How Recessed Wall Wash Lights Reduce Glare Using Angled Lenses
A specialized recessed light fixture design that uses an angled lens and a unique kicker reflector to wash walls with light while minimizing direct glare for people in the room.
Original patent title: “USRE50690E1 - Low glare wall wash light fixture”
A specialized recessed light fixture design that uses an angled lens and a unique kicker reflector to wash walls with light while minimizing direct glare for people in the room. Granted to USAI LLC in 2025 with 21 claims.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a recessed light fixture designed to illuminate a wall evenly without creating harsh glare. It uses an LED module that is physically offset from the center of the fixture's aperture. A custom lens with a concave side facing the LED and a convex side facing the room is tilted at an oblique angle to redirect the light. Additionally, an internal kicker reflector with prismatic features sits near the edge of the fixture to catch and redirect light toward the wall, ensuring the light hits the target surface rather than shining directly into a person's eyes.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover standard downlights that emit light straight down without a wall-washing effect
- Does not cover fixtures that lack the specific combination of an offset LED and a tilted lens
- Does not cover light fixtures that use flat, non-curved lenses
- Does not cover lighting systems that rely on external dimmers or smart home software to control glare
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The innovation lies in the specific geometry of the lens and the kicker reflector, which effectively 'bends' the light beam at an angle while maintaining a compact, recessed form factor that hides the light source from the viewer's direct line of sight.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
High-end architectural recessed lighting
Museum and gallery wall-washing systems
Luxury residential interior lighting
Why it matters
The bigger picture
Wall washing is a common architectural lighting technique used to highlight artwork or textures on walls. By minimizing glare through precise optical engineering, this design allows for high-intensity wall illumination without the visual discomfort often associated with high-output LED fixtures in modern office or residential spaces.
Filed
September 14, 2023
Granted
December 9, 2025
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
The patent is assigned to USAI LLC, a company that specializes in architectural LED lighting solutions. They continue to focus on proprietary optical systems that integrate into ceiling-mounted hardware.
Market impact
This patent reinforces the trend toward highly specialized, low-glare LED optics in the architectural lighting market. It provides a legal barrier for competitors attempting to replicate the specific optical path required for high-performance wall washing in recessed applications.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a recessed light fixture designed to illuminate a wall evenly without creating harsh glare. It uses an LED module that is physically offset from the center of the fixture's aperture. A custom lens with a concave side facing the LED and a convex side facing the room is tilted at an oblique angle to redirect the light. Additionally, an internal kicker reflector with prismatic features sits near the edge of the fixture to catch and redirect light toward the wall, ensuring the light hits the target surface rather than shining directly into a person's eyes.
The clever bit
The innovation lies in the specific geometry of the lens and the kicker reflector, which effectively 'bends' the light beam at an angle while maintaining a compact, recessed form factor that hides the light source from the viewer's direct line of sight.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover standard downlights that emit light straight down without a wall-washing effect
- Does not cover fixtures that lack the specific combination of an offset LED and a tilted lens
- Does not cover light fixtures that use flat, non-curved lenses
- Does not cover lighting systems that rely on external dimmers or smart home software to control glare
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Early stage
Citation count
0/40
No citations yet
Claim breadth
14/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
20/20
Granted within 5 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$23K – $75K
Midpoint $47K · 17.2 yr remaining · industry baseline
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
21 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Yang, Y., & Leiter, R. (2025). How Recessed Wall Wash Lights Reduce Glare Using Angled Lenses (U.S. Patent No. RE50,690). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE50690/sonicare-toothbrush
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
Embed
Add this patent to your site
Drop this plain-English patent card into any blog post or article — free, no signup. It always links back to the full breakdown here.
<div data-patentlens-widget data-patent-number="USRE50690"></div> <script src="https://patentbrief.org/embed.js" async></script>
Stay in the loop
Get a weekly digest of new patents.
One email per week. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Keep exploring
Related patents you should know
US 4683195 · 1987
How to Make Billions of Copies of a DNA Segment
This patent describes the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a method to rapidly create many copies of a specific piece of DNA or RNA, enabling its detection and analysis.
Cetus Corp
US 8697359 · 2014
How to Edit Genes in Human Cells Using an Engineered CRISPR System
This patent describes an engineered CRISPR-Cas9 system for precisely cutting DNA in eukaryotic cells to change how genes work, opening the door for gene editing in complex organisms.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
US 7657849 · 2010
How the iPhone's Slide-to-Unlock Gesture Works
Apple's 2010 patent describes unlocking a device by dragging a specific graphical image across the touchscreen along a predefined path, a gesture that became iconic with the original iPhone.
Apple Inc
US 4733665 · 1988
How Doctors Implant a Permanent Stent Using a Balloon
This patent describes the method for placing a permanent, expandable wire mesh tube inside a blood vessel or other body tube using a balloon-tipped catheter to widen it and keep it open.
Expandable Grafts Partnership
US 4965188 · 1990
How to Make Many Copies of a DNA Piece with Heat
This patent describes the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method, a technique to make millions of copies of a specific DNA segment using a heat-resistant enzyme and repeated temperature changes.
Cetus Corp
US 4235871 · 1980
How to Encapsulate Active Materials in Lipid Bubbles Efficiently
This patent describes a method for trapping biologically active substances inside tiny, multi-layered fat bubbles called liposomes, using a specific water-in-oil emulsion and gel-forming process to improve how much material gets captured.
Individual
More to explore
More in Consumer Electronics
US 7657849 · 2010 · Apple Inc
How the iPhone's Slide-to-Unlock Gesture Works
US 7479949 · 2009 · Apple Inc
How Touchscreens Understand Your Finger Swipes and Scrolls
US 4528643 · 1985 · FPDC Inc
How Stores Make Custom Products On-Demand with Remote Approval
US 7469381 · 2008 · Apple Inc
How Touchscreens Show and Snap Back When You Scroll Past an Edge
New to patents?
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Recessed Wall Wash Lights Reduce Glare Using Angled Lenses cover?
A specialized recessed light fixture design that uses an angled lens and a unique kicker reflector to wash walls with light while minimizing direct glare for people in the room.
Who owns patent US RE50690?
USAI LLC owns this patent, granted in 2025.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on December 9, 2045, when the invention enters the public domain.
What problem does this patent solve?
Wall washing is a common architectural lighting technique used to highlight artwork or textures on walls. By minimizing glare through precise optical engineering, this design allows for high-intensity wall illumination without the visual discomfort often associated with high-output LED fixtures in modern office or residential spaces.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover standard downlights that emit light straight down without a wall-washing effect
Patent monitoring