Vehicle Light Guide Unit With Hollow Guide Portion
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional light guide units for vehicles suffer from decreased light intensity and efficiency due to a narrow light receiving portion and wide light emitting portion, leading to reduced discriminability and increased costs and power consumption when trying to enhance light emission.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle light guide unit with a light receiving portion that refracts incident light and a guide portion extending to a wider light emitting portion, featuring a flat surface, lower surface with inclined and stepped portions, and side surface extensions, which increases light intensity and efficiency by total internal reflection and uniform diffusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the light emitting portion is widened to enhance aesthetic effects, then the light flux per unit area decreases, but the light intensity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a third dimension by forming a hollow guide portion with a specific cross-sectional shape (including inclined surfaces and stepped portions) rather than simply widening the light emitting portion in two dimensions. This dimensional transformation allows light to be guided through a controlled path, maintaining light flux density while achieving the desired emitting area.
Solution Approach 2:
The light guide unit is segmented into distinct functional portions: a light receiving portion, a hollow guide portion with multiple internal surfaces (inclined surfaces, stepped portions), and a light emitting portion. This segmentation allows each portion to perform its specific function optimally, with the guide portion's internal structure controlling light propagation to maintain intensity while distributing light over a wider area.
2Illumination intensity
If the size of the light emitting portion is decreased to maintain light intensity, then the size of the light receiving portion is also decreased, but the incident efficiency of light emitted by the LED is decreased
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow guide portion with its three-dimensional cross-sectional structure (including inclined surfaces and stepped portions) transforms the light propagation path from a simple two-dimensional expansion into a controlled three-dimensional path. This allows the light receiving portion to maintain its size for high incident efficiency while the light emitting portion achieves the desired size through the guide portion's geometric transformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow guide portion acts as an intermediary between the light receiving portion and the light emitting portion. It receives light from the LED, guides it through its structured internal surfaces (which control total internal reflection and light distribution), and delivers it to the light emitting portion. This intermediary structure decouples the size constraints of the receiving and emitting portions, allowing optimal sizing for both incident efficiency and light intensity.
3Illumination intensity
If a light source which emits more intense light is formed to improve discriminability, then costs and power consumption are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the need for higher power light sources with an optical structure solution. Instead of increasing the LED's power consumption to achieve higher light intensity, the hollow guide portion with its specifically designed internal surfaces (inclined surfaces, stepped portions) uses total internal reflection and geometric optics to concentrate and direct light, achieving high intensity output from a standard power LED.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the optical parameters of the light guide unit by introducing a hollow guide portion with specific geometric parameters (inclined surfaces at specific angles, stepped portions with defined heights). These parameter changes optimize light propagation and concentration, enabling high light intensity to be achieved through optical design rather than increasing the light source's power output, thus reducing power consumption and costs.
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 enhances light intensity and efficiency, improving discriminability and reducing costs and power consumption by maintaining light flux per unit area without decreasing the light receiving portion's width, allowing for efficient light emission in a narrower space.
Implementation Method 1
a light receiving portion configured to refract incident light from the light source
Implementation Method 2
which increases light intensity and efficiency by total internal reflection and uniform diffusion
Implementation Method 3
a light guide unit provides a path configured to uniformly scatter and diffuse light emitted by a light source
Data Source
AI summary
A light guide unit configured to guide light incident from a light source which emits the light. The light guide unit includes: a light receiving portion configured to refract incident light from the light source; a guide portion which extends from the light receiving portion and guides incident light through the light receiving portion; and a light emitting portion formed in an opposite direction of the light receiving portion with respect to the guide portion, wherein the light guided by the guide portion is emitted toward the aspheric lens.