Patent Application
20170284623
The technical field generally relates to lighting structures. More particularly, the technical field relates to illumination assemblies and other lighting components used in the context of mobile platforms, such as automobiles and the like.
Mobile platforms such as automotive vehicles, marine vessels, and aircraft use illumination assemblies for a variety of purposes, such as illuminating the mobile platform's path and/or providing an indicator related to the operation of the mobile platform. Such illumination assemblies may function, for example, as front lighting (daytime running lamps, parking lamps, turn signals), rear lighting (braking indicators, tail lamps, turn signals) and/or accent lighting.
Recent advances in lighting technology, such as the wide availability of highly- efficient light-emitting diode (LED) components, have resulted in illumination assemblies that are less expensive, more reliable, and lighter than traditional lighting. Nevertheless, such illumination assemblies may be unsatisfactory in a number of respects. For example, such assemblies may require a large number of components, e.g., a light source arranged adjacent to one or more transparent or translucent structures, one or more light guides, one or more reflectors, one or more carriers (e.g., LED carriers), various textured or diffusion regions configured to scatter incoming light, etc. Furthermore, such lighting assemblies often include light sources that are strictly planar, preventing the creation of freeform, three-dimensional structures that might provide enhanced functionality while improving the assembly's aesthetic appeal.
Referring briefly to
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide illumination assemblies that have a reduced component-count and which can be formed into arbitrary, three-dimensional structures. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.
In accordance with one embodiment, an illumination assembly for a mobile platform includes a body structure and a light source. The body structure is three- dimensional and at least partially transparent. The light source, which is substantially encapsulated within the body structure, is non-planar and configured to selectably illuminate at least a portion of the body structure in response to an activation signal produced external to the body structure.
In accordance with one embodiment, a method for forming a lighting structure for a mobile platform includes: providing a substantially non-planar light source; forming a three-dimensional body structure such that the light source is substantially encapsulated within the body structure, the body structure being at least partially transparent; and forming an interconnect extending from outside the body structure to the light source such that the light source is configured to selectably illuminate at least a portion of the body structure in response to an activation signal received via the interconnect.
The exemplary embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and wherein:
In general, the subject matter described herein relates to improved, three-dimensional or “free-form” illumination assemblies that require fewer components and have an improved aesthetic appeal. In that regard, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. As used herein, the term module or control refers to any hardware, software, firmware, electronic control component, processing logic, and/or processor device, individually or in any combination, including without limitation: application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality.
Embodiments of the present disclosure may be described herein in terms of functional and/or logical block components and various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such block components may be realized by any number of hardware, software, and/or firmware components configured to perform the specified functions. For example, an embodiment of the present disclosure may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, digital signal processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, or the like, which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices.
In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced in conjunction with any number of systems, and that the illumination assemblies described herein are merely various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques related to lighting systems, light color, lighting interconnects, LEDs, automotive lighting systems, signal processing, data transmission, signaling, control, and other functional aspects of the systems (and the individual operating components of the systems) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent example functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Furthermore, while the illumination assembly 100 may be discussed in the context of automotive vehicles (e.g., as a braking indicator for an automotive vehicle), such examples are used without loss of generality, and thus the range of possible embodiments and mobile platforms are not so limited. The phrase “mobile platform” as used herein refers to any structure that is configured to move through its environment, such as an automotive vehicle, an aircraft, a robotic platform, a water-going vessel, or any other such mobile platform now known or later developed.
In general, illumination assembly 100 includes a body structure 104 and a light source 102 substantially encapsulated within body structure 104, as shown. Light source 102 is communicatively coupled to a lighting control module or other such controller 205 via an electrical interconnect 202 (e.g., a communication bus, one or more conductive wires, or the like) as shown in
Light source 102 is “substantially encapsulated within” body structure 104 in that all or nearly all of its volume is surrounded and falls within the boundary of body structure 104. In some embodiments, as shown in
In various embodiments, body structure 104 is three-dimensional and at least partially transparent. As used herein, the phrase “three-dimensional” (or simply “3D”) as used in connection with a structural component (e.g., body structure 104 and/or light source 102) generally refers to an object that occupies volume in three spatial dimensions. The phrase “free-form” may also be used herein to refer to 3D objects and to denote the fact that the object may have an arbitrary, desired shape (i.e., not limited to a strictly 2D or planar structure). That is, a 2D “manifold” as that term is used in the art (e.g., a thin sheet of material that is sufficiently thin that it appears two-dimensional, but which can be molded or otherwise formed to occupy a three-dimensional space) could be considered a “3D” structural component in some embodiments.
Light source 102 includes any component or group of components that can serve as a source of illumination, producing light at least partially within the human optical range. Such light sources may be selectably activated (e.g., either in an on-off or a continuously variable mode) through modulation of a suitable power source communicatively coupled to the light source. Example light sources include light-emitting diodes—such as Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), traditional white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs)—incandescent light sources, fluorescent light sources, electroluminescent light sources, and the like. Such light sources may have any desirable color (e.g., “color temperature”), depending upon the desired application, and are not limited to light sources that produce substantially white light. In some embodiments, light source 102 is implemented as a single component. In others, light source 102 is implemented as an array of components, such as an array of light-emitting diodes 210 as shown in
Body structure 104 is “at least partially transparent” in the sense that it is not strictly opaque in its entirety. That is, body structure 104 transmits a human-observable level of light of any arbitrary color. For example, in the context of a mobile platform consisting of an automotive vehicle, body structure 104 might be formed as a translucent red component. In other embodiments, body structure 104 may be substantially clear (i.e., not modifying the color of the light produced by light source 102), green, blue, or any other color or combination of colors required for a given application. In some embodiments, body structure 104 is multi-colored. In others, it includes some limited opaque regions.
Body structure 104 may be formed from any suitably material that is transparent to semi-transparent and allows some transmission of light. In one embodiment, body structure 104 comprises a translucent polycarbonate, such as LEXAN polycarbonate.
In various embodiments, light source 102 is non-planar and configured to selectably illuminate at least a portion of body structure 104 in response to an activation signal (e.g., an on-off signal, a dimming signal, or the like) produced external to the body structure, for example, via lighting control module 205 and interconnect 202. The arrows in
In one embodiment, the mobile platform is an automotive vehicle and the braking indicator is a rear brake indicator for the automotive vehicle. Such an embodiment is shown in
Having thus described an illumination assembly 100 in accordance with various embodiments, a method of forming a lighting structure for a mobile platform will now be described in conjunction with the flow-chart 600 of
Initially, a substantially non-planar light source 102 is provided (block 602). As mentioned above, light source 102 may include any component or group of components that can serve as a source of illumination, producing light at least partially within the human optical range. In some embodiments, light source 102 comprises a single LED or an array of LEDs, such as an array of OLED that may be formed or deformed to a three-dimensional shape.
Next, at block 604, a three-dimensional body structure 104 is formed such that the light source 102 is substantially encapsulated within body structure 104. As mentioned above, body structure 104 may be formed from any suitable transparent or substantially transparent material, such as a polycarbonate material. Body structure 104 may be formed utilizing a variety of plastic-forming techniques known in the art, as described in further detail below.
At block 606, an interconnect 202 is formed from outside body structure 104 to the light source 102 such that light source 102 is configured to selectably illuminate at least a portion of the body structure in response to an activation signal received via the interconnect 202. In some embodiments, interconnect 202 is formed prior to block 604—that is, it may be encapsulated within body structure 104 alone with light source 102. In one embodiment, interconnect 202 comprises electrical leads that are sealed within and through the encapsulation and routed to an external controller.
Finally, at block 608, light control module 205 is communicatively coupled to light source 102 via interconnect 202. This may be performed, for example, during final assembly of the mobile platform. In the case of an automotive vehicle, for example, interconnect 202 may be electrically connected to a bus or other communication network provided within the vehicle.
With respect to block 604, the three-dimensional body structure 104 may be created via in-mold layup process. Such a process is illustrated in the sequential side views of
In addition to the illustrated lay-up process, other methods for forming the illumination assembly may be utilized. In one embodiment, for example, the light source 102 may be encapsulated within body structure 104 via a welding process. In another embodiment, the light source is substantially encapsulated within the body structure includes a co-injection process. Whether insert-molded, transfer-molded, formed via a lamination process or a secondary two-piece vibration, sonic, laser or hot plate weld process, it is desirable that the assembly be harmonically sealed and encapsulated within the free-form substrate, which creates the 3D appearance.
It will be appreciated systems and methods in accordance with the above can be used to produce an illumination assembly with many benefits. As mentioned briefly in the Background section above, currently known illumination assemblies often require a large number of components and/or often incorporate light sources that are strictly planar, preventing the creation of freeform, 3D structures that might provide enhanced functionality while improving the assembly's aesthetic appeal.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.
