Patent ID: 8317352

Claim:
An apparatus for non-invasively injecting light from a source with a side-emitting lens into a light transmitting medium of a window, the medium comprising a first surface portion and a second surface portion directly opposite the first surface portion, the apparatus comprising: a circular or toroidal optic surrounding the side-emitting lens and having an exit face in a plane, and at least one coupling material above the plane having a refractive index greater than air and placed for optically coupling and physically connecting the exit face to the light transmitting medium, the optic being configured such that, when the optic is optically coupled to the medium, the optic redirects a first amount of the light from the side-emitting lens through the first surface portion and into the medium within a range of angles between a critical angle of the second surface portion and a complementary angle to the critical angle, and the optic being configured for redirecting most or all of a remaining amount of the light at angles greater than the complementary angle.