Patent Grant
11506353
This application claims the benefit of Italian (IT) Patent Application Serial No. 102020000015274, filed Jun. 25, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates generally to lamps for automobiles. The present disclosure relates more specifically to light guides for lamps, and methods of assembling lamps with such light guides.
This section provides background information related to light guides to provide a better understanding of currently available configurations and adaptations of such light guides and methods of assembling light guides. However, the information provided in this section is not necessarily considered to be prior art with respect to the inventive concepts associated with the present disclosure.
In the automotive industry, it is desirable to reduce production costs for manufacturing the various components of a vehicle. There is also an increasing demand for vehicle components that can be customized without the need for customized engineering. For example, it is desirable to provide vehicle components capable of displaying different optical and/or visual effects. Such effects may be used, for example, to customize different car models using standardized components. Furthermore, it is desirable to use standardized components for several different applications, without having to design specific components for each application.
Conventional light guides for vehicle lamps require material to be removed in order to obtain a different conformation starting from a standardized initial shape. Furthermore, conventional light guides typically cannot be bent or curved in order to modify their conformation and to obtain a different optical effect once the light guide has been appropriately assembled in a lamp. In fact, it has become common in the industry to design the light guide specifically for a given function, and a light guide employed in a way other than the one it was engineered for, would give poor performance; for example, a simple 180° rotation about an axis would turn out to be deleterious for the performance of conventional light guides.
This section provides a general summary of some of the objects, advantages, aspects and features provided by the inventive concepts associated with the present disclosure. However, this section is not intended to be considered an exhaustive and comprehensive listing of all such objects, advantages, aspects and features of the present disclosure.
In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a light guide for a lamp of an automobile. The light guide comprises: at least one body made of an elastic material and adapted to conduct, at least partly, light rays within itself by total internal reflection; a supporting structure, adapted to connect the at least one body to the lamp. The at least one body includes: at least one light inlet portion, from which light rays emitted by at least one light source enter the at least one body, and a plurality of light emission portions from which the light rays at least partly conducted in the at least one body exit the light guide, so as to be visible to an observer. The light guide also comprises at least two connection elements adapted to fasten the at least one body to the supporting structure; and at least one pliable portion located between the at least two connection elements and providing for the at least one body to deform into a plurality of different conformations, and allowing the at least two connection elements to move relative to each other. The at least two connection elements interact with the supporting structure to hold the at least one body of the light guide in a selected conformation.
In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method for assembling a light guide for a lamp of an automobile. The method comprises: positioning at least one body of the light guide onto a supporting structure with a selected conformation by at least one of bending or curving said at least one body; and coupling at least two connection elements of the body to a supporting structure to maintain the at least one body in the selected conformation.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. As noted, the description and any specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Other advantages of the present embodiments will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description and appended claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
One or more example embodiments of lamps for automobiles, and light guides for such lamps are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
The present disclosure provides a light guide made of a material having high elasticity and good light conduction properties, such as, for example, silicone, which can take different structural configurations starting from a basic or standard structure, so that its shape can be adapted to obtain a final conformation suitable for a lamp in which such light guide will have to be installed.
The present disclosure also provides a lamp for automobiles. The lamp includes a light guide capable of changing its own conformation to provide the desired lamp appearance.
Finally, the disclosure also provides a method for assembling a light guide, e.g. in a lamp, so that it will take the desired conformation.
With reference to the above-mentioned figures, reference numeral 5 designates, as a whole, the light guide according to the present disclosure. Reference numeral 2 designates a lamp for a vehicle, as a whole. The light guide 5 may be particularly suitable for application to lamps 2 for use on vehicles, such as boats or automobiles, which may include passenger cars and trucks.
The light guide 5 includes at least one body 50 adapted to conduct, at least partly, light rays within itself by total internal reflection. The light guide 5 also includes at least one supporting structure 51 adapted to allow the body 50 of light guide 5 to be connected to the lamp 2.
The body 50 is, at least partly, made of elastic material which is capable of conducting light within itself by internal reflection. The elastic material may be a material having good elastic properties, e.g. an elastomer material. In some embodiments, the body 50 is totally made of the elastic material. The elastic material may include, for example, a polymer, e.g. polymers using semiconductor materials, preferably comprising long chains of oxides of a semiconductor material, alkyl groups and aryl groups bound by atoms of the semiconductor material. The elastic material may include silicone-based materials or thermoplastic elastomer materials. In some embodiments, the body 50 is at least partly made of a silicone-based material. In some embodiments, the body 50 is entirely made of silicone-based material.
The light guide 5 includes at least two connection elements 56. The connection elements 56 are adapted to fasten the body 50 to supporting structure 51.
In light guide 5 according to the present disclosure, the body 50 comprises, between at least two connection elements 56, at least one pliable portion 58, so that the body 50 can be bent and/or curved to take a plurality of different conformations. In particular, the at least one pliable portion 58 allows relative movement of the at least two connection elements 56 in a plane and/or in 3-dimensional space.
In light guide 5 according to the present disclosure, the interaction between the connection elements 56 and the supporting structure 51 is such that body 50 of the light guide 5 can maintain a desired conformation over time.
The at least one pliable portion 58 may allow the body 50 to change its shape, so that the light guide 5 can be bent to obtain the desired conformation. For the purposes of the present description, the expression “can be bent” refers to any deformation of the original shape of the body 50 such that the latter will change its own shape from the original shape, e.g. a curve, a bend, a fold, a twist, etc. Moreover, for the purposes of the present description, the expression “original shape” refers to the shape of body 50 when it is unstressed, unbent, and not interacting with supporting structure 51.
Preferably, such bending is applied to the pliable portion 58, which may be any portion of body 50, by exploiting the elastic properties of the materials employed for making the body, preferably silicone-based materials, so as to allow the body 50 to be bent. Alternatively, the pliable portion 58 may be a specific portion of body 50 having a reduced thickness and/or a reduced material density compared with the adjacent portions, and/or having notches and/or prefracture lines, etc. adapted to allow the body 50 to be bent.
Preferably, since light guide 5 according to the present disclosure includes at least one pliable portion 58 between the at least two connection elements 56, the body 50 can be bent and/or curved to take a plurality of different conformations. The presence of the at least one pliable portion 58 between the at least two connection elements 56 allows relative movement of the at least two connection elements 56 at least in a plane, but preferably in 3-dimensional space, thus allowing light guide 5 to assume the desired conformation. Preferably, the body 50 is designed to return to the original shape when it stops interacting with supporting structure 51, i.e. when it is idle.
In general, the light guide 5 is adapted to be coupled to at least one light source 3, the latter being adapted to emit light rays which enter the body 50 of light guide 5 through the light inlet portion 52, the latter being suitably coupled to light source 3. In some embodiments, at least one light source 3 includes at least one light-emitting diode (LED), e.g. a red-green-blue (RGB) LED.
In some embodiments, the light guide 5 includes more than one light inlet portion 52 and more than one light emission portion 54, so as to ensure that, whatever the configuration in which the body 50 is maintained by the connection elements 56 on supporting structure 51, the light guide 5 will emit light in a desired direction.
In some embodiments, the connection elements 56 are incorporated into body 50 of light guide 5. In alternative embodiments, the connection elements 56 are connected to body 50, e.g. in a removable manner, e.g. mechanically fastened to each other or via fixing means such as, for example, glue.
In some embodiments, the connection elements 56 are protrusions and/or recesses formed in the structure of the body 50. The connection elements 56 may be integrally formed with the body 50, the assembly being made as one piece, e.g. monolithic. Separating connection elements 56 from the body 50 may cause damage or breakage to the body 50. The connection elements 56 may be formed during the process of manufacturing the body 50.
The supporting structure 51 of the light guide 5 may include a plurality of connection portions 512, with each of the connection portions 512 being adapted to be coupled to at least one connection element 56 of the body 50. In some embodiments, each connection portion 512 is adapted to be coupled to only one connection element 56 of the body 50.
In an embodiment of light guide 5, according to the present disclosure, the connection portions 512 are suitably distributed over the supporting structure 51. The connection portions 512 may be distributed over the supporting structure 51 in such a way as to allow the connection elements 56 to be appropriately connected in order to maintain body 50 of the light guide 5 in any desired position, thus assuming the selected conformation. This arrangement may permit obtaining the desired conformation of light guide 5, and in particular of body 50, by suitably coupling the connection elements 56 of body 50 to connection portions 512 of connection structure 51, so that multiple conformations can be obtained, e.g. as illustrated merely by way example in
In some embodiments, the supporting structure 51 defines an orderly distribution, e.g. in a matrix fashion, of connection portions 512. Therefore, such a solution makes it possible to obtain a large number of possible configurations of body 50.
More in general, as previously specified, the connection elements 56 may be provided in several forms. In some embodiments of the light guide 5, the connection elements 56 are protrusions extending from body 50, and the connection portions 512 are holes.
The connection elements 56 may be adapted to fit into the connection portions 512 by shape coupling. Such an arrangement may hold the body 50 of the light guide 5 in a desired conformation over time. Alternatively, the connection elements 56 may be formed as recesses, e.g. holes, possibly through holes, and the connection portions 512 may be formed as protrusions extending perpendicularly to the supporting structure 51.
The body 50 of light guide 5 may have different shapes and may include one or more faces, such as flat faces. The body 50 may have an elongate shape with a triangular, square or, more in general, polygonal cross-section, optionally including rounded portions, e.g. those portions intended to act as light emission portions 54.
Depending on the configuration of light guide 5, and in particular also on the shape of body 50, the various faces and/or portions of body 50 may act as light emission portions 54 and/or as light inlet portions 52. In some embodiments, and as shown in
Furthermore, where the connection elements 56 include protrusions extending from body 50, the plurality of light emission portions 54 may include the at least two connection elements 56, as shown by way of example in
In some embodiments, the connection elements 56 of the body 50 are arranged on one or more faces of the body 50. For example, the connection elements 56 may be arranged on just one face of the body 50. The connection elements 56 may be arranged on a flat face of the body 50.
In some embodiments in which the connection elements 56 are protrusions extending from body 50 and the connection portions 512 are holes, the supporting structure 51 may be arranged to mask, at least partly, the light emitted by the body 50. For example, where the light emission portions 54 include the connection elements 56, the supporting structure 51 may be arranged to mask light emitted by other parts of the body 50. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, the connection portions 512 are triangular holes and the connection elements 56 are protrusions with a triangular base, e.g. as illustrated in the drawings. As an alternative, the connection portions 512 may have any other shape, e.g. rectangular or square holes, and the connection elements 56 will have complementary shapes providing a shape coupling, e.g. protrusions having a rectangular or square cross-section. The connection elements 56 may include one or more parallelogram-shaped side faces.
In some embodiments, the connection portions 512 in one supporting structure 51 are all equal; likewise, the connection elements 56 of one body 50 may each be equal.
The supporting structure 51 may be made of different materials, e.g. plastic materials, or the supporting structure 51 may be provided by a printed circuit board (PCB). The supporting structure 51 may be made of silicone-based material, e.g. having greater rigidity, whether intrinsic or obtained by means of reinforcing structures, with respect to body 50, so that it can properly support the body 50.
In some embodiments, the supporting structure 51 is opaque, so that it is impenetrable to light and can be used to mask the body 50.
In some embodiments, the supporting structure 51 may comprise a plurality of connection portions 512, which initially are non-through holes, e.g. recesses or housings. The same connection portions 512, whether one, some or all of them, can be transformed into through holes, if necessary, e.g. in order to obtain the embodiments shown in
The supporting structure 51 may comprise fastening elements (not shown), which permit connecting the supporting structure 51 to a lamp 2, e.g. to supporting element 22 of lamp 2.
In some embodiments, the supporting structure 51 of the light guide 5 is at least partly incorporated into supporting element 22 of a lamp 2, e.g. being a single element.
The light guide 5 according to the present disclosure may be suitable for use in a lamp 2 for vehicles, such as cars, trucks, planes, trains, and/or boats. The light guide 5 according to the present disclosure may be particularly useful for automobiles, such as passenger cars and trucks.
The lamp 2 may include at least one supporting element 22, to which light sources 3 are connected, e.g. suitably coupled via a supporting structure like, for example, a PCB, to provide power and/or control signals for illumination.
The lamp 2 may be either a front lamp or a rear lamp, each one performing one or more functions. The functions may include one or more of the following: tail lights, driving lights, brake lights, etc.
The lamp 2 may further include a protection element, e.g. a transparent screen (not shown), adapted to allow the light emitted by the light guide 5 to exit while protecting the latter against external agents.
The lamp 2 may include at least one light guide 5. In some embodiments, the lamp 2, may include the supporting element 22, with the supporting structure 51 fixed thereto. The lamp 2 may also include the body 50 of the light guide 5 fixed to the supporting structure 51 by means of the connection elements 56, and with the body 50 of the light guide 5 having the desired conformation. Alternatively, the supporting element 22 may include the supporting structure 51. For example, the supporting structure 51 may be integral with the supporting element 22
The lamp 2 may comprise a control system, which may be adapted to control, at least partly, the light sources 3, which in turn are adapted to be coupled to one or more light guides 5. The light guides 3 are suitably controlled by the control system to appropriately perform the one or more functions of lamp 2.
As aforementioned, the at least one light source 3 preferably comprises, in addition to the photon emitting device, also a bearing structure, e.g. a PCB. The bearing structure may incorporate, or be incorporated into, the supporting structure 51 of light guide 5 and/or the supporting element 22 of lamp 2.
One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for assembling a light guide 5 according to the present disclosure.
The method comprises the following steps, which may be carried out in succession:
The present method makes it possible to create a light guide 5 with the desired conformation, which can be changed over time and/or be adapted to the user's requirements.
The light guide 5 comprising a supporting structure 51 and a body 50, as previously specified herein, permits executing the method for assembling a light guide according to the present disclosure.
The present method may allow a user, through the above-mentioned steps of selecting the conformation and positioning at least one body, to design the desired shape of light guide 5 starting from a basic or standard shape of body 50, since the latter can be bent to take the desired shape.
When performing the step of coupling connection elements 56, it is possible to hold the desired conformation of body 50 on supporting structure 51, so that it can be maintained over time. Likewise, it is also possible to modify the conformation of body 50 over time by changing the coupling points between connection elements 56 and supporting structure 51.
In an embodiment of the method according to the present disclosure, the step of coupling connection elements 56 may include inserting at least two connecting elements 56 into connection portions 512 of supporting structure 51, for the purpose of obtaining the desired conformation of body 50. Considering now the preferred embodiment of light guide 5, by inserting protrusions 56 into proper holes 512 it is possible, due to shape coupling, to maintain the desired conformation of light guide 5.
With reference to the exemplary, but non-limiting, embodiments shown in the annexed drawings,
In general it is possible, through pliable portions 58 of body 50, to cause body 50 to assume the desired conformation, and the interaction between the connection elements 56 and the supporting structure 51 is such as to keep body 50 of light guide 5 in the desired conformation.
From
In the embodiment illustrated in
In this figure one can also see that there is, between at least two connection elements 56, a pliable portion 58 which allows body 50 to bend, so that it can take the desired conformation.
In the embodiment shown in
It can be seen in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
The embodiment shown in
The visual effect obtained by the embodiment shown in
Lastly,
In the upper part of
The lamp 2 and light guide 5 of the present disclosure provides for simple and quick assembly, while obtaining the desired aesthetic effect, by using a standardized body 50 that can be suitably fixed to a supporting structure so that light guide 5 will have the desired conformation and will provide the desired aesthetic result. Therefore, it is possible to create a plurality of different light guides having different conformations by using a single type of body 50 and a single type of supporting structure 51, hence providing different visual effects. Such different light guides 5 can be obtained by appropriately connecting connection elements 56 to supporting structure 51, and in particular to connection portions 512, thanks to pliable portions 58 of the body 50 and/or to the mutual disposition of the body 50 and the supporting structure 51. These, among other benefits will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art of vehicle lighting, upon viewing the disclosure herein.
Lamp 2
Supporting element 22
Light source 3
Light guide 5
Body 50
Supporting structure 51
Connection portions 512
Light inlet portion 52
Light emission portion 54
Connection elements 56
Pliable portion 58
Any other embodiment not explicitly described and/or illustrated in the present patent application, which will seem obvious to a person skilled in the art in the light of the contents of the present patent application, e.g. obtainable by combining different embodiments of the light guide described and/or illustrated herein, shall be considered to fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102020000015274 | Jun 2020 | IT | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4729185 | Baba | Mar 1988 | A |
| 6174079 | Buard | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 20110058385 | Kazaoka | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20150117001 | Fan | Apr 2015 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210404620 A1 | Dec 2021 | US |
