Projection device, lighting and / or signaling device and vehicle

Abstract

The present invention discloses a projection device (100), a lighting and / or signaling device and a vehicle. The projection device (100) comprises: a housing (110), having a light outlet part (112); a light source (120), disposed in the housing (110) and configured to emit light; a first lens (130), disposed in the housing (110) and used to form parallel beams from light emitted by the light source (120); a patterning device (140), disposed in the housing (110) and located downstream of the parallel beams emergent from the first lens (130), the patterning device (140) having at least one first light- transmitting area (141) and being configured to rotate around its centre so that the at least one first light-transmitting area (141) is rotated to a light path where the parallel beams pass through the light outlet part (112).

Description

PROJECTION DEVICE, LIGHTING AND / OR SIGNALING DEVICE AND VEHICLE

[0001] The present invention relates a projection device, a lighting and / or signaling device and a vehicle.

[0002] As society develops and traffic technology advances, there is an urgent need for a projection device that can project dynamically changing patterns to meet diverse traffic demands and accurately convey complex traffic information. However, patterns projected by projection devices are usually static in existing vehicles, making it difficult to meet these increasing traffic demands.

[0003] Summary

[0004] The purpose of the embodiments of the present invention is to solve at least one aspect of the above-mentioned problem.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a projection device is provided, comprising: a housing, having a light outlet part; a light source, disposed in the housing and configured to emit light; a first lens, disposed in the housing and used to form parallel beams from light coming from the light source; a patterning device, disposed in the housing and located downstream of the parallel beams emergent from the first lens, the patterning device having at least one first light-transmitting area and being configured to rotate around its centre so that the at least one first light-transmitting area is rotated to a light path where the parallel beams pass through the light outlet part.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, the projection device further comprises a forming plate located in the housing, the forming plate being arranged between the first lens and the patterning device and provided with a forming hole so that the parallel beams pass through the forming hole and irradiate the patterning device, wherein the forming hole has length extending along the rotation direction of the patterning device.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, the length of the at least one first light-transmitting area along the rotation direction is greater than the length of the forming hole.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, the patterning device further has at least one second light-transmitting area, the length of the at least one second light-transmitting area along the rotation direction being smaller than the length of the forming hole.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, the projection device further comprises a motor located in the housing, the motor having a drive shaft, the drive shaft being connected to the patterning device to drive the patterning device to rotate.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, the projection device further comprises a second lens, the second lens being disposed at the light outlet part of the housing.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, the at least one first light-transmitting area and the at least one second light-transmitting area are constructed to be a hollowed-out pattern.

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, the patterning device is constructed to be a light modulation film.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, a lighting and / or signaling device is provided, comprising the projection device.

[0014] According to one more aspect of the present invention, a vehicle is provided, comprising the projection device or the lighting and / or signaling device.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the following accompanying drawings.

[0016] is a sectional view of a projection device according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

[0017] is a front view of a patterning device used inaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

[0018] The present invention will be further described by using embodiments and referring to the accompanying drawings. The same or similar accompanying drawing reference signs used in the description refer to the same components. The following description of embodiments of the present invention by referring to the accompanying drawings is intended to explain the overall invention concept of the present invention, and should not be interpreted as a limitation to the present invention.

[0019] Furthermore, in the detailed description below, to facilitate explanation, many specific details are expounded for a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it is obvious that one or more embodiments may also be implemented without these specific details. In other cases, any known structures and devices are graphically embodied to simplify the accompanying drawings.

[0020] Referring to Figs. 1-2, the projection device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a housing 110, and a light source 120, a first lens 130, a forming plate 150, a patterning device 140, a motor 160 and a second lens 170, which are accommodated in the housing 110.

[0021] The first lens 130 is used to form parallel beams 121 from light emitted from the light source 120 located on a substrate 180. The housing 110 has a light outlet part 112 formed in the side wall 111 of the housing 110 (namely, a hole that allows light to pass through). The patterning device 140 is located downstream of the parallel beams 121 emergent from the first lens 130. The patterning device 140 has at least one first light-transmitting area 141 and is configured to be driven by the motor 160 to rotate around the centre of the patterning device 140 so that the at least one first light-transmitting area 141 is rotated to a light path where the parallel beams 121 pass through the light outlet part 112, thus forming dynamically changing projection patterns to meet diverse traffic demands and accurately convey complex traffic information. In the embodiment shown in, the motor 160 has a drive shaft 161 and the drive shaft 161 passes through the forming plate 150 and is connected to the patterning device 140 to drive the patterning device 140 to rotate.

[0022] Referring to, the forming plate 150 is arranged between the first lens 130 and the patterning device 140 and is provided with a forming hole 151 so that the parallel beams 121 pass through the forming hole 151 and irradiate the patterning device 140. The forming hole 151 has a length extending along the rotation direction D of the patterning device 140 to form the parallel beams 121. The formed parallel beams 121 irradiate the patterning device 140 to be patterned by the patterning device 140 to form expected dynamic patterns.

[0023] In the embodiment shown in, the patterning device 140 is constructed to be a light modulation film and has two first light-transmitting areas 141 and four second light-transmitting areas 142. All the light-transmitting areas 141 and 142 are constructed to be hollowed-out patterns. The shadow part on the patterning device 140 indicates a non-light-transmitting area.

[0024] In a specific embodiment, the first light-transmitting areas 141 have a shape that extends along the circumference of the patterning device 140. Specifically, the length of the first light-transmitting areas 141 along the rotation direction D of the patterning device 140 is greater than the length of the forming hole 151 so that the formed parallel beams 121 projected to each first light-transmitting area 141 can be uninterruptedly transmitted through the patterning device 140 to generate continuously changing dynamic patterns and form the corresponding patterned beams during the rotation of the patterning device 140. In other embodiments, the first light-transmitting areas 141 can also be of other shapes such as graphics, letters, and logos.

[0025] In a specific embodiment, all the second light-transmitting areas 142 are of roughly rectangular shape and the length of the second light-transmitting area 142 along the rotation direction D of the patterning device 140 is smaller than the length of the forming hole 151 so that the formed parallel beam 121 projected to each second light-transmitting area 142 can be intermittently transmitted through the patterning device 140 to generate discontinuously changing dynamic patterns and form the corresponding patterned beams during the rotation of the patterning device 140. The second light-transmitting areas 142 can also be of other shapes such as graphics, letters, and logos.

[0026] In this way, combinations of continuously and discontinuously changing dynamic patterns can be generated through the patterning device 140 in the embodiment shown in. For example, such a combination of patterns can be used to generate patterns such as "welcome", "byebye" and "reversible". In the application field of electric vehicles, such a combination of patterns can also be used to generate patterns, for example, to express the charging mode.

[0027] Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to this and that the shape, quantity and distribution of the light-transmitting areas 141 and 142 can be set according to actual requirements to obtain expected patterns.

[0028] The patterned beams are emergent from the housing 110 through the second lens 170 disposed at the light outlet part 112 of the housing 110. The second lens 170 can be a collimating lens that collimate the emergent patterned beams.

[0029] The projection device 100 according to the present invention not only can be installed in a lighting and / or signaling device for a vehicle, but can also be used for any other appropriate application scenarios.

[0030] Those skilled in the art should understand that all the embodiments described above are exemplary. In addition, those skilled in the art can improve them. The structures described in various embodiments can be freely combined without a conflict in structure or in principle.

[0031] After the preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail, those skilled in the art should clearly understand that various variations and changes can be made without deviating from the protection scope and spirit of the accompanying claims and that the present invention is not limited to the mode of execution of the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the description either.

Claims

A projection device (100), which is characterised by comprising:a housing (110), having a light outlet part (112);a light source (120), disposed in the housing (110) and configured to emit light;a first lens (130), disposed in the housing (110) and used to form parallel beams from light emitted by the light source (120);a patterning device (140), disposed in the housing (110) and located downstream of the parallel beams emergent from the first lens (130), the patterning device (140) having at least one first light-transmitting area (141) and being configured to rotate around its centre so that the at least one first light-transmitting area (141) is rotated to a light path where the parallel beams pass through the light outlet part (112).The projection device (100) according to Claim 1, further comprising a forming plate located in the housing (110), the forming plate (150) being arranged between the first lens (130) and the patterning device (140) and provided with a forming hole (151) so that the parallel beams pass through the forming hole (151) and irradiate the patterning device (140), wherein the forming hole (151) has a length extending along a rotation direction of the patterning device (140).The projection device (100) according to Claim 2, characterised in thatthe length of the at least one first light-transmitting area (141) along the rotation direction is greater than the length of the forming hole (151).The projection device (100) according to Claim 2 or 3, characterised in thatthe patterning device (140) further has at least one second light-transmitting area (142), the length of the at least one second light-transmitting area (142) along the rotation direction being smaller than the length of the forming hole (151).The projection device (100) according to Claim 1, further comprising a motor (160) located in the housing (110), the motor (160) having a drive shaft (161), the drive shaft (161) being connected to the patterning device (140) to drive the patterning device (140) to rotate.The projection device (100) according to any one of Claims 1-3 and 5, further comprising a second lens (170), the second lens (170) being disposed at the light outlet part (112) of the housing (100).The projection device (100) according to Claim 4, characterised in that the at least one first light-transmitting area (141) and the at least one second light-transmitting area (142) are constructed to be a hollowed-out pattern.The projection device (100) according to any of Claims 1-3, 5 and 7, characterised in that the patterning device (140) is constructed to be a light modulation film.A lighting and / or signaling device, comprising the projection device (100) according to any of Claims 1-8.A vehicle, comprising the projection device (100) according to any one of Claims 1-8 or the lighting and / or signaling device according to Claim 9.

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