Vehicle Lamp Projection Lens With Selective Light Blocking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle light assemblies lack the ability to create custom, dynamic, and legally compliant lighting effects that incorporate varying intensity, texture, and color, which are essential for both functional and aesthetic purposes, such as legal functions, welcome functions, and logo displays.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle lamp assembly comprising a light source, an inner lens for redirecting light via total-internal reflection, a projection lens for shaping light, and a light blocking material applied to the projection lens to alter its appearance, allowing partial light blocking and creating unique visual effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a light assembly uses a simple lens without light blocking material, then the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but the ability to create custom lighting effects with varying intensity and color is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines transparent lens material with light blocking material (such as opaque or translucent paint, ink, or coating) applied to the lens surface. This composite structure allows the lens to maintain its optical transparency while the applied material provides light blocking capabilities to create custom lighting effects, patterns, and text with varying intensity and color.
Solution Approach 2:
The light blocking material is applied selectively to specific portions or regions of the lens rather than uniformly across the entire surface. This allows different areas of the lens to have different optical properties, enabling creation of specific lighting patterns, logos, or text while maintaining transparency in other areas, thus achieving custom lighting effects without requiring a completely redesigned complex lens structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If light blocking material is applied to the projection lens, then custom lighting effects and logo displays are achieved, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The light blocking material is applied to the lens during the manufacturing process, either before or after the lens is molded, rather than requiring post-manufacturing assembly steps. This preliminary application of the blocking material integrates the logo or design creation into the lens manufacturing itself, avoiding additional complex assembly operations while achieving the desired custom lighting effects.
3Measurement precision
If opaque material is used to block light completely, then logo visibility is improved, but the aesthetic appeal and dynamic lighting effects are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes light blocking materials with varying degrees of opacity, including translucent materials that allow partial light transmission. By changing the optical parameters of the blocking material from completely opaque to partially translucent, the system can achieve both high logo visibility and dynamic aesthetic lighting effects, as the translucent material allows light to pass through while still creating visible patterns and text with varying intensity.
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
Enables the creation of custom lit appearances with varying intensity and color, satisfying legal and aesthetic requirements, including autonomous driving signals and logo functions, while adhering to domestic and international vehicle lamp regulations.
Implementation Method 1
an inner lens that receives light from the light source and redirects the light
Implementation Method 2
a projection lens that receives light from the inner lens and shapes light for projecting from a vehicle lamp assembly
Data Source
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AI summary
A vehicle lamp includes one or more LEDs mounted to a printed circuit board for producing light. One or more inner lenses are coupled to LEDs for receiving light such that light enters along an edge or surface of each inner lens and propagates through each inner lens before exiting. A projection lens is oriented adjacent the inner lenses such that the projection lens receives light from the inner lenses and projects the light from the vehicle lamp. A light blocking material is applied to at least a portion of the projection lens for altering an appearance of light emitted from the projection lens. The resulting projections provide custom lit appearances having varying patterns, intensity, texture, and/or color. The vehicle lamp may be used for satisfying vehicle lamp legal functions, welcome functions, autonomous driving functions, and/or logo functions.