Fiber-Reinforced Vehicle Trim for Efficient Backlighting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing visible components for motor vehicles face challenges in achieving high radiation intensity for backlighting while maintaining mechanical strength and being cost-effective, as they often require significant reductions in wall thickness or intense light sources, leading to high power consumption and additional manufacturing steps.
Innovation Solution
A visible component made from a fiber-reinforced plastic with a multilayer fiber reinforcement, featuring a transparent matrix and an opaque or metallized glass fiber visible layer, which allows for high light transmission and efficient backlighting without compromising mechanical properties or increasing production complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If laser structuring is used to improve light transmission, then luminance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters by using transparent thermoplastic materials with specific optical properties (light transmission >30%) and controlling crystal structure formation during injection molding. This allows achieving high luminance without laser structuring, as the material itself transmits light effectively when properly formulated and processed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the laser structuring step from the manufacturing process entirely. Instead of adding laser treatment to conventional opaque plastics, the invention uses transparent plastics from the outset, eliminating the need for secondary laser processing while achieving the desired light transmission effect.
2Illumination intensity
If wall thickness is reduced to improve light transmission, then luminance is improved, but mechanical strength deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters by selecting transparent thermoplastic materials with high light transmission properties (>30%) and controlling their crystalline structure during injection molding. This allows maintaining sufficient wall thickness for mechanical strength while achieving adequate light transmission for acceptable luminance without compromising structural integrity.
3Illumination intensity
If intense light sources are used to improve luminance, then illumination intensity is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the optical parameters of the plastic material itself by using transparent thermoplastics with high light transmission (>30%) and controlling crystal structure formation. This improves the efficiency of light transmission through the component, allowing lower power consumption light sources to achieve sufficient luminance, thereby reducing overall power requirements.
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 achieves high radiation intensity with low light requirements, maintaining mechanical strength and reducing power consumption, while being producible inexpensively and allowing for various design effects like multicolor lighting and flexible individualization.
Implementation Method 1
The at least largely transparent fiber layers and the at least largely transparent polymer matrix may also be completely transparent
Implementation Method 2
The opaque visible layer or metallized glass fiber layer reflects a majority of the light, as a result of which this visible layer is visible to the observer
Data Source
AI summary
A visible component for a motor vehicle includes a main body which is in the form of a fiber-reinforced plastic component with a multi-layer fiber reinforcement which is integrated into an at least substantially transparent plastic matrix. The fiber reinforcement is formed by an opaque visible layer or a visible layer in the form of a metalized glass fiber layer and by substantially transparent structural layers.