The invention relates to the field of lighting, in particular automotive lighting.
Automotive vehicle headlamps currently offer, among other things, three regulatory lighting modes, namely lighting with horizontal upper cut-off, commonly referred to as “low beam”, lighting with no cut-off, commonly referred to as “high beam”, as well as daytime lighting commonly referred to as “DRL”, which stands for “Daytime Running Light”.
Published patent EP 2 045 515 A1 discloses a lighting module, specifically with horizontal upper cut-off, that is to say of “low beam” type, comprising a vertical sheet optical guide with one end, on the exit face side, of divergent section and forming a projection lens with the curved exit face. The sheet optical guide comprises a reflection face with a curved profile, of parabolic type, configured to reflect the rays coming from the entry face toward the exit face along an optical axis of the lighting module. For this purpose, the light source(s) facing the entry face are located at the focus of the parabolic profile. This document also provides for the arrangement of several sheet optical guides side by side, these sheets meeting toward the rear at the reflection face and the entry face.
Published patent EP 2 679 884 A1 discloses a lighting module, specifically with horizontal upper cut-off, that is to say of “low beam” type, comprising a flat horizontal optical guide with a series of projection lenses on the exit face and a reflection face with a stepped profile to distribute the light transmitted along the guide toward the various projection lenses.
The lighting modules described above are advantageous in that they can operate in regulatory automotive lighting modes while having an illuminated face, namely the exit face of the optical guide, which is thin and elongate, affording an advantage in terms of integration into a vehicle bodywork. However, they have the disadvantage of operating in only one lighting mode. To operate in the regulatory lighting modes, that is to say with and without horizontal cut-off, it is necessary to provide two lighting modules, where applicable placed side by side. The cumulative exit face then has a different illuminated appearance depending on the lighting mode activated. However, it is desirable for the illuminated or exit face to have an identical or at least similar appearance in the different lighting modes.
The aim of the invention is to mitigate at least one of the drawbacks of the abovementioned prior art. More particularly, the invention aims to propose an automotive lighting module that operates in at least two lighting modes, preferably a lighting mode with cut-off and a lighting mode without cut-off, while having an essentially constant illuminated appearance. Even more particularly, the invention aims to propose an automotive lighting module having a vertically elongate shape.
The invention relates to a lighting module for an automotive vehicle, comprising a plurality of lighting sub-modules each comprising at least one light source; a flat optical guide with an entry face facing the at least one light source, an exit face and, at the rear of the exit face, a reflection face capable of reflecting light from the entry face toward the exit face; remarkable in that the plurality of lighting sub-modules comprises first lighting sub-modules configured to each produce a lighting sub-beam with horizontal upper cut-off and second lighting sub-modules configured to each produce a lighting sub-beam without horizontal upper cut-off; and the first and second lighting sub-modules are juxtaposed in such a way as to form, along the juxtaposition, several alternations between the first and second lighting sub-modules.
The term “juxtaposition” means that the lighting sub-modules are arranged side by side with or without clearance.
The term “flat optical guide” means an optical guide with two main guide faces that are opposite and generally parallel, these two faces being generally extensive without necessarily being perfectly flat. These two faces are separated by a perimeter defining a thickness of the flat optical guide, and the thickness may moreover be variable. The entry face, the reflection face and possibly the exit face are located on this perimeter.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules extend in a horizontal or vertical main direction, when the lighting module is in the mounting position and seen from the front.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the exit faces of the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules are adjacent and form an overall exit face of the lighting module having a height H and a width l, said height H being greater than or equal to 5 times said width l. The adjacent exit faces may be in direct contact or exhibit a clearance, from one to the next.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the exit faces of the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules each have a width of less than or equal to 5 mm.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the several alternations between the first and second lighting sub-modules are in a number corresponding to the number of first lighting sub-modules or to the number of second lighting sub-modules.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules form sheets extending in a vertical main direction, when the lighting module is in the mounting position and seen from the front, and are offset longitudinally relative to one another such that the exit faces of said flat optical guides have an inclined and/or curved horizontal profile.
Advantageously, for at least one, preferably each, of the first and/or second lighting sub-modules, the flat optical guide forming a sheet extending vertically is a first flat optical guide and the at least one light source is at least one first light source, said lighting sub-module comprising a second flat optical guide forming a sheet extending vertically, vertically opposite the first flat optical guide, and at least one second light source illuminating an entry face of said second flat optical guide. The second flat optical guide comprises an exit face aligned with the exit face of the first flat optical guide and a reflection face capable of reflecting light from said entry face toward said exit face of said second flat optical guide. The at least one first and second light sources are advantageously arranged on opposite faces of a common plate.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the exit face of each of the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules has a vertical profile that is stepped and inclined, from top to bottom, rearward.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, for each of the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules, the entry face is transverse to the exit face and the reflection face has a curved vertical profile capable of reflecting the light from the entry face toward the exit face along an optical axis of the corresponding lighting sub-module.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, each of the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules comprises a connection portion with two divergent lateral faces, connecting the sheet to the exit face, said exit face having a curved transverse profile forming a lens.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the lighting module further comprises additional light sources arranged at the rear of the two divergent faces of the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules, configured to provide a daytime running light.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules extend in a horizontal main direction, when the lighting module is in the mounting position and seen from the front, and are offset longitudinally relative to one another such that the exit faces of said flat optical guides have an inclined or curved vertical profile.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the exit face of each of the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules has a horizontal profile that is stepped and inclined, from an interior side to an exterior side of the vehicle, rearward.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, for each of the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules, the reflection face comprises facets capable of reflecting the light from the entry face toward lenses on the exit face along an optical axis of the corresponding lighting sub-module.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, for each of the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules, the reflection face has a profile such that a distance between the exit face and the reflection face, along the optical axis of the corresponding lighting sub-module, decreases as a distance between said reflection face and the entry face increases.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the lighting module further comprises additional light sources arranged at the rear of the reflection faces of the flat optical guides of the plurality of lighting sub-modules, configured to provide a daytime running light.
The invention may relate to a headlamp for an automotive vehicle, comprising a housing forming a cavity, an outer lens closing off the cavity, on the housing, and a lighting module arranged in the cavity, said lighting module being in accordance with the invention.
The measures of the invention are advantageous in that they make it possible to produce a lighting module that operates in at least two regulatory lighting modes while having a very similar, or even identical, illuminated appearance in the various modes. The lighting module may also be elongate vertically and have inclinations or curves in vertical and horizontal planes, which is advantageous for integration into the bodywork of an automotive vehicle. A third lighting mode, namely daytime running light, may also be easily integrated, while maintaining an illuminated appearance that is very similar, or even identical, to those of the other lighting modes.
In the description below, the directions and senses expressed by terms such as “front”, “rear”, “longitudinal”, “top”, “bottom”, “interior” and “exterior” are to be understood with the lighting module in the normal position of mounting on the automotive vehicle.
The automotive vehicle 2 comprises a front bumper 4, a left-hand front wing 6 and a hood 8 between which a headlamp 10 is arranged. This is a left-hand headlamp, it being understood that the right-hand headlamp, also according to the invention, is symmetrical to the left-hand headlamp 10 about a vertical median longitudinal plane. The headlamp 10 extends in a vertical main direction. It thus has, at its protective outer lens, a height H and a width l, the height H being greater than or equal to five times the width l. Note also that the protective outer lens of the headlamp 10 may be inclined rearward along its height from bottom to top. Similarly, it may also be inclined rearward along the width from the interior of the vehicle to the exterior of the vehicle. These inclinations may be formed by inclined or curved vertical and horizontal profiles. It will be understood that these inclinations and curved profiles depend on the geometry of the automotive vehicle and are essentially geometric constraints that the present invention makes it possible to integrate. It will thus be understood that these inclinations and curved profiles are not in themselves essential features.
In “low beam” lighting mode, only the first lighting sub-modules 14 are active, that is to say powered on at their light sources. They form first lighting sub-beams with horizontal upper cut-off which, all together, form a first regulatory lighting beam of the type having horizontal upper cut-off or of “low beam” type. Owing to the alternating arrangement of the first and second lighting sub-modules 14 and 16, the overall exit face of the lighting module 12 has an illuminated appearance, at least at a minimum viewing distance, of one meter for example, which is generally homogeneous.
In “high beam” lighting mode, the second lighting sub-modules 16 are active, that is to say powered on at their light sources, advantageously in addition to the first lighting sub-modules 14. In this case, the overall exit face of the lighting module 12 is fully illuminated, thus providing an illuminated appearance close or even identical to that of “low beam” lighting mode. However, note that it may also be envisaged, in “high beam” lighting mode, for only the second lighting sub-modules 16 to be active, in which case the illuminated appearance of the overall exit face of the lighting module 12 is almost identical to that of “high beam” lighting mode.
The similarity in illuminated appearance which has just been explained above is the result of the alternating juxtaposition of the first and second lighting sub-modules 14 and 16, combined with the thinness or reduced width of the first and second lighting sub-modules 14 and 16. Depending on the widths of the first and second lighting sub-modules 14 and 16, their number and the minimum viewing distance, the alternation may deviate from a strict alternation like that shown in
The lighting module 12 may comprise a third lighting sub-module 17, producing a lighting sub-beam with a kinked horizontal upper cut-off, in addition to the first lighting sub-modules 14 producing the lighting sub-beams with a straight horizontal upper cut-off. This lighting sub-beam with a kinked horizontal upper cut-off may be of small horizontal extent in comparison to the combination of lighting sub-beams with a straight horizontal upper cut-off. This third lighting sub-module 17 may be produced in various ways, in themselves well known to those skilled in the art.
Still in
Note that the principle of construction and operation of the first and second lighting sub-modules described above in relation to
Additional light sources 22 may be arranged facing at least one of the two lateral faces 18.5.1 and 18.5.2 of the connection portion 18.5. These additional light sources are in this case optical guides of circular section, supplied with light at one end and configured to distribute the light along said optical guide, this light exiting transversely toward the lateral face(s) 18.5.1 and 18.5.2. It will be understood that other optical systems, in particular well known per se, are possible. These additional light sources 22 make it possible to operate in a third lighting mode, namely daytime lighting or “DRL” (“Daytime Running Light”) mode. The figure shows four paths of rays, drawn in broken lines, coming from the additional light sources 22. These rays are relatively well spread out horizontally in the connection portion 18.5 and are well spread out upon their exit from the exit face 18.2, which is particularly suitable for this lighting mode.
Still in
It may be advantageous to space the lighting sub-modules 14 and 16 apart transversely to limit the mutual occultations described above and/or to make the exit faces 18.2 and the connection portions 18.5 asymmetrical with respect to the sheet of the optical guide so as to direct the light more toward the non-occulted side.
It will be understood that what has just been described in relation to one of the second lighting sub-modules 16 also applies to the first lighting sub-modules 14 as long as they are adjacent to second lighting sub-modules 16 offset longitudinally, in a manner similar to
Reference is moreover made to the description of these elements given in the context of the first embodiment. Specific numbers between 100 and 200 are used to designate specific elements.
With reference to
As in the first embodiment, additional light sources 122 may be arranged at the rear of the flat optical guides 118, in this case facing the reflection face 118.3, so as to be able to ensure a third lighting mode, namely a daytime running light.
The first and second lighting sub-modules 114 and 116 may be offset rearwardly, from bottom to top, in such a way as to present an overall exit face with an inclined, or even curved, profile in a vertical plane in order to conform to the bodywork of the automotive vehicle.
As can be seen in
The horizontal upper cut-off of the sub-beams of the first lighting sub-modules 114 may have a kink, by adapting the reflection facets 118.3.1 and the corresponding projection lenses 118.2.1. The presence of a third projection sub-module ensuring a cut-off with a kink, like the third lighting sub-module 17 (
Note that the principle of construction and operation of the first and second lighting sub-modules described above in relation to
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2107118 | Jun 2021 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2022/067809 | 6/28/2022 | WO |