Light guide elements and their lighting and decorative devices

Abstract

The present invention discloses a light guide element and a lighting decoration device thereof. The surface of the light guide element includes a light incident surface, a light emitting surface and an arc-shaped reflective surface, wherein the light incident surface and the light emitting surface are respectively adjacent to the two ends of the arc-shaped reflective surface; the light guide element also has a light-isolating reflective structure, which can prevent the light incident on the light incident surface from directly incident on the light emitting surface, and can reflect the light incident on the light-isolating reflective structure from inside the light guide element; the light incident on the light incident surface can reach the light emitting surface only after being reflected at least once by the arc-shaped reflective surface. The lighting decoration device of the present invention can ensure good brightness and color uniformity at all locations along the length direction of the light emitting surface, and requires a small structural space, which is easy to process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a lighting and decorative device, in particular to a device used for interior lighting and decoration of a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Vehicle lighting decoration devices, such as atmosphere lights, interior lights, etc., can be used for combined contour lighting and ambient lighting inside motor vehicles. Figure 1 The structural diagram of the existing lighting decoration device is shown as an example. Figure 1 As shown, it includes a light source 91 for emitting light, a strip-shaped light-guiding element 92 and a covering element (not shown in the figure), the light-guiding element 92 has a first plane and a second plane, wherein the first plane is a light incident surface and the second plane is a light emitting surface.

[0003] In the prior art, in order to meet the requirements of uniformity and multi-color mixed light, a light guide element 92 with a circular or square cross section is usually selected, and a light source 91 is arranged at one end of the light guide element. The light emitted by the light source 91 is reflected to the light emitting surface through the microstructure at the bottom of the light guide element 92. The microstructure can be tooth-shaped or dot-shaped. In order to achieve better effects, light sources 91 are also arranged at both ends of the light guide element 92.

[0004] In existing vehicle lighting decoration devices, the light sources at both ends usually use RGB light-emitting diodes (LEDs). With the help of communication and software applications, simple animations such as breathing, gradient, multi-color scrolling, etc. can be presented. However, they cannot meet customers' demand for smart atmosphere because the existing vehicle lighting decoration devices have single functions and few options.

[0005] In the prior art, there are also methods that use the reflection of the reflective cavity as a light-guiding element for interior lighting. In many application scenarios, an external display panel needs to be set on the outside to separate the inside of the interior light from the outside. However, this method has the disadvantages of many parts, complicated processing procedures, and high costs. The specific principles are as follows: If the external display panel is formed as one piece with the vehicle interior components, since the color of the external display panel area (usually colorless or light-colored) is usually inconsistent with the color of the rest of the vehicle interior, there are problems such as the complexity of the process (i.e., masking or post-processing is required) and the increase in cost caused by the interior painting process; if the external display panel and the vehicle interior components are formed separately, the number of parts increases, and an additional mounting structure needs to be set to fix the two, which also means the complexity of the structure, the increase in production procedures and the increase in cost. Summary of the invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a light guide element and a lighting decoration device thereof, which can ensure good brightness and color uniformity at all locations along the length direction of the light emitting surface, require a small structural space, and are easy to process.

[0007] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a light-guiding element, the surface of which includes a light incident surface and a light emitting surface; the light-guiding element is characterized in that the light-guiding element has a light-isolating reflective structure, which can prevent the light incident on the light incident surface from being directly incident on the light emitting surface, and can reflect the light incident on the light-isolating reflective structure from inside the light-guiding element; the surface of the light-guiding element also includes an arc-shaped reflective surface, and the light incident surface and the light emitting surface are respectively adjacent to the two ends of the arc-shaped reflective surface; the light incident on the light incident surface can reach the light emitting surface only after being reflected by the arc-shaped reflective surface at least once.

[0008] An embodiment of the present invention provides a lighting decoration device, including a light source and the aforementioned light guide element; the extension direction of the light incident surface of the light guide element is consistent with the axial direction of the light guide element; the light source includes a plurality of light emitting units, the plurality of light emitting units are opposite to the light incident surface, and the plurality of light emitting units are arranged in at least one row along a direction consistent with the axial direction of the light guide element.

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

[0010] 1. The light guide element of the embodiment of the present invention has an arc-shaped reflective surface, and the light incident surface and the light emitting surface are respectively adjacent to the two ends of the arc-shaped reflective surface. A light-isolating reflective structure is provided on the straight path between the light incident surface and the light emitting surface. Through the above structure, within a limited structural space, multiple reflections of light can be achieved inside the light guide element to achieve the purpose of fully mixing the light, meet the requirements of uniformity and RGB multi-color light mixing, and ensure that the light emitted by the light source will not directly reach the light-emitting surface without reflection;

[0011] 2. The light sources of the lighting decoration device of the embodiment of the present invention are arranged along the axial direction of the light guide element, which can realize multiple application scenarios such as multi-functional animation effects of the in-vehicle atmosphere decoration device and human-machine intelligent interaction. At the same time, due to the large number of light-emitting diodes, the luminous intensity and uniformity are good, and it can be used as an intelligent multi-animation lighting or decoration device in the car;

[0012] 3. The light guide element of the embodiment of the present invention is easy to process, and the size of the light guide element can be conveniently and flexibly adjusted according to the length of the optical path. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. 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 creative work.

[0014] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of an existing lighting decoration device is shown.

[0015] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a lighting decoration device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0016] Figure 3 A front schematic view of a lighting decoration device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0017] Figure 4 A side schematic diagram of a lighting decoration device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0018] Figures 5 to 10 Schematic side views of lighting decoration devices according to second to seventh embodiments of the present invention are shown respectively. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0020] See also Figures 2 to 4 The lighting decoration device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a light source 1 and a light guide element 2 .

[0021] The light source 1 includes at least one light emitting unit 11. In the present embodiment, the light source 1 includes a plurality of light emitting units 11, and the light emitting units 11 are LEDs (light emitting diodes). The LEDs 11 are arranged on a circuit board 12, and the circuit board 12 can be a rigid or flexible circuit board. In the case where the light source 1 has a plurality of LEDs 11, these LEDs can emit monochromatic light or multi-color light, and the light source 1 is a color-variable light emitting module. The plurality of LEDs 11 can generate mixed light, such as mixed white light.

[0022] The surface of the light guide element 2 includes a light incident surface 2a, a light emitting surface 2b, and an arc-shaped reflective surface 2c, wherein the light incident surface 2a and the light emitting surface 2b are respectively adjacent to the two ends of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c. In this embodiment, the light incident surface 2a is directly connected to one end of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c, and the light emitting surface 2b is connected to the other end of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c through a transition surface 2d. In order to achieve a better optical effect, leather grains or fine optical patterns can be added to the light incident surface 2a or the light emitting surface 2b.

[0023] Optionally, the curvature of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c is greater than 180°, preferably, the curvature of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c is greater than or equal to 200°. By selecting the above arc surface angle, the light input direction and the light output direction can be staggered, that is, they can be respectively arranged on the left side (or right side) and the upper side (or lower side) of the light guide element, thereby making the structure more compact. And by setting a large area of ​​the arc-shaped reflective surface, sufficient reflection optical path can be provided to fully diffuse and mix the light.

[0024] The light-guiding element 2 is also provided with a light-isolating reflective structure, which can prevent the light incident on the light-incident surface 2a from being directly incident on the light-emitting surface 2b, and can reflect the light incident on the light-isolating reflective structure from the inside of the light-guiding element. In this embodiment, the light-isolating reflective structure is an L-shaped groove 21 that is recessed from the surface of the light-guiding element 2 to the inside of the light-guiding element, and the two sides of the notch of the L-shaped groove 21 are respectively connected to the light-incident surface 2a and the light-emitting surface 2b. The step surface formed by the L-shaped groove 21 can block and reflect the light directly from the light source to the light-emitting surface 2b.

[0025] The light incident on the light incident surface 2a can reach the light emitting surface 2b after being reflected at least once by the arc-shaped reflecting surface 2c. Figure 4 The propagation paths of the four light rays emitted by the light source 1 are shown in FIG. Figure 4 It can be seen that some light reaches the light-emitting surface 2b after being reflected once by the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c and once by the light-isolating reflective structure, while some light reaches the light-emitting surface 2b after being reflected twice by the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c and once by the light-isolating reflective structure. Figure 4 What is not shown is that some light rays incident on the light incident surface 2a reach the light emitting surface 2b only after being reflected by the arc-shaped reflecting surface 2c.

[0026] In this embodiment, the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c is a smooth surface (i.e., a standard arc-shaped surface). The vertical distance between the center of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c and the light incident surface 2a is 0.7-1.2 times the radius of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c, preferably 0.8 to 0.99 times (i.e., less than the radius of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c). In this way, the light incident surface 2a does not need to be set to be far away from the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c and the light emitting surface 2b, which reduces the space required for installation, makes the structure more compact, and does not allow the light of the light source to directly enter the light emitting surface 2b. Optionally, the vertical distance between the center of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c and the light emitting surface 2b is 1-2 times the radius of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c, preferably 1-1.5 times.

[0027] Furthermore, the light incident surface 2a is perpendicular to the light emitting surface 2b. At the light incident surface, the central axis of each light emitting unit 11 and the center of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c are on the same straight line, and the midline of the light emitting surface 2b passes through the center of the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c. The above structure can make the distance between the light incident surface and the light emitting surface close, and can make most of the light emitted from the light source be reflected multiple times before entering the light emitting surface, thereby ensuring fully uniform light mixing in a limited space.

[0028] In this embodiment, multiple light-emitting units 11 are facing the light incident surface, and multiple light-emitting units are arranged in a row along a direction consistent with the axial direction of the light-guiding element, which can realize multiple application scenarios such as multifunctional animation effects of the in-vehicle atmosphere decoration device and human-computer intelligent interaction.

[0029] The light guide element 2 can be a component formed by a polymer or a component formed by an optical glass. The shape of the light guide element 2 is not limited to a straight line, and can also be set to other shapes according to space and effect. The cross section of the light guide element 2 can also adopt a non-single shape, and a combination of multiple shapes can be selected according to needs.

[0030] Optionally, in order to improve brightness, the surface of the light guide element 2 is provided with a reflective layer in other areas (including the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c, etc.) except the light incident surface 2a and the light emitting surface 2b to increase the light reflectivity. The reflective layer can be obtained by surface treatment, such as metal coating, spraying reflective paint, etc.

[0031] In order to increase the light reflectivity and realize the light controllability, the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c may also be a surface with a microstructure. Figure 5 As shown, the arc-shaped reflective surface 2c is composed of a plurality of micro-planes 21c connected in sequence, but its overall trend is still an arc shape. During the design process, the angle of the micro-plane can be adjusted to control the direction of the light in the length and height directions of the light guide element. In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. Figure 6 As shown, the arc-shaped reflecting surface 2c is composed of a plurality of small arc surfaces 22c connected in sequence, which can also achieve the above optical effect.

[0032] In the second and third embodiments, the vertices of the cross-sectional outer contour of the arc-shaped reflective surface with microstructures are located on the same circumference C0. Figure 6 The circumference C0 is shown. Similar to the first embodiment, the vertical distance between the center of the circumference C0 and the light incident surface 2a is 0.7-1.2 times the radius of the circumference C0, preferably 0.8 to 0.99 times. The vertical distance between the center of the circumference C0 and the light emitting surface 2b is 1-2 times the radius of the circumference C0, preferably 1-1.5 times. The light incident surface 2a is perpendicular to the light emitting surface 2b. At the light incident surface, the central axis of each light-emitting unit 11 is on the same straight line as the center of the circumference C0, and the midline of the light emitting surface 2b passes through the center of the circumference C0.

[0033] In the fourth embodiment, if Figure 7 As shown, the light-isolating reflective structure is a light-isolating portion 3 disposed inside the light-guiding element 2. The light-isolating portion 3 is a partition made of metal or other materials and is integrally formed with the light-guiding element 2 through an embedded injection molding process.

[0034] Figure 8 and Fig. 9 The lighting decoration device includes a covering element 4. Figure 8 In the fifth embodiment shown, the light guide element 2 and the cover element 4 are two components independent of each other. Fig. 9In the sixth embodiment shown, the light guide element 2 and the covering element 4 are integrally formed. In order to efficiently utilize light and avoid waste, the optical design can be coordinated with the bracket (not shown in the figure) of the light guide element 2 or the covering element 4. The bonding surface of the bracket or the covering element and the light guide element is subjected to high reflection treatment, such as metallization, spraying reflective paint, or selecting a material with high reflectivity, or making some small optical reflection structures and then subjecting to high reflection treatment. The use of the bracket or the covering element 4 not only strengthens the fixation of the light guide element 2 but also strengthens the use of light.

[0035] In the seventh embodiment, if Fig.10 As shown, two ends of the arc-shaped reflecting surface 2c are directly connected to the light incident surface 2a and the light emitting surface 2b respectively.

[0036] The lighting decoration device of the embodiment of the present invention can be a lighting decoration device on the instrument panel under the windshield of the car, or a lighting decoration device on the door panel and the floor inside the car.

[0037] The light guide element of the embodiment of the present invention is provided with an arc-shaped reflective surface, and the light incident surface and the light emitting surface are respectively provided close to the two ends of the arc-shaped reflective surface, so that the required structural space is very small, and the light from the light source is prevented from directly irradiating the light emitting surface by providing a light-isolating reflective structure. The above structure can ensure that a sufficient optical path is provided to achieve uniform light mixing, making the embodiment of the present invention more suitable for use in certain scenes with strict space requirements, ensuring that the light guide element has no light spots, and realizing multi-color light mixing of RGB light-emitting diodes in the light guide element.

[0038] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A light guide element, wherein the surface of the light guide element comprises a light incident surface and a light emitting surface; characterized in that: The light-guiding element has a light-isolating reflective structure, which can prevent the light incident on the light-entering surface from being directly incident on the light-emitting surface, and can reflect the light incident on the light-isolating reflective structure from inside the light-guiding element; the light-isolating reflective structure is an L-shaped groove recessed from the surface of the light-guiding element to the inside of the light-guiding element, and the two sides of the notch of the L-shaped groove are respectively connected to the light-entering surface and the light-emitting surface; or, the light-isolating reflective structure is a light-isolating portion arranged inside the light-guiding element; The surface of the light guide element further includes an arc-shaped reflective surface, and the light incident surface and the light emitting surface are respectively adjacent to two ends of the arc-shaped reflective surface; The light incident on the light incident surface can reach the light emitting surface only after being reflected by the arc-shaped reflecting surface at least once; The arc of the arc-shaped reflective surface is greater than 200°, the arc-shaped reflective surface is a smooth surface or a surface with a microstructure, and the vertices of the cross-sectional outer contour of the arc-shaped reflective surface with a microstructure are located on the same circumference; When the arc-shaped reflective surface is a smooth surface, the vertical distance between the center of the arc-shaped reflective surface and the light incident surface is 0.8-0.99 times the radius of the arc-shaped reflective surface; when the arc-shaped reflective surface is a surface with a microstructure, the vertical distance between the center of the circumference and the light incident surface is 0.8-0.99 times the radius of the circumference; When the arc-shaped reflective surface is a smooth surface, the vertical distance between the center of the arc-shaped reflective surface and the light-emitting surface is 1-1.5 times the radius of the arc-shaped reflective surface; when the arc-shaped reflective surface is a surface with a microstructure, the vertical distance between the center of the circumference and the light-emitting surface is 1-1.5 times the radius of the circumference; The light guide element is a component formed of a high molecular polymer.

2. The light guide element according to claim 1, characterized in that The light incident surface is perpendicular to the light emitting surface.

3. The light guide element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Two ends of the arc-shaped reflecting surface are directly connected to the light incident surface and the light emitting surface respectively.

4. The light guide element according to claim 1, characterized in that When the arc-shaped reflective surface is a smooth surface, the midline of the light-emitting surface passes through the center of the arc-shaped reflective surface; When the arc-shaped reflective surface is a surface with a microstructure, the midline of the light-emitting surface passes through the center of the circle.

5. The light guide element according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the light guide element is provided with a reflective layer in other areas except the light incident surface and the light emitting surface to increase the light reflectivity.

6. The light guide element according to claim 1, characterized in that An extending direction of the light incident surface is consistent with an axial direction of the light guide element.

7. A lighting decoration device, characterized in that: comprising a light source and a light guide element as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6; The extending direction of the light incident surface of the light guide element is consistent with the axial direction of the light guide element; The light source includes a plurality of light emitting units, the plurality of light emitting units are directly facing the light incident surface, and the plurality of light emitting units are arranged in a row along a direction consistent with the axial direction of the light guide element.

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