Light-guiding lighting decorative device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a light-guiding decorative lighting device, comprising a housing, a light source, and a light-guiding channel; the housing has an inner cavity and a light outlet, and the light source and the light-guiding channel are respectively disposed in the inner cavity. The light-guiding channel is formed by the gap between a light-guiding cover plate and a light-guiding base plate, and the light-guiding medium of the light-guiding channel is air; the light-guiding channel has a light inlet and a light outlet, and the light inlet and the light outlet are respectively close to the light source and the light outlet; light emitted by the light source enters the light-guiding channel through the light inlet, and is reflected by the inner surface of the light-guiding cover plate and the inner surface of the light-guiding base plate before being transmitted to the light outlet. The present invention has low manufacturing cost, high light utilization efficiency, and can fully mix the multi-color light emitted by the light source.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to lighting decoration technology. Background Art

[0002] Common components used for vehicle interior lighting and decoration (such as ambient lights) usually include a light source for emitting light and a strip-shaped light guide element. Figure 1 As shown, the existing lighting decoration device as an example includes a shell 1, a light source 2 and a light guide element 3. The shell 1 has an inner cavity 11 and a light outlet 12. The light source 2 and the light guide element 3 are respectively arranged in the inner cavity 11. The light guide element 3 has a light entrance surface 3a for receiving the light incident from the light source 2 and a light exit surface 3b for emitting the incident light toward the light outlet 12. The shell 1 is composed of a first shell part 1a and a second shell part 1b. The first shell part 1a and the second shell part 1b are connected to each other and together form the inner cavity 11. The light source 2 includes one or more light-emitting units 21, and the light-emitting units 21 are arranged on a circuit board 22. The light-emitting units 21 are generally LEDs. The light guide element 3 is composed of a transparent light guide part 31a and a diffuse light guide part 32a. The light entrance surface 3a is arranged on the transparent light guide part 31a, and the light exit surface 3b is arranged on the diffuse light guide part 32a.

[0003] The light guide element 3 is primarily used to achieve uniform light output or multi-color mixing. It is typically made of a polymer material, which has a limited range of available materials and is expensive. Furthermore, polymers place extremely high demands on the molds used (for example, requiring a high surface polish) to minimize light loss. Even so, light loss during the transmission process, especially in the diffuse light guide, remains significant, resulting in low light efficiency and effective light utilization of only approximately 10%.

[0004] In order to overcome the above defects, the new technical solution adopts a bowl-shaped concentrator 4 to replace the existing light guide element 3, such as Figure 2 As shown. The bowl-shaped concentrator 4 is made of non-transparent material with a reflective metal layer on the surface, or directly made of a white material with high reflectivity. The bowl-shaped concentrator 4 uses air as the light-guiding medium. The opening of this structure is large and the shape of the reflective bowl follows the parabola principle. When the required luminous area is long, along the length direction of the bowl-shaped concentrator 4 (perpendicular to Figure 2Several reflective bowls are provided (in the direction of the paper). However, because each reflective bowl of the bowl-shaped concentrator 4 emits essentially parallel light, darker areas exist between the illuminated areas of each reflective bowl along the length direction, resulting in a certain degree of non-uniformity along the length direction, which is disadvantageous in some cases. Secondly, because the bowl-shaped concentrator 4 needs to be formed in one piece, to ensure the feasibility of mold processing and facilitate demolding, the height of the light outlet of the bowl-shaped concentrator 4 cannot be designed to be too small (generally at least three times the height of the light outlet 12). This results in a large amount of light wasted at the opening and low light utilization. In addition, the bowl-shaped concentrator 4 mainly uses the parabolic reflection area to reflect the light emitted by the light source. If the height of the light outlet of the reflection bowl of the bowl-shaped concentrator 4 is reduced, the parabolic reflection area will become smaller, and the amount of light reflected from the parabolic reflection area to the light outlet will become less. The planar reflection area connected to the parabolic reflection area may face the light source, causing a large amount of light to be reflected to the entrance of the bowl-shaped concentrator 4. Therefore, the brightness at the light outlet of the bowl-shaped concentrator 4 is not effectively improved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a lighting decoration device with low manufacturing cost, small light loss, high light utilization efficiency, and the ability to fully mix multi-color light emitted by a light source.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a light-guiding lighting decorative device includes a shell, a light source and a light-guiding channel; the shell has an inner cavity and a light outlet, and the light source and the light-guiding channel are respectively arranged in the inner cavity. Its characteristic is that the light-guiding lighting decorative device includes a non-transparent light-guiding cover plate and a non-transparent light-guiding bottom plate, the light-guiding channel is composed of the gap between the light-guiding cover plate and the light-guiding bottom plate, and the light-guiding medium of the light-guiding channel is air; the light-guiding channel has a light inlet and a light outlet, and the light inlet and the light outlet are respectively close to the light source and the light outlet; the light emitted by the light source enters the light-guiding channel through the light inlet, and is reflected by the inner surface of the light-guiding cover plate and the inner surface of the light-guiding bottom plate and propagates to the light outlet.

[0007] In the above-mentioned light-guiding lighting decoration device, the light outlet is directly opposite to the light outlet, and the height of the light outlet is 0.8 to 2 times the height of the light outlet, and the length of the light outlet is 0.8 to 1.2 times the length of the light outlet.

[0008] The above-mentioned light-guiding lighting decoration device, wherein the height of the light outlet is 1 to 1.2 times the height of the light outlet, the length of the light outlet is 1 to 1.1 times the length of the light outlet, and the light outlet completely surrounds the projection of the light outlet on the light outlet.

[0009] The present invention has at least the following advantages:

[0010] 1. The light-guiding channel of the embodiment of the present invention utilizes low-cost air as the light-guiding medium. Compared with existing polymer light-guiding components, this reduces the requirements for mold precision, lowers manufacturing costs, and also lowers the requirements for assembly tolerances, simplifying the manufacturing and assembly process. Furthermore, it avoids light waste caused by optical refraction in the polymer medium, reducing light loss.

[0011] 2. The light-guiding channel of the embodiment of the present invention is not confined to the front of the reflective bowl, so the light uniformity along the length direction is higher. In addition, the multi-color light emitted by the multi-color LED (such as RGB LED) can be fully and evenly mixed in it, achieving uniform light of any color, thereby achieving a good display effect.

[0012] 3. The shape design of the light guide channel is flexible and can be freely selected and matched according to the needs of optical effects. At the same time, the size of the light inlet and light outlet of the light guide channel can be changed, and the optical path distance from the light inlet to the light outlet can also be flexibly designed according to the needs of optical effects, thereby adapting to different needs;

[0013] 4. The light guide cover plate and the light guide base plate of the light guide channel are processed and formed separately, with low requirements for mold processing and simple demoulding; the size of the light guide channel formed by the light guide cover plate and the light guide base plate can be adjusted arbitrarily, so that the height of the light outlet of the light guide channel can be controlled to be 0.8-2 times the height of the light outlet and the length can be controlled to be within the range of 0.8-1.2 times the length of the light outlet. There is less light waste at the light outlet, and the light emitted by the light source is basically completely concentrated in the light guide channel and guided to the light outlet without other outlets, which greatly improves the utilization rate of LED light, and the light output from the light outlet has a strong light intensity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0015] Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of an existing lighting decoration device is shown.

[0016] Figure 2 A schematic cross-sectional view of another existing lighting decoration device is shown.

[0017] Figure 3 A schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a light-guiding type lighting decoration device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0018] Figure 4A schematic structural diagram of a light guide cover plate and a light guide base plate according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0019] Figure 5 FIG2 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a light guide cover plate and a light guide bottom plate according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0021] Figure 3 FIG2 shows a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a light-guiding type lighting decoration device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 FIG2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a light guide cover plate and a light guide bottom plate according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 and Figure 4 The light-guiding decorative lighting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 1 , a light source 2 , a non-transparent light-guiding cover plate 51 , and a non-transparent light-guiding bottom plate 52 .

[0022] The housing 1 has an inner cavity 11 and a light outlet 12. In this embodiment, the housing 1 is composed of a first housing portion 1a and a second housing portion 1b. The first housing portion 1a and the second housing portion 1b are connected to each other and together enclose the inner cavity 11. The first housing portion 1a and the second housing portion 1b can be connected by snap-fit ​​connection, heat riveting, or by independent connecting elements (such as screws). The first housing portion 1a and the second housing portion 1b can be made of the same plastic or different plastics.

[0023] The gap between the light-guiding cover plate 51 and the light-guiding base plate 52 forms a light-guiding channel 6. The light-guiding cover plate 51 and the light-guiding base plate 52 are separately machined and then assembled to form the light-guiding channel 6. The light source 2 and the light-guiding channel 6 are both disposed within the inner cavity 11. The light-guiding medium of the light-guiding channel 6 is air. The light-guiding channel 6 has a light inlet 61 and a light outlet 62, which are located adjacent to the light source 2 and the light outlet 12, respectively.

[0024] Light emitted by light source 2 enters light guide channel 6 through light inlet 61, and after being reflected by inner surface 51a of the light guide cover plate and inner surface 52a of the light guide base plate, it propagates to light outlet 12. Light entering light guide channel 6 is reflected at least once by inner surface 51a of the light guide cover plate and once by inner surface 52a of the light guide base plate (i.e., it is reflected at least twice within light guide channel 6) before reaching light outlet 12. This facilitates the thorough and uniform mixing of multi-color light within the channel, and allows the light to further diffuse along the length and height of the light guide channel, thereby achieving higher brightness uniformity along the length and height of the light outlet. Figure 3 The dotted lines and arrows in the figure schematically show the direction of light propagation.

[0025] As needed, the inner wall of the light-guiding channel 6 (i.e., the inner surface 51a of the light-guiding cover plate and the inner surface 52a of the light-guiding bottom plate) can be a smooth surface or provided with an optical pattern. The inner wall of the light-guiding channel 6 can also be provided with a reflective layer, which is, for example, a reflective metal layer sprayed or electroplated, such as aluminum, chromium or other metal layers, thereby improving the utilization rate and brightness of light.

[0026] Optionally, the inner surface 51a of the light guide cover plate and the inner surface 52a of the light guide base plate located within the light guide channel 6 extend in the same direction. For example, if the inner surface of the light guide cover plate extends in a straight line, the inner surface 52a of the light guide base plate also extends in a straight line. If the inner surface 51a of the light guide cover plate is curved, the inner surface 52a of the light guide base plate also curves accordingly. The two surfaces can be parallel or have slightly different extension angles or curvatures. This ensures that the optical path length of most light is substantially the same, thereby improving the brightness uniformity at the light exit.

[0027] In this embodiment, the shape of the light guide channel 6 is an arc-shaped bending shape. The arc-shaped bending light guide channel 6 includes an arc segment 6a and a straight segment 6b, one end of the arc segment 6a is connected to one end of the straight segment 6b; the light incident port 61 is located at the other end of the arc segment 6a, and the light exit port 62 is located at the other end of the straight segment 6b. The shape of the arc segment 6a can be an arc, a parabola, etc. In other embodiments, the shape of the light guide channel 6 is wavy. By setting the light guide channel 6 to a non-linear shape, the multi-color light mixing and uniformity effects can be improved, and the light can be prevented from reaching the light outlet 12 directly without reflection. The bending angle of the bent light guide channel 6, as well as the width and height of the light guide channel can be flexibly adjusted according to optical needs. If the shape of the light guide channel 6 is set to be a straight line, the light guide channel 6 directly transmits the incident light from the light source 2 to the light outlet 12. Although the number of light-emitting units 21 can be adjusted or optical patterns or leather patterns can be added to the inner and outer sides of the light outlet 7, the uniformity of the light and the effect of multi-color mixing will still be poor.

[0028] Optionally, the light outlet 62 is directly opposite the light outlet 12, and the height h1 of the light outlet 62 is 0.8-2 times the height of the light outlet 12, and the length is 0.8-1.2 times the length of the light outlet 12. In this case, the requirements of uniformity and multi-color light mixing can be met and the light utilization rate can be improved compared with the existing technology. Preferably, the height h1 of the light outlet 62 is 1 to 1.2 times the height of the light outlet 12, and the length L1 of the light outlet 62 is 1 to 1.1 times the length of the light outlet 12. Figure 5As shown, the dotted line in the figure shows the projection 12a of the light outlet 12 on the light outlet 62. The light outlet 62 completely surrounds the projection of the light outlet 12 on the light outlet 62. Because the light outlet 62 is larger than the light outlet 12, the assembly tolerance requirements are reduced, simplifying the manufacturing and assembly process. In addition, the side of the light guide channel 6 does not need to be sealed, that is, the light guide cover plate 51 and the light guide base plate 52 do not need to be connected to each other on the side, which can further reduce the difficulty and cost of manufacturing.

[0029] In other embodiments, the light guide cover plate 51 and the light guide base plate 52 may be connected to each other. For example, one side of the light guide cover plate 51 is connected to one side of the light guide base plate 52 via a first side plate (not shown in the figure), and the other side of the light guide cover plate 51 is connected to the other side of the light guide base plate 52 via a second side plate (not shown in the figure), thereby sealing both sides of the light guide channel 6.

[0030] In this embodiment, the light source, the light guide cover plate 51 and the light guide base plate 52 are fixedly connected to the first housing portion 1a and / or the second housing portion 1b, respectively. The fixed connection methods include but are not limited to snap connections or mutual connection through independent connecting elements (such as screws). In order to avoid changes in the lighting effect caused by the movement or installation position deviation of the light source 2 relative to the light guide cover plate 51 and the light guide base plate 52, the light guide lighting decoration device is further provided with a positioning structure, which is used to fix the relative position relationship of the light source 2, the light guide cover plate 51 and the light guide base plate 52. Preferably, the light source, the light guide cover plate 51 and the light guide base plate 52 are all fixedly connected to the same one in the first housing portion 1a or the second housing portion 1b (for example, they are all fixedly connected to the second housing portion 1b), and the light source 2 is directly positioned and fixed to the light guide cover plate 51 and the light guide base plate 52 through the positioning element or positioning structure. If the light source 2, the light guide cover plate 51 and the light guide bottom plate 52 are connected to the shell respectively, due to assembly tolerances, the positional relationship between the light source 2 and the light guide channel 6 will be different in different products, thereby causing differences in lighting effects between different products.

[0031] In other embodiments, the light guide cover plate 51 and / or the light guide bottom plate 52 are formed integrally with the housing 1 .

[0032] In this embodiment, the light-guiding lighting decorative device further includes a light-emitting portion 7, which is disposed between the light outlet 62 of the light-guiding channel and the light outlet 12, and is connected to the second housing portion 1b via a component, such as glue, a mounting structure, or the like. The light-emitting portion 7 has a light-incident surface 7a for receiving light incident from the light outlet 62, and a light-exiting surface 7b for emitting the incident light, with the light-exiting surface 7b facing the light outlet 12. The light-emitting portion 7 can mix the incident light more evenly, or display a specific pattern, thereby achieving a better optical effect. The light-emitting portion 7 is not required and can be selected based on the lighting effect.

[0033] In other embodiments, the second shell portion 1b and the light emitting portion 7 are integrally formed. As a specific embodiment, the second shell portion 1b and the light emitting portion 7 are integrally formed by injection molding. The first shell portion 1a and the second shell portion 1b are both made of non-transparent plastic; the outer surfaces of the first shell portion 1a and the second shell portion 1b can be sprayed with liquid solvents of different colors as required to meet the requirements of interior color, gloss, etc. The liquid solvent is a transparent solvent or a non-transparent colored solvent, and multiple layers of liquid solvent can be sprayed. The light emitting portion 7 is made of colorless transparent plastic and has scattering particles, pores, leather grains, optical patterns, etc. The light emitting portion 7 can also be made of translucent plastic, such as diffuse plastic. By integrally forming the light emitting portion with the shell, installation is simplified, tolerance accumulation is reduced, and a better optical effect is achieved.

[0034] In other embodiments, the first housing portion 1a and the light exit portion 7 are connected to each other or formed integrally. Alternatively, the light exit portion 7 is connected to the light guide cover plate 51 or the light guide bottom plate 52, and then fixedly connected to the first housing portion 1a or the second housing portion 1b in a subassembly form.

[0035] In this embodiment, the light source 2 includes a plurality of light-emitting units 21, which are disposed on a circuit board 22. The circuit board 22 can be rigid or flexible. The term "several" refers to one or more. In this embodiment, the light-emitting units 21 are LEDs, and the LEDs are arranged in a row and physically and electrically connected. The LEDs can emit monochromatic or multi-color light. When the LEDs emit different colors, they can produce mixed light, such as mixed white light.

[0036] Furthermore, each light-emitting unit 21 partially extends into the light incident port 61 of the light guiding channel 6 .

[0037] The light-guiding decorative lighting device of this embodiment can be disposed between the windshield and the instrument panel of a car.

[0038] The light-guiding channel of the embodiment of the present invention utilizes low-cost air as the light-guiding medium. Compared with the existing high-molecular polymer light-guiding elements, it reduces the requirements for mold precision and reduces the manufacturing cost. At the same time, it has lower requirements for assembly tolerances, simplifies the manufacturing and assembly process, and also avoids the waste of light caused by optical refraction of the high-molecular polymer medium, reduces light loss, and can use fewer light-emitting units to achieve the same brightness, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

[0039] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, the present invention is intended to include such changes and modifications.

Claims

1. A light-guiding decorative lighting device, comprising a housing, a light source, and a light-guiding channel; the housing has an inner cavity and a light outlet, the light source and the light-guiding channel are respectively arranged in the inner cavity, characterized in that: The light-guiding lighting decoration device includes a non-transparent light-guiding cover plate and a non-transparent light-guiding bottom plate, the light-guiding channel is formed by the gap between the light-guiding cover plate and the light-guiding bottom plate, and the light-guiding medium of the light-guiding channel is air; The light guide channel has a light inlet and a light outlet, wherein the light inlet and the light outlet are respectively close to the light source and the light outlet; The light emitted by the light source enters the light guide channel through the light incident port, and is reflected by the inner surface of the light guide cover plate and the inner surface of the light guide bottom plate before being transmitted to the light outlet port. The light entering the light guide channel is reflected by at least one inner surface of the light guide cover plate and one inner surface of the light guide bottom plate before being transmitted to the light outlet port. The shape of the light guide channel is non-linear, and the inner surface of the light guide cover plate and the inner surface of the light guide bottom plate located in the light guide channel extend in the same direction.

2. The light-guiding lighting decoration device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The light exit port is opposite to the light outlet port, and the height of the light exit port is 0.8 to 2 times the height of the light outlet port, and the length of the light exit port is 0.8 to 1.2 times the length of the light outlet port.

3. The light-guiding lighting decoration device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The height of the light exit port is 1 to 1.2 times the height of the light exit port, the length of the light exit port is 1 to 1.1 times the length of the light exit port, and the light exit port completely surrounds the projection of the light exit port on the light exit port.

4. The light-guiding lighting decoration device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shape of the light guide channel is an arc-shaped or wavy shape; The arc-shaped bent light guiding channel includes an arc segment and a straight segment, one end of the arc segment is connected to one end of the straight segment; the light incident port is located at the other end of the arc segment, and the light exit port is located at the other end of the straight segment.

5. The light-guiding lighting decoration device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner wall of the light-guiding channel is a smooth surface, or is provided with an optical pattern, or is provided with a reflective layer.

6. The light-guiding lighting decoration device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The light-guiding lighting decoration device includes a positioning structure, and the positioning structure is used to fix the relative position relationship between the light source, the light-guiding cover plate and the light-guiding bottom plate.

7. The light-guiding lighting decoration device according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that: The light guide cover plate and / or the light guide bottom plate are fixedly connected to the housing or are formed integrally with the housing.

8. The light-guiding lighting decoration device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The light-guiding decorative lighting device includes a light-emitting portion, which is arranged between the light-emitting port of the light-guiding channel and the light-emitting port, and is connected to the housing, the light-guiding cover plate or the light-guiding bottom plate, or is formed integrally with the housing; The light exit portion includes a light incident surface for receiving light incident from the light exit port and a light exit surface for emitting the incident light, wherein the light exit surface faces the light exit port.

9. The light-guiding lighting decoration device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The shell is made of non-transparent plastic; the light-emitting portion is made of colorless transparent material or diffuse material.

10. The light-guiding lighting decoration device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell is composed of a first shell part and a second shell part. The first shell part and the second shell part are connected to each other and together form the inner cavity.

11. The light-guiding lighting decoration device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The light source includes a plurality of light-emitting units; each of the light-emitting units partially extends into the light incident port of the light-guiding channel.

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