Multifunction portable illumination system
A multifunction portable illumination system includes a housing having a power source. A broadband illumination source connected to the power source and capable of producing broadband illuminating light. The system includes an imaging disruption assembly including at least one narrow-band light source capable of generating one or more high intensity light beams (HILB) and a light modifying assembly configured to modify the one or more HILB to produce a Modified HILB. At least one Modified HILB may have the requisite irradiance to cause disruption of an imaging system.
1 . A multifunction portable illumination system comprising:
a housing comprising a power source;
a broadband illumination source connected to the power source and capable of producing broadband illuminating light; and
an imaging disruption assembly comprising at least two narrow-band light sources capable of generating two or more high intensity light beams (HILB) and a light modifying assembly configured to modify the two or more HILB to produce at least a first and a second Modified HILB;
wherein the HILB does not include a laser beam,
wherein each Modified HILB has the requisite irradiance to cause disruption of an imaging system, and
wherein the first and second Modified HILBs are pulsed in a preprogrammed sequence characterized by a first pulse profile and a second pulse profile, respectively.
2 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the light modifying assembly comprises an optical element (OE).
3 . The illumination system of claim 2 , wherein the optical element (OE) is chosen from: a divergence-modifying OE, a multibeam OE or a light redirection OE.
4 . The illumination system of claim 3 , wherein the multibeam OE comprises a diffractive OE or a microlens array OE.
5 . The illumination system of claim 3 , wherein the multibeam OE comprises active control elements for directing light in a specific direction.
6 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the light modifying assembly acts on the high intensity light beams (HILB) to produce a first Beam Array of disruptive light, wherein the Beam Array of disruptive light comprises light having a wavelength bandwidth of less than 100 nm and is selected from (i) visible light having a peak wavelength in a range of 400-700 nm, (ii) infrared light having a peak wavelength in a range of 700-1600 nm, (iii) infrared light having a peak wavelength in a range of 1600-3000 nm, or (iv) ultraviolet light having a peak wavelength in a range of 300-400 nm.
7 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least two narrow-band light sources comprise, a light emitting diode, a surface-mounted diode, a super-luminescent diode, or a combination thereof.
8 . The illumination system of claim 6 , wherein said first beam array is a temporal beam array or a multi-beam beam array.
9 . The illumination system of claim 8 , wherein the properties of the first beam array are selected to disrupt the human visual system or an electronic imaging system.
10 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the imaging disruption device further comprises a second light modifying assembly for producing the second Modified HILB.
11 . The illumination system of claim 10 , wherein the second Modified HILB is chosen from:
i) a visible light having a color that is different than the first Modified HILB;
ii) an infra-red light having a peak wavelength in a range of 700-3000 nm;
iii) an ultraviolet light having a peak wavelength in a range of 300-400 nm; or
iv) any combination of (i) through (iii).
12 . The illumination system of claim 10 , wherein the first Modified HILB comprises a first beam array having a first pattern, and wherein the second Modified HILB comprises a second beam array having a second pattern that is different from the first pattern.
13 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the first pulse profile is different from the second pulse profile with respect to at least one of: on/off time, duty cycle, or frequency.
14 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein at least one pulse profile is characterized by a frequency in a range of 1 to 30 Hz.
15 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the pulse sequence comprises alternating between the first and second Modified HILB such that during operation the first Modified HILB is not on while the second Modified HILB is on.
16 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the pulse sequence comprises partially alternating between the first and second Modified HILB, such that during operation the first Modified HILB is on for a portion of a time that the second Modified HILB is on.
17 . The illumination system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one optical component that acts on the illumination light to shape, focus, redirect, adjust the brightness, or alter the color of the illumination light.
18 . The illumination system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one controller for at least partially controlling the operation of the imaging disruption device, the broadband illumination source, or an additional component, or any combination thereof.
19 . The illumination system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one additional component selected from a sensor, a camera, a microphone, a speaker, a wireless communication device, a USB port, an information display, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a gyroscope, a GPS, a status indicator or icon, an LED, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, a range detector, a thermal imaging device, a movement sensor, a LiDAR module, a radar module, a proximity sensor, a haptic feedback device, a biometric sensor, a moisture sensor, a pressure sensor, an infrared light source, a laser pointer, a taser, a spray device, a lighter, a distress beacon, or a illumination system.
20 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a modular attachment that houses at least a portion of at least one imaging disruption device.
21 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the illumination system is designed to be hand-held, weapon-mounted, wearable on a person, mountable on a vehicle, sea vessel, aircraft or drone, mountable on a portable stand, or any combination thereof.
22 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the broadband illumination source, the imaging disruption device, or an additional component, or a combination thereof, may be controlled at least in part by voice activation or remotely by wireless communication.
23 . The illumination system of claim 10 , wherein at least one pulse profile comprises different frequencies or different duty cycles.
24 . A method of disrupting an imaging system, the method comprising producing a Modified HILB using the illumination system of claim 1 .
25 . The illumination system of claim 10 , wherein the first narrow-band light source includes a first LED and the second narrow-band light source includes a second LED.
26 . The illumination system of claim 10 , wherein the first and second narrow-band light sources are individually selected to produce violet, blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, or red light.
27 . The illumination system of claim 26 , wherein the first narrow-band light source produces green light, and the second narrow-band light source produces red light.