Flexible Vehicle Lighting Apparatus with Integrated UV Resin Cover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle lighting apparatuses using LEDs suffer from optical losses due to light passing through air, leading to reduced luminance efficiency, and are inflexible to match various vehicle designs, especially with the introduction of Daytime Running Lights and contoured vehicle surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A flexible lighting apparatus featuring a flexible printed circuit board with LEDs mounted on its surface, enclosed within a transparent UV resin cover that reflects and distributes light internally, eliminating air gaps and enhancing luminance efficiency, and a manufacturing method using a suction table and UV hardening to form the cover around the LEDs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the LED is disposed outside of the light guide and the emitted light from the LED is laminated into the light guide, then the structure is simple, but optical loss or optical attenuation occurs so that luminance efficiency is deteriorated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the LED light source with the light guide by disposing the LED inside the light guide rather than outside. This integration eliminates the air interface between the LED and light guide, preventing optical loss and attenuation while maintaining structural simplicity. The LED is positioned to directly emit light into the light guide medium, ensuring efficient light coupling.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a general lighting apparatus is formed with hardened elements, then the structure is stable, but it cannot respond to various vehicle designs with contoured or bent surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) instead of a rigid PCB, enabling the lighting apparatus to be bent and contoured to match various vehicle surface designs. The FPCB maintains electrical connectivity and structural integrity while allowing dynamic shaping. Additionally, the light guide is formed as a flexible element that can be bent without breaking, providing both structural stability and design adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a flexible light guide made of translucent material that can be bent and shaped to conform to contoured vehicle surfaces. The flexible FPCB also serves as a thin, adaptable substrate for mounting LEDs. These flexible elements replace traditional rigid components, enabling the lighting apparatus to adapt to various vehicle designs while maintaining functional stability.
3Loss of energy
If a cover is made to closely contact the printed circuit board, then luminance efficiency is improved by eliminating air gaps, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the cover and light guide into a single integrated component. The light guide itself serves as the cover that closely contacts the FPCB, eliminating the need for a separate cover structure. This integration eliminates air gaps between the LED and the enclosing structure, improving luminance efficiency while simplifying the manufacturing process by reducing the number of parts and assembly steps.
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 allows for flexible mounting on vehicles, reduces weight, and significantly improves luminance efficiency by minimizing optical losses and eliminating the need for separate heat sinks, making it suitable for various lighting applications like stop and turn signal lamps.
Implementation Method 1
hardening the resin
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting apparatus for a vehicle may include a flexible printed circuit board of which at least one lighting source may be mounted on an upper surface of the flexible printed circuit board, and a cover which may be made of flexible material, and connected on the printed circuit board for the at least one lighting source to be disposed within the cover, wherein the cover distributes a light emitted from the at least one lighting source to an upper direction of the cover.