Patent ID: 7121690

Claim:
An indirect lighting system, comprising: a light source; an optical cavity for receiving light from the source and having a wall, wherein at least a section of the cavity wall exhibits both a transmissive characteristic and at least a partially diffusely reflective characteristic, wherein the transmissive characteristic enables the section of the cavity wall to pass a first portion of the light from the source through the section of the cavity wall toward a first field of illumination, and the at least partially diffusely reflective characteristic enables the section of the cavity wall to diffusely reflect some of the light from the source within the cavity; a baffle that is at least partially transmissive, positioned outside the cavity and between the section of the cavity wall and the first field of illumination, for passing at least some of the first portion of the light through to the first field of illumination; an aperture of the optical cavity, facing toward a second field of illumination; a mask outside the cavity spaced from the aperture and having a reflective surface facing toward the aperture, wherein the mask is positioned relative to the aperture so as to occlude a substantial part of the aperture and to thereby provide a tailored distribution of a second portion of the light emerging from between the mask and aperture over the second field of illumination; and a support, for attaching the lighting system in relation to a face structure in such a manner that the diffused first portion of the light provides direct illumination in the first field, and the second portion of the light illuminates the second field onto the face structure for reflection and indirect illumination of the first field with reflected light from the second portion.