Backlit Vehicle Interior Panel With Gradation Pattern Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle interior switch devices struggle to maintain a high design property under low external light conditions, such as at night, as the pattern and color of the decorative panel are difficult to visually recognize.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle interior panel with a transparent base material, a decorative layer on the front surface, and a pattern portion on the back surface that displays a gradation pattern on the front surface when lit from behind, enhancing visibility and design appeal even in low light environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a decorative panel with pattern or color is used without backlighting, then the design property is improved under normal lighting conditions, but the visual recognition of the pattern and color is reduced under low external light conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The panel dynamically changes its optical properties based on lighting conditions. During daytime, the panel maintains its decorative appearance with pattern and color visible. At night, when illuminated from behind, the panel transitions to display a light-emitting pattern that is clearly visible in low light environments. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between maintaining design property and ensuring visual recognition under varying lighting conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel utilizes changes in light transmission parameters to resolve the contradiction. The light transmitting portion allows light to pass through during daytime for aesthetic appearance, while at night the same portion emits light when illuminated from behind to ensure visibility. This parameter change in light transmission behavior enables the panel to maintain both design property and visual recognition under different lighting conditions.
2Illumination intensity
If a light source is added to the back side of the decorative panel to display switch pattern, then the switch pattern visibility is improved, but the design property of the decorative panel is reduced under low external light conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The panel is segmented into distinct functional regions: a light transmitting portion that maintains decorative appearance and a light emitting portion that displays switch patterns. This segmentation allows each region to perform its specific function optimally without compromising the other, resolving the contradiction between switch pattern visibility and decorative design property.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the panel have different optical qualities tailored to their functions. The light transmitting portion maintains high aesthetic value with pattern and color, while the light emitting portion is optimized for visibility of switch patterns when illuminated. This local differentiation of quality resolves the contradiction by allowing each area to excel at its specific purpose.
3Device complexity
If the decorative panel uses only pattern or color without additional light-emitting structures, then the structure is kept simple, but the design property is reduced under low external light conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The panel structure serves multiple functions: it provides decorative appearance during daytime through light transmission, and displays visible patterns at night through light emission. By making the same structural elements perform both aesthetic and visibility functions at different times, the invention avoids adding separate complex structures while maintaining design property under low light conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel uses the light from the light source on its back side to serve its own visibility function. The light transmitting portion and light emitting portion work together using the same backlighting mechanism to achieve both decorative appearance and pattern visibility, eliminating the need for separate lighting systems and reducing overall structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The vehicle interior panel effectively maintains a high design property under low external light conditions by clearly displaying the gradation pattern, thereby improving visibility and aesthetic appeal at night.
Implementation Method 1
a base material (10) that is in a plate shape and has optical transparency
Implementation Method 2
a pattern portion (12) that has a pattern to be displayed on the front surface by emission of light from a side opposite to the front surface
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle interior panel has a front surface as a design surface. The vehicle interior panel includes a base material being in a plate-shape and having optical transparency, a decorative layer provided on a first surface of the base material and having optical transparency, the first surface being a surface on the front surface side, and a pattern portion provided on a second surface of the base material and having a pattern that is displayed on the front surface by emission of light from a side opposite to the front surface. The second surface is opposite to the first surface. The pattern portion includes a gradation portion in which light transmittance continuously changes in a planar direction. A gradation pattern is displayed on the front surface by emission of light from the side opposite to the front surface to the gradation portion.