An optical panel deploys stacks of spaced apart louvers with reflective surface for redirecting exterior sunlight to day light the interior of room ceiling distal from windows. The reflective surfaces my be shaped with modulations in shape to enhance the spreading of reflected light under various lighting conditions that occur as the sun moves through the sky during the day.

Optical elements and systems are disclosed that can be incorporated into buildings to prevent beam sunlight from entering through apertures of the building while allowing diffuse skylight to enter the building through the apertures. The optical system comprises optical elements configured to admit diffuse skylight through an aperture in the building envelope, while reflecting away the beam sunlight incident on the aperture in the building envelope. The apertures can be, for example, windows in walls or skylights in roofs of the building envelope. The optical system works for both windows in the walls and skylights in the roof, with somewhat different configurations for those two parts of the building envelope.

A daylight redirecting window film having a layered structure with a total thickness of less than one millimeter and having a first optically transmissive film, a second optically transmissive film approximately coextensive with the first optically transmissive film, an intermediate layer of a relatively soft optically transmissive material disposed between the first and second optically transmissive films, a parallel array of linear three-dimensional structures formed in a space between the first and second optically transmissive films, a layer of an optically transmissive adhesive coating a surface of the first optically transmissive film, and a two-dimensional pattern of light scattering surface microstructures formed in an outer surface of the second optically transmissive film. The parallel array of linear three-dimensional structures defines a parallel array of linear channels, and each of the linear three-dimensional structures has a total internal reflection wall extending transversely through a portion of the layered structure.

The present invention discloses a natural light homogenization lighting device and method based on free-form surface and sawtooth grating, and the device can be used as lighting curtains, indoor shutters, window glasses and the like. The device includes a front surface and a rear surface in an array form, the first surface is a free-form surface array, the second surface is a sawtooth surface array, and the free-form surface array is used for collecting outdoor natural light, and transmitting to the sawtooth surface array through the intermediate medium made of the same material between the two surfaces; and the sawtooth surface array is used for deflecting the incident natural light to the indoor space after being refracted by an inclined surface. The present invention can efficiently collect the natural light incident into the window, disperse the light evenly to all directions indoors, homogenize the indoor lighting, and effectively protect the indoor privacy. The device is thin and easy to mass produce, environmentally friendly and pollution-free.

A device for day lighting the interior of structure deploys reflective louvers that are spaced apart in stacks. The louvers include a coating or multilayer structure that is operative to reflect visible light but transmit IR light through the louver. The louvers also have a retro-reflective structure to return the IR light by reverse reflection in the opposite direction of the incident light, which is back toward the sun. The interior of the structure is more uniformly illuminated with visible light while the louvers and interior are not heated by IR light or radiation from the sun.

A natural lighting device is capable of controlling an angle of diffusion of sunlight reflected to a shaded area to form reflected light whose size and shape are suitable for a window of a household. The natural lighting device is installed in the vicinity of a building having a shaded area formed thereon to radiate sunlight toward a household located in the shaded area and includes a primary reflector configured to reflect sunlight incident thereon; and a secondary reflector configured to reflect the reflected light, which is reflected from the primary reflector, incident thereon, wherein the secondary reflector includes a secondary reflecting mirror having a curvature about an axis in a direction that intersects with the ground or an axis in a direction that is horizontal to the ground so that the reflected sunlight is not diffused in a horizontal direction or naturally diffused in a vertical direction.

A method of forming a light transitive composite component. The method comprises inserting at least one light transmitting component 3, an organic substrate 6 and bonding agent 10 into a mould 1. Allowing the bonding agent 10 to mature to bond both the light transmitting component 3 and the organic substrate 6. Treating the contents of the mould with either heat or chemicals to terminate the maturation process of the bonding agent. The organic substrate is preferably a woody substrate while the bonding agent is preferably fungal mycelium.

The invention relates to a planar preliminary product for producing focusing light-directing slats having a top side and an underside. The top side and the underside are the largest sides in terms of area. The top side has a groove structure having parallel grooves and ridges in a longitudinal direction and having a multiplicity of sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2. A respective pair of sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 forms a common ridge projecting on the top side. The sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 are in each case at an angle with respect to one another which is at least approximately constant along the transverse direction and longitudinal direction of the groove structure. The top side has an overall contour defined by the vertices of the ridges. The sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 of adjacent pairs are at an angle γ with respect to one another. The sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 are symmetrical with respect to one another in relation to an area of symmetry, which is oriented at right angles with respect to the overall contour and is arranged at the location lying in the centre between the sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2. The angle γ between all pairs of sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 is at least approximately constant. The sidewalls have a surface, which surfaces specularly reflect light substantially according to the law of reflection that angle of incidence is equal to angle of reflection.

The invention relates to a planar preliminary product for producing focusing light-directing slats having a top side and an underside. The top side and the underside are the largest sides in terms of area. The top side has a groove structure having parallel grooves and ridges in a longitudinal direction and having a multiplicity of sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2. A respective pair of sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 forms a common ridge projecting on the top side. The sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 are in each case at an angle with respect to one another which is at least approximately constant along the transverse direction and longitudinal direction of the groove structure. The top side has an overall contour defined by the vertices of the ridges. The sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 of adjacent pairs are at an angle γ with respect to one another. The sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 are symmetrical with respect to one another in relation to an area of symmetry, which is oriented at right angles with respect to the overall contour and is arranged at the location lying in the centre between the sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2. The angle γ between all pairs of sidewalls F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 is at least approximately constant. The sidewalls have a surface, which surfaces specularly reflect light substantially according to the law of reflection that angle of incidence is equal to angle of reflection.

A window covering for natural illumination of building interiors by redirecting the incident daylight at angles that promote its deeper penetration into the interior space. The window covering comprises an optically transmissive, flexible polymeric sheet having a layered structure with a light diffusing output surface and a number of total internal reflection surfaces incorporated into its material. The total internal reflection surfaces are dimensioned such that the multi-layer sheet diffusely redirect at least a portion of light towards a direction which is generally not coincident with the incidence direction.