A test piece for light color quality of automobile light type atmosphere lamp

Abstract

This invention discloses a test piece for evaluating the color quality of automotive ambient lighting, comprising: a housing, a light mixing component, and a light homogenizing component, the light mixing component and the light homogenizing component being fixed within the housing; the light mixing component includes a light inlet, a light mixing body, and a light outlet, the area of ​​the light inlet being smaller than the area of ​​the light outlet; the light homogenizing component contains an integrating sphere, and an end face opening is formed on the lower end face of the light homogenizing component, the end face opening communicating with the light outlet of the light mixing component; a side opening is formed on the side of the light homogenizing component, the side opening connecting to a fiber optic socket; the fiber optic socket is connected to external optical analysis equipment via optical fiber. The light mixing component can achieve total internal reflection of most incident light rays. The light emitted by the LED beads, after passing through the total internal reflection tetrahedral structure, is homogenized by the small integrating sphere cavity made of high diffuse reflectivity material, thus retaining most of the energy. Due to the small volume of the integrating sphere cavity, array testing can be performed on densely packed PCBA modules, accelerating the testing cycle, improving testing efficiency, and reducing manufacturing costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the technical field of ambient lighting quality management, and particularly relates to a test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lights. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of new energy vehicles, various ambient lights have emerged in their internal and external structures to regulate people's mood and physiological rhythms. Various car manufacturers have become increasingly demanding in terms of achieving different ambient lighting in the car interior, and the requirements for the consistency and precision of the photometry and colorimetry of ambient lighting fixtures are also getting higher and higher.

[0003] After installation, existing automotive interior ambient lighting emits light directly from the light source, which then passes through a light guide structure and a diffuser structure. Directly emitted light forms lines or surfaces; indirectly emitted light illuminates materials such as plastics and leather, creating reflected lines or surfaces. Because the light guide structure and reflective materials are relatively mature, the brightness and color transmission of the light are quite consistent. However, due to cost and manufacturing process limitations, the LEDs in the PCBA modules of ambient lighting often use a mix of LEDs from different batches, commonly known as "mixed batches." This results in inconsistent color and brightness across the left, right, front, and rear of the ambient lighting components after installation. Therefore, component manufacturers' quality control needs for PCBA modules reflect the need for rapid and accurate measurement and calibration.

[0004] The overall development of the automotive industry, following the national energy planning and deployment, has directly promoted the development of new energy vehicles. The quiet nature of electric motors allows people to enjoy the interior environment of the car more. Furthermore, research on color and human physiological rhythms requires precise color and brightness adjustment, which fundamentally places high demands on batch precision testing.

[0005] In existing designs, a 10cm diameter metal integrating sphere is often used as the data acquisition component for detection. While the metal material can indeed achieve color testing in the visible light (380-780nm) range due to its internal cavity material, this method has significant drawbacks. The excessively large cavity results in very low energy acquisition via optical fiber and affects the production testing cycle. Furthermore, the large cavity is not ideal for color mixing with individual LEDs because the opening for direct acquisition by a conventional large integrating sphere is relatively large, leading to poor light uniformity. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a test piece for the color quality of automotive ambient lighting, which can reduce the time for testing a single module using a traditional large integrating sphere to one-twentieth of the original time. When used with an array, it can greatly improve the testing cycle time.

[0007] To solve the above problems, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0008] A test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting includes: a housing, a light mixing component, and a light homogenizing component, wherein the light mixing component and the light homogenizing component are fixedly disposed within the housing;

[0009] The light mixing component includes a light inlet, a light mixing body, and a light outlet, wherein the area of ​​the light inlet is smaller than the area of ​​the light outlet;

[0010] The light homogenizer has an integrating sphere inside, and an end face opening is formed on the lower end face of the light homogenizer, which is connected to the light output port of the light mixing component; a side opening is formed on the side of the light homogenizer, and the side opening is connected to an optical fiber holder; the optical fiber holder is connected to an external optical analysis device through an optical fiber.

[0011] During operation, the light from the light-guiding ambient light being tested enters the light inlet of the light-mixing component through the light inlet of the housing, is mixed by the light-mixing body, and then exits through the light outlet. It enters the end face opening of the light-uniforming component, is then uniformly irradiated by the integrating sphere, and is reflected into the side opening. The light is then transmitted through an optical fiber to an optical analysis device to test and analyze the color quality of the light.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the light mixing component is fitted with a positioning support to fix the light mixing component and the housing.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the positioning support is formed from black high-toughness resin by machining on a lathe or milling machine, or by injection molding, or by 3D hot melt printing or photopolymerization printing.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the light mixing component and the positioning support component constitute a kit, and the kit is replaced according to the type of light guide ambient light being tested.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the positioning support is covered with a black sleeve, and the positioning support and the sleeve are coaxially arranged.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cavity of the integrating sphere of the light homogenizer is made of polytetrafluoroethylene or barium sulfate, which are materials with high diffuse reflectivity.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the side opening of the light-diffusing element is a 2π opening structure.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an optical texture is provided on the end face where the light inlet of the housing is located, so as to eliminate stray light reflected by the ink on the PCB board surface of the light guide type ambient light being tested.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the optical texture is any one of a circular trapezoidal texture, a wavy texture, or a grid-like texture.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a black silicone sleeve is provided on the light inlet side of the housing to block stray light that interferes with each other between the LED modules of the light guide type ambient light under test.

[0021] Because the present invention adopts the above technical solution, it has the following advantages and positive effects compared with the prior art:

[0022] 1) In one embodiment of the present invention, the test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide ambient light uses a light mixing component to perform total internal reflection on most of the incident light. After the light emitted by the light guide ambient light under test passes through the total internal reflection tetrahedral structure, it passes through the integrating sphere cavity made of high diffuse reflectivity material to retain most of the energy.

[0023] 2) The test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide type ambient light in one embodiment of the present invention can perform array testing on densely packed module PCBAs, thereby speeding up the testing cycle.

[0024] 3) In one embodiment of the present invention, the test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide type ambient light is designed with an extinction structure on the end face of the housing where light is incident, which can reduce the influence of stray light reflected from the ink on the panel. In addition, an independent light-shielding structure (black silicone sleeve) is designed on the side that can be attached to reduce the interference of the panel light source when the array is used, and improve the accuracy.

[0025] 4) The test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting in one embodiment of the present invention can be quickly changed to meet the changing needs of car manufacturers by replacing the kit consisting of positioning support and light mixing components, depending on the different products. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 This is an exploded view of a test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of a test piece for measuring the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 3 This is an application diagram of a test piece for testing the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0030] 1: Black silicone sleeve; 2: Black sleeve; 3: Positioning support; 4: Light mixing component; 5: Housing; 5.1: Optical texture; 6: Light homogenizing component; 6.1: Integrating sphere; 7: Fiber optic socket; 8: Cover; 9: Test light guide type ambient light. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, provides a test specimen for the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting based on the present invention. The advantages and features of the invention will become clearer from the following description and claims.

[0032] This embodiment provides a test piece for the color quality of automotive ambient lighting, which can simulate the light emission mode under real vehicle conditions in a very small volume for accurate testing. It has a reasonable structure and utilizes the optical principle of total internal reflection and extremely high visible light spectral reflectivity (≥98%) to greatly improve the testing cycle time. Due to its small size, it can be displayed in an array and can cover multiple PCBA modules in a panelized configuration. This invention can reduce the testing time of a single PCBA module by one-twentieth of the traditional large integrating sphere testing time, and when used with an array, it can greatly improve the testing cycle time (testing efficiency).

[0033] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 The test piece for measuring the color quality of automotive ambient lighting includes a housing 5, a light mixing element 4, and a light homogenizing element 6, with the light mixing element 4 and the light homogenizing element 6 fixed within the housing 5. The light mixing element 4 includes a light inlet, a light mixing body, and a light outlet, wherein the area of ​​the light inlet is smaller than the area of ​​the light outlet. The light homogenizing element 6 contains an integrating sphere 6.1, and has an end face opening on its lower end face, which communicates with the light outlet of the light mixing element 4. The light homogenizing element 6 also has a side opening connected to a fiber optic connector 7, which is connected to an external optical analysis device via an optical fiber.

[0034] During operation, the light from the ambient light being tested enters the light inlet of the light mixing component 4 through the light inlet of the housing 5. After being mixed by the light mixing body, the light is emitted from the light outlet and enters the end face opening of the light homogenizer 6. After being homogenized by the integrating sphere, the light is reflected into the side opening and transmitted to the optical analysis equipment via optical fiber to test and analyze the light color quality.

[0035] Specifically, housing 5 has a matte black finish, and its light inlet side surface features an optical texture 5.1, including but not limited to trapezoidal textures, wavy textures, and grid-like textures to reduce stray light. A black light-shielding structure can be added to the side of housing 5's light inlet for mutual light-shielding when multiple receiver arrays are used. This black light-shielding structure can be a black silicone sleeve 1; please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 2 The black silicone sleeve 1 is fitted onto the light inlet side of the housing 5.

[0036] The light-mixing component 4 is shaped like a tetrahedron, a cylindrical cone, or a conical prism, with its light-inlet surface area smaller than its light-outlet surface area. Specifically, the length and width (or diameter) of the light-inlet surface can be smaller than the length and width (or diameter) of the light-outlet surface. It is made of a high-transmittance optical material, such as PMMA or optical glass. This light-mixing component 4 is used to simulate the light guide component in an ambient lighting assembly on a real vehicle. The light from the ambient light being tested enters the light-mixing body through the light inlet of the light-mixing component 4. After passing through the tetrahedron structure of the light-mixing body, most of the incident light undergoes total internal reflection before entering the light-uniforming component 6.

[0037] The light mixing component 4 is fitted with a positioning support component 3 to fix the light mixing component 4 to the housing 5. The positioning support component 3 is made of black high-toughness resin by machining on a lathe or milling machine, or by injection molding, or by 3D hot melt printing or photopolymerization printing.

[0038] The light mixing component 4 and the positioning support component 3 form a kit. This kit can be replaced according to the type of light guide ambient light being tested, and can be quickly adapted to different types of ambient light modules during testing.

[0039] The positioning support 3 is covered by a black sleeve 2. The positioning support 3 and the black sleeve 2 are coaxially arranged. Both can be conical structures to ensure coaxiality.

[0040] During assembly, after the black sleeve 2 is assembled with the kit consisting of the light mixing component 4 and the positioning support component 3, it is positioned with the housing 5 using set screws and pressed into the upper light mixing component 6 in the axial direction, and then fixed by the overall pressing screws of the upper cover 8 of the housing 5.

[0041] The light-diffusing element 6 is positioned on top of the light-mixing element 4. Please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 2 The light-diffusing element 6 is cylindrical, and an integrating sphere 6.1 is disposed inside it. The diameter of the spherical cavity inside the integrating sphere 6.1 is 2.5 cm. The integrating sphere is a hollow sphere with its inner wall coated with a white diffuse reflective material, such as polytetrafluoroethylene or barium sulfate, which are high diffuse reflectivity materials.

[0042] The integrating sphere features a 2π-aperture structure, a conventional term in optics. It can also be understood as a side opening with a 2π-aperture structure on the side of the light homogenizer 6. A fiber optic mount 7 is fixed at this side opening, and the mount 7 is connected to external optical analysis equipment via optical fiber for analyzing the color quality of the light emitted by the tested light-guiding ambient lamp. In practical applications, the fiber optic mount 7 uses the SMA905 model.

[0043] The end face opening of the light homogenizer 6 corresponds to the light outlet of the light mixing component 4, forming a light transmission channel that transmits the mixed light rays after total internal reflection by the light mixing component 4 to the integrating sphere.

[0044] Please refer to Figure 3In this embodiment, the test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide ambient light is placed above the light guide ambient light 9 under test during operation. After receiving the light emitted by the LED in the PCBA module of the light guide ambient light under test, the light is mixed by the light mixing component 4 and then enters the integrating sphere cavity of the light homogenizing component 6 for homogenization. The mixed light is emitted from the fiber optic seat 7 with the 2π cylindrical opening of the integrating sphere cavity to the propagation medium and finally analyzed by optical equipment.

[0045] For example, at a test distance of 1.5mm (i.e., the distance between the light-incident surface of the light-mixing component 4 and the LED emitting surface of the tested light-guiding ambient light module 9 is 1.5mm), using a 1m optical fiber with a core diameter of 600um quartz, and a 25um grating spectrometer, for an OSRAM LRTB GVSG model tri-color LED light source, 75% saturation of all three RGB colors can be tested within 20ms. At a test distance of 1.5mm, the light collection efficiency of the incident surface reaches as high as 68%.

[0046] In summary, the test piece for the color quality of automotive ambient lighting in this embodiment utilizes a light-mixing component that allows most of the incident light to undergo total internal reflection. The light emitted from the LED beads, after passing through the total internal reflection tetrahedral structure, is then homogenized by a small integrating sphere cavity made of high diffuse reflectivity material, thus retaining most of its energy. Because the integrating sphere cavity is small, it allows for array testing of densely packed PCBA modules, accelerating the testing cycle, improving testing efficiency, and reducing manufacturing costs.

[0047] The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Even if various changes are made to the present invention, if these changes fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, they shall still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting, characterized in that, include: The housing, the light mixing component, and the light equalizing component are fixedly disposed within the housing. The end face of the light inlet of the housing is provided with an optical texture for eliminating stray light reflected from PCB ink; The light mixing component includes a light inlet, a light mixing body, and a light outlet. The area of ​​the light inlet is smaller than the area of ​​the light outlet. The light mixing body is a tetrahedron or a conical prism with total internal reflection on its inner wall. The light homogenizer has an integrating sphere with a diameter of 2.5 cm inside. The lower end face of the light homogenizer has an end face opening, which is connected to the light outlet of the light mixing component. The side face of the light homogenizer has a side opening, which is connected to an optical fiber holder. The optical fiber holder is connected to an external optical analysis device via an optical fiber. During operation, the light from the light-guiding ambient light being tested enters the light inlet of the light-mixing component through the light inlet of the housing, is mixed by the light-mixing body, and then exits through the light outlet. It enters the end face opening of the light-uniforming component, is then uniformly irradiated by the integrating sphere, and is reflected into the side opening. The light is then transmitted through an optical fiber to an optical analysis device to test and analyze the color quality of the light.

2. The test piece for measuring the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The light mixing component is fitted with a positioning support to fix the light mixing component to the housing.

3. The test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The positioning support is formed from black high-toughness resin by machining on a lathe or milling machine, or by injection molding, or by 3D hot melt printing or photopolymerization printing.

4. The test piece for the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting as described in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The light mixing component and the positioning support component constitute a kit, which can be replaced according to the type of light guide ambient light being tested.

5. The test piece for measuring the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The positioning support is covered with a black sleeve, and the positioning support and the black sleeve are coaxially arranged.

6. The test piece for color quality of automotive light guide type ambient lighting as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The cavity of the integrating sphere of the light homogenizer is made of polytetrafluoroethylene or barium sulfate, which are materials with high diffuse reflectivity.

7. The test piece for color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The side opening of the light-diffusing component has a 2π opening structure.

8. The test piece for measuring the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The optical texture is any one of the following: a trapezoidal texture, a wavy texture, or a grid-like texture.

9. The test piece for measuring the color quality of automotive light guide ambient lighting as described in claim 1, characterized in that, A black silicone sleeve is provided on the light inlet side of the housing to block stray light that interferes with each other between the LED modules of the light guide type ambient light being tested.

Images