Some optical reflectors are conical and include a 45 degree reflecting cone, which reflects light rays from a collimated or quasi-collimated downwelling beam through a 90 degree angle, spreading the light laterally and equally through a horizontal angle of 360 degrees to the walls of the room. Such reflectors, however, may only illuminate the walls and corners of the room, leaving the central area of the room dark, and may produce a glare condition if the reflected light enters the eyes of occupants or if light scattered from its surface toward the eyes of occupants is too bright. If a single conical reflector's angle of reflection is tilted upward somewhat, so as to spread the light over the ceiling rather than on the wall, the light may be better distributed over the whole room area. The tilting, however, may induce a ring of reflected light on the ceiling which, following its diffuse reflection downward to a task plane, still may not produce a generally uniform illumination of the illuminated space.
The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded subject matter by which the scope of the invention as defined in the claims is to be bound.