Light guide element for a vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to a light guide element (100). The light guide element (100) comprises: a light incident portion (101) configured to receive light from a light source (200); a reflective portion (102) configured to receive light entering the light guide element (100) through the light incident portion (101) and reflect the light in a main light emitting direction of the light guide element (100); and a light emitting surface (103) configured to emit light along an optical axis of the light guide element (100). The present invention further relates to a lighting device and a vehicle.

Description

LIGHT GUIDE ELEMENT, LIGHTING DEVICE AND VEHICLE

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of vehicle lamps, in particular to a light guide element, to a lighting device and to a vehicle.

[0002] In vehicle lighting, an optical element is usually used to modulate light emitted from a light source to form emitted light with a desired light distribution or pattern, and the emitted light is guided or emitted in a target direction at a light emitting surface to fulfil a lighting or signal indication function.

[0003] For conventional designs, in order to ensure visibility in an outer side area, it is usually necessary to add an optical micro-structure at the light emitting surface. However, such an operation may affect the appearance of the optical element.Summary of the Invention

[0004] Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to provide a light guide element capable of at least partially solving the technical problem mentioned above.

[0005] According to the light guide element of the present invention, the light guide element comprises: a light incident portion configured to receive light from a light source; a reflective portion configured to receive light entering the light guide element through the light incident portion and reflect the light in a main light emitting direction of the light guide element; and a light emitting surface configured to emit light along an optical axis of the light guide element.

[0006] According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the light incident portion comprises one or more collimators, which are configured to deflect light from corresponding light sources to form a parallel light beam directed toward the reflective portion.

[0007] According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the collimator is formed by a protrusion of a main body, and the protrusion has a circular outer surface and comprises a cavity suitable for receiving the light source.

[0008] According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion comprises an inner surface defining the cavity, the inner surface forms a first refractive portion with surrounding air, and the inner surface comprises a first side wall and a second wall substantially perpendicular to the first side wall.

[0009] According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the light guide element further comprises a second light incident surface configured to connect the first side wall and the second wall.

[0010] According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the second wall has an arc shape protruding towards the side of the light source.

[0011] According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the second light incident surface is arranged on a side close to the reflective portion, and light entering the light guide element through the second light incident surface is incident on a side wall connecting the light incident portion and the reflective surface of the light guide element and is reflected.

[0012] According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, a metal plating is provided on an outer side surface of the reflective portion.

[0013] The present invention further provides a lighting device. The lighting device comprises the light guide element according to any one of the preceding items.

[0014] The present invention further provides a vehicle. The vehicle comprises the lighting device described previously.

[0015] Due to the adoption of the above technical solution, the light guide element of the present invention has the following beneficial effects: the light guide element of the present invention can ensure the visibility of the outer side area without excessive design of the light emitting surface, thereby ensuring that it has approximately the same brightness when observed at different angles, and it is possible to meet the optical requirements without affecting the appearance.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] A detailed description of the present disclosure is provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings to make other objectives and advantages of the present disclosure apparent and help achieve a comprehensive understanding of the present disclosure.

[0017] These and / or other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become obvious and easy to understand from the following description of illustrative embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein:

[0018] shows, in an exemplary manner, a perspective view of a light guide element according to the present invention;

[0019] shows, in an exemplary manner, a partially enlarged view of a light incident portion of the light guide element according to the present invention;

[0020] shows, in an exemplary manner, a cross-sectional view of the light guide element according to the present invention; and

[0021] shows, in an exemplary manner, a light path diagram of the light guide element according to the present invention.Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0022] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in an exemplary manner below. As those skilled in the art should realize, the embodiments described may be modified in various ways without departing from the concept of the present invention. Therefore, the drawings and the description are essentially exemplary rather than limiting. Hereinafter, identical reference numerals generally denote functionally identical or similar elements.

[0023] It should be understood that the terms first, second and third, etc. may be used in the present invention to describe various types of information, but such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish items of information of the same type from each other. For example, first information could also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information could also be referred to as first information, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when" or "upon" or "in response to determining that".

[0024] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that orientation or position relationships indicated by the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "up", "down", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on the orientation or position relationships shown in the drawings, and are merely intended to facilitate and simplify the description of the present invention, rather than indicating or implying that the apparatus or element referred to must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0025] FIGS. 1-3 schematically show a perspective view, a partially enlarged view and a cross-sectional view of a light guide element 100 of the present invention, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the light guide element 100 includes a light incident portion 101 configured to receive light from a light source 200; a reflective portion 102 configured to receive light entering the light guide element 100 through the light incident portion 101 and reflect the light in a main light emitting direction of the light guide element 100; and a light emitting surface 103 configured to emit light along an optical axis of the light guide element 100 to form an illumination or signal beam.

[0026] The light guide element 100 is preferably made of a transparent or translucent material, which may be a glass resin or plastic. For example, a light guide made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), e.g. with product code LED 8N LD12, LD24, LD48 or LD96 is selected for use, or a light guide made of polycarbonate (PC), e.g. with product code EL2245 may be selected for use. Of course, those skilled in the art will know that the light guide element 100 could also be made of other suitable materials, and the above choices do not constitute a restriction on the choice of material thereof.

[0027] In a specific example, the light source 200 may be a light-emitting diode or laser type, or any suitable light source which is known or yet to be developed, and the present application imposes no specific restrictions in this regard. The light source 200 emits light in a half-space defined by a main plane thereof.

[0028] In an example, the light incident portion 101 includes one or more collimators, which are configured to deflect light from corresponding light sources 200 to form a parallel light beam directed toward the reflective portion. Specifically, the light incident portion 101 may include collimators 101. The collimators 101 are more intuitive in FIGS. 2 and 3. In the following description, only one of the collimators is used to describe the present application in detail. It is known to those skilled in the art that other collimators should also have a similar structure, and the number of collimators can be adjusted according to actual needs. The present invention imposes no restrictions on the number of collimators.

[0029] In an example, the collimator 101 may form a protrusion, which protrudes from a main body and forms an outer surface that may be substantially circular. The protrusion has a circular outer surface and includes a cavity suitable for receiving the light source 200. An inner surface of the protrusion defining the cavity forms a first refractive portion with the surrounding air, resulting in refraction of light passing through the inner surface. The outer surface of the protrusion forms a second refractive portion with the surrounding air. According to the incident angle of light encountering the outer surface of the protrusion, the light can be reflected by the principle of total internal reflection. In fact, in geometric optics, if light reaches the separation surface of two media with different optical indices at an incident angle greater than a critical value, the phenomenon of total internal reflection occurs: then, there is no longer any transmitted and refracted light, and there is only reflected light. The outer surface of the protrusion forming the second refractive portion may have a parabolic or elliptical profile.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the inner surface includes a first side wall 105 and a second wall 106 substantially perpendicular to the first side wall 105. The first side wall 105 is designed to refract light from the light source 200 so that the light entering the collimator through the first side wall is irradiated onto the outer surface of the protrusion at an angle exceeding a critical angle. The second wall 106 has an arc shape protruding towards the side of the light source 200, and is designed so that light entering the collimator through the second wall 106 is refracted and collimated, and travels to the reflective portion 102 in a direction substantially perpendicular to a main light emitting direction, thereby further facilitating subsequent light distribution. The light incident on the reflective portion 102 is totally reflected here, and then emitted along the main light emitting direction.

[0031] In an example, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, the light guide element 100 further includes a second light incident surface 104 configured to connect the first side wall 105 and the second wall 106, so that the utilization of the light from the light source 200 can be ensured, thereby improving the light efficiency. The second light incident surface 104 provides a smooth transition between the first side wall 105 and the second wall 106, and guides the light to the large angle direction of the light emitting surface 103 to improve the visibility of the light emission effect, so that without changing the appearance of the light emitting surface 103 of the light guide element 100, satisfactory visibility is obtained, and regulatory requirements are met.

[0032] Specifically, the second light incident surface 104 is arranged on a side close to the reflective portion 102. The light entering the light guide element 100 through the second light incident surface 104 is incident on the side wall 108 connecting the light incident portion 101 and the reflective portion 102 of the light guide element 100 and is reflected, as shown in. After being reflected by the side wall 108, this part of the light is incident on the side wall of the light guide element along the main light emitting direction, is further reflected, and is finally emitted at a large angle direction on the light emitting surface 103, thereby improving the visibility of the light emission effect. The emergent angle of this part of the light is greater than 30 degrees with the main light emitting direction, preferably greater than 45 degrees, and more preferably greater than 60 degrees.

[0033] In a specific example, in order to ensure the uniformity of the light emission effect, a light diffusion structure is provided on the reflective portion 102 to reflect and diffuse the light incident on the reflective portion 102 to improve the lighting effect.

[0034] In a specific example, in order to ensure the reflection effect at the reflective portion 102, the outer side surface of the reflective portion 102 is provided with a metal plating or coating. Specifically, the metal plating is an aluminium plating. In another example, the metal plating may also be any other suitable material, and the present invention imposes no specific restrictions in this regard.

[0035] In addition, the light emitting surface 103 may further have a light diffusion structure. The design of the light diffusion structure can further improve the uniformity of the light emission effect, so that the light pattern meets the requirements of lighting regulations.

[0036] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the light diffusion structure can cause the distribution and dispersion of a light beam reaching there, so as to further diffuse the light and improve the uniformity of the light emission effect. As an example, the light diffusion structure may be any structure that can achieve the light diffusion effect, such as a micro-pillow structure array, a micro-lens array or a texture pattern structure, and the present invention does not impose too many restrictions in this regard.

[0037] The light guide element according to the present invention is suitable for vehicle lighting and signal indication devices, such as one or more functions of an indicator lamp, a brake lamp, a side-marker lamp, a parking lamp, a reversing lamp, a daytime running lamp, a position lamp, a grille lamp, etc., wherein the optical functions are not specifically limited.

[0038] The light guide element according to the present invention has a uniform lighting effect as a whole while ensuring the visibility of the light emission effect at a large angle, thereby ensuring that it has approximately the same brightness when observed at different angles, and meeting regulatory requirements, without affecting the appearance of the light guide element 100.

[0039] The present invention further provides a lighting device. The lighting device includes the light guide element 100 described previously.

[0040] In addition, the present invention further provides a vehicle. The vehicle includes the lighting device described previously.

[0041] The lighting device or vehicle according to the present invention has at least the beneficial effects of the light guide element 100 described previously.

[0042] It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the demonstrative embodiments above, and may be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or basic features of the present invention. Therefore, regardless of which viewpoint is taken, the embodiments should be regarded as being demonstrative and non-limiting; the scope of the present invention is defined by the accompanying claims and not by the explanation above, hence it is intended that all changes falling within the meaning and scope of equivalent key elements of the claims be included in the present invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be regarded as limiting the claims concerned.

Claims

Light guide element (100), characterized in that the light guide element (100) comprises:a light incident portion (101) configured to receive light from a light source (200);a reflective portion (102) configured to receive light entering the light guide element (100) through the light incident portion (101) and reflect the light in a main light emitting direction of the light guide element (100); anda light emitting surface (103) configured to emit light along an optical axis of the light guide element (100).Light guide element (100) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the light incident portion (101) comprises one or more collimators, which are configured to deflect light from corresponding light sources (200) to form a parallel light beam directed toward the reflective portion.Light guide element (100) according to Claim 2, characterized in that the collimator is formed by a protrusion of a main body, and the protrusion has a circular outer surface and comprises a cavity suitable for receiving the light source (200).Light guide element (100) according to Claim 3, characterized in that the protrusion comprises an inner surface defining the cavity, the inner surface forms a first refractive portion with surrounding air, and the inner surface comprises a first side wall (105) and a second wall (106) substantially perpendicular to the first side wall.Light guide element (100) according to Claim 4, characterized in that the light guide element (100) further comprises a second light incident surface (104) configured to connect the first side wall (105) and the second wall (106).Light guide element (100) according to Claim 3, characterized in that the second wall (106) has an arc shape protruding towards the side of the light source (200).Light guide element (100) according to Claim 5, characterized in that the second light incident surface (104) is arranged on a side close to the reflective portion (102), and light entering the light guide element (100) through the second light incident surface (104) is incident on a side wall (108) connecting the light incident portion (101) and the reflective surface (102) of the light guide element (100) and is reflected.Light guide element (100) according to Claim 1, characterized in that a metal plating is provided on an outer side surface of the reflective portion (102).Lighting device, characterized in that it comprises the light guide element (100) according to any one of Claims 1 to 8.Vehicle, characterized in that it comprises the lighting device according to Claim 9.

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