This present application claims priority of Chinese patent application no. CN 202510009003.X filed on Jan. 3, 2025, named "An optical assembly", the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present application relates to the field of lamps, and in particular to an optical assembly for illumination.

At present, deflected illumination lamps available on the market are usually implemented by means of mechanical deflection. However, such a manner has the problem of shielding by mechanical structures during angle adjustment for deflected illumination. For example, structures such as a lamp mounting frame or a lamp shade may shield the outgoing light when rotated by a relatively large angle, thereby affecting the illumination effect. Therefore, deflected lenses are often adopted to solve the problem of shielding caused by rotation of the lamp. For existing deflected lenses on the market, as shown in FIG. 1, the light exit surface is generally formed by an array of oblique teeth. For a light beam, due to the deflection of light rays, the exit range on one side is larger than that on the other side relative to the beam center, resulting in uneven illumination on the final irradiation surface.

Therefore, those skilled in the art are committed to developing an optical assembly capable of improving illumination uniformity when used for deflected illumination.

In view of the above defects in the prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present application is the problem of uneven unilateral illumination after unilateral deflection of a light beam by a deflected illumination lens.

To achieve the above objective, in a first aspect, the present application provides an optical assembly, comprising a first lens disposed in a light exit direction of a light source and configured to deflect incident light rays after passing through the first lens. The first lens comprises a first optical surface configured for light incidence and a second optical surface configured for light exit, wherein the first optical surface is provided as a microlens array, the second optical surface is provided as an array of refractive prisms, a plurality of refractive prisms are distributed in sequence along a longitudinal axis direction, and each refractive prism comprises a refractive surface extending along a transverse axis direction; in a longitudinal section perpendicular to the transverse axis direction, the cross-sectional profile of the first optical surface is formed by a plurality of microlenses connected in sequence, and each microlens has an outwardly convex curved surface; for a collimated or nearly collimated light beam incident on the first lens, in said longitudinal section: a first incident light ray is defined as being incident from one end of the cross-sectional profile of one microlens of the first optical surface, and the first incident light ray exits from one refractive prism as a first exit light ray after passing through the first lens; a second incident light ray is defined as reaching the other end of the cross-sectional profile of the same microlens, and the second incident light ray exits from the same or an adjacent refractive prism as a second exit light ray after passing through the first lens; and the first lens is configured such that the first exit light ray and the second exit light ray can intersect outside the second optical surface.

In an optional embodiment, each microlens has an identical shape, and/or each refractive prism has an identical shape.

In an optional embodiment, in the longitudinal section, a third incident light ray is incident on the microlens along a central axis between the first incident light ray and the second incident light ray, and exits as a third exit light ray after passing through the first lens; the first lens is configured such that a relative error between two included angles formed by the third exit light ray with the first exit light ray and the second exit light ray respectively in the longitudinal section is less than 5%.

In an optional embodiment, the third incident light ray coincides with a normal line at its incident point on the microlens.

In an optional embodiment, in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis direction, the cross-sectional profile of each microlens is a smooth circular arc.

In an optional embodiment, the refractive surfaces of adjacent refractive prisms are connected by transition surfaces, and the transition surfaces are arranged parallel to each other.

In an optional embodiment, the optical assembly of the present application further comprises a second lens disposed between the light source and the first lens, the second lens being configured such that light rays from the light source exit to the first lens as collimated or nearly collimated light rays after passing through the second lens; the second lens comprises a light incident portion, a first total reflection surface and a first light exit surface; the light incident portion is configured to receive light rays from the light source, the first total reflection surface is configured to condense part of the incident light from the light source, and the first light exit surface is configured to refract and exit the light rays reflected by the first total reflection surface.

In an optional embodiment, the light incident portion comprises a first light incident surface and a second light incident surface, the first light incident surface is disposed around the periphery of the second light incident surface and forms a light source mounting position; the first light incident surface is arranged corresponding to the first total reflection surface, and is configured such that part of light rays from the light source is incident to the first total reflection surface through the first light incident surface.

In an optional embodiment, the second lens comprises an optical axis that coincides with its central axis and a second light exit surface passed through by the optical axis; the second light exit surface is configured to converge part of light rays incident through the light incident portion and emit the converged light rays to the first lens; the first total reflection surface is arranged at an outer side of the second lens, and the first light exit surface is connected between the second light exit surface and the first total reflection surface.

In an optional embodiment, the second lens is a rotary body taking the optical axis as a central axis.

In a second aspect, the present application further provides a lamp comprising the optical assembly as described above.

The optical assembly of the present application achieves deflected illumination through the first lens, and the second lens assists in providing collimated or nearly collimated light rays incident on the first lens. The exit light is deflected and distributed homogenously, making it suitable for lamps such as downlights whose angle adjustment is limited due to shielding after rotation. It can still irradiate the irradiation surface uniformly when the lamp tube is obliquely directed toward the irradiation surface.

Hereinafter, the disclosure will be disclosed with reference to the drawings and exemplary embodiments, from which further features, technical effects and problems to be solved will become apparent. In the drawings:

FIG. 1

is a schematic diagram of the irradiation light path of a polarizing lens in the prior art.

FIG. 2

is a schematic diagram showing the longitudinal section structure and optical principle of the first lens in the optical assembly of the present application.

FIG. 3

is a structural schematic diagram of the first lens in the optical assembly of the present application.

FIG. 4

is an enlarged schematic diagram of portion D in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5

is a longitudinal section structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of the optical assembly of the present application.

FIG. 6

is a schematic diagram of a specific structure of the optical assembly in FIG. 5.

Wherein:
100 first lens, 1 first optical surface, 11 microlens, 2 second optical surface, 21 refractive prism, 211 refractive surface, 212 transition surface, 200 second lens, 201 light incident portion, 202 optical axis, 3 first total reflection surface, 4 first light exit surface, 5 first light incident surface, 6 second light incident surface, 7 second light exit surface, 300 irradiation surface, A1 first incident light ray, A2 first exit light ray, B1 second incident light ray, B2 second exit light ray, C1 third incident light ray, C2 third exit light ray, Y longitudinal axis direction, X transverse axis direction.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals designated identical or substantially equivalent elements or groups of elements.

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be further described in detail below based on the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the descriptions of the embodiments of the present disclosure herein are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present disclosure.

The terms used in the following embodiments are intended only to describe the purpose of a particular embodiment and are not intended to limit this disclosure. The terms "one", "a" and "this" of singular forms used in this specification and the appended claims of this disclosure are also intended to include plural forms, unless otherwise specified in the context clearly. It should also be understood that in the following embodiments of this disclosure, "at least one" and "one or more" mean one or two or more. The term "and/or" describes an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B may represent the following three cases: Only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists, where A and B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates an "or" relationship between the associated objects.

Reference to "one embodiment", "some embodiments" or the like described in this specification means that one or more embodiments of this disclosure include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described with reference to the embodiment. Therefore, the expressions "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments" that appear in different parts of this specification do not necessarily mean reference to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more embodiments but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specially emphasized. The terms "include", "comprise", "have", and variations thereof mean "include, but are not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, an optical assembly provided by the present application comprises a first lens 100 disposed in a light exit direction of a light source and configured to deflect incident light rays after passing through the first lens 100. The first lens 100 comprises a first optical surface 1 for light incidence and a second optical surface 2 for light exit, wherein the first optical surface 1 is provided as an array of a plurality of microlenses 11 arranged in a plane, and the second optical surface 2 is provided as an array of refractive prisms 21 arranged. On the second optical surface 2, a plurality of refractive prisms 21 are distributed in sequence along a longitudinal axis direction Y, and each refractive prism 21 comprises a refractive surface 211 extending along a transverse axis direction X. In a longitudinal section perpendicular to the transverse axis direction X, the cross-sectional profile of the first optical surface 1 is formed by a plurality of microlenses 11 connected in sequence. On the first optical surface 1, each microlens 11 has an outwardly convex curved surface, and in the aforesaid longitudinal section, the profile of the first optical surface 1 is shown to be formed by a plurality of microlenses 11 distributed and connected longitudinally.

For a collimated or nearly collimated light beam incident on the first lens 100, within the range of the cross-sectional profile of one microlens 11 in the longitudinal section, a first incident light ray A1 is defined as being incident from one end of the cross-sectional profile of the microlens 11, and a light ray exiting from one refractive prism 21 of the second optical surface 2 after the first incident light ray A1 passes through the first lens 100 is defined a first exit light ray A2. A second incident light ray B1 is defined as reaching the other end of the cross-sectional profile of the same microlens 11, and the second incident light ray B1 exits from the same or an adjacent refractive prism 21 defined as a second exit light ray B2 after passing through the first lens 100. Compared with the prior art shown in FIG. 1, the first lens 100 of the present application is configured such that the first exit light ray A2 and the second exit light ray B2 can intersect outside the second optical surface 2.

Regarding the structures of the first optical surface 1 and the second optical surface 2, as an optional embodiment, the first lens 100 may be configured such that each microlens 11 on the first optical surface 1 has an identical shape, each refractive prism 21 on the second optical surface 2 may also be configured to have an identical shape, or the surfaces on both sides may each be provided as arrays of identical shapes. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on the first optical surface 1, the microlenses 11 are arranged in identical shapes and connected in sequence along both the longitudinal axis direction Y and the transverse axis direction X, thereby forming a uniform grid-like structure.

The first lens 100 of the present application is configured to change the distribution range of the exit light rays in such a manner that the first incident light ray A1 and the second incident light ray B1 intersect after being refracted and exiting. This is different from the prior art in FIG. 1. For collimated and nearly collimated incident light rays from a single light source, which are generally parallel light or slightly divergent light rays, the incident and refracted light rays remain divergent with the combination of a flat surface and refractive prisms alone in FIG. 1, whereas the exit light rays of the present application can intersect after passing through the first lens 100, thereby changing the divergence of the light beam.

Optionally, in the longitudinal section, a third incident light ray C1 is incident on the microlens 11 along the central axis between the first incident light ray A1 and the second incident light ray B1, and exits as a third exit light ray C2 after passing through the first lens 100. The first lens 100 is configured such that the relative error between the two included angles formed by the third exit light ray C2 with the first exit light ray A2 and the second exit light ray B2 respectively in the longitudinal section is less than 5%, so that the third exit light ray C2 is located substantially at the center of the exiting light beam. The aforesaid light distribution is applicable to any longitudinal section.

It can be understood that, for a light beam incident on the microlens 11, the first incident light ray A1 and the second incident light ray B1 are located at the two side edges of the light beam, and the third incident light ray C1 is located at the center of the light beam. After being refracted by the microlens 11, the original collimated or nearly collimated light beam is converged to a certain extent, and the first incident light ray A1 and the second incident light ray B1 converge toward the center of the light beam, thus having different incident angles on the refractive prisms 21 of the second optical surface 2. After refraction, the deflection angle of the first exit light ray A2 is larger than that of the second exit light ray B2, so that the entire light beam is converged after refraction and then exits obliquely as a conical light beam. By setting the shape of the corresponding incident microlens 11 and the inclination angle of the refractive surface 211 of the exiting refractive prism 21, the included angle α between the third exit light ray C2 and the first exit light ray A2 and the included angle β between the third exit light ray C2 and the second exit light ray B2 are made approximately equal, so that the exiting light beam is uniformly distributed with the third exit light ray C2 as the center, which can ensure that the upper and lower light spot ranges are the same during forward irradiation.

For example, in one embodiment of the present application, in the light path of FIG. 2, among the aforesaid light rays passing through the first lens 100, the included angle α is 10.08°, the included angle β is 9.73°, while the included angles upon incidence into the first lens 100 are 5.12° and 4.5° respectively. Therefore, after the light rays are redistributed by the first lens 100, the difference between the two included angles is significantly reduced.

By designing the inclination angle of the refractive surface 211, the magnitudes of the included angle α between the third exit light ray C2 and the first exit light ray A2 and the included angle β between the third exit light ray C2 and the second exit light ray B2 can be further adjusted, and the refractive prisms 21 of the second optical surface 2 can be designed according to actual lighting requirements. Further preferably, the cross-sectional profile of the microlens 11 in the longitudinal section may be a smooth arc, and the third incident light ray C1 coincides with the symmetry axis of the first incident light ray A1 and the second incident light ray B1. For a microlens 11 with a symmetrical shape and a symmetry axis parallel to the incident direction, the third incident light ray C1 coincides with the normal line at its incident point on the microlens 11. In this way, the included angle α and the included angle β in the exiting light rays are approximately equal.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on the first optical surface 1, each microlens 11 comprises a smooth outwardly convex curved surface. Optionally, in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis direction Y, the cross-sectional profile of each microlens 11 is a smooth circular arc, and the profile of the microlens 11 is symmetrical. The refractive surfaces 211 of adjacent refractive prisms 21 are connected by transition surfaces 212, and the transition surfaces 212 are arranged parallel to each other. To reduce stray light caused by refraction of light rays on the transition surfaces 212 when passing through the first lens 100, the transition surfaces 212 are arranged parallel or nearly parallel to the direction of the optical axis 202 of the first lens 100.

In the optical assembly of the present application, the first lens 100 is suitable for deflecting collimated or nearly collimated light, and the optical axis 202 of the first lens 100 is parallel to or coincident with the optical axis 202 of the light source.

The optical assembly further comprises a second lens 200 disposed between the light source and the first lens 100, as shown in FIG. 5. The second lens 200 is configured such that light rays from the light source exit to the first lens 100 as collimated or nearly collimated light rays after passing through the second lens 200. The optical axis 202 of the second lens 200 is parallel to or coincident with the optical axis 202 of the light source, and may optionally be a TIR lens. Specifically, the second lens 200 comprises a light incident portion 201, a first total reflection surface 3 and a first light exit surface 4. The light incident portion 201 is configured to receive light rays from the light source, the first total reflection surface 3 is configured to condense part of the incident light from the light source, and the first light exit surface 4 is configured to refract and exit the light rays reflected by the first total reflection surface 3.

In an optional embodiment, the light incident portion 201 comprises a first light incident surface 5 and a second light incident surface 6. The first light incident surface 5 is disposed around the periphery of the second light incident surface 6 and forms a light source mounting position. The first light incident surface 5 is arranged corresponding to the first total reflection surface 3, and is configured such that part of light rays from the light source is incident to the first total reflection surface 3 through the first light incident surface 5.

The second lens 200 comprises an optical axis 202 that coincides with its central axis and a second light exit surface 7 passed through by the optical axis 202. The second light exit surface 7 is configured to converge part of light rays incident through the light incident portion 201 and emit the converged light rays to the first lens 100. The first total reflection surface 3 is arranged at an outer side of the second lens 200, and the first light exit surface 4 is connected between the second light exit surface 7 and the first total reflection surface 3. Specifically, in an integrated structure, the first total reflection surface 3 is configured the outer wall of the second lens 200 so as to totally reflect light rays inside the second lens 200. As shown in FIG. 6, the second light exit surface 7 is provided as an outwardly convex surface, which has the effect of converging and emitting light rays. In this way, light rays emitted from the light source at the light source mounting position are converted into collimated or nearly collimated light rays and exit to the first lens 100 after passing through the second lens 200. Optionally, the second lens 200 is a rotary body taking the optical axis 202 as a central axis.

In the optical assembly provided by the present application, the second lens 200 converges light from an LED light source into a small angle and emits it onto the first lens 100, and the first lens 100 deflects the emitted light. When the optical assembly is arranged in a lamp in this manner, polarized illumination can be achieved when the optical axis 202 of the second lens 200 is concentric with the optical axis of the lamp body and the optical axis of the first lens 100 is parallel to or coincident with the optical axis 202 of the second lens 200. When the lamp body is deflected by a certain angle, the light spot can irradiate the irradiation surface 300 forwardly, as shown in FIG. 2. The optical assembly is suitable for lamps such as downlights with limited angle adjustment, and can still uniformly irradiate the irradiation surface 300 when the lamp tube cannot directly point to the irradiation surface 300.

The above are only preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present disclosure. Any modifications, equivalent replacements or improvements within the spirit of the present disclosure are included within the scope of the claims of the present disclosure.