IP Library Granted Patent US 12674912
Granted Patent B2
US 12674912 · App. 18/481,781 · Granted Jul 7, 2026

Illumination device, lens, set of diffusion element and lens, sensor device, and traveling body

Inventors: Keiji Tsunetomo (Sagamihara, JP); Satoru Kusaka (Setagaya-ku, JP)
Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Company, Limited
G02B1/041G02B5/021G02B9/30G02B27/0916
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12674912
App. No.
18/481,781
Granted
Jul 7, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An illumination device includes: a light source that emits parallel light or divergent light; a diffusion element that receives the light emitted from the light source and emits the light at a diffusion angle of 50° or more and 110° or less; and a lens group that has negative power, receives the light from the diffusion element by a first surface, and emits the light from a second surface at a light distribution angle of 140° or more.

Claims (14)

1 . An illumination device comprising:

a light source emitting parallel light or divergent light;

a diffusion element receiving the light emitted from the light source and emitting the light at a diffusion angle of 50° or more and 110° or less; and

a lens group having negative power, having a first surface that receives the light emitted from the diffusion element and a second surface that emits the light at a light distribution angle of 140° or more,

wherein an emission angle θ 1 of the light from the diffusion element, an emission angle θ 2 of the light from the first surface of the lens group, and an emission angle θ 3 of the light from the second surface of the lens group satisfy a relational requirement θ 2 −θ 1 ≤θ 3 −θ 2 ,

wherein the illumination device exhibits a light-intensity distribution having a coefficient of variation (CV value) of 0.05 or less within a range of −70°≤θ 3 ≤70°, the CV value being defined as a ratio of a standard deviation of the light intensity to an average light intensity in the same range.

2 . The illumination device according to claim 1 , wherein the lens group includes a meniscus lens and has negative power.

3 . The illumination device according to claim 1 , wherein the diffusion element is a microlens array.

4 . The illumination device according to claim 1 , wherein the lens group is a single meniscus lens having negative power.

5 . The illumination device according to claim 1 , wherein the illumination device has a light radiation efficiency of 0.75 or more in ranges of θ 1 max =27° to 58° and θ 3 max =70° to 90°, where a maximum value of θ 1 is θ 1 max and a maximum value of θ 3 is θ 3 max .

6 . A lens provided in the illumination device according to claim 1 .

7 . A set of a diffusion element and a lens provided in the illumination device according to claim 1 .

8 . A sensor device comprising the illumination device according to claim 1 .

9 . A traveling body comprising the sensor device according to claim 8 .