Vehicle Light Guide Reflective Optics for Uniform Curved Lighting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle lamps with light guides experience uneven lighting due to hotspots and dark areas, particularly in designs with curved optics, leading to inadequate light distribution and uniformity.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle lamp design featuring a light guide with a reflective surface that includes alternately disposed first and second reflective optics of different shapes, such as arc-shaped and angular grooves, to improve light distribution and uniformity, along with additional optics on the output surface to minimize hotspots and dark areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional light guides use only a single shape of reflective optics on the rear surface, then the manufacturing process is simple, but hotspots and dark areas occur resulting in uneven lighting image
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using different shapes of reflective optics (first reflective optics and second reflective optics with different cross-sectional shapes) at different locations on the rear surface of the light guide. This local variation in optical properties ensures uniform light distribution across the entire output surface, preventing hotspots and dark areas while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
2Shape
If light guides are freely curved for aesthetics, then design freedom is enhanced, but it becomes difficult to create a uniform lighting image using only rear side optics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains design freedom for curved light guide shapes while ensuring lighting uniformity by locally adapting the reflective optics configuration to the specific geometry. The multiple shapes of reflective optics are strategically placed on the rear surface to compensate for curvature effects, allowing the light guide to be freely shaped without compromising lighting quality.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional light guides use repetitive optic shapes on the rear surface, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but light distribution performance is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent improves light distribution performance by using reflective optics with different cross-sectional shapes (first and second reflective optics) at different locations on the rear surface. This localized variation in optical geometry enhances light scattering and distribution uniformity while maintaining compatibility with standard manufacturing processes for forming optical structures.
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 design achieves enhanced light distribution performance and maximizes lighting uniformity across all directions, ensuring a consistent lighting image even in curved designs.
Implementation Method 1
a reflective surface formed on a rear surface of the guide body, and having a reflective optic part configured to reflect the light input through the input surface to the front side of the light guide part
Data Source
AI summary
A lamp for a vehicle including a light source part to emit light and a light guide part to receive light emitted from the light source part and to output the light from a front side of the light guide part. The light guide part includes: a guide body including an input surface disposed at an end of the guide body in an extension direction of the light guide part to which the light emitted from the light source part is input; a reflective surface formed on a rear surface of the guide body, and having a reflective optic part configured to reflect the light input through the input surface to the front side of the light guide part; and an output surface to output the light to an outer surface of the guide body. The reflective optic part includes a plurality of first reflective optics and second reflective optics.