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:
Jun. 10, 2003
Filed:
Mar. 15, 2002
Ronald L. Sitzema, Jr., Ellsworth, MI (US);
Paul D. Cardwell, East Jordan, MI (US);
Lexalite International Corporation, Charlevoix, MI (US);
Abstract
An optical assembly enables improved optical control of an uplight illumination component and a downward illumination component. The optical assembly includes a reflector/refractor and a shroud carried by the reflector/refractor. The reflector/refractor has a predefined shape and has a plurality of reflector/refractor prisms on an exterior body surface for reflecting and refracting light. The shroud has a plurality of prisms disposed proximate to the reflector/refractor prisms for providing optical control of incident light from the reflector/refractor. The shroud is formed substantially corresponding to the predefined shape of the reflector/refractor, surrounding and spaced from the reflector/refractor exterior body surface. The shroud is formed, for example, by vacuum forming or by injection molding technique. The shroud provides optical control of incident light from the reflector/refractor, generally refracting incident light from the reflector/refractor. The shroud prisms are generally aligned with the reflector/refractor prisms. The reflector/refractor prisms and the shroud prisms are substantially vertical prisms. The shroud is formed of a light transmitting material, such as a transparent or translucent polymeric material. The shroud is formed, for example, by blending transparent materials having different refractive indices, or by adding a pigment to a transparent material. The shroud optionally includes pigmentation to provide a selected color for the optical assembly. The shroud can be metalized to block the uplight component or to provide a portion of the transmitted illumination to certain uplight areas, or reflect and block the illumination.