Turn Signal LED Mounting on Light Guide for Rear View Mirror

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for assembling turn signal indicators in rear view mirrors often result in deviations between the LED and light guide, leading to reduced light power emission due to inefficient coupling, which is costly and difficult to optimize in production.

Innovation Solution

The method involves mounting the printed circuit board with the LED directly onto the light guide, ensuring precise positioning before welding the light guide and housing together, thereby maintaining the optimal spatial relationship between the LED and light guide end face during the vibration welding process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If the printed circuit board with LED is mounted on the housing and then the light guide is welded to the housing, then the assembly process is simple, but the spatial relationship between LED and light guide end face deviates from optimum, reducing light power emission

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveassembly process simplicityVSAvoidspatial relationship precision between LED and light guide

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by mounting the printed circuit board with the LED directly onto the light guide before the welding process. This pre-positioning ensures that the LED is already in its optimal spatial relationship with the light guide end face before any welding occurs, eliminating the deviation problem that would otherwise occur during or after housing welding.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Strength

If the light guide is vibration-welded to the housing to close the module, then the housing is securely assembled, but the LED position relative to the light guide shifts from optimum during the welding process

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehousing assembly strengthVSAvoidLED to light guide alignment precision

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The invention performs the critical alignment action beforehand by mounting the LED on the light guide itself before the housing welding process. This ensures that when vibration welding occurs, the LED-light guide spatial relationship is already established and cannot be shifted, while the housing still achieves secure assembly through the welding process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Manufacturing precision

If additional adhesive and sealing material are used to fix the LED position in the light guide, then the spatial relationship is maintained, but the device complexity and production cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveLED position stability in light guideVSAvoidnumber of additional components

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and eliminates the need for additional adhesive and sealing material by changing the mounting approach. Instead of fixing the LED within the light guide using extra materials, the LED is mounted on the light guide surface before assembly, achieving position stability through the mounting structure itself rather than through additional bonding materials.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Ease of manufacture

If the LED is positioned at one end of the light guide for cost reduction, then production costs are reduced, but the light coupling efficiency to the light guide decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduction costVSAvoidlight power emission efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The invention uses preliminary action to establish the optimal spatial relationship between the LED and light guide end face before assembly is complete. By mounting the LED directly onto the light guide in the correct position beforehand, the system achieves both cost-effectiveness (using a single LED) and high light coupling efficiency, eliminating the trade-off between cost and performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

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

This approach ensures a defined illumination area and improves the coupling of the light source and light guide, enhancing light power emission and simplifying the assembly process while reducing production costs.

Implementation Method 1

The welding process works independent from the position of the LED and results in a deviation form optimum of LED to light guide end face allocation

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectVibration welding: Ultrasonic Vibration

Data Source

PatentEP2325046B1Method to assembly a turn signal indicator module and turn signal indicator sub-module

Publication Date: 2016.03.02 SMR PATENTS S A R L

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AI summary

The invention is related to a method for assembly a turn signal indicator module (1) mounted into a rear view mirror comprising a housing (2). A LED (6), a light guide (7) and a lens (7) of the turn signal indicator module (1) are mounted in steps as: Mounting the LED (6) on a printed circuit board (5), fixing the printed circuit board (5) at the light guide (7) to define a strict relation between the LED (6) and the light guide (7) and mounting the light guide (7), the lens (7) and the housing (2) to form a turn signal indicator module (1).