Patent Application
20190249839
The present disclosure relates to a light guide assembly, and more particularly, to a laser-etched light guide assembly.
Automotive lamp assemblies, such as headlamps and taillights, include many components arranged in a variety of ways to provide both a utility illumination function and an appealing cosmetic function. Lamp assemblies may include an external clear lens, a plurality of internal lights sources, light reflectors, and light guides known to internally channel light. The light guides may emit the channeled light at light guide features or surfaces formed on the light guide to reflect and/or refract the light. In this way, the features may appear more illuminated than the surrounding light guide portions without the feature. Examples of features may include descriptive elements such as verbiage, logos, and others.
During manufacturing of the light guide, the illuminating features must be machined into the light guide, or may be part of a plastic injection molding process (i.e., first formed into the manufacturing molds). Such processes can be cumbersome, limiting, and may include expensive tooling.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a simpler and less expensive means of placing the illuminating features upon the automotive lamp assembly light guide.
In one exemplary, non-limiting, embodiment of the present disclosure, an automotive lamp assembly includes a light guide, a light source, and a laser-etched feature. The light source is configured to emit light into the light guide. The laser-etched feature is etched upon the light guide and adapted to reflect the light for illuminated display of the laser-etched feature.
In another exemplary embodiment, a method of manufacturing a light guide assembly includes the steps of programming a laser device with a prescribed feature, then directing a laser beam from the laser device upon a translucent light guide of an automotive lamp assembly. A feature indicative of the prescribed feature is then etched upon the light guide.
These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring now to the Figures, where the invention will be described with reference to specific embodiments, without limiting same, an automotive lamp assembly 20 is illustrated. The automotive lamp assembly 20 is shown as a headlamp assembly; however, other embodiments may include tail lamp assembly, a side lamp assembly, a turn-signal lamp assembly, and others.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the head lamp sub-assembly 22 may be located adjacent to the turn signal sub-assembly 24. The turn signal sub-assembly 24 may be generally annular in shape, and may surround the light guide assembly 26. The light guide assembly 26 may not have a utility function, but may function to display graphics that are aesthetically pleasing.
Referring to
The end faces 40, 42 may each span radially and at least between the inner and outer surfaces 36, 38. The inner surface 36 may define the boundaries of a chamber 44 that may be substantially cylindrical. An inner peripheral edge 46 of the end face 42 may generally define the boundaries of an opening 48 in fluid communication with the chamber 44. It is contemplated and understood that the light guide 34 may not be tubular, and may take the form of any shape including a solid rod or bar that may be straight or curved. It is further understood that the tubular light guide 34 may not be cylindrical, and instead, may be conical, square, or any other shape.
The light source 32 of the light guide assembly 26 may be a plurality of light sources (e.g., light emitting diodes) each located adjacent to the end face 40 and spaced circumferentially apart from one another. In one embodiment, the light source 32 may be a secondary light source configured to illuminate the light guide 34 for aesthetic purposes only. In this example, the automotive lamp assembly 20 may be a headlamp assembly that also includes a primary light source (not shown) used to illuminate the road in accordance with, for example, government regulations.
The light guide assembly 26 further includes at least one illuminating feature 50 laser etched upon or into the light guide 34. In one non-limiting example, and as illustrated, the illuminating feature 50 may include a plurality of lines 50A each extending axially with respect to centerline C, spaced circumferentially apart from one another, and etched upon the outer surface 38 for an aesthetic purpose. The illuminating feature 50 may further include an aesthetic design 50B (i.e., a graphic design as illustrated). The feature 50B may be, for example, a logo or trademark. In other embodiments, the feature 50 may be a serial number used to identify the light guide 34, or some other informative marking. It is further contemplated and understood that the laser-etched feature may be etched upon the internal surface 36, or may be etched within the light guide 34, and thus spaced between the inner and outer surfaces 36, 38.
Referring to
The illuminating feature(s) 50 may comprise a roughened area or portion of surface 38 that causes some of the light rays to reflect off of the feature and refract through the opposite surface 36. This refraction of the light rays 50 causes the feature 50 to appear illuminated.
With the automotive lamp assembly 20 fully assembled and in operation, the illuminating features 50A, 50B illuminate into the chamber 44, and may be viewed by a person through the opening 48 in the end of the end of the light guide 34.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the controller 68 may be configured to store and process data relative to a variety of light guide shapes, and a variety of illuminating features relative to each light guide shape or type. For example, a user may enter data, via the user interface 70 indicative of a particular logo to be displayed as the illuminating feature 50 on the light guide 34. The storage medium 74 may store this logo data on one data file of multiple data files 76A, 76B each associated with a unique illuminating feature. Other data files stored in the storage medium 74 may be respectively associated with the shape and size of different light guides.
Referring to
At block 106, a user may select a particular light guide and a particular prescribed feature to etch upon the light guide, and via the user interface 70. At block 108, the processor 72 of the controller 68 processes and coordinates data relative to the light guide shape and the user chosen, prescribed, feature to generally map the feature upon the light guide 34. At block 110, the controller 68 may then control the laser positioning apparatus 66 (i.e., distance from light guide, speed of laser beam 64 passes upon light guide 34, etc.), and the laser 62 (i.e., beam energy, a laser beam focus point 78, etc.) to laser-etch the prescribed feature upon the light guide. It is contemplated and understood, that other control methods may apply when laser-etching the prescribed feature upon the light guide.
In one embodiment, the laser beam 64 may be focused to etch the prescribed feature(s) 76A, 76B onto the opposing surface 38 of the light guide 34 (as illustrated in
Advantages and benefits of the present disclosure include the ability to choose a generic light guide 34 (i.e., one without an illuminating feature 50), and via an efficient on-demand basis, choose and etch the illuminating feature 50 onto the light guide 34. Other benefits include a simplification and reduction of cost when molding the light guide which no longer requires the illuminating feature 50 to be imprinted upon the mold(s). Yet further, benefits may include simplification or elimination of machining processes.
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description.
