Bifunctional Reflective Pattern for Automotive Optical Waveguides
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current optical waveguides for automotive lighting struggle to provide uniform and anisotropic illumination for curved and inclined lighting devices that meet photometric standards, while also maintaining a visually appealing appearance from various viewing angles.
Innovation Solution
An optical waveguide with a bifunctional reflective pattern integrated into its support face, combining focused and multidirectional reflection capabilities, allowing for efficient illumination along the vehicle axis and uniform diffusion in all directions, achieved through the use of cone and plane or curved facets that refract light beams effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If prisms are used to direct light beams to create anisotropic illumination, then compliance with photometric standards is achieved, but uniform illuminated appearance from all viewing angles is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The reflective face is segmented into multiple discrete reflective elements (prisms and/or reflective portions) with different orientations. Each element directs light in specific directions to achieve both anisotropic illumination for photometric compliance and uniform appearance from various viewing angles. The segmentation allows independent optimization of different regions for different viewing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the reflective face are assigned different local properties through varying prism orientations, shapes, and densities. Areas requiring stronger anisotropic illumination have prisms oriented for forward direction, while areas requiring uniform appearance have prisms oriented for lateral viewing angles. This local quality variation resolves the contradiction between photometric standards and aesthetic uniformity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the waveguide is designed for curved and inclined lighting devices, then design flexibility is improved, but meeting photometric standards becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The reflective elements are designed with asymmetric orientations and configurations that can be adapted to curved and inclined waveguide surfaces. The prisms and reflective portions are positioned and angled to compensate for the waveguide's curvature and inclination, ensuring that light is directed appropriately regardless of the waveguide's orientation in the vehicle. This asymmetric design maintains photometric compliance while enabling design flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution addresses the three-dimensional complexity of curved and inclined waveguides by introducing dimensional variation in the reflective elements' orientations, positions, and shapes. The reflective face is designed with variations in multiple dimensions to accommodate the waveguide's curvature and inclination while maintaining precise light control for photometric standards compliance.
3Ease of operation
If multiple reflective elements with different orientations are used, then uniform illumination from all angles is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple reflective functions are merged into a single integrated reflective face containing both prisms and/or reflective portions. Rather than using separate components for different reflective functions, the invention combines forward-direction prisms and lateral-direction reflective portions into one unified structure. This merging achieves uniform illumination from all angles while minimizing the number of discrete components and simplifying manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The reflective face is designed as a multi-functional element that simultaneously performs multiple reflective functions: directing light forward for photometric compliance, directing light laterally for uniform appearance, and adapting to curved/inclined surfaces. This universal design consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate components into a single element, reducing device complexity while achieving the desired illumination uniformity.
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 enables the design of lighting devices that meet photometric standards with efficient illumination along the vehicle axis and uniform, coherent illumination from any angle, enhancing both functionality and aesthetics.
Implementation Method 1
The propagation of the light in a controlled manner is generally performed by successive total reflections on various internal reflection faces to the optical waveguide
Implementation Method 2
designed to travel by successive total reflections off the faces of the optical waveguide to an output face where the beam is refracted
Data Source
AI summary
An optical waveguide for the propagation of a light beam adapted to travel by successive total reflections off the faces of the waveguide to an output face where the light beam is refracted. One of the faces of the waveguide forms, facing towards the output face, a support face for a pattern extending across the main direction of the beam to divert same towards the output face. According to a characterizing feature of the invention, the pattern is a bifunctional reflective pattern that is integral with the support face, having three portions including end portions formed by cone portions between which there is interposed an intermediate portion that comprises two facets that meet at a top edge, which is not parallel to the support face for the patterns.