Motor Vehicle Headlamp Prism Arrays for Lens Concealment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing headlamp design has unstructured sections on the exit surface of the secondary optical element, which negatively impacts its appearance and makes the collimating lenses visible from the street.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an array of refractive structures with prisms on the entry and exit surfaces of the transparent substrate, designed to provide a homogeneous appearance and conceal the collimating lenses, while maintaining light collimation and diffusion properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If unstructured sections are used on the exit surface of the secondary optical element, then the collimating lenses can be visible from the street, but the appearance of the headlamp is negatively impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different surface structures to different sections of the secondary optical element. Specifically, the exit surface has structured sections with cylindrical lenses in some areas and unstructured flat sections in other areas. The refractive structures are selectively placed only in the second section, creating local quality variations that conceal collimating lenses in certain regions while maintaining optical functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The refractive structures act as an intermediary element placed in the second section of the secondary optical element. These structures mediate between the unstructured flat sections and the viewer, concealing the collimating lenses behind them while allowing light to pass through. The refractive structures serve as a visual barrier that improves appearance without blocking the optical path.
2Shape
If refractive structures are added to structure the exit surface, then the appearance becomes homogeneous, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The secondary optical element is segmented into distinct sections: a first section with cylindrical lenses and a second section with refractive structures. This segmentation allows different optical functions to be performed in different regions, creating a homogeneous appearance in the second section while maintaining the specific optical properties of the first section. The segmentation approach manages complexity by dividing the system into functional zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The secondary optical element combines different optical structures (cylindrical lenses and refractive structures) within a single transparent substrate, creating a composite optical system. This composite structure integrates multiple optical functions in one component, achieving homogeneous appearance while managing the complexity through unified substrate integration rather than separate components.
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 refractive structures ensure a uniform exit surface appearance and conceal the collimating lenses, enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the headlamp without compromising its lighting functionality.
Implementation Method 1
an array of refractive structures is placed in the second section, each of which has a prism on the entry surface and a prism on the exit surface of the at least one substrate, with the refractive structures designed such that the light exiting the collimator passes successively through the two prisms of the refractive structures
Data Source
AI summary
A headlamp includes adjacent light sources. A collimator contains adjacent collimating lenses, each with an entry and an exit surface. A secondary optical element has at least one transparent substrate with an entry and an exit surface. Two sections are adjacent to one another on the substrate. An array of cylindrical lenses is placed in a first section, and there is no array of cylindrical lenses in a second section. The light emitted from one light source to pass successively through the entry and exit surfaces of one of the collimating lenses and then through one of the sections of the secondary optical element. An array of refractive structures is placed in the second section, each of which contains a prism on the entry and exit surfaces. The refractive structures cause the light exiting the collimator to pass successively through both prisms of one of the refractive structures.