Light-emitting module and motor vehicle

Abstract

Light-emitting module (100) comprising a circuit board (10); a plurality of light sources (20) for emitting light; a grille member (30) disposed on the circuit board, the grille member comprising a plurality of grids, the grid including a wall portion (32) and a cavity (33) bounded by the wall portion (32) and the light sources (20) being respectively located in the cavities (33) of the plurality of grids; and a filling layer (40) which is filled in the cavities (33), and bonds the circuit board (10), the plurality of light sources (20) and the grille member (30) into an integral piece, and the filling layer being used to diffuse and shape the light emitted by the light sources (20) into a desired light distribution.

Description

Light-Emitting Module and Motor Vehicle

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of lighting and, more particularly, to a light-emitting module and a motor vehicle.Background Technology

[0002] In the technical field of lighting, various lighting or signalling devices are known for providing light for lighting or signalling. For example, vehicle lamps are used in motor vehicles to provide illumination or signalling functions to ensure safe driving, or to provide a decorative function to enhance passenger comfort.

[0003] As a commonly used lamp, a pixelised lamp often contains multiple components inside, which results in a relatively large overall volume or size of the pixelised lamp. In addition, assembling the multiple components together is also very troublesome, resulting in a higher assembly cost for the pixelised lamp.

[0004] Therefore, how to provide a light-emitting module with a simple structure is indeed an urgent need at present.Summary of the Invention

[0005] An objective of the present application is to overcome at least one of the problems and deficiencies existing in the prior art.

[0006] A first aspect of the present application provides a light-emitting module, which comprises:

[0007] a circuit board, which comprises a first surface and a second surface disposed opposite each other;

[0008] a plurality of light sources, which are used for emitting light, the plurality of light sources being arranged on the first surface of the circuit board;

[0009] a grille member, which is disposed on the first surface of the circuit board, the grille member comprising a plurality of grids, the grid comprising a wall portion and a cavity bounded by the wall portion, and the plurality of light sources being respectively positioned in the cavities of the plurality of grids; and

[0010] a filling layer, which is filled in the cavities of the plurality of grids, the filling layer being configured to bond the circuit board, the plurality of light sources and the grille member into an integral piece, and the filling layer being used to diffuse and shape light emitted by the light sources into a desired light distribution.

[0011] In some embodiments, each of the light sources comprises one or more light-emitting diodes;

[0012] the plurality of light sources are configured to be independently controlled, according to control signals transmitted by the circuit board, to be selectively switched on or off.

[0013] In some embodiments, the wall portion is opaque, and the wall portion is configured to space the plurality of light sources apart so that they become pixelised light sources;

[0014] the wall portion comprises an intermediate wall and a peripheral wall, the peripheral wall being located around the intermediate wall.

[0015] In some embodiments, a width of a top surface of the intermediate wall located farther from the circuit board is between 0.5 mm and 1 mm;

[0016] a size of the grid is between 3 mm and 20 mm.

[0017] In some embodiments, the peripheral wall is higher than the intermediate wall;

[0018] the filling layer covers a top surface of the intermediate wall located farther from the circuit board.

[0019] In some embodiments, the circuit board is a flexible circuit board or a bendable circuit board;

[0020] the grille member is flexible or bendable;

[0021] the filling layer is flexible or bendable;

[0022] the light-emitting module is flexible or bendable.

[0023] In some embodiments, the thickness of the grille member is between 5 mm and 20 mm, and even between 5 mm and 10 mm;

[0024] the material of the grille member includes at least one of silicone rubber, TPU, TPV and EPDM;

[0025] a material of the filling layer includes a diffusion resin or an epoxy adhesive.

[0026] In some embodiments, the filling layer comprises:

[0027] a transparent layer, which is filled on a side of the cavity close to the circuit board, the transparent layer being configured to propagate light emitted by the light source; and

[0028] a diffusion layer, which is filled on a side of the cavity away from the circuit board, the diffusion layer being configured to diffuse and shape light propagated by the transparent layer into a desired light distribution.

[0029] In some embodiments, the thickness of the diffusion layer is less than the thickness of the transparent layer;

[0030] a thickness of the diffusion layer is between 0.5 mm and 5 mm, and even between 1 mm and 2 mm;

[0031] a thickness of the transparent layer is between 5 mm and 10 mm, and even between 5 mm and 8 mm.

[0032] In some embodiments, the filling layer is a uniform single-layer diffusion layer, the filling layer being configured to diffuse and shape light emitted by the light source into a desired light distribution.

[0033] In some embodiments, the light-emitting module is used as an external signal lamp or an interior lamp of a motor vehicle;

[0034] the external signal lamp includes at least one of a daytime running lamp, a position lamp, a turn signal lamp, a tail lamp and a brake lamp.

[0035] A second aspect of the present application provides a motor vehicle, which comprises the light-emitting module provided in the first aspect and the above-mentioned embodiments.Brief Description of the Drawing

[0036] is a front view of the light-emitting module provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] is a schematic structural view of the light-emitting module shown in;

[0038] is a schematic structural view of a light-emitting module provided in another embodiment.Specific Embodiments

[0039] Embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are mainly for illustrating possible implementations of the technical solution of the present application and should not be construed as limiting the technical solution of the present application. In this specification, identical or similar parts are indicated by identical or similar reference numerals.

[0040] is a front view of the light-emitting module 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application;is a schematic structural view of the light-emitting module 100 shown in. As shown in Figures 1-2, an embodiment of the present application provides a light-emitting module 100, and the light-emitting module 100 can be used as a vehicle lamp of a motor vehicle. For example, the light-emitting module 100 can be used as an external signal lamp of a motor vehicle to realise a signalling indication function, and common external signal lamps include daytime running lamps, position lamps, turn signal lamps, tail lamps and brake lamps. Of course, the light-emitting module 100 can also be used as an interior lamp of a motor vehicle to decorate the interior space.

[0041] The light-emitting module 100 comprises a circuit board 10, a plurality of light sources 20, a grille member 30 and a filling layer 40. The circuit board 10 comprises a first surface 11 and a second surface 12 disposed opposite each other. The plurality of light sources 20 are soldered onto the first surface 11 of the circuit board 10, and the plurality of light sources 20 can be arranged in a desired array and are configured such that they can be independently controlled according to control signals transmitted by the circuit board 10 and selectively switched on or off; the circuit board 10 usually has a connector 50 connected to it, and the connector 50 can be used to receive external control signals. When the light sources 20 are switched on, they can emit light. Each light source 20 may comprise one or more light-emitting diodes; when the light source 20 comprises a plurality of light-emitting diodes, the plurality of light-emitting diodes may be packaged together as an integral piece or may be individual LEDs independent from each other.

[0042] The grille member 30 is disposed on the first surface 11 of the circuit board 10 and comprises a plurality of grids 31; the plurality of grids 31 correspond respectively to the plurality of light sources 20 individually; the grid 31 comprises a wall portion 32 and a cavity 33 bounded by the wall portion 32; the light sources 20 are respectively positioned in the cavities 33 of the corresponding grids 31. The wall portion 32 is opaque; the wall portion 32 can space the plurality of light sources 20 apart so that they become pixelised light sources to form a pixelised light beam; the plurality of pixelised light sources 20 can be illuminated according to a desired rule to compose a specific pattern, text, shape, etc., thereby achieving information interaction. The filling layer 40 is filled in the cavities 33 of the plurality of grids 31, and, preferably, the filling layer 40 fills the entire cavity 33. The filling layer 40 is configured to bond the circuit board 10, the light sources 20 and the grille member 30 into an integral piece, and moreover the filling layer 40 is configured to diffuse and shape the light emitted by the light sources 20 into a desired light distribution.

[0043] In this embodiment, the plurality of grids 31 of the grille member 30 space the light sources 20 apart so that they become pixelised light sources, and the wall portion 32 can form clear boundaries between the pixels, facilitating the implementation of a pixelised light-emitting module. The filling layer 40 bonds the circuit board 10, the light sources 20 and the grille member 30 into an integral piece, leaving no assembly gaps inside the light-emitting module 100, so that the overall structure of the light-emitting module 100 is more compact and its safety and reliability are also better; in addition, the forming process of the whole light-emitting module 100 is relatively simple and convenient, and it is also easy to assemble the whole light-emitting module 100 with other components. The filling layer 40 diffuses and shapes the light emitted by the light sources 20 into a desired light distribution, which not only improves the light uniformity of the light-emitting module 100, but also eliminates the need for additional optical elements for diffusing light, such as an extra diffusion film or diffusion plate, thereby saving on the overall manufacturing cost of the light-emitting module 100. By omitting additional diffusion optical elements and the corresponding fixing structures, the structure of the light-emitting module 100 can be made even more compact, with a smaller overall thickness and a lighter weight.

[0044] In some embodiments, the thickness of the grille member 30 can be made very thin to ensure that the overall size of the light-emitting module 100 is small. For example, the thickness of the grille member 30 can be between 5 mm and 20 mm, and even between 5 mm and 10 mm. In order to achieve a better pixelised effect, the size of the grid 31 can be set smaller; for example, the size of the grid 31 can be between 3-20 mm, where the size refers to the length and / or width of the grid 31 in the X-Y plane. The shape of the grid 31 may be square, rectangular, triangular, etc., and the present application does not have specific limitations in this regard. The inner wall of grid 31 can be coated with a reflective layer or provided with some reflective structures to further improve light output efficiency.

[0045] Further, the light-emitting module 100 can be flexible or bendable so that the light-emitting module 100 can adapt to different shapes; for example, the light-emitting module 100 is bent such that the light-outputting surface 43 of the light-emitting module 100 presents a 3D form. The light-outputting surface 43 is the top surface of the filling layer 40, and the top surface of the filling layer 40 is farther from the circuit board 10 than its bottom surface. To ensure that the light-emitting module 100 is bendable, the circuit board 10 can be a flexible circuit board or a bendable circuit board; a flexible circuit board is usually a flex board that can be bent. The circuit board 10 may also be made of a rigid board, but it is very thin, for example less than 1 mm; a very thin rigid board can also be bent to a certain extent.

[0046] In addition, the grille member 30 can also be flexible or bendable. The grille member 30 may be made of silicone rubber, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), thermoplastic vulcanizate of ethylene-propylene-diene (TPV), ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) or other bendable materials. The filling layer 40 may also be flexible or bendable. The material of the filling layer 40 may be a diffusion resin or an epoxy adhesive.

[0047] When the light-emitting module 100 is manufactured, the grille member 30 may first be pre-installed onto the circuit board 10; after the grille member 30 is pressed against the circuit board 10, the filling layer 40 is filled, and once the filling layer 40 has cured and hardened, the circuit board 10 and the grille member 30 are bonded into an integral piece. This enables the positioning between the grille member 30 and the circuit board 10 to be very tight, stable and reliable.

[0048] As shown in, the wall portion 32 comprises an intermediate wall 321 and a peripheral wall 322, the peripheral wall 322 being located around the intermediate wall 321, and the whole grille member 30 is an integral piece. The wall portion 32 comprises a top surface and a bottom surface disposed opposite each other, the bottom surface being closely attached to the circuit board 10, and the top surface facing the light-outputting side. The top surface 321a of the intermediate wall 321 spaces the output light apart, and, to make the spacing distance small, the width of the top surface 321a can be designed to be a small value; for example the width of the top surface 321a of the intermediate wall 321, which is farther from the circuit board 10, is between 0.5 mm and 1 mm. Here, the width refers to the dimension along the transverse direction X, and the transverse direction X, the vertical direction Y and the height direction Z are orthogonal to each other. A spacing groove can be formed at the bottom end of the intermediate wall 321, which facilitates the elastic deformation of the grille member 30.

[0049] Furthermore, to achieve a better filling effect, the peripheral wall 322 can be made higher than the intermediate wall 321, that is, the dimension of the peripheral wall 322 along the height direction Z is greater than that of the intermediate wall 321 along the height direction Z; for example, the peripheral wall 322 is at least 0.2 mm higher than the intermediate wall 321. This arrangement allows the filling layer 40 to fill the whole grille member 30, with the top surface of the filling layer 40 flush with the top surface of the peripheral wall 322, and the filling layer 40 covering the top surface 321a of the intermediate wall 321 that is farther from the circuit board 10. In other words, the top surface of the filling layer 40 is higher than the top surface 321a of the intermediate wall 321, and the plane where the top surface 321a lies is indicated by the dashed line L1. It is worth noting that, in actual production and manufacturing, due to process reasons, the filling layer 40 may protrude slightly beyond the peripheral wall 322.

[0050] In some embodiments, as shown in, the filling layer 40 comprises a transparent layer 41 and a diffusion layer 42. The transparent layer 41 is filled on the side of the cavity 33 close to the circuit board 10, that is, the lower part of the cavity 33; along the propagation direction of light, the transparent layer 41 is provided downstream of the light source 20, and the transparent layer 41 is configured to propagate light emitted by the light source 20. The diffusion layer 42 is filled on the side of the cavity 33 away from the circuit board, that is, the upper part of the cavity 33, the diffusion layer 42 is provided downstream of the transparent layer 41, and the diffusion layer 42 is configured to diffuse and shape the light propagated by the transparent layer 41 into a desired light distribution.

[0051] It is worth noting that the light output efficiency of the transparent layer 41 is generally high, for example its light output efficiency can be greater than 90%. The light output efficiency of the diffusion layer 42 is relatively low, for example its light output efficiency is roughly 60%-70%. However, the haze of the diffusion layer 42 is relatively high, for example its haze can be greater than 80%, enabling the diffusion layer 42 to scatter the light and produce a more uniform light output effect. By providing both the transparent layer 41 and the diffusion layer 42, not only can the uniformity of the output light be high, but the overall light output efficiency can also be high, reducing light loss. This has important significance in some external signal lamp applications, and sufficient light intensity can ensure that the signal lamp meets the requirements of optical regulations. In manufacturing, the transparent layer 41 and the diffusion layer 42 can be formed separately by two fillings.

[0052] Moreover, preferably, the thickness of the diffusion layer 42 can be set smaller, while the thickness of the transparent layer 41 is larger. Thus, not only can it ensure that the filling layer 40 fills the entire cavity 33, but it can also avoid excessive light loss caused by the diffusion layer 42 being overly thick. Specifically, the thickness of the diffusion layer 42 can be less than the thickness of the transparent layer 41. For example, the thickness of the diffusion layer 42 may be between 0.5 mm and 5 mm, and even between 1 mm and 2 mm; the thickness of the transparent layer 41 may be between 5 mm and 10 mm, and even between 5 mm and 8 mm.

[0053] is a schematic structural view of the light-emitting module 100’ provided by another embodiment. As shown in, the light-emitting module 100' is not a two-layer structure comprising a transparent layer 41 and a diffusion layer 42 but is a single-layer structure comprising only a diffusion layer. Here, the filling layer 40 is formed as a uniform single-layer diffusion layer, and the filling layer 40 is configured to diffuse and shape light emitted by the light source 20 into a desired light distribution. Compared with the light-emitting module 100 shown in, the light-emitting module 100' shown inis more convenient in manufacturing because it is a structure containing only a single layer. The other features of the light-emitting module 100' ofare identical or similar to those of the light-emitting module 100 ofand will not be repeated here.

[0054] In some embodiments, pigments can be added to the filling layer 40 so that the light emitted by the light-emitting module 100 or 100' presents a desired colour.

[0055] An embodiment of the present application further provides a motor vehicle which comprises the light-emitting module 100described in any of the above embodiments.

[0056] Although the present application has been described in combination with the drawings, the embodiments disclosed in the drawings are intended to exemplarily illustrate preferred embodiments of the present application and are not to be understood as limitations to the present application. The dimensional proportions in the drawings are merely schematic, and must not be construed as limiting the present application.

[0057] Although some embodiments of the overall concept of the present application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that, without departing from the overall inventive concept of the present application, the present application may also include many other equivalent embodiments, and the scope of protection of the present application is defined by the claims.

Claims

Light-emitting module (100), characterised by comprising:a circuit board (10), which comprises a first surface (11) and a second surface (12) disposed opposite each other;a plurality of light sources (20), which are used for emitting light, the plurality of light sources being arranged on the first surface of the circuit board;a grille member (30), which is disposed on the first surface of the circuit board, the grille member comprising a plurality of grids (31), the grid comprising a wall portion (32) and a cavity (33) bounded by the wall portion and the light sources being respectively located in the cavities of the plurality of grids; anda filling layer (40), which is filled in the cavities of the plurality of grids, the filling layer being configured to bond the circuit board, the plurality of light sources and the grille member into an integral piece, and the filling layer being used to diffuse and shape light emitted by the light sources into a desired light distribution.Light-emitting module according to Claim 1, wherein each of the light sources comprises one or more light-emitting diodes;the plurality of light sources are configured to be independently controlled, according to control signals transmitted by the circuit board, to be selectively switched on or off.Light-emitting module according to Claim 1, wherein the wall portion (32) is opaque, and the wall portion is configured to space the plurality of light sources apart so that they become pixelised light sources;the wall portion (32) comprises an intermediate wall (321) and a peripheral wall (322), the peripheral wall being located around the intermediate wall.Light-emitting module according to Claim 3, wherein a width of a top surface (321a) of the intermediate wall, located farther from the circuit board, is between 0.5 mm and 1 mm;a size of the grid is between 3 mm and 20 mm.Light-emitting module according to Claim 3, wherein the peripheral wall (322) is higher than the intermediate wall (321);the filling layer covers the top surface (321a) of the intermediate wall located farther from the circuit board.Light-emitting module according to Claim 1, wherein the circuit board is a flexible circuit board or a bendable circuit board;the grille member is flexible or bendable;the filling layer is flexible or bendable;the light-emitting module is flexible or bendable.Light-emitting module according to Claim 6, wherein a thickness of the grille member is between 5 mm and 20 mm, and even between 5 mm and 10 mm;a material of the grille member (30) includes at least one of silicone rubber, TPU, TPV and EPDM;a material of the filling layer includes a diffusion resin or an epoxy adhesive.Light-emitting module according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the filling layer (40) comprises:a transparent layer (41), which is filled on a side of the cavity close to the circuit board, the transparent layer being configured to propagate light emitted by the light source; anda diffusion layer (42), which is filled on a side of the cavity away from the circuit board, the diffusion layer being configured to diffuse and shape light propagated by the transparent layer into a desired light distribution.Light-emitting module according to Claim 8, wherein a thickness of the diffusion layer is less than a thickness of the transparent layer;a thickness of the diffusion layer is between 0.5 mm and 5 mm, and even between 1 mm and 2 mm;a thickness of the transparent layer is between 5 mm and 10 mm, and even between 5 mm and 8 mm.Light-emitting module according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the filling layer (40) is a uniform single-layer diffusion layer, the filling layer being configured to diffuse and shape light emitted by the light source into a desired light distribution.Light-emitting module according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the light-emitting module is used as an external signal lamp or an interior lamp of a motor vehicle;the external signal lamp includes at least one of a daytime running lamp, a position lamp, a turn signal lamp, a tail lamp and a brake lamp.Motor vehicle, which is characterised by comprising the light-emitting module according to any one of Claims 1-11.

Images