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an optical film that transmits and reflects light in a light pipe.

2 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of an optical film that transmits and reflects light in the light pipe.

3 is a perspective view showing a lighting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section along line A-A 'of the lighting apparatus shown in FIG.

5 and 6 are views for explaining the ductility of the optical film according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the lighting apparatus shown in FIG. 3 taken along line B-B '.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

310: light source unit 320: light pipe

322: optical film 324: support member

330: reflective cap

Claims (14)

Bifunctional monomers with 9-ethylene glycol diacrylate, urethane acrylate and hexamethylene diisocyanate macromers substituted with isophorone diisocyanate Light pipe provided with an optical film containing at least any one of urethane acrylate substituted (Macromer). The method of claim 1, The refractive index of the optical film is 1.57 to 1.59 light pipe. The method of claim 1, The optical film is a light pipe formed by the ultraviolet curing method. The method of claim 1, The light pipe further comprises a support member located outside the optical film. The method of claim 1, The optical film has a structured first surface; And And a second surface opposite the first surface. The method of claim 5, And the first face is structured in a prism pattern. The method of claim 5, The light pipe with the first surface disposed outside. A light source unit generating light; And It includes a light pipe for transmitting and distributing the light generated by the light source unit, The light pipe, Bifunctional monomers with 9-ethylene glycol diacrylate, urethane acrylate and hexamethylene diisocyanate macromers substituted with isophorone diisocyanate Lighting device comprising an optical film containing at least any one of (urethane acrylate) substituted (Macromer). The method of claim 8, The refractive index of the optical film is 1.57 to 1.59. The method of claim 8, The optical film is an illumination device formed by the ultraviolet curing method. The method of claim 8, Lighting device further comprises a support member located on the outside of the optical film. The method of claim 8, The optical film has a structured first side; And And a second surface opposite the first surface. The method of claim 12, And the first surface is structured in a prism pattern. The method of claim 12, Illumination device in which the first surface is disposed to the outside.

Images