Light emitting system with homogenous and diffusive light; vehicle therewith and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

A light emitting system 1 for an automotive application comprises at least one light source, at least one mask 5, at least one lens 3, and at least one adhesive 7 for diffusing light in order to provide substantially homogeneous lighting. The lens and mask may form a lens-mask system with translucent and non-translucent parts. The system may be formed by moulding as one piece or by using a translucent adhesive. The lens may comprise a coloured element for light colour shift correction.

Claims

1. A light emitting system (1) for an automotive application, comprising:at least one light source;at least one mask (5); andat least one lens (3);characterized byat least one adhesive (7) for diffusing light in order to provide a substantially homogeneous lighting.

2. The light emitting system (1) of claim 1, whereinthe light source is adapted to emit light into at least one light pipe, preferably comprised by the light emitting system (1) and disposed at least partially within an interior of the light emitting system (1).

3. The light emitting system (1) of claim 1 or 2, whereinthe lens (3) has at least one inner surface (2) substantially directed towards the light pipe and at least one outer surface (4) substantially disposed opposite the inner surface (2), wherein preferably the outer surface (4) emits light directly or indirectly off the light emitting system (1).

4. The light emitting system (1) of one of the preceding claims , whereinthe lens (3) and the mask (5) form a lens-mask system, wherein preferably• parts of the lens-mask system are translucent and parts of the lens-mask system are non-translucent, and / or• the lens-mark system is formed as one piece by 2K molding.

5. The light emitting system (1) of one of the preceding claims 1 to 3, whereinthe lens (3), the mask (5) and the adhesive (7) form a lens-mask-adhesive system in form of a three-layer system,wherein preferably the inner surface (2) of the lens (3) is substantially covered by the mask (5) and the adhesive (7), and / orthe lens (3), the mask (5) and the adhesive (7) form a lens-mask-adhesive system, in which the mask (5), the adhesive (7) and the lens (3) are permanently fixed together and not interchangeable, and / or the lens-mask-adhesive system is formed as one piece by 3K molding.

6. The light emitting system (1) of any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the adhesive (7) diffuses light of the light pipe;light of the light pipe passes through the adhesive (7) and subsequently through the lens (3); and / orthe lens (3) substantially encloses the light pipe and the light source.

7. The light emitting system (1) of any one of the preceding claims, whereinthe mask (5) is opaque; and / orthe lens (3) has at least one of a continuous transparent or translucent coating on its outer surface (4),wherein preferably the continuous transparent or translucent coating is at least partially permeable to at least some light, which is emitted by the light source and passed through the lens (3).

8. The light emitting system (1) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the adhesive (7) comprises insoluble particles substantially providing the light diffusing effect of the adhesive (7),wherein preferably the insoluble particles comprise PMSQ beads, PMMA beads and / or glass beads.

9. The light emitting system (1) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the adhesive (7) is applied to the lens (3) with a gradient thickness, and / or the adhesive (7) is formed in at least one droplet-like or substantially angular or substantially round or substantially triangular-like shape, and / orthe adhesive (7) is substantially pinstripe shaped or bulge shaped or bead shaped along at least partly the length of the lens (3).

10. The light emitting system (1) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein• the adhesive (7) is a single-part or multi-part adhesive, wherein preferably the adhesive (7) is a single part adhesive and cures through the use of UV light, heat, anaerobic environment, moisture and / or through contact with oxygen; and / or• the adhesive (7) is a pressure-sensitive adhesive, a temperature sensitive, an anaerobic adhesive and / or a combination thereof; and / or• the adhesive (7) comprises fillers such as ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate and / or multifunctional monomers; and / or• the adhesive (7) comprises acrylic, polyester, silicone, styrene copolymer and / or vinyl, preferably methacrylate and more preferably thixotropic methacrylate.

11. The light emitting system (1) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the adhesive (7) affects a color shift of the transmitted light,wherein preferably the color shift is corrected through pigmentating the lens (3) and / or selecting a colored lens (3) and / or tuning and / or calibrating the light source for the shifted color.

12. The light emitting system (1) of any one of the preceding claims, whereinthe light source comprises at least one LED,wherein preferably the color shift is corrected through LED bin selection.

13. The light emitting system (1) of claim 12, wherein,in the case of substantially white light, LED binning is chosen up to several color bins cooler or warmer than the desired emitted light color.

14. The light emitting system (1) of any one of the claims 2 to 12, whereinthe light source is arranged adjacent to and directed towards the at least one light pipe.

15. A vehicle, comprising at least one light emitting system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.

16. A method for manufacturing the light emitting system (1) of any one of claims 1 to 14, comprising the steps of• providing at least one adhesive (7),preferably by mixing light diffusive particles such as PMSQ and methacrylate, more preferably thixotropic modified methacrylate, using at least one mixer, preferably in form of centrifugal planetary mixer, in particular to remove and prevent the addition of air bubbles;• providing the mask (5) and the lens (3), preferably by 2K-molding;• dispensing the adhesive (7) to the mask (5) and lens (3) using a robot with an attached dispensing gun, wherein the adhesive (7) is fed directly into the dispensing gun at a high pressure,preferably between 2 to 10 bar, or between 4 to 6 bar, or between 2 to 3 bar, and / orpreferably the pressure depending on the pressure supply, the chemical composition of the adhesive, and / or the temperature of the adhesive; and• adjusting the robot speed and dispensing rate in order to control the thickness of the adhesive (7)with preferably the thickness of the adhesive being between 1 mm to 2 mm and / or preferably the robot speed being between 38 mm / s to 85 mm / s and / or preferably a dispensing gun feed voltage being between 4 V to 10 V.

17. The method of claim 16, whereinfeeding the dispensing gun is provided by a recirculating feed system, in particular to sustain the light diffusive particles within the adhesive, and / orthe robot speed and dispensing rate are changed at different points along the length of the lens (3),wherein preferably the thickness of the adhesive may be adjusted by changing the robot speed and / or the gun feed voltage.

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, comprising the step ofproviding the lens (3), mask (5) and adhesive (7) by 3K-molding.

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