The present disclosure generally relates to vehicle lighting systems, and more particularly, to vehicle lighting systems employing one or more photoluminescent structures.
Illumination arising from the use of photoluminescent structures offers a unique and attractive viewing experience. It is therefore desired to implement such structures in automotive vehicles for various lighting applications.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a grille assembly of a vehicle is provided and includes at least one grille bar. A first photoluminescent structure is provided at a first location of the at least one grille bar and is configured to luminesce when excited by light emitted from a light source. A second photoluminescent structure is provided at a second location of the at least one grille bar and is configured to luminesce when excited by light emitted from the first photoluminescent structure.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a grille assembly of a vehicle is provided and includes a plurality of grille bars. A first photoluminescent structure is provided at a front portion of each grille bar and is configured to luminesce when excited by light emitted from a light source. A second photoluminescent structure is provided at a rear portion of each grille bar and is configured to luminesce when excited by light emitted from the first photoluminescent structure.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a grille assembly of a vehicle is provided and includes a plurality of grille bars. A first photoluminescent structure is provided at a front portion of each grille bar and is configured to luminesce when excited by light emitted from a light source. A second photoluminescent structure is provided at a rear portion of each grille bar and is configured to luminesce when excited by light emitted from the first photoluminescent structure. At least one of the first and second photoluminescent structures is configured to continue to luminesce for a period of time after excitation light ceases to be provided.
These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
In the drawings:
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to a detailed design and some schematics may be exaggerated or minimized to show function overview. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
As used herein, the term “and/or,” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.
Referring to
According to one embodiment, each grille bar 14a-14c includes a front portion 18 that illuminates in a first color and a rear portion (not shown) that illuminates in a second color. It is contemplated that the first and second colors may be the same or may be visually distinct from one another. As generally represented by arrows stemming from the front portion 18 of each grille bar 14a-14c, light emitted therefrom is outputted in a vehicle-forward direction whereas light outputted from the rear portion illuminates an area behind the grille assembly 10 and is visible through the space 16 of the grille assembly 10. In embodiments where the first and second colors are different, the contrast in illumination imparts a distinct styling element to the grille assembly 10.
Referring to
According to the illustrated embodiment of
As is further shown in
Referring to
With reference to
The long-persistence phosphors 44, 46 may correspond to alkaline earth aluminates and silicates, for example doped di-silicates, or any other compound that is capable of emitting light for a period of time once excitation light is no longer present. The long-persistence phosphors may be doped with one or more ions, which may correspond to rare earth elements, for example, Eu2+, Tb3+ and/or Dy3. According to one embodiment, the first and second photoluminescent structures 30, 36 may include a phosphorescent material in the range of about 30% to about 55%, a liquid carrier medium in the range of about 25% to about 55%, a polymeric resin in the range of about 15% to about 35%, a stabilizing additive in the range of about 0.25% to about 20%, and performance-enhancing additives in the range of about 0% to about 5%, each based on the weight of the formulation.
In operation, the first and second photoluminescent structures 30, 36 may be formulated to luminesce in the same color or a different color upon becoming excited. It is contemplated that light given off by the first and second photoluminescent structures 30, 36 may include any colored light found in the RGB scale, including white light. According to one embodiment, light source 32 may correspond to sunlight, in which case the first photoluminescent structure 30 may be configured to convert ultraviolet (UV) light into blue light. In such a configuration, the second photoluminescent structure 36 may be configured to convert blue light into a different color of light, such as, but not limited to, red light. This contrast in color imparts a stylistic element to the grille assembly 10 and through the employ of long-persistence phosphors, the illumination provided by the first and second photoluminescent structures 30, 36 can persist well after light excitation ceases to be available. It will be understood that the compositions provided herein are non-limiting examples. Thus, any long-persistence phosphor known in the art may be utilized without departing from the teachings provided herein. Moreover, it is contemplated that other phosphors, which do not necessarily exhibit long-persistence qualities, may also be utilized without departing from the teachings provided herein.
Additional information regarding the production of long-persistence photoluminescent structures is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,163,201 to Agrawal et al., entitled “HIGH-INTENSITY, PERSISTENT PHOTOLUMINESCENT FORMULATIONS AND OBJECTS, AND METHODS FOR CREATING THE SAME,” issued Apr. 24, 2012; U.S. Pat. No. 6,953,536 to Yen et al., entitled “LONG PERSISTENT PHOSPHORS AND PERSISTENT ENERGY TRANSFER TECHNIQUE,” issued Oct. 11, 2005; U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,362 to Yen et al., entitled “LONG-PERSISTENCE BLUE PHOSPHORS,” issued Sep. 12, 2000; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,952,341 to Kingsley et al., entitled “LOW RARE EARTH MINERAL PHOTOLUMINESCENT COMPOSITIONS AND STRUCTURES FOR GENERATING LONG-PERSISTENCE LUMINESCENCE,” issued Feb. 10, 2015, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Referring now to
Accordingly a grille bar assembly 10 has been advantageously described herein. The bar assembly 10 provides various benefits including an efficient and cost-effective means to produce a variety of illumination to provide a distinct styling element on a vehicle 12.
For the purposes of describing and defining the present teachings, it is noted that the terms “substantially” and “approximately” are utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. The term “substantially” and “approximately” are also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject flatter at issue.
It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/519,845, filed Oct. 21, 2014, entitled “LUMINESCENT GRILLE BAR ASSEMBLY,” which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/086,442, filed Nov. 21, 2013, entitled “VEHICLE LIGHTING SYSTEM WITH PHOTOLUMINESCENT STRUCTURE.” The aforementioned related applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
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