Patent ID: 7561337

Claim:
A light coupling apparatus for use in optical equipment, provided for coupling different incident lights of a plurality of different light sources toward a predetermined direction(s), the light coupling apparatus comprising: a first medium having a first refractive index (n1); a second medium, having a second refractive index (n2), wherein the first refractive index is greater than the second refractive index, and a first to second medium interface is formed between the second medium and the first medium; a first light source, providing a first incident light directly emitting into the first medium, totally internally reflecting on the first to second medium interface from the first medium, and emitting in a coupling direction from the light coupling apparatus; a second light source, providing a second incident light, refracted through the first to second medium interface into the first medium from the second medium, and emitting in the coupling direction from the light coupling apparatus; and a third medium, having a third refractive index (n3) greater than the second refractive index, and wherein a second to third medium interface is formed between the second medium and the third medium; the second incident light refracting through the second to third medium interface into the second medium from the third medium, then refracting through the first to second medium interface into the first medium, and then emitting in the coupling direction from the light coupling apparatus.