Motor Vehicle Headlight Light Guide Facet Distribution

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing optical devices for motor vehicle headlights fail to produce a continuously closed light distribution that meets legal standards while maintaining the desired sparkle effect of crystal optics.

Innovation Solution

A light-guiding body with a light-shaping structure formed from multiple connected facets, each with horizontal and vertical inclinations distributed around an expected value, ensuring that light emitted by these facets forms a luminous intensity maximum and maintains a uniformly gradual radial light intensity decrease, preserving the sparkle effect.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Illumination intensity

If a light guide body with crystal optic structure is used, then a sparkling effect is achieved, but a continuously closed light distribution with maximum luminous intensity cannot be produced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemaximum luminous intensityVSAvoidcompliance with legal standards for continuous light distribution
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The light guide body is segmented into multiple facets with different inclinations. Each facet directs light at specific angles, and collectively they form a continuously closed light distribution while maintaining the sparkling effect through the faceted crystal optic structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the light guide body have facets with different inclinations optimized for their specific functions. Facets are distributed with different horizontal and vertical inclination angles to create both the maximum luminous intensity in specific directions and the continuous closed light distribution pattern required by legal standards.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Illumination intensity

If facets are arranged to create maximum luminous intensity, then the sparkling effect is enhanced, but the light distribution may not form a continuously closed pattern

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveluminous intensity maximumVSAvoidcontinuously closed light distribution pattern
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSShape

Solution Approach 1:

The facets are arranged with asymmetric inclination angles - both horizontal and vertical - rather than uniform symmetric patterns. This asymmetric distribution allows certain facets to concentrate light for maximum intensity while other facets distribute light to form the continuous closed pattern, resolving the contradiction between sparkling effect and continuous distribution.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

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 creation of a light distribution with maximum luminous intensity and a sparkling effect, optimizing the use of luminous flux while adhering to legal standards, such as ECE regulations.

Implementation Method 1

collimators which are connected downstream of the light sources in the direction of the light emission direction, wherein a collimator is assigned to a respective light source and is configured to align the light of the light source assigned to the respective collimator parallel to a main emission direction

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectRefraction: Refraction

Implementation Method 2

a light guide body which is connected downstream of the collimators in the direction of the main emission direction, wherein the light guide body has a light entry side into which emitted light from the collimators can be coupled, and a light exit side opposite the light entry side from which the light coupled in via the light entry side exits

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectTotal internal reflection: Total Internal Reflection

Data Source

PatentEP4257872B1Lens device for a motor vehicle headlight
Publication Date: 2024.12.04 ZKW GRP GMBH
  • EP4257872B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2A
  • EP4257872B1 patent drawingFigure 2B~3
  • EP4257872B1 patent drawingFigure 4~6

AI summary

Optical device (10) for a motor vehicle headlight for generating a continuous closed light distribution (15) which light distribution has a luminous intensity maximum (16), wherein the projection device (10) comprises: - light sources (100), - collimators (200) each assigned to a light source (100), - a light guide body (300) having a light entry side (310) and a light entry side (310), wherein the light guide body (300) has a light shaping structure (400) formed from a plurality of connected facets (410), wherein the facets (410) each have an inclination towards the main emission direction (X2), wherein the area vector (A) of a facet includes a horizontal inclination angle (βH) to the main emission direction (X2) and includes a vertical inclination angle (βV) to the main emission direction (X2), wherein the inclinations of all facets (410) are distributed in this way,that the inclination angles are each distributed around an expected value, wherein the expected value corresponds to the luminous intensity maximum of the light distribution such that light which couples into or out of the light guide body (300) via facets having a horizontal and vertical inclination angle corresponding to the expected value forms the luminous intensity maximum of the light distribution, and wherein the light shaping structure (400) forms the light entry side (310) and/or the light exit side (320) of the light guide body (300), wherein the facets (410) are arranged such that the facets (410) are distributed substantially homogeneously on the light entry side (310) and/or light exit side (320) with respect to their respective inclinations.