Patent Application
20090091943
The present invention relates generally to interior displays and, more particularly, concerns ambient lighting displays useful in the interior of an automotive vehicle.
As used herein, the term “ambient lighting display” will be understood to be a display that has the appearance of being provided by ambient lighting in an interior location, rather than by an artificial source, such as a lamp, an illuminated display, or the like.
The use of interior information displays of all types is widespread in modern life. In modern automotive vehicles, in particular, one is presented with an array of interior information displays on the dashboard, and all over the vehicle. Typically, displays are provided by illuminated electrical or electronic devices which are embedded in a panel. In combination such displays tend to be brash and, often, distracting to the driver.
It would be desirable to provide such displays in a manner that they appear to be part of the vehicle interior or directly on an interior panel. However, the panels inside vehicles tend to be black or some other dark color, and they are usually textured, so they do not provide adequate reflection of the visible light for such a display.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an interior lighting display that has the appearance of being provided by ambient light, offering a subdued, elegant appearance. It is also contemplated that the display be appropriate for use in the interior of an automotive vehicle and that it be capable of providing information to the driver and passengers.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an ambient lighting display is obtained directly on a portion of an interior panel. The portion of the panel is covered with a paint or ink which reacts to ultraviolet light by emitting visible light of a predetermined color. To obtain a lighting display, a portion of the panel is illuminated with ultraviolet light of an appropriate wavelength to cause the paint or ink to fluoresce with the predetermined color.
Preferably, the portion of the panel is opaque and contains a plurality of different, superimposed layers that fluoresce with different colors and respond to different wavelengths of light. Information may then be displayed via color, by illuminating the portion with the appropriate wavelength of light. Although the illuminating light is not visible, the fluorescing display is, providing an ambient lighting display.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the portion of the display panel may be transparent or translucent, with the paint or ink on the interior of the panel, and with the fluorescing light shining through from the interior (behind the panel).
The foregoing brief description, as well as further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be understood more completely from the following detailed description of a presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments with reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Turning now to the drawings,
The colors of the rings reflect their respective setting of the air-conditioning system. For example, here the driver has set his portion of the system to increase the temperature, and a passenger has said this portion of the system to decrease the temperature. The passenger is shown adjusting the air-conditioning system by operating a control (not shown) at the center of the vent unit. When the system is set to maintain the current temperature, the vents are not illuminated.
When the substrate and the photodiode are arranged as illustrated in
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, substrate S can be provided with two superimposed coatings 30, 40 which fluoresce in different colors in response to different wavelengths of ultraviolet light. For example, layer 30 might fluoresce red in response to ultraviolet light of a wavelength of 365 nm, while layer 30 might fluoresce blue in response to ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 400 nm. Ultraviolet light emitters 20, 22 would then be provided which emit ultraviolet light at wavelengths of 365 nm and 400 nm, respectively. By selectively actuating emitters 20, 22, it is possible to selectively cause substrate S to emit a red or blue glow.
Preferably, layer 30 is an ink known as Superimaging “Red” and layer 40 is an ink known as Superimaging “Blue”, both being available from Superimaging, Inc. of Fremont, Calif. Emitter 20 is preferable a model NSSU1100AT, an LED available from Nichia Corporation, and emitter 22 is preferable a model LED5-UV-405-30, and LED available from Bivar, Inc.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to produce illumination in additional colors by providing additional superimposed layers over the layers 30, 40, as well as a corresponding ultraviolet light emitter for each layer. For example, it might be desirable to add a third layer that glows green. By selecting the amount of illumination provided for each layer, it would then be possible to generate any color using an appropriate RGB combination. In this manner, the entire visible light spectrum can be displayed, making it possible to display a continuum of values. It would also make it possible to provide a mood lighting effect or to vary color in relationship to music.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the foregoing principles are utilized to provide climate control vent units 10 and 12 as described above.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that surface S can be provided with a plurality of superimposed layers that fluoresce with different colors in response to ultraviolet light of different wavelengths. Unit U would then include selectively actuable light emitters corresponding to each layer, and it would be possible to cause surface S to glow with a plurality of different colors.
The vent unit 10 described above will glow in different colors or will remain dark. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that light emitting units may be controlled to produce illumination at different angular orientations and/or with different angular lengths, permitting a quantitative indication of the temperature setting.
In the preferred embodiments coatings have been used which are responsive to ultraviolet radiation and fluoresce in a visible color. However, it will be appreciated that the excitation of spectrum of the coatings is not a critical limitation. It is only important that the coatings emit visible light and be capable of excitation with light that is not visible.
Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many additions, modifications and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.
