Optical module, lamp apparatus and motor vehicle

Abstract

The present application provides an optical module, a lamp apparatus and a motor vehicle. The optical module comprises: a substrate (120); a plurality of light source assemblies (130) which are mounted on a surface of the substrate, each light source assembly being independently controllable to selectively switch on or off; a grille member (140) which is arranged on the surface of the substrate, the grille member comprising a plurality of cells which are arranged in an array, each cell being defined with a cavity (141), and at least one light source assembly being positioned in the cavity of each cell; and a light shaping element (150), the light shaping element being arranged on an emergent light side of the plurality of light source assemblies, so as to shape light emitted from the light source assemblies to have a desired light distribution.

Description

OPTICAL MODULE, LAMP APPARATUS AND MOTOR VEHICLE

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate in general to the field of lighting and / or signalling, and in particular to an optical module capable of providing a pixelated illumination effect, and a lamp apparatus and a motor vehicle fitted with such an optical module.

[0002] In multiple fields, various lighting or signalling apparatuses are known to be used for providing light for lighting or signalling. For example, a vehicle lamp is used in a motor vehicle to provide a lighting or signalling function to ensure safe driving, or a lamp having a function such as lighting, signalling or ambient decoration is mounted inside or outside a space such as a vehicle cabin, aircraft cabin, building or room.

[0003] A pixelated lamp apparatus acts as a lighting or signalling apparatus, which is able to form an imaging lighting effect similar to an image, and thus able to form light of various forms, and setting and adjusting the light shape is convenient, particularly suited to the fields of lighting and signalling of motor vehicles, in order to improve safety and visibility in driving. In conventional technologies, digital micromirror devices (DMD), DLP or LCD technologies may provide rich pixelated projection patterns but are quite expensive. In addition, in some conventional pixelated lamp modules which use an LED array, generally problems exist such as optical crosstalk, poor uniformity, large pixel pitch and low resolution.Summary of the Invention

[0004] An objective of the present disclosure is to solve or overcome at least one of the above and other problems and shortcomings in the prior art.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an optical module is provided, comprising: at least one substrate; a plurality of light source assemblies which are mounted on a surface of the substrate, at least a portion of the plurality of light source assemblies being independently controllable to selectively switch on or off; a grille member which is arranged on the surface of the substrate, the grille member comprising a plurality of cells which are arranged in an array, each cell being defined with a cavity, and at least one said light source assembly being positioned in the cavity of each cell; and a light shaping element, the light shaping element being arranged on an emergent light side of the plurality of light source assemblies, so as to shape light emitted from the plurality of light source assemblies to have a desired light distribution.

[0006] In some embodiments, the grille member is flexible or bendable.

[0007] In some embodiments, the grille member is closely fitted to the substrate and the light shaping element.

[0008] In some embodiments, the optical module is flexible or bendable;

[0009] the substrate comprises a flexible circuit board or a bendable circuit board;

[0010] the light shaping element is flexible or bendable; and

[0011] each light source assembly comprises one or more LEDs.

[0012] In some embodiments, the material of the substrate comprises FR4;

[0013] the thickness of the substrate is less than 1 mm; and

[0014] the substrate is an integral member.

[0015] In some embodiments, the grille member comprises partition walls which define the plurality of cells, and the partition walls extend between the substrate and the light shaping element; and

[0016] wall faces of the partition walls extend perpendicularly or at an incline to the surface of the substrate, and the wall faces of the partition walls are planar faces or arcuate faces.

[0017] In some embodiments, one end of the partition wall which is remote from the surface of the substrate has a width dimension in a direction perpendicular to a first direction which is less than or equal to 1 mm.

[0018] In some embodiments, a reflective layer is provided on the wall face of the partition wall; or

[0019] the partition wall is black.

[0020] In some embodiments, the material of the grille member comprises at least one of silicone rubber, TPU, TPV and EPDM; and / or

[0021] the material of the grille member (140) comprises at least one of PC, PA, PBT and ABS.

[0022] In some embodiments, the sectional shape of each cell in the plane perpendicular to a thickness direction of the grille member comprises at least one of the following shapes: circle, polygon, heart shape, pentagram, hexagram and arrow shape.

[0023] In some embodiments, each cell is provided with an opening which is remote from the substrate and is defined by the partition walls of the cell, and

[0024] the light shaping element comprises a first optical film or a lens, the first optical film or the lens is positioned on the partition walls and at least covers the openings of the plurality of cells, so as to directly face the light source assemblies positioned in the cavities of the cells, and the first optical film or the lens is configured to diffuse and homogenize light emitted from the light source assemblies and / or cause the light emitted from the light source assemblies to change direction.

[0025] In some embodiments, a pattern is formed on the first optical film, and the pattern is made of a opaque material, to form a desired light distribution; and

[0026] a grid cell shape of the pattern is the same as a cell shape of the grille member, and grid cells of the pattern are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the cells of the grille member; or the overall shape of a plurality of grid cells of the pattern is the same as the shape of one cell of the grille member.

[0027] In some embodiments, when viewed from one side of the first optical film which faces away from the partition walls, the partition walls are covered by the opaque material which makes the pattern.

[0028] In some embodiments, the light shaping element further comprises a second optical film, and the second optical film is arranged at one side of the first optical film which faces away from the partition walls; and

[0029] a gap exists between the first optical film and the second optical film, or the first optical film and the second optical film are fitted to each other.

[0030] In some embodiments, the second optical film is configured to further diffuse and homogenize light from the first optical film, and / or cause the light from the first optical film to change direction;

[0031] or the second optical film is configured to compress and protect the first optical film, and the second optical film has a metallic texture;

[0032] or the second optical film comprises a PDLC film, the PDLC film being in a transparent state when power is on and being in an opaque state when power is off.

[0033] In some embodiments, at least one of the first optical film and the second optical film is formed with a microstructure, and the microstructure is formed on an incident light face, an emergent light face and / or the interior of the optical film; and

[0034] the microstructure is constructed to diffuse and shape light passing through the at least one optical film, so that a desired pattern is formed in the light distribution leaving the at least one optical film.

[0035] In some embodiments, the optical module further comprises:

[0036] a light projection element which is arranged at one side of the light shaping element which faces away from the light source assembly, light shaped through the light shaping element being projected to a target position by the light projection element,

[0037] wherein the light projection element comprises a lens.

[0038] In some embodiments, the grille member has a uniform thickness;

[0039] the partition wall of the grille member is bendable and elastically deformable; and

[0040] the partition wall comprises a first side wall and a second side wall of which upper ends are connected to each other, lower ends of the first side wall and the second side wall are spaced apart from each other, and a partition recess is provided between the first side wall and the second side wall, the partition wall being in the shape of a “V”.

[0041] In some embodiments, a thickness of the partition recess is greater than or equal to 1 / 2 of a thickness of the partition wall; and

[0042] a distance between the lower ends of the first side wall and the second side wall is greater than or equal to 1 / 4 of the thickness of the partition recess.

[0043] In some embodiments, the grille member comprises a plurality of positioning protrusions, the plurality of positioning protrusions are arranged on a lower surface of the grille member and at a position near an edge of the lower surface, and the positioning protrusion is used for being inserted into a positioning hole on the surface of the substrate, so that the grille member is pre-mounted on the substrate.

[0044] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the embodiments further provide a lamp apparatus, comprising a housing and the optical module described in any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the optical module being at least partially installed in the housing. In some embodiments, the lamp apparatus comprises at least one of a lighting lamp, a signalling lamp and an ambient lamp used for a motor vehicle.

[0045] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the embodiments further provide a motor vehicle, which comprises the optical module or the lamp apparatus described in any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] The detailed description of the present disclosure below, which refers to the drawings, will make other objectives and advantages of the present disclosure obvious, and can help achieve a comprehensive understanding of the present disclosure.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0047] These and / or other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of some illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

[0048] is a structural schematic drawing of a lamp apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the lamp apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein a light projection element and a light shaping element are removed;

[0050] is an exploded drawing showing the structure of the lamp apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0051] is a perspective view showing an assembled state of an optical module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0052] is a sectional view schematically showing the structure of the lamp apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0053] is a sectional view schematically showing the structure of a part of the lamp apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0054] is an exemplary schematic drawing showing a pattern which may be projected by the lamp apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0055] shows a main view of the lamp apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0056] shows a sectional view along the line A-A in;

[0057] shows a sectional view along the line B-B in;

[0058] shows a partial enlarged view E1 of;

[0059] shows a three-dimensional structural schematic drawing of a top view of a grille member in Figs. 6 and 8;

[0060] shows a three-dimensional structural schematic drawing of a bottom view of the grille member in;

[0061] shows a top view of the grille member in; and

[0062] shows a partial sectional enlarged view A1-A1 of the grille member in.Detailed Description of Embodiments

[0063] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below in conjunction with the attached drawings. Herein, identical or similar components are indicated by identical or similar reference numerals. The following description of embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the drawings is intended to explain the general concept of the present disclosure, and should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure.

[0064] In addition, in the following detailed description, for ease of explanation, many specific details are expounded to provide a comprehensive understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it is obvious that one or more embodiments may also be implemented without these specific details. In other scenarios, well-known structures and devices are shown in the form of illustrations to simplify the drawings.

[0065] schematically shows a lamp apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.schematically shows a perspective view of the structure of the lamp apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figs. 1 - 2, the lamp apparatus 100 comprises a housing 110, and an optical module may be at least partially mounted in the housing 110, for example in an accommodating space 111 of the housing 110.

[0066] As shown in Figs. 1 - 7, the optical module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure mainly comprises at least one substrate 120, light source assemblies 130, a grille member 140 and a light shaping element 150, etc. In the present disclosure, the specific forms of the substrate 120 and the light source assembly 130 are not restricted; for example, the substrate 120 may be a flexible substrate, such as a flexible circuit board or a bendable circuit board. The grille member 140 and the light shaping element 150 may be flexible or bendable, and the overall optical module may also be flexible or bendable, to adapt to different mounting spaces, forming optical modules of various forms. In addition, the flexible grille member 140 may have a thinner thickness. In some embodiments, the material of the substrate 120 comprises FR4, the thickness thereof may be less than 1 mm; the substrate 120 also may be an integral member, and the overall substrate 120 is an integral member, which may bend by a certain angle, so as to be able to form various forms, to satisfy requirements of laws and regulations for emergent light angles. Of course, in some application scenarios where bending is not used, a circuit board of ordinary thickness may also be used, for example, a circuit board with a thickness of 1.6 mm; in this case, the flexible or bendable grille member 140 may be closely fitted to the substrate 120 and the light shaping element 150, so as to be able to ensure close fitting with the substrate 120 and the light shaping element 150, so that the overall optical module structure is more compact and a dustproofing effect is better. Moreover, each light source assembly 130 may comprise one or more LEDs. The plurality of light source assemblies 130 is mounted on a surface of the substrate 120, and the grille member 140 is also arranged on this surface of the substrate 120 so as to surround the light source assemblies 130. The grille member 140 comprises a plurality of cells which are arranged in a matrix or array, each cell being defined with a cavity 141, and at least one light source assembly 130 being positioned in the cavity 141 of each cell. At least some of the plurality of light source assemblies 130 are independently controllable, and preferably, each light source assembly 130 is independently controllable to selectively (for example, according to specific pattern display requirements) switch on (that is, be lit) or switch off (that is, be unlit), so that light emitted from the switched on or lit light source assemblies 130 may have a pixelated light distribution or illumination effect after passing through the corresponding cell or after being defined or restricted by the grille member 140.

[0067] The light shaping element 150 may be arranged on an emergent light side of the light source assemblies 130 or the side of the light source assemblies 130 which faces away from the substrate 120, so as to shape light emitted from the light source assemblies 130 to have a desired light distribution. In the present disclosure, as described below, the term “shaping” comprises, but is not limited to, diffusion, homogenizing, steering, patterning, etc. of light. Thus, the light emitted from the optical module overall may have a pixelated and patterned distribution, to provide functions such as desired lighting or signalling.

[0068] In a shown embodiment, such as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 - 6, the optical module further may comprise a light projection element 160, which is arranged at one side of the light shaping element 150 which faces away from the light source assemblies 130, and light shaped through the light shaping element 150 (such as a pixelated light beam with or without a pattern) is projected to a target position by the light projection element 160. In a vehicle lamp application, the light projection element 160 may act as a light distribution lens or a lampshade, comprising a lens, a prism, a reflector, a light guide or a combination thereof. As shown in Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 6, the lamp apparatus 100 may comprise a decorative plate or a cover plate 170 which has an opening, and the light projection element 160 is embedded in the opening of the cover plate 170 to cover the light shaping element 150. The cover plate 170 may be fixed to the housing 110, to hold the optical module in the housing 110. For example, the substrate 120 and the cover plate 170 may be detachably fixed together using a fastener 171 (see).

[0069] In embodiments as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 5 - 7, the grille member 140 comprises partition walls 142, the partition walls 142 intersect each other to define a plurality of cells, and each cell has an opening which is remote from the substrate 120 and is defined by the partition walls 142; that is, each cell is sealed at one end by the substrate 120 and is open at the other opposite end, to facilitate the emission of light transmitted by the light source assemblies 130 positioned in the cells. Explanatively, wall faces 1421 of the partition walls 142 may extend perpendicularly or at an incline to a surface of the substrate 120, such that light from the light source assembly 130 positioned in the cavity 141 of a cell is guided to be emitted along a contour of a space defined by the wall faces 1421 of the partition walls 142 of this cell and not interfere or cause crosstalk with light emitted by the light source assemblies 130 in adjacent cells; thus, each cell and light source assembly 130 positioned in this cell jointly define a “pixel” for emitting light, such that the optical module overall is able to emit a pixelated light beam.

[0070] A cross section of each cell, such as a section which is parallel to the surface of the substrate 120 or a section which is in the plane perpendicular to the thickness direction (direction Y shown in the figures) of the grille member, has a desired “pixel” shape, for example, a circular shape or a polygonal shape, such as a triangle, a rectangle, a square, a diamond, a pentagon, a hexagon, etc., or may be custom or freely designed, for example as a heart shape, pentagram, hexagram and arrow shape shown in, to satisfy different pixelated pattern requirements. In an exemplary embodiment, the grille member 140 or at least the partition walls 142 thereof may be made of a flexible material or deformable material, such as silicone rubber, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), and / or the material of the grille member 140 includes at least one of polycarbonate(PC), polyamide(PA), polybutylene terephthalate(PBT) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer(ABS). So as to be bendable and able to adapt to different mounting positions, especially mounting positions which are not flat or are bent; the optical module of the present embodiment may be adapted therewith to make a 3D model, and emit light uniformly, such that emergent light from the optical module is more visible, improving the driving safety of the motor vehicle. The grille member or at least the partition walls thereof are opaque, to prevent crosstalk of the light of light source assemblies 130 in adjacent cells. For example, the grille member 140 may be black, but in another embodiment, the grille member 140 may also be white or grey.

[0071] As an example, the grille member 140 may be suitably constructed (for example moulded) to satisfy at least one of the following dimensions: the partition wall 142 has a thickness dimension H in a first direction Y (also called the thickness direction of the grille member) perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 120 which is less than or equal to 20 mm, or even less than or equal to 10 mm, and at the minimum may be a thickness of 0.5 mm, so that the thickness of the overall optical module is reduced, and the structure is more compact; one end (an open end) of the partition walls 142 remote from the surface of the substrate 120 has a width dimension W (the distance between adjacent cells, which may be seen as a “pixel spacing”) in a direction perpendicular to the first direction Y (such as directions X and Z in the figures) which is less than or equal to 1 mm; and one end (an open end) of the partition walls 142 remote from the surface of the substrate 120 has a length dimension L (the length or width of the cells, which may be seen as a “pixel pitch”) in a direction perpendicular to the first direction Y (such as the directions X and Z in the figures) which is in a range of 3 mm to 20 mm, such as the range 5 mm to 10 mm. In addition, it will be understood that the grille member and the dimensions, shapes and number, etc. of cells thereof may be appropriately customized or adjusted according to actual requirements. Compared with prior art, a pixel spacing of less than or equal to 1 mm may obtain better resolution and a more uniform illumination effect.

[0072] In addition, reflective layers may be arranged on the wall faces 1421 of the partition walls 142 facing the cavities 141 of the cells; the reflective layers are spray-painted layers or aluminium coatings, for example, and the reflective layers may reflect the light emitted by the light source assemblies 130, such that more light is emitted from the openings of the cells , improving the overall light effect of the optical module. Of course, in some embodiments, a reflective layer may not be provided; for example, the partition walls 142 are set to be black, black having a more hidden effect, to avoid affecting the overall appearance effect of the optical module.

[0073] In the exemplary embodiments shown in Figs. 3 - 7, the light shaping element 150 comprises a first optical film 151, and the first optical film 151 covers the grille member 140. Specifically, the first optical film 151 may be positioned on the partition walls 142, for example contacting the open ends of the partition walls 142, and at least covers the openings of a plurality of cells of the grille member 140, to (for example directly) face the light source assemblies 130 which are positioned in the cavities 141 of the cells. The first optical film 151 may be a light diffusion film or homogenizing film, used for diffusing / homogenizing the light emitted from the light source assemblies 130, or according to requirements, the first optical film 151 also may be a light deflecting film, used for causing the light emitted from the light source assemblies 130 to change direction or be deflected. Due to the presence of the first optical film 151, when viewed from one side of the first optical film which faces away from the partition walls 142, the partition walls 142 are covered by a opaque material which makes a pattern, and the partition walls 142 are not visible regardless of whether the light source assemblies 130 are lit up or unlit. The light projection element 160 may be arranged on the side of the first optical film 151 which faces away from the grille member 140 and covers the first optical film 151, so as to outwardly project a pixelated light beam shaped via the grille member 140 and the first optical film 151.

[0074] In some embodiments, a pattern may be provided on the first optical film 151, and the pattern is made of a opaque material, to form a desired light distribution. A grid cell shape of the pattern is the same as a cell shape of the grille member 140, and grid cells of the pattern are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the cells of the grille member 140, and the pattern is opaque. Specifically, the pattern may be formed with black ink, so as to prevent crosstalk of light on the first optical film 151, to form a desired light distribution. In some applications, the pattern may also satisfy specific style requirements. The pattern may be formed on an upper surface or lower surface of the first optical film 151. In some embodiments, the overall shape of a plurality of grid cells of the pattern may be set to be the same as the shape of one cell of the grille member 140, so as to further divide pixels.

[0075] In the embodiment shown in, the light shaping element 150 further may comprise a second optical film 152, and the second optical film 152 is arranged on the side of the first optical film 151 which faces away from the partition walls 142; a gap G exists between the first optical film 151 and the second optical film 152, and the presence of the gap G may further homogenize the light leaving the first optical film 151, to reduce or prevent the presence of obvious dark zones between light beams emitted from the cells. In another embodiment, in a scenario where such dark zones are not obvious, not present or do not affect the overall emergent light effect, for example in a scenario where the width dimension of the partition walls is sufficiently small, or diffusion and homogenizing by the second optical film 152 is sufficient, the first optical film 151 and the second optical film 152 may fit to each other, for example closely fitting with no gap G. The light projection element 160 may be arranged on the side of the second optical film 152 which faces away from the first optical film 151, and covers the second optical film 152, so as to outwardly project a pixelated light beam shaped via the grille member 140, the first optical film 151 and the second optical film 152. The second optical film 152 may be similar to the first optical film 151 in terms of material and function, etc., or may be different; for example, the second optical film 152 may be configured to further diffuse and homogenize the light from the first optical film or cause the light from the first optical film to change direction. The pattern as described in the embodiment above may also be formed on the second optical film 152.

[0076] As an example, at least one of the first optical film 151 and the second optical film 152 may be formed with a plurality of microstructures, such as a micro recess, a micro protrusion or another light guide structure; the plurality of microstructures are constructed or arranged to diffuse and shape the light passing through this optical film, so that a desired pattern or symbol (for example, as shown in) is formed in the light distribution leaving this optical film. The microstructure may be formed on an upper surface, i.e. an emergent light surface, or a lower surface, i.e. an incident light surface, of the first optical film 151, and may also be formed on an upper surface, i.e. an emergent light surface, or a lower surface, i.e. an incident light surface, of the second optical film 152, and of course may also be formed in the interior of the first optical film 151 and / or the second optical film 152.

[0077] In another embodiment, the second optical film 152 is configured to compress and protect the first optical film 151, such that the first optical film 151 has a better mounting quality and better stability, and external contamination is prevented from negatively affecting elements inside the optical module. In addition, the second optical film 152 may have a metallic texture, such that the appearance of the overall optical module is more visible, improving driving safety.

[0078] In another embodiment, the first optical film 151 may be a light diffusing film or a light deflecting film, and the second optical film 152 may be a PDLC (polymer dispersed liquid crystal) film, and the first optical film 151 may be closely fitted to the second optical film 152, with no gap G. The PDLC film is in an opaque state, for example a frosted state, when power is off, such that the interior structure of the optical module cannot be seen from the outside, for example the grille member 140, the optical assemblies 130 and the substrate 120 cannot be seen from the outside, so as to achieve a more beautiful appearance effect and make it easier to protect privacy. The PDLC film is in a transparent state when power is on, maintaining permeability of the optical module, thus ensuring a proper illumination function of the optical module.

[0079] As an example, the light shaping element 150, such as the first optical film 151, the second optical film 152 and / or a light diffusing material 153, may be formed from at least one of polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), epoxy resin and other materials, or may comprise a dimming film such as PDLC film or another material or structure which is able to shape or adjust a light distribution, but the present disclosure is not limited to this.

[0080] shows a main view of the lamp apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;shows a sectional view along the line A-A in;shows a sectional view along the line B-B in; andshows a partial enlarged view E1 of.

[0081] As shown in Figs. 8 - 11, in some embodiments, the light shaping element 150 may comprise a lens 154, and the lens 154 is used to replace the first optical film 151; the lens 154 is directly positioned on the partition walls 142 and at least covers the openings of the plurality of cells, to directly face the light source assemblies 130 which are positioned in the cavities 141 of the cells. Correspondingly, the lens 154 is configured to diffuse and homogenize the light emitted from the light source assemblies 130, and / or cause the light emitted from the light source assemblies 130 to change direction. The lens is generally rigid and not bendable, so that in some application scenarios which require a 3D emergent light face, a lens having a 3D emergent light face may be used, and the grille member 140 is bent into a state which matches the shape of the emergent light face of the lens 154, and is pressed on the lens 154, thereby achieving 3D modelling of the whole optical module. In addition, according to optics requirements, another optical structure may also be arranged on the lens 154, such that the lens 154 has various functions similar to an optical film, which will not be described again here. Of course, in some embodiments, an optical film may also be arranged on an inner surface of the lens 154 by in-mould injection moulding. Embodiments of the present application can not only provide only an optical film and not a lens, but also may provide only a lens and not an optical film, and further may provide an optical film as well as a lens.

[0082] shows a three-dimensional structural schematic drawing of a top view of a grille member in Figs. 6 and 8;shows a three-dimensional structural schematic drawing of a bottom view of the grille member in;shows a top view of the grille member in; andshows a partial sectional enlarged view A1-A1 of the grille member in.

[0083] As shown in Figs. 12 - 15, the grille member 140 in some embodiments of the present application is soft, that is, the partition walls 142 of the grille member 140 are bendable and elastically deformable. The grille member 140 generally has a uniform thickness when not deformed, but when an application requires it, may deform by a certain degree to satisfy model requirements. In this embodiment, the partition wall 142 may comprise a first side wall 1421 and a second side wall 1422 of which the upper ends are connected to each other, the lower ends of the first side wall 1421 and the second side wall 1422 are spaced apart from each other, that is, a partition recess 1423 is provided between the first side wall 1421 and the second side wall 1422, and the partition wall 142 is approximately in the shape of a “V”. Due to the partition recesses 1423, the grille member 140 may elastically deform toward the partition recesses 1423. Preferably, a thickness h of the partition recess 1423 may be set to be greater than or equal to 1 / 2 of a thickness H of the partition wall 142; and a distance d between lower ends of the first side wall 1421 and the second side wall 1422 is greater than or equal to 1 / 4 of the thickness h of the partition recess 1423. Thus, while providing structural stability, a certain range of elastic deformation is ensured. In some embodiments, some optical structures may also be arranged on side faces of the partition walls 142, and guide light emitted from the light source assemblies 130 at an appropriate angle.

[0084] The grille member 140 may comprise a plurality of positioning protrusions 145, and the plurality of positioning protrusions 145 are arranged on a lower surface of the grille member 140 and at a position close to an edge of the lower surface, for example, at four corners or at edges of the long sides of the lower surface of the grille member 140. Further in view of, the positioning protrusions 145 are used for being inserted into positioning holes 121 on the surface of the substrate 120, so that the grille member 140 may be pre-mounted on the substrate 120, facilitating a subsequent mounting process.

[0085] Embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a lamp apparatus 100, which comprises the optical module described in any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and which is able to provide a pixelated light distribution with or without a pattern or symbol. This lamp apparatus may act as a lighting or signalling apparatus, and for example, may act as a lighting lamp, a signalling lamp, an ambient lamp, etc. of a motor vehicle or another means of transport, for use at a target position such as a road, wall, vehicle interior or another desired position (such as inside or outside a space such as a building or room), and projects a desired pattern, for example, personalized patterns, such as a smiley face, a heart symbol, a flower, an animal or plant, a vehicle logo, etc., or dynamic effect patterns, for example vehicle driving related information such as vehicle speed, turning arrows, travelling arrows, lanes, etc., and information such as road construction, warning / indication signs, text symbols, etc., to realize functions such as lighting and signalling.shows some examples of patterns projected by the lamp apparatus, and the patterns corresponding to the respective cells may be the same as each other or different, but the present disclosure is not limited to this.

[0086] In some embodiments, as shown in Figs. 1 - 3 and 5, the housing 110 of the lamp apparatus 100 comprises a first portion 112 and a second portion 113 which have an L-shaped contour, for example, or another shape; the first portion 112 may be open and comprises a bottom wall 1121 and side walls 1122 which define an accommodating space 111 for receiving the optical module, and ventilation holes or heat dissipation holes 1123 may be formed on the bottom wall 1121. The second portion 113 may act as a base, used for accommodating another assembly of the lamp apparatus, for example a connector 181, a driving circuit board 182, etc. electrically connected to the substrate 120 and / or the light source assemblies 130 thereon.

[0087] Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a motor vehicle which comprises the optical module or the lamp apparatus as described in any one of the above embodiments.

[0088] Although the present disclosure has been described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the embodiments disclosed in the drawings are intended to illustrate preferred embodiments of the present disclosure demonstratively, and must not be construed as limiting the present disclosure. The dimensional proportions in the drawings are merely schematic, and must not be construed as limiting the present disclosure.

[0089] Although some embodiments of the general concept of the present disclosure have been shown and described, those ordinarily skilled in the art will understand that changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principle and spirit of the general concept of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

Optical module, characterized in that the optical module comprises:at least one substrate (120);a plurality of light source assemblies (130) which are mounted on a surface of the substrate, at least a portion of the plurality of light source assemblies being independently controllable to selectively switch on or off;a grille member (140) which is arranged on the surface of the substrate, the grille member comprising a plurality of cells which are arranged in an array, each cell being defined with a cavity (141), and at least one said light source assembly being positioned in the cavity of each cell; anda light shaping element (150), the light shaping element being arranged on an emergent light side of the plurality of light source assemblies, so as to shape light emitted from the plurality of light source assemblies to have a desired light distribution;wherein the grille member is flexible or bendable.Optical module according to Claim 1, wherein the grille member is closely fitted to the substrate and the light shaping element;wherein the optical module is flexible or bendable;the substrate comprises a flexible circuit board or a bendable circuit board;the light shaping element is flexible or bendable; andeach light source assembly comprises one or more LEDs.Optical module according to Claim 1, wherein the material of the substrate comprises FR4;the thickness of the substrate is less than 1 mm; andthe substrate is an integral member.Optical module according to Claim 1, whereinthe grille member (140) comprises partition walls (142) which define the plurality of cells, and the partition walls (142) extend between the substrate (120) and the light shaping element (150); andwall faces (1421) of the partition walls (142) extend perpendicularly or at an incline to the surface of the substrate, and the wall faces (1421) of the partition walls are planar faces or arcuate faces.Optical module according to Claim 4, wherein one end of the partition wall which is remote from the surface of the substrate has a width dimension (W) in a direction perpendicular to a first direction (Y) which is less than or equal to 1 mm, the first direction is thickness direction of the grille member.wherein a reflective layer is provided on the wall face (1421) of the partition wall (142); or the partition wall (142) is black.Optical module according to Claim 1, whereinthe material of the grille member (140) comprises at least one of silicone rubber, TPU, TPV and EPDM; and / orthe material of the grille member (140) comprises at least one of PC, PA, PBT and ABS.Optical module according to any one of Claims 1 - 6, whereineach cell is provided with an opening which is remote from the substrate (120) and is defined by the partition walls (142) of the cell, andthe light shaping element (150) comprises a first optical film (151) or a lens (154), the first optical film or the lens is positioned on the partition walls and at least covers the openings of the plurality of cells, so as to directly face the light source assemblies positioned in the cavities of the cells, and the first optical film or the lens is configured to diffuse and homogenize light emitted from the light source assemblies and / or cause the light emitted from the light source assemblies to change direction.Optical module according to Claim 7, wherein a pattern is formed on the first optical film (151), and the pattern is made of opaque material, to form a desired light distribution; anda grid cell shape of the pattern is the same as a cell shape of the grille member (140), and grid cells of the pattern are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the cells of the grille member (140); or the overall shape of a plurality of grid cells of the pattern is the same as the shape of one cell of the grille member (140);when viewed from one side of the first optical film which faces away from the partition walls, the partition walls are covered by the opaque material which makes the pattern.Optical module according to Claim 7, whereinthe light shaping element (150) further comprises a second optical film (152), and the second optical film is arranged at one side of the first optical film which faces away from the partition walls; anda gap (G) exists between the first optical film and the second optical film, or the first optical film and the second optical film are fitted to each other.Optical module according to Claim 9, whereinthe second optical film is configured to further diffuse and homogenize light from the first optical film, and / or cause the light from the first optical film to change direction;or the second optical film is configured to compress and protect the first optical film, and the second optical film has a metallic texture;or the second optical film comprises a PDLC film, the PDLC film being in a transparent state when power is on and being in an opaque state when power is off.Optical module according to Claim 9, whereinat least one of the first optical film and the second optical film is formed with a microstructure, and the microstructure is formed on an incident light face, an emergent light face and / or the interior of the optical film; andthe microstructure is constructed to diffuse and shape light passing through the at least one optical film, so that a desired pattern is formed in the light distribution leaving the at least one optical film.Optical module according to any one of Claims 1 - 6 and 8 - 11, the optical module further comprising:a light projection element (160) which is arranged at one side of the light shaping element (150) which faces away from the light source assembly (130), light shaped through the light shaping element being projected to a target position by the light projection element,wherein the light projection element comprises a lens.Optical module according to any one of Claims 1 - 6, wherein the grille member (140) has a uniform thickness;the partition wall (142) of the grille member (140) is bendable and elastically deformable; andthe partition wall (142) comprises a first side wall (1421) and a second side wall (1422) of which upper ends are connected to each other, lower ends of the first side wall and the second side wall are spaced apart from each other, and a partition recess (1423) is provided between the first side wall and the second side wall, the partition wall being in the shape of a “V”.Optical module according to Claim 13, wherein a thickness (h) of the partition recess (1423) is greater than or equal to 1 / 2 of a thickness (H) of the partition wall (142); anda distance (d) between the lower ends of the first side wall and the second side wall is greater than or equal to 1 / 4 of the thickness (h) of the partition recess (1423).Optical module according to any one of Claims 1 - 6, wherein the grille member (140) comprises a plurality of positioning protrusions (145), the plurality of positioning protrusions are arranged on a lower surface of the grille member and at a position near an edge of the lower surface, and the positioning protrusion is used for being inserted into a positioning hole (121) on the surface of the substrate (120), so that the grille member (140) is pre-mounted on the substrate (120).

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