The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 24, 1996
Filed:
Jan. 17, 1995
John F Forkner, Laguna Beach, CA (US);
Andrew P Riser, Menifee, CA (US);
Ronald F Rykowski, Woodinville, WA (US);
Stephen S Wilson, San Juan Capistrano, CA (US);
Radiant Imaging, Inc., San Juan Capistrano, CA (US);
Abstract
An optical fiber manifold is provided for coupling light from an illumination source to a plurality of spaced, large diameter output fibers, or 'light pipes', which are used for a variety of purposes, such as illuminating pools, spas, hazardous material zones, jail cells, and other applications where direct lighting is dangerous, difficult to maintain, or subject to vandalism. The manifold comprises a light converging element, which may be either a lens or a reflector, for converging light separately on each of the spaced optical fibers. The light converging element is segmented, with each segment corresponding to one of the optical fibers, and is precise enough that substantially all of the convergent light is received by the respective cores of each of the spaced output fibers, thereby minimizing light loss.