The present disclosure generally relates to vehicle lamp assemblies, and more particularly, to vehicle lamp assemblies that may employ one or more luminescent structures.
Activation of vehicle interior lamps in low light conditions may distract an operator of a vehicle. For some vehicles, it may be desirable to have a lamp that is less distracting upon activation in such conditions.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle lamp is disclosed. The vehicle lamp includes a first light source operably coupled with a lens. A switch is configured to control an activation state of the first light source. A controller prompts the first light source to generate a low-intensity light of a first color when a night-like condition is detected and a vehicle is in motion and a high-intensity light of a second color when the vehicle is stationary.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle lamp is disclosed. The vehicle lamp includes a light source operably coupled with a lens. A controller prompts the light source to change an illumination state of the light source from a first color to a second color when a vehicle exceeds a predetermined speed and a night-like condition is detected.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a lamp for a vehicle is disclosed. The lamp includes a light source operably coupled with a lens. A controller prompts the light source to change an illumination state of the light source from a first color to a second color when a vehicle transmission is placed in a reverse position and a night-like condition is detected.
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:
For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
As required, detailed examples of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed examples 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.
In this document, relational terms, such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like, are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action, without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element preceded by “comprises . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.
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.
The following disclosure describes a lamp for a vehicle. The lamp may emit light in various color spectrums and at varying intensities based on a wide range of predefined events. The lamp may further employ one or more phosphorescent and/or luminescent structures to luminesce in response to predefined events. The one or more luminescent structures may be configured to convert excitation light received from an associated light source and re-emit the light at a different wavelength generally found in the visible spectrum.
Referring to
At the most basic level, a given luminescent structure 10 includes an energy conversion layer 16 that may include one or more sublayers, which are exemplarily shown in broken lines in
The energy conversion layer 16 may be prepared by dispersing the luminescent material 18 in a polymer matrix to form a homogenous mixture using a variety of methods. Such methods may include preparing the energy conversion layer 16 from a formulation in a liquid carrier support medium 14 and coating the energy conversion layer 16 to a desired substrate 12. The energy conversion layer 16 may be applied to a substrate 12 by painting, screen-printing, spraying, slot coating, dip coating, roller coating, and bar coating. Alternatively, the energy conversion layer 16 may be prepared by methods that do not use a liquid carrier support medium 14. For example, the energy conversion layer 16 may be rendered by dispersing the luminescent material 18 into a solid-state solution (homogenous mixture in a dry state) that may be incorporated in a polymer matrix, which may be formed by extrusion, injection molding, compression molding, calendaring, thermoforming, etc. The energy conversion layer 16 may then be integrated into a substrate 12 using any methods known to those skilled in the art. When the energy conversion layer 16 includes sublayers, each sublayer may be sequentially coated to form the energy conversion layer 16. Alternatively, the sublayers can be separately prepared and later laminated or embossed together to form the energy conversion layer 16. Alternatively still, the energy conversion layer 16 may be formed by coextruding the sublayers.
In various examples, the converted light 26 that has been down converted or up converted may be used to excite other luminescent material(s) 18 found in the energy conversion layer 16. The process of using the converted light 26 outputted from one luminescent material 18 to excite another, and so on, is generally known as an energy cascade and may serve as an alternative for achieving various color expressions. With respect to either conversion principle, the difference in wavelength between the excitation light 24 and the converted light 26 is known as the Stokes shift and serves as the principal driving mechanism for an energy conversion process corresponding to a change in wavelength of light. In the various examples discussed herein, each of the luminescent structures 10 may operate under either conversion principle.
Referring back to
According to various examples, the luminescent material 18 may include organic or inorganic fluorescent dyes including rylenes, xanthenes, porphyrins, and phthalocyanines. Additionally, or alternatively, the luminescent material 18 may include phosphors from the group of Ce-doped garnets such as YAG: Ce and may be a short-persistence luminescent material 18. For example, an emission by Ce3+ is based on an electronic energy transition from 4D1 to 4f1 as a parity allowed transition. As a result of this, a difference in energy between the light absorption and the light emission by Ce3+ is small, and the luminescent level of Ce3+ has an ultra-short lifespan, or decay time, of 10−8 to 10−7 seconds (10 to 100 nanoseconds). The decay time may be defined as the time between the end of excitation from the excitation light 24 and the moment when the light intensity of the converted light 26 emitted from the luminescent structure 10 drops below a minimum visibility of 0.32 mcd/m2. A visibility of 0.32 mcd/m2 is roughly 100 times the sensitivity of the dark-adapted human eye, which corresponds to a base level of illumination commonly used by persons of ordinary skill in the art.
According to various examples, a Ce3+ garnet may be utilized, which has a peak excitation spectrum that may reside in a shorter wavelength range than that of conventional YAG:Ce-type phosphors. Accordingly, Ce3+ has short-persistence characteristics such that its decay time may be 100 milliseconds or less. Therefore, in various examples, the rare earth aluminum garnet type Ce phosphor may serve as the luminescent material 18 with ultra-short-persistence characteristics, which can emit the converted light 26 by absorbing purple to blue excitation light 24 emitted from the light sources 66. According to various examples, a ZnS:Ag phosphor may be used to create a blue-converted light 26. A ZnS:Cu phosphor may be utilized to create a yellowish-green converted light 26. A Y2O2S:Eu phosphor may be used to create red converted light 26. Moreover, the aforementioned phosphorescent materials may be combined to form a wide range of colors, including white light. It will be understood that any short-persistence luminescent material known in the art may be utilized without departing from the teachings provided herein.
Additionally, or alternatively, the luminescent material 18, according to various examples, disposed within the luminescent structure 10 may include a long-persistence luminescent material 18 that emits the converted light 26, once charged by the excitation light 24. The excitation light 24 may be emitted from any excitation source (e.g., any natural light source, such as the sun, and/or any artificial light sources 66). The long-persistence luminescent material 18 may be defined as having a long decay time due to its ability to store the excitation light 24 and release the converted light 26 gradually, for a period of several minutes or hours, once the excitation light 24 is no longer present.
The long-persistence luminescent material 18, according to various examples, may be operable to emit light at or above an intensity of 0.32 mcd/m2 after a period of 10 minutes. Additionally, the long-persistence luminescent material 18 may be operable to emit light above or at an intensity of 0.32 mcd/m2 after a period of 30 minutes and, in various examples, for a period substantially longer than 60 minutes (e.g., the period may extend 24 hours or longer, and in some instances, the period may extend 48 hours). Accordingly, the long-persistence luminescent material 18 may continually illuminate in response to excitation from any light sources 66 that emit the excitation light 24, including, but not limited to, natural light sources (e.g., the sun) and/or any artificial light sources 66. The periodic absorption of the excitation light 24 from any excitation source may provide for a substantially sustained charge of the long-persistence luminescent material 18 to provide for consistent passive illumination. In various examples, a light-detecting device 68 may monitor the illumination intensity of the luminescent structure 10 and actuate an excitation source when the illumination intensity falls below 0.32 mcd/m2, or any other predefined intensity level.
The long-persistence luminescent material 18 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 the excitation light 24 is no longer present. The long-persistence luminescent material 18 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 non-limiting exemplary example, the luminescent structure 10 includes 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.
The luminescent structure 10, according to various examples, may be a translucent white color, and in some instances reflective, when unilluminated. Once the luminescent structure 10 receives the excitation light 24 of a particular wavelength, the luminescent structure 10 may emit any color light (e.g., blue or red) therefrom at any desired brightness. According to various examples, a blue emitting phosphorescent material may have the structure Li2ZnGeO4 and may be prepared by a high-temperature solid-state reaction method or through any other practicable method and/or process. The afterglow may last for a duration of 2-8 hours and may originate from the excitation light 24 and d-d transitions of Mn2+ ions.
According to an alternate non-limiting exemplary example, 100 parts of a commercial solvent-borne polyurethane, such as Mace resin 107-268, having 50% solids polyurethane in toluene/isopropanol, 125 parts of a blue-green long-persistence phosphor, such as Performance Indicator PI-BG20, and 12.5 parts of a dye solution containing 0.1% Lumogen Yellow F083 in dioxolane may be blended to yield a low rare earth mineral luminescent structure 10. It will be understood that the compositions provided herein are non-limiting examples. Thus, any phosphor known in the art may be utilized within the luminescent structure 10 without departing from the teachings provided herein. Moreover, it is contemplated that any long-persistence phosphor known in the art may also be utilized without departing from the teachings provided herein.
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With further reference to
Accordingly, the lamps 32 provided herein may illuminate in a first color (e.g., red) once activated to preserve scotopic or mesopic visual acuity relative to most other broad light spectrum illumination approaches. Moreover, the switch 44 may provide various activations of one or more light sources 66 within the lamps 32 that may illuminate at a first, lower intensity upon a first switch activation. Upon a second switch activation, the lamps 32 may illuminate in the first color at a second, higher intensity. Upon an additional activation, the lamps 32 may illuminate in a second color (e.g., white) that may include high radiance light. Upon further activations, various intensities may be output from the lamp until a final switch activation returns the lamp 32 to an unilluminated state.
Referring still to
In some examples, the vehicle 30 includes a light-detecting device 68 (
According to some examples, each lamp 32 may dim and change from the second color to the first when the vehicle transmission is placed in reverse, when the vehicle 30 is placed in drive, when the vehicle 30 exceeds a predefined speed (e.g., three miles per hour), etc. As provided herein, the dimming may occur when night-like conditions are sensed, and the initial intensity may be maintained while day-like conditions are sensed. The lamps 32 may illuminate in a wide range of colors to provide notifications as well. For example, while the vehicle 30 is in motion if a door is opened, the lamps 32 may illuminate in the first color to provide a warning notification.
Referring to
To disperse the light emitted from the light source 66, a diffusing optic 72 can be disposed between the light source 66 and the lens 70 to provide for a more even light distribution across the lens 70 when the light source 66 is activated. Activation of the light source 66 can be achieved in a variety of ways. For instance, in some examples, the lens 70 can be implemented in a push configuration, whereby a vehicle occupant 56 presses or pushes the lens 70 inward to activate the light source 66. Additionally or alternatively, the light source 66 can be activated via a corresponding switch 44 on board the vehicle 30, as previously described.
In the illustrated example, the switch 44 is configured as a proximity sensor, shown and described herein as capacitive sensor 74 can be provided behind the lens 70 and coupled thereto. The capacitive sensor 74 provides a sense activation field that encompasses the outermost surface of the lens 70 and can detect capacitive changes resulting from a conductor, such as a vehicle occupant's finger, being within the sense activation field of the capacitive sensor 74 (e.g. touching the lens 70). In some examples, if the capacitive change meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold level, the light source 66 can be prompted to activate accordingly. While the proximity sensor is shown and described herein as capacitive sensor 74, it should be appreciated that additional or alternative types of proximity sensors can be used for detecting various other signal changes, such as, but not limited to, inductive sensors, optical sensors, temperature sensors, resistive sensors, the like, or a combination thereof.
With further reference to
Referring to
The controller 76 is configured to prompt the light source 66 to generate a low-intensity light in night-like conditions. Further, the aforementioned feature can be implemented autonomously and/or manually induced. In some examples, the controller 76 can receive input from the light-detecting device 68, indicating the presence of a night-like condition, at which point the controller 76 prompts the light source 66 to generate the low-intensity light. The low-intensity light can be expressed as a faint glow (e.g. ambient lighting) so as to enhance a driving experience without distracting the driver 58. Additionally or alternatively, the light source 66 can be manually activated using the switch 44. In any event, by providing a lamp 32 equipped with the low-intensity light feature, vehicle occupants 56 can visually locate the many items during night-like conditions while preserving their scotopic or mesopic vision.
Each light intensity setting can be expressed as a light of the same color or a different color and can be selected by a vehicle occupant 56 using any suitable user input device 84 (e.g. the vehicle cockpit module 46). For example, the occupant 56 can override the first color/second color transition causing each of the lamps 32 to illuminate in any desired color at any desired intensity upon activation thereof. The driver 58 may also determine the time between switch activations, the actuation of each lamp 32, the utilization of the light-detecting device 68 in conjunction with the lamps 32, etc.
In some examples, the first color, which may be emitted at a low intensity and a high intensity may be in the red color spectrum while the second color of light can be expressed as light in the white spectrum. As is further shown in
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For a lamp 32 employing a capacitive sensing configuration, the lamp 32 can be deactivated when the capacitive sensor 74 detects a capacitive change while the lamp 32 is emitting high-intensity light. Once the lamp 32 has been deactivated, the routine 82 returns to step 92. With respect to the abovementioned routine 82, it should be appreciated that the first color and the second color can be the same color or a different color and as described previously, the lamp 32 can include one or more LEDs depending on the desired color to be emitted therefrom.
Each switch activation provided herein may be an independent, sequential activation of the switch 44 that controls each lamp 32. Additionally, and/or alternatively, the user may maintain an activation signal for a period of time causing the lamps 32 to illuminate in the various patterns. Once the switch 44 is released, the lamp 32 may maintain the illumination pattern that is presently exhibited when the switch 44 is released. For example, once the switch 44 is activated, the lamp 32 may illuminate in the first color at a first intensity. Next, if the switch 44 is still activated for a period of time, the lamp 32 may illuminate in the first color at a high intensity. Next, if the switch 44 is still activated for a period of time, the lamp 32 may illuminate in the second color at a low intensity. Next, if the switch 44 is still activated for a period of time, the lamp 32 may illuminate in the second color at a high intensity. If at any point during the sequence the switch 44 is released, the lamp 32 may continue to illuminate in the pattern exhibited when the switch 44 was released.
Accordingly, a vehicle lamp 32 and method of controlling the same has been advantageously provided herein. The lamp 32 includes a light source 66 that is capable of being manually or automatically activated to generate a low-intensity light to illuminate the lens 70 of the lamp 32. As a result, the lamps 32 provided herein may preserve scotopic or mesopic visual acuity relative to most other broad light spectrum illumination approaches. The lamps 32 provided herein may also provide additional aesthetic detail to the vehicle 30 thereby increasing the safety of the vehicle 30 and/or the perceived value of the vehicle 30. The lamps 32 may be manufactured at low costs when compared to standard vehicle light assemblies.
According to various examples, a vehicle lamp is provided herein. The vehicle lamp includes a first light source operably coupled with a lens. A switch is configured to control an activation state of the first light source. A controller prompts the first light source to generate a low-intensity light of a first color when a night-like condition is detected and a vehicle is in motion and a high-intensity light of a second color when the vehicle is stationary. Examples of the vehicle lamp can include any one or a combination of the following features:
Moreover, the lamp may be manufactured by positioning a first light source operably coupled with a lens within a vehicle; providing a switch configured to control an activation state of the first light source; and coupling a controller to the light source that prompts the first light source to generate a low-intensity light of a first color when a night-like condition is detected and a vehicle is in motion and a high-intensity light of a second color when the vehicle is stationary.
It will be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that construction of the described invention and other components is not limited to any specific material. Other exemplary examples of the invention disclosed herein may be formed from a wide variety of materials, unless described otherwise herein.
For purposes of this disclosure, the term “coupled” (in all of its forms, couple, coupling, coupled, etc.) generally means the joining of two components (electrical or mechanical) directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary in nature or movable in nature. Such joining may be achieved with the two components (electrical or mechanical) and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two components. Such joining may be permanent in nature or may be removable or releasable in nature unless otherwise stated.
Furthermore, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected” or “operably coupled” to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being “operably couplable” to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Some examples of operably couplable include, but are not limited to, physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components. Furthermore, it will be understood that a component preceding the term “of the” may be disposed at any practicable location (e.g., on, within, and/or externally disposed from the vehicle) such that the component may function in any manner described herein.
It is also important to note that the construction and arrangement of the elements of the invention as shown in the exemplary examples is illustrative only. Although only a few examples of the present innovations have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements shown as multiple parts may be integrally formed, the operation of the interfaces may be reversed or otherwise varied, the length or width of the structures, members, connectors, and/or other elements of the system may be varied, the nature or number of adjustment positions provided between the elements may be varied. It should be noted that the elements and/or assemblies of the system may be constructed from any of a wide variety of materials that provide sufficient strength or durability, in any of a wide variety of colors, textures, and combinations. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present innovations. Other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions, and arrangement of the desired and other exemplary examples without departing from the spirit of the present innovations.
It will be understood that any described processes or steps within described processes may be combined with other disclosed processes or steps to form structures within the scope of the present invention. The exemplary structures and processes disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as limiting.
It is also to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structures and methods 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.