Light emitting device, vehicle lamp, and vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to a light emitting device, a vehicle lamp, and a vehicle, and a light emitting device (1) is used for the vehicle. The vehicle has a vehicle coordinate system with three coordinate axes (X, Y, Z). The light emitting device (1) has a housing (40), a light emitting assembly (30) accommodated in the housing (40), and a lens (10) arranged in front of the light emitting assembly (30), and the lens (10) has a light transmitting area (13) assigned to the light emitting assembly (30). The light transmitting area (13) is formed by a first strip unit (15) and a second strip unit (16) extending at an angle with respect to the coordinate axis (Z), and the first strip unit (15) and the second strip unit (16) cross each other, and the crossing portion forms a convex or concave pillow-shaped unit (17).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a light emitting device, a vehicle lamp, and a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] In the prior art, various types of lighting devices are known, for example in vehicles. Such lighting devices have a housing, a light source contained within the housing, and a light-transmitting lens that seals an opening in the housing. The light-transmitting lens should be shaped to blend in with the overall appearance of the vehicle while achieving a light distribution that meets regulatory requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0003] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a light emitting device which meets the above-mentioned demands, while at the same time improving optical efficiency and employing a simplified design.

[0004] According to the invention, this object is achieved by proposing a lighting device for a vehicle, the vehicle having a vehicle coordinate system with three coordinate axes, the lighting device comprising a housing, a light emitting assembly accommodated in the housing, and a lens arranged in front of the light emitting assembly, the lens having a light-transmitting area assigned to the light emitting assembly, in which the light-transmitting area is formed by a first strip unit and a second strip unit extending at an angle to the corresponding coordinate axes of the vehicle coordinate system, the first strip unit and the second strip unit intersecting each other, the intersection being a convex or concave pillow-shaped unit.

[0005] Therefore, when the proposed lighting device is mounted on a vehicle, the four sides forming each pillow-shaped unit will be tilted with respect to, for example, the Z-axis pointing upwards through the center of gravity of the vehicle coordinate system of the vehicle, and the optical efficiency of such a pillow-shaped unit with tilted four sides is higher than that of a known pillow-shaped unit having, for example, a pair of sides parallel to the Z-axis.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first and second strip units are tilted symmetrically with respect to a coordinate axis, where the angle formed by the central axes of the first and second strip units may be acute, right, or obtuse to improve optical efficiency.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first strip unit and the second strip unit have the same geometric dimensions, so that the four sides of the formed pillow-shaped unit have the same length, and the pillow-shaped unit is a diamond-shaped unit.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the lens further comprises a light-reflecting area. The light-reflecting area functions in particular to reflect light projected from the outside, thereby sending optical signals to other traffic personnel. Thus, the same lens can simultaneously perform light-transmitting and light-reflecting functions. Preferably, the area of ​​the light-reflecting area should be set to be equal to or larger than a certain minimum area. In one embodiment, the light-reflecting area may surround the light-transmitting area, which means that the light-transmitting area is in the center of the lens.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the light reflection area is in the form of an array of corner reflector units, where the corresponding divided reflective surfaces of the corner reflector units are perpendicularly crossed in pairs, and in such a light reflection area, the incident light is reflected back in the opposite direction to the incident direction, so as to ensure traffic safety when the vehicle is driven.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the light emitting device has a main light emission direction, and in the projection of the lens onto a plane perpendicular to the main light emission direction, the long boundary line of the first strip unit or the second strip unit is parallel to or coincides with one of the intersection lines between the divided reflective surfaces of the corner reflector unit, which is beneficial for designing the strip unit to match the corner reflector unit, thereby reducing the time required to design the strip unit that forms the light reflection area and achieving advantageous manufacturing.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the invention, the first strip unit or the second strip unit has a width W of 2 to 3 mm and a height T of 0.3 to 0.6 mm.

[0012] According to another aspect of the invention, a vehicle lamp is proposed comprising a light-emitting device as described above.

[0013] According to another aspect of the invention, a vehicle is proposed comprising a light emitting device or vehicle lamp as described above.

[0014] The invention will now be further explained with the aid of the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a light emitting device according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the light-emitting device of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a rear view of the lens in the light emitting device of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] A partially enlarged view of the lens in Figure 3. [Diagram 5] Two cross-sections taken along line AA in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 5 is a partially enlarged view of an adjacent portion of the light-transmitting area and the light-reflecting area in the lens of FIG. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described illustratively. Those skilled in the art should understand that the described embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the concept of the present invention. Thus, the accompanying drawings and the specification are illustrative and non-limiting in nature. In the following text, the same drawing reference numbers generally indicate functionally identical or similar elements.

[0017] An embodiment of a lighting device 1 for a vehicle is shown in Figure 1. The vehicle has a vehicle coordinate system with three coordinate axes X, Y and Z. When the vehicle is stationary on a flat road, the X axis points forward of the vehicle parallel to the ground, the Z axis points upwards through the vehicle's centre of gravity and the Y axis points to the driver's left. For ease of explanation, the lighting device 1 will be described below with respect to the vehicle coordinate system.

[0018] 1 and 2, in an illustrative example, the lighting device 1 comprises a housing 40, a light-emitting assembly 30 accommodated in the housing 40, and a lens 10 arranged in front of the light-emitting assembly 30. The lens 10 can be used to seal an opening of the housing 40. A light-transmitting area 13 of the lens 10 assigned to the light-emitting assembly 30 is shown in FIG. 1 by a dashed rectangular frame. It is clear that the light-transmitting area 13 occupies only a part of the lens 10. Alternatively, the light-transmitting area 13 may occupy the entire surface of the lens 10. The lens 10 can be used directly to seal the opening of the housing 40. Furthermore, the opening of the housing 40 can be sealed by an additional outer lens arranged in front of the lens 10. For the lens 10 that directly seals the opening of the housing 40, it is preferred that the relevant structurally designed surface is arranged on the side of the lens 10 facing the light source (i.e. facing the interior space of the housing). In the event that an additional outer lens is provided in the housing 40 , the structurally designed surfaces of the lens 10 described above may be located on either side of the lens 10 .

[0019] The light emitting assembly 30 may be in the form of a printed circuit board assembly, and the light source, for example in the form of a semiconductor light source (such as a light emitting diode), may be mounted on a printed circuit board of the printed circuit board assembly. Furthermore, a unit 20 for adjusting the light from the light source (for example a collimating light adjusting unit) may be arranged between the light emitting assembly 30 and the lens 10, such that the conical light beam is transformed into at least approximately a collimated light beam, thereby simplifying the subsequent adjustment of the light.

[0020] A groove may be provided within the housing 40 for establishing an indirect connection between the light emitting assembly 30 and a power source (eg, an on-board power source).

[0021] When the power of the electrical components in the light-emitting assembly 30 is high, the light-emitting assembly 30 may be provided with a heat dissipation unit 50. The heat dissipation unit 50 may be made of a material with high thermal conductivity, such as a metal (such as aluminum or copper) or a synthetic material (such as silicon carbide). It is preferable that the light source of the light-emitting assembly 30 may be directly disposed on the heat dissipation unit 50. The heat dissipation unit 50 may be directly disposed in the groove of the housing 40 mentioned above. For this purpose, a sealing member (not shown) is disposed on the periphery where the heat dissipation unit 50 contacts the groove.

[0022] A rear view of the lens 10 is shown in FIG. 3. The lens 10 is used to seal an opening of a housing 40. In this case, the structurally designed surface of the lens 10 faces the light source assembly 30. Here, the side 12 of the lens 10 facing the inside of the light source assembly 30 is divided into a light-reflecting area 13 and a light-transmitting area 14. As will be further explained below, the areas have different structurally designed microstructures. Although it is shown that the light-transmitting area 14 is surrounded by the light-reflecting area 13 on the side 12, the light-reflecting area 13 and the light-transmitting area 14 may be arranged in further different ways, as long as the light-reflecting area 13 meets the minimum area requirement. For example, in the example not shown, the light-reflecting area 13 occupies the left side of the side 12, while the light-transmitting area 14 occupies the right side thereof. It is also possible to provide a plurality of light-transmitting areas 14 arranged separately from each other.

[0023] As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and the enlarged views of FIG. 6, the light reflective area 14 is in the form of an array of corner reflector units 18, whereas the light transmitting area 13 is an array of pillow shaped units 17.

[0024] Each corner reflector unit 18 has three divided reflective surfaces 18A, 18B, and 18C. The divided reflective surfaces 18A, 18B, and 18C are perpendicular to each other, thereby forming three intersection lines 18D, 18E, and 18F. Each of the divided reflective surfaces 18A, 18B, and 18C is preferably rectangular (particularly, square). The divided reflective surfaces of the multiple corner reflector units 18 are adjacent to each other and distributed in an array to form each reflective surface of the light reflecting area 14. Light cast on such a light reflecting area 14 is reflected back in the opposite direction to the incident direction, thereby ensuring reliable visibility.

[0025] In the illustrated example, the longitudinal extension of the elongated lens 10 corresponds to the Y-axis of the vehicle coordinate system in the mounted position. The light-transmitting area 13 may therefore be considered to be formed by a first strip unit 15 and a second strip unit 16 that extend at an angle to the corresponding coordinate axis Z of the vehicle coordinate system, and the first strip unit 15 and the second strip unit 16 intersect with each other. As can be clearly seen in Fig. 4, the included angle formed by the central axes M1 and M2 of the first strip unit 15 and the second strip unit 16 that intersect obliquely with each other may be an acute angle, a right angle, or an obtuse angle.

[0026] For example, the cross-sectional profile of the strip unit in a plane intersecting the central axis of the strip unit may be in the form of a curved segment of a circular arc or a compound curve.

[0027] It is preferable that the first strip unit 15 and the second strip unit 16 are inclined symmetrically with respect to the Z coordinate axis.

[0028] It is further preferred that the first strip unit 15 and the second strip unit 16 have the same geometric dimensions. The four sides of the pillow-shaped unit 17 thus formed have the same length. In particular, when the central axes M1 and M2 are vertical, the boundary formed by the four sides of the pillow-shaped unit 17 may be considered as a square rotated 45° around the center of a horizontally positioned square. This allows for improved light collection.

[0029] In the projection of the lens 10 onto a plane perpendicular to the main light emission direction H of the light emitting device 1, the elongated boundary line 16K (also shown by a thick solid line in FIG. 4) of the first strip unit 15 or the second strip unit 16 is parallel to or coincides with one of the intersection lines between the divided reflective surfaces 18A, 18B, and 18C of the corner reflector unit 18. In particular, in the case of coincidence, the end point of the elongated boundary line or an extension of the elongated boundary line may be located at the intersection line between the three divided reflective surfaces of the corner reflector unit. This allows a simplified design of the strip unit to be adopted while still ensuring the desired optical effect.

[0030] Two exemplary forms of the profile of the strip unit on a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the strip unit are shown in FIG. 5. As can be seen, the surface of the pillow-shaped unit 17 formed may be a convex profile (see diagram a on the left) or a concave profile (see diagram b on the right). The two illustrated profile forms may have the same dimensions, except for the difference that they are convex and concave, respectively. For example, each pillow-shaped unit 17 has a width W of 2 to 3 mm and a height T of 0.3 to 0.6 mm. The height may be the distance between the highest and lowest points of the curved profile in the cross section of the pillow-shaped unit 17. The illustrated profile is a segment of a circular arc with a radius R. In a non-illustrated example, the profile may be a compound curve profile, a high-order curve profile, or another suitable profile.

[0031] It should be noted that, although the lens 10 in the above embodiment is described to have a light reflecting area 14, the light reflecting area is not essential. In other words, the above-mentioned strip units 15 and 16 may be entirely disposed on at least one side of the lens 10.

[0032] In one embodiment, the above-mentioned strip units may be formed by guiding the generatrix profile along a given line (e.g., a straight line or an arc line), and then crossing the strip units to form pillow-shaped units. If the line is straight and the generatrix is ​​an arc line segment, the formed strip units may be considered as cylindrical lens units.

[0033] In another embodiment, the intersecting strip units form a closed profile on the projection plane. When the strip units extend linearly on the projection plane, the closed profile formed is a rectangular profile. In particular, when the strip units inclined in different directions have the same width, the rectangular profile is a diamond-shaped profile. For the diamond-shaped profile, a pillow-shaped unit can be formed by a first arc connecting a pair of vertices of the diamond-shaped profile facing each other to form a generatrix, a second arc connecting another pair of vertices of the diamond-shaped profile facing each other to form a line, and the four sides of the diamond-shaped profile. The center of the first arc is on the second arc. When the first arc is guided on the second arc, the two ends of the first arc are guided along each of the four sides of the diamond-shaped profile on both sides of the second arc, respectively. The first arc and the second arc may be circular arcs or other shapes.

[0034] The pillow-shaped unit may be formed in other ways.

[0035] The above-mentioned light emitting device 1 is suitable for use as lighting and / or signaling lamps for vehicles, such as daytime driving lamps, fog lamps, brake lamps, turn signal lamps, clearance lamps, and reversing lamps.

[0036] Lens 10 is preferably a one-piece injection molded part made, for example, of polycarbonate, polymethylmethacrylate, etc. If desired, lens 10 may be colored, for example, yellow, red, or other color.

[0037] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned structure, and may have other variations. Although the present invention has been described above using a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this disclosure, may design other embodiments that do not depart from the scope of protection of the present invention disclosed herein. Thus, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A lighting device (1) for a vehicle, comprising a housing (40), a light emitting assembly (30) accommodated in the housing (40), and a lens (10) arranged in front of the light emitting assembly (30), the lens (10) having a light transmitting area (13) assigned to the light emitting assembly (30), the light transmitting area (13) being formed by a first strip unit (15) and a second strip unit (16) extending at an angle with respect to a coordinate axis (Z), the first strip unit (15) and the second strip unit (16) intersecting each other, the intersecting portion being a convex or concave pillow-shaped unit (17); The light emitting device (1), wherein the lens (10) further comprises a light reflecting area (14), the light reflecting area (14) surrounding the light transmitting area (13).

2. A light-emitting device (1) for a vehicle, comprising a housing (40), a light-emitting assembly (30) accommodated within the housing (40), and a lens (10) arranged in front of the light-emitting assembly (30), wherein the lens (10) has a light-transmitting area (13) assigned to the light-emitting assembly (30), wherein the light-transmitting area (13) in the light-emitting device (1) is formed by a first strip unit (15) and a second strip unit (16) extending at an angle with respect to a coordinate axis (Z), the first strip unit (15) and the second strip unit (16) intersect with each other, and the intersection is a convex or concave pillow-shaped unit (17), The light emitting device (1), wherein the lens (10) further comprises a light reflecting area (14), the light reflecting area (14) being in the form of an array of corner reflector units (18), and corresponding divided reflecting surfaces (18A, 18B, 18C) of the corner reflector units (18) intersect perpendicularly in pairs.

3. The light-emitting device (1) has a main light emission direction (H), and in a projection of the lens (10) onto a plane perpendicular to the main light emission direction (H), the long boundary line of the first strip unit (15) or the second strip unit (16) is parallel to or coincides with one of the intersection lines between the divided reflective surfaces (18A, 18B, 18C) in the corner reflector unit (18).

4. 4. The light emitting device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first strip unit (15) and the second strip unit (16) are inclined symmetrically with respect to the coordinate axis (Z).

5. 5. The light-emitting device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first strip unit (15) and the second strip unit (16) have the same geometric dimensions.

6. The light-emitting device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the first strip unit (15) or the second strip unit (16) has a width W of 2 to 3 mm and a height (T) of 0.3 to 0.6 mm.

7. A vehicle lamp, characterized in that it comprises a light-emitting device (1) according to any one of the claims 1 to 6.

8. A vehicle, characterized in that it comprises a light-emitting device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or a vehicle lamp according to claim 6.

Images