Backlit Polymeric Light Assembly for Visible Protected LED Profiles
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing light assemblies for road vehicles face challenges such as high aesthetic sensitivity to positioning defects, vulnerability to impacts, and design constraints due to direct visibility of LED strips, which affect mounting, replacement, and visibility at long distances.
Innovation Solution
A backlit light assembly featuring a transparent polymeric substrate with integrated LED strips, where the light beam traverses the substrate and exits through optimized outlet profiles, allowing for improved visibility and protection, reducing design constraints and simplifying installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a single LED strip is installed directly visible from the outside, then the light emission is thin and not appreciable at long distances, but the mounting requires high positioning accuracy and aesthetic sensitivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a transparent or translucent polymeric substrate as an intermediary between the LED strip and the external environment. The LED strip is mounted on the inner surface of this substrate, which diffuses and redirects the light to create a thicker, more visible light emission at long distances while eliminating the need for precise positioning of the LED strip itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-dimensional LED strip to a three-dimensional light emission structure by using a transparent/translucent substrate with controlled thickness. This adds vertical dimension to the light emission, creating a thicker apparent light source that is more visible at distance without requiring multiple parallel LED strips.
2Illumination intensity
If the LED strip is positioned for direct visibility, then the light emission is visible, but the diodes are exposed and vulnerable to impact damage
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent/translucent polymeric substrate serves as a protective intermediary that shields the LED strip from direct impact while still allowing light to pass through. The substrate absorbs and distributes impact forces, protecting the vulnerable diodes while maintaining light visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a polymeric substrate that can be transparent or translucent, providing a protective shell that shields the LED components from impact while allowing light transmission. This flexible protective layer maintains reliability without compromising visibility.
3Illumination intensity
If multiple parallel LED strips are installed to increase visibility thickness, then the light emission is thicker and more visible, but the device complexity and mounting difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent/translucent substrate acts as an optical intermediary that transforms a single thin LED strip into a thicker apparent light emission. The substrate's thickness and optical properties create the visual effect of a thicker light source without requiring multiple LED strips, thereby reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the LED strip with the transparent/translucent substrate into a single integrated assembly. This combination allows the simple single-strip configuration to achieve the visual thickness of multiple strips, reducing complexity while maintaining visibility performance.
4Ease of manufacture
If the LED strip is directly visible from the outside, then the light emission is simple to implement, but design constraints are imposed by the position of diodes and power supply lines
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent/translucent substrate serves as an intermediary that masks the positions of diodes and power supply lines from external view. This allows the LED strip to be positioned flexibly on the inner surface without design constraints imposed by external visibility requirements, enabling greater design freedom while maintaining implementation simplicity.
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 solution enhances visibility, simplifies mounting, improves impact resistance, and reduces weight by using a single LED strip, while eliminating direct visibility concerns and enabling complex luminous profiles.
Implementation Method 1
a transparent or translucent polymeric substrate (22) having a thickness (W) lower than the other dimensions
Implementation Method 2
a strip (20) of light-emitting diodes (21) arranged mainly along a first direction (A)
Data Source
AI summary
Light assembly comprising: a support structure; an illuminating source unit, mounted on board the support structure; an at least partially transparent polymeric substrate extending between a proximal end, mounted at the support structure and the illuminating source unit, and a distal end, opposite the proximal end and projecting from the support structure; wherein the polymeric substrate comprises a thickness lower than the other dimensions and is configured to be traversed, along its thickness, by a light beam emitted from the illuminating source unit at the proximal end, which exits at least from an outlet profile arranged at the distal end.