Patent ID: 7731390

Claim:
An illumination system comprising: a first sub-system including a first set of at least two differently colored light sources, said first set having a first spectral distribution; a first light mixing device arranged in a direction of emission of light from said first set of light sources and configured to mix light emitted by said first set of light sources; a second sub-system including a second set of at least two differently colored light sources, said second set having a second spectral distribution; and a second light mixing device arranged in a direction of emission of light from said second set of light sources and configured to mix light emitted by said second set of light sources; wherein said first and said second sub-systems are arranged to emit at least one common color; wherein said light sources are selected such that said first and said second spectral distribution complement each other, so that a color rendering index (CRI) of light emitted from said illumination system is greater than the CRI of light emitted from each of said subsystems; and wherein said at least two light sources in the second set are selected such that said second spectral distribution compensates for at least one local minimum in said first spectral distribution.