Patents Assigned to Quarkstar LLC
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Patent number: 12267921Abstract: A luminaire includes a first light source and a second light source, the first and second light source operatively configured to provide amounts of light independently controllable during operation; and an optical system having an input aperture system and an output aperture system. The output aperture system is displaced by a predetermined distance along a forward direction from the input aperture system. The optical system is operatively coupled with the first and second light source and configured to direct light received at the input aperture system to the output aperture system. The output aperture system is configured to output light from the first light source in first directions and light from the second light source in second directions at least in part different from the first directions.Type: GrantFiled: January 10, 2019Date of Patent: April 1, 2025Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Eric Bretschneider, Louis Lerman, Ferdinand Schinagl, Andrew Stuart Gladwin
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Patent number: 12259096Abstract: A solid state lamp includes a connector and a bulb portion with multiple strips.Type: GrantFiled: February 2, 2024Date of Patent: March 25, 2025Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Robert V. Steele, Louis Lerman, Allan Brent York, Wilson Dau, Jacqueline Teng, George Lerman
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Patent number: 12169066Abstract: An illumination device includes multiple light-emitting elements operatively arranged to emit light during operation, and a transparent elongate optical element including one or more cavities. The optical element is arranged to receive light from the light-emitting elements. The one or more cavities are arranged along an extension of the optical element.Type: GrantFiled: September 27, 2019Date of Patent: December 17, 2024Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventor: Eric Bretschneider
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Patent number: 12135126Abstract: A luminaire includes multiple light-emitting elements (LEEs); a base supporting the LEEs; and a first wall and a second wall each extending along a first direction from a respective first end facing the LEEs to a respective second end. The first and second walls have light-reflective surfaces facing each other. In one or more cross-sectional planes parallel to the first direction, the light-reflective surfaces of the first and second walls have first portions that curve in opposite directions, second portions that are parallel, and third portions that curve in like directions. The first portions are arranged facing the LEEs to provide an input aperture that receives light from the LEEs. The third portions are arranged to provide an exit aperture that outputs output light into an ambient environment. The first and second walls are configured to propagate light from the input aperture to the exit aperture.Type: GrantFiled: July 15, 2022Date of Patent: November 5, 2024Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Eric Bretschneider, Louis Lerman, Ferdinand Schinagl
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Patent number: 12130464Abstract: A luminaire includes alight source (110), an optical system (111), and a luminous areal element (LAE) (150a, 150b). The optical system (111) is configured to receive light from the light source (110) and output the light into a first far-field light distribution (145). The optical system includes one or more optical elements arranged to direct light from an input aperture (118) of the optical system to an output aperture (132) of the optical system, and one or more output surfaces at the output aperture through which light is emitted. The surface has a first dimension T. The LAE (150a, 150b) is spaced from the output aperture (132), and is configured to output light according to a second far-field light distribution (155a, 155b). The LAE has a light emission surface through which light is emitted having a second dimension W greater than T. The first and the second light distributions at least in part overlap.Type: GrantFiled: February 21, 2020Date of Patent: October 29, 2024Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventor: Eric Bretschneider
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Patent number: 12085747Abstract: A luminaire module includes light-emitting elements (LEEs) arranged to provide light; a light guide including a receiving end and an opposing end, the receiving end arranged to receive light provided by the LEEs, a core including a first transparent material with a first refractive index, the core having a pair of opposing side surfaces extending along a length of the light guide between the receiving and opposing ends, and a cladding including a second material having a second smaller refractive index, the cladding extending across and being in contact with at least a portion of the opposing side surfaces forming a cladding-core interface. The cladding-core interface is optically smooth. Additionally, the luminaire module includes an optical extractor arranged to receive guided light from the opposing end of the light guide and configured to output into the ambient environment at least some of the received guided light.Type: GrantFiled: January 18, 2023Date of Patent: September 10, 2024Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Eric Bretschneider, Ferdinand Schinagl
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Patent number: 11991801Abstract: A system includes two or more phosphor-containing white LEDs (or other color-shifting artificial light sources) selected so that their combined color shift over at least 8,000 hours (e.g., at least 10,000 hours, at least 20,000 hours, at least 30,000 hours, at least 40,000 hours, up to 200,000 hours, up to 100,000 hours, up to 80,000 hours) of operation is less than at least one of the LED's (or the other color-shifting artificial light source's) color shift over that time. Here, the combined color shift (?u?v?) over the at least 8,000 hours (e.g., at least 10,000 hours, at least 20,000 hours, at least 30,000 hours, at least 40,000 hours, up to 200,000 hours, up to 100,000 hours, up to 80,000 hours) of operation can be less than 0.007 (e.g., 0.006 or less, 0.005 or less, 0.004 or less, 0.003 or less, 0.002 or less, 0.001 or less, 0.0005 or less).Type: GrantFiled: May 11, 2022Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Eric Bretschneider, Louis Lerman, Hans Peter Stormberg
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Patent number: 11920739Abstract: A solid state lamp includes a connector and a bulb portion with multiple strips.Type: GrantFiled: August 11, 2023Date of Patent: March 5, 2024Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Robert V. Steele, Louis Lerman, Allan Brent York, Wilson Dau, Jacqueline Teng, George Lerman
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Patent number: 11873974Abstract: A plant growth lighting system includes a plant support and a light guide luminaire module, the plant support being configured to hold one or more plants. The light guide luminaire module includes at least one light-emitting element (LEE), a light guide arranged to receive light emitted by the at least one LEE at a first end of the light guide and guide the received light in a forward direction to a second end thereof, and an extractor arranged to receive light from the second end of the light guide and configured to output light. The light guide luminaire module is disposed relative to the plant support such that at least a portion of the light output by the extractor impinges on the plants in predetermined directions.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 2021Date of Patent: January 16, 2024Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Allan Brent York, Louis Lerman, Hans Peter Stormberg, Ferdinand Schinagl
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Patent number: 11821590Abstract: A solid state lamp includes a connector and a bulb portion with multiple strips.Type: GrantFiled: January 26, 2023Date of Patent: November 21, 2023Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Robert V. Steele, Louis Lerman, Allan Brent York, Wilson Dau, Jacqueline Teng, George Lerman
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Patent number: 11703631Abstract: A variety of illumination devices are disclosed that are configured to manipulate light provided by one or more light-emitting elements (LEEs). In general, embodiments of the illumination devices feature one or more optical couplers that redirect illumination from the LEEs to a reflector which then directs the light into a range of angles. In some embodiments, the illumination device includes a second reflector that reflects at least some of the light from the first reflector. In certain embodiments, the illumination device includes a light guide that guides light from the collector to the first reflector. The components of the illumination device can be configured to provide illumination devices that can provide a variety of intensity distributions. Such illumination devices can be configured to provide light for particular lighting applications, including office lighting, task lighting, cabinet lighting, garage lighting, wall wash, stack lighting, and downlighting.Type: GrantFiled: November 2, 2020Date of Patent: July 18, 2023Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Wilson Dau, Robert C. Gardner, George Lerman, Louis Lerman, Christopher H. Lowery, Brian D. Ogonowsky, George E. Smith, Ingo Speier, Robert V. Steele, Jacqueline Teng, Allan Brent York, Hans Peter Stormberg
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Patent number: 11693174Abstract: An illumination device includes a plurality of light-emitting elements (LEEs); a light guide extending in a forward direction from a first end to a second end to receive at the first end light emitted by the LEEs and to guide the received light to the second end; an optical extractor optically coupled to the second end to receive the guided light, the optical extractor including a redirecting surface to reflect a first portion of the guided light, the reflected light being output by the optical extractor in a backward angular range, and the redirecting surface having one or more transmissive portions to transmit a second portion of the guided light in the forward direction; and one or more optical elements optically coupled to the transmissive portions, the optical elements to modify the light transmitted through the transmissive portions and to output the modified light in a forward angular range.Type: GrantFiled: October 14, 2021Date of Patent: July 4, 2023Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Allan Brent York, Hans Peter Stormberg, Louis Lerman, Ferdinand Schinagl, Wilson Dau
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Patent number: 11668445Abstract: A vehicle light includes a lighting unit with multiple light-emitting elements (LEEs), one or more couplers, a light guide and an extractor. The lighting unit has a curved elongate extension. Each of the couplers has an input aperture coupled with one or more of the LEEs and an exit aperture coupled with a first edge of the light guide and is configured to couple light from the LEEs into the light guide. The light guide is configured to propagate light via total internal reflection to a second edge of the light guide. The extractor has an input aperture coupled with the second edge of the light guide and an exit aperture configured to emit light into an ambient environment.Type: GrantFiled: March 12, 2021Date of Patent: June 6, 2023Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Hans Peter Stormberg, Victor E. Isbrucker, Ferdinand Schinagl
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Patent number: 11603967Abstract: A solid state lamp includes a connector and a bulb portion with multiple strips.Type: GrantFiled: October 6, 2022Date of Patent: March 14, 2023Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Robert V. Steele, Louis Lerman, Allan Brent York, Wilson Dau, Jacqueline Teng, George Lerman
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Patent number: 11598491Abstract: A solid state lamp includes a connector and a bulb portion with multiple strips.Type: GrantFiled: June 10, 2022Date of Patent: March 7, 2023Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Robert V. Steele, Louis Lerman, Allan Brent York, Wilson Dau, Jacqueline Teng, George Lerman
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Patent number: 11561337Abstract: A luminaire module (100) includes light-emitting elements (LEEs) (110) arranged to provide light; a light guide (130) including a receiving end (131a) and an opposing end (131b), the receiving end (131a) arranged to receive light provided by the LEEs (110), a core (134) including a first transparent material with a first refractive index (n1), the core (134) having a pair of opposing side surfaces (132a, 132b) extending along a length of the light guide (130) between the receiving and opposing ends (131a, 131b), and a cladding (136) including a second material having a second smaller refractive index (n2), the cladding (136) extending across and being in contact with at least a portion of the opposing side surfaces (132a, 132b) forming a cladding-core interface. The cladding-core interface is optically smooth.Type: GrantFiled: February 12, 2019Date of Patent: January 24, 2023Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Eric Bretschneider, Ferdinand Schinagl
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Patent number: 11391438Abstract: A luminaire (100) includes a base (102) supporting multiple light-emitting elements (LEEs) (122); and a first wall (150-i) and a second wall (150-o) each extending along a first direction (101). The first and second walls (150-i, 150-o) have light-reflective surfaces facing each other and forming a hollow channel (152). The light-reflective surfaces have first portions (120) that curve in opposite directions, second portions (130) that are parallel, and third portions (140) that curve in like directions. The first portions (120) are arranged facing the LEEs (110) to provide an input aperture (122) that receives light from the LEEs (110). The third portions (140) are arranged to provide an exit aperture (142) that outputs output light into an ambient environment. The first and second walls (150-i, 150-o) are configured to propagate light from the input aperture (122) to the exit aperture (142).Type: GrantFiled: September 27, 2019Date of Patent: July 19, 2022Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Eric Bretschneider, Louis Lerman, Ferdinand Schinagl
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Patent number: 11359772Abstract: A solid state lamp includes a connector and a bulb portion with multiple strips.Type: GrantFiled: September 28, 2021Date of Patent: June 14, 2022Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Robert V. Steele, Louis Lerman, Allan Brent York, Wilson Dau, Jacqueline Teng, George Lerman
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Patent number: 11353167Abstract: A variety of light-emitting devices for general illumination utilizing solid state light sources (e.g., light emitting diodes) are disclosed. In general, the devices include a scattering element in combination with an extractor element. The scattering element, which may include elastic and/or inelastic scattering centers, is spaced apart from the light source element. Opposite sides of the scattering element have asymmetric optical interfaces, there being a larger refractive index mismatch at the interface facing the light emitting element than the interface between the scattering element and the extractor element. Such a structure favors forward scattering of light from the scattering element. In other words, the system favors scattering out of the scattering element into the extractor element over backscattering light towards the light source element.Type: GrantFiled: May 14, 2021Date of Patent: June 7, 2022Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: Roland H. Haitz, George E. Smith, Robert C. Gardner, Louis Lerman
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Patent number: 11339948Abstract: A light-emitting device includes a lens of refractive index n having a spherical exit surface of radius R and a luminous element positioned such that at least a portion of an edge of an emitting surface of the luminous element lies on a sphere of radius R/n opposite the exit surface, whereby that portion of the edge of the emitting surface is aplanatically imaged by the spherical exit surface. The light-emitting device may further include one or more reflective sidewalls arranged to reflect a fraction of light emitted from the luminous element before it is refracted by the exit surface. A luminaire incorporating a housing and a light-emitting device of this type is also provided, which may include one or more additional optical elements such as reflectors or lenses to further direct and shape light from the light-emitting device.Type: GrantFiled: June 1, 2020Date of Patent: May 24, 2022Assignee: Quarkstar LLCInventors: George E. Smith, Robert C. Gardner