Patent Application
20060028815
The present invention generally relates to the field of electronic lamp assemblies, and more particularly assemblies that incorporate light emitting diodes (LEDs). Such assemblies have been incorporated into taillights, backup lights and turn signals on motor vehicles.
Federal and international laws/regulations exist that are directed to ensuring the conspicuity of motor vehicles. Such guidelines address both active illumination and retro reflectivity (wherein light is re-directed back towards its source from a variety of coincident angles) that are mandated for motorized vehicles. Previously, such requirements have been primarily met by signal/light assemblies wherein an incandescent bulb is housed within a chamber having a relatively opaque retro-reflective external cover. More recently, incandescent bulbs have been replaced by arrays of colored LEDs. Using LEDs in place of an incandescent light bulb generally results in lower power consumption, faster signal response (turn on/off) times, and lower maintenance costs (since the expected lifespan of the LEDs within a signal/light assembly substantially exceeds that of a motorized vehicle).
There are numerous examples of using LED arrays in place of an incandescent light bulb in a motor vehicle signal/light assembly. Typical LEDs are generally much smaller than incandescent light bulbs and emit substantially less light. Therefore, to provide sufficient light intensity, a cluster of LEDs typically replaces a single light bulb when incorporated into a motor vehicle signal/light assembly.
Known LED assembly designs include features that are intended to enhance the visibility of LED-based signals/lights. A number of mirror surface-based reflector designs for directing/dispersing the light emitted by LEDs have been proposed to make more efficient use of smaller quantities of LEDs within a signal/light. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,247 discloses a vehicle light assembly comprising a set of LEDs wherein each LED is placed within a concave reflector/mirror structure that redirects radiant light from the LEDs in a desired direction. The concave mini-reflectors direct light from an LED away from a surface upon which a light assembly containing the mini-reflectors is mounted thereby enhancing the visibility of the light assembly.
A vehicle light assembly comprising LEDs is disclosed in US Application Pub. U.S. 2003/0142505 wherein a multi-faceted/ridged reflector surface disperses light emitted by a relatively small number of LEDs arranged along a circumference of the vehicle light assembly. The multi-faceted/ridged mirror-like reflector surface performs the primary function of dispersing and re-directing the light emitted by the LEDs away from the light assembly. A clear lens is placed over the LEDs to protect the electronic components from moisture and dirt. The mirror-like reflector also functions to reflect incoming visible light, un-attenuated by the clear lens (or any other colorized/attenuating filter), back at a source of external light (e.g., a trailing vehicle). Such reflection of un-attenuated incoming light, a virtual necessity of the disclosed design to ensure sufficient visibility of light emitted by the minimal number of LEDs, enhances the visibility of the vehicle to others. However, such enhanced visibility of reflected light from the headlamps of a trailing vehicle potentially prevents detecting active illumination when the light assembly is illuminated by an external light source (e.g., the headlights of a trailing vehicle). As a consequence, the effectiveness of the light assembly disclosed in Published U.S. 2003/014505 to provide detectible active illumination (in response to a user applying breaks) is reduced at night when the headlights of a trailing vehicle shine upon the reflective surface of the disclosed vehicle light assembly.
The present invention addresses the potential need to provide better ways of meeting visibility requirements of brake and turn signal lights on vehicles by a trailing vehicle. In particular, the present invention is directed to a vehicle light assembly that integrates active and passive illumination sources within a single substrate/platform. The disclosed light assembly comprises intermingled/interleaved/interspersed active and passive illumination source regions, yet the passive and active illumination sources utilize distinct surface areas upon the substrate/platform to provide illuminating light.
While the appended claims set forth the features of the present invention with particularity, the invention, together with its objects and advantages, may be best understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
a is a diagram depicting an exemplary layout of active and passive illumination elements interspersed on a common platform for a signal/light assembly;
b is a diagram depicting an exemplary positioning of a set of current limiting resistors on the underside of the common platform for the light assembly; and
c depicts a side view of the signal/light assembly.
The illustrative embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein are directed to a distinct way of providing both active and passive illumination via optical elements carried by a single platform/structure. In the disclosed embodiments, active illumination and passive illumination elements provide illumination from separate and distinct regions of the single platform/structure of an assembly. The separate and distinct nature of the passive and active illumination regions facilitates using two distinct colors for the differing types of illumination. In the exemplary embodiment, the active illumination elements are interspersed/interleaved with the passive illumination source(s). Furthermore, the passive illumination is provided by “retro reflective” material that, in contrast to a planar mirror, reflects light back at its source within a wide range of angles of incidence. The following description is based on embodiments of the invention and should not be taken as limiting the invention with regard to alternative embodiments that are not explicitly described herein.
Turning now to the drawings, and in particular
The platform 102 can be provided in any of a variety of shapes and dimensions. The illustrative example depicts an exemplary taillight assembly that is generally rectangular in shape, but also includes rounded corners, in yet other embodiments the platform is round, square, or virtually any desired shape. Furthermore, while the illumination surface of the exemplary platform 102 is flat, in alternative embodiments the illumination surface is non-planar (e.g., convex, concave, semi-cylindrical, etc.).
In the illustrative embodiment the active illumination elements 104a, 104b, 104c, 104d, and 104e comprise sets of individually encapsulated discrete LEDs. However, in alternative embodiments the active illumination portion of a signal/light assembly comprises sets of LEDs encapsulated within a single circuit package (potentially also including current-limiting resistors). In alternative embodiments the active illumination elements 104a, 104b, 104c, 104d, and 104e comprise other active illumination types including, for example, incandescent fluorescent light sources.
The color of the active illuminators 104 varies in accordance with various alternative embodiments of the invention. In addition to red and amber, any of a variety of light colors are emitted by the active illuminators 104. Furthermore, the light emitted by the active source is not limited to visible light. Rather, the active illumination elements 104a-e in various alternative embodiments emit light in non-visible energy ranges such as infrared and ultraviolet regions of the light spectrum.
In accordance with disclosed embodiments of the present invention, the active illumination elements 104a-e share a viewable surface area of the platform 102 with passive illumination sources 106a, 106b, 106c and 106d. The passive illumination sources 106a-d, in the illustrative embodiment are presented as, but not limited to, a set of rectangular regions interleaved with rows (linear arrays) of the active illumination elements 104a-e.
The dispersal pattern of active illumination elements on a viewable surface of the platform 102 that also provides surface area for the passive illumination sources 106a-d differs in accordance with alternative embodiments. However, in embodiments of the invention substantially homogenous dispersal patterns are utilized that enhance the viewable extent of both passive and active illumination on the light/signal assembly 100.
The material making up the passive illumination sources 106a-d varies in accordance with alternative embodiments of the invention. In an exemplary embodiment, the passive illumination sources 106a-d comprise retro reflective film that is laminated upon, or adhered to, the surface of the platform 102 by means of a pressure sensitive adhesive or any other suitable bonding method. Such reflective film (often silver in color) is currently used on traffic signs and warm up jackets. The film is non-conductive (or if conductive, spaced from electronic component leads) to ensure against short circuits between leads of the active illumination elements 106. The active illumination elements 104 are installed upon the surface of the platform 102 over the retro reflective film. The signal leads of the active illumination elements 104, by way of example, pass through the retro reflective film. The signal leads are connected to a power source circuit including limiting resistors that are attached, by way of example, to the bottom of the platform 102 (see
Alternatively, the passive illuminator 106 comprises a plastic molded retro reflective substrate commonly referred to as “reflex”. Such plastic material, often red in color, is incorporated into the external panels that cover turn signal and brake light assemblies of automobiles. In the illustrative embodiment set forth in
Having described the viewable surface of exemplary light/signal assemblies, attention is directed to
Turning briefly to
The light/signal assembly 100 and alternative embodiments disclosed herein include complimentary, intermingled regions dedicated to active and passive illumination sources. The applications of such light/signal assembly are numerous. For example, a single assembly embodying the present invention incorporates both an active yellow turn indicator and a red retro reflector visible to other vehicles approaching from behind. Combining the active and passive illumination components in the manner disclosed herein potentially reduces labor and material costs associated with installing a light/signal assembly on the rear of a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the disclosed invention facilitates versatile vehicle styling as well as integrating larger numbers of lamp/signal functions (e.g., stop, tail, turn, reverse, clearance, parking) into a single assembly.
In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of this invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the embodiments described herein with respect to the drawing figures are meant to be illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention as described herein contemplates all such embodiments as may come within the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.
