Vehicle Lighting Device with Reflective Cavity for Complex Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighting devices for vehicles struggle to adapt to complex surface geometries, limiting their placement on external paneling components like bumpers and requiring significant effort, and they cannot be seamlessly integrated into the vehicle's surface due to space constraints and design restrictions.
Innovation Solution
A lighting device comprising a first support element and a transparent second support element forming a cavity with reflective and partially reflective coatings, allowing light to be reflected and creating a depth effect, which can be designed to be very flat and compact, enabling placement on complex surfaces with minimal space and effort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If lighting devices are positioned on external body panels with complex surface curvatures, then design freedom and brand-specific individualization are improved, but manufacturing complexity and installation effort increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting device incorporates a curved refractive index distribution within its transparent support element, allowing light to bend and follow complex surface geometries. This curvature principle enables the lighting device to adapt to any external body panel shape without requiring complex mechanical structures, thus improving design freedom while keeping manufacturing complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes spatially varying refractive index parameters within the transparent support element to control light propagation. By changing the refractive index parameter continuously throughout the material volume, the lighting device can adapt to complex surface curvatures without increasing structural complexity, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and manufacturing complexity.
2Volume of moving object
If lighting devices are made compact to reduce installation space, then ease of integration is improved, but illumination effectiveness may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical light directing structures (reflectors, lenses, complex optical paths) with a refractive index distribution field within the transparent support element. This substitution allows light to be controlled and extended over long distances through the material without requiring large physical spaces, thus achieving both compact installation and effective illumination.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting device extends illumination in the optical dimension rather than the physical spatial dimension. By using the refractive index distribution to guide light over extended paths within the compact transparent support element, the device achieves effective illumination without increasing its physical volume, resolving the contradiction between installation space and illumination effectiveness.
3Illumination intensity
If lighting devices use reflective coatings to extend light paths, then illumination coverage is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite transparent support element with spatially varying refractive index properties. This composite material structure integrates the light guiding and shaping functions that would otherwise require separate reflective coatings and optical components, thereby improving illumination coverage while reducing overall device complexity and manufacturing cost.
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 allows for the simulation of complex surface geometries, providing extensive illumination while taking up minimal space, enabling seamless integration into vehicle surfaces, enhancing design freedom and creating dynamic lighting effects.
Implementation Method 1
the first inner surface being reflective or having a reflective coating applied to the first inner surface
Implementation Method 2
having a partially reflective, transparent coating applied to the second inner surface
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5B
Figure 6~8
AI summary
The present invention relates to a lighting device for a means of transporting persons and/or goods (54), comprising a first support element (12), a transparent second support element (18) which is connected to the first support element (12) forming a cavity (20), and at least one light source (22) for providing light in the cavity (20), wherein the first support element (12) has a first inner surface (24) facing the second support element (18) and the second support element (18) has a second inner surface (26) facing the first support element (12), the first inner surface (24) being reflective or having a reflective coating (28) applied to the first inner surface (12) and having a partially reflective, transparent coating (30) applied to the second inner surface (26).Furthermore, the invention relates to a cladding component (56) for a passenger and/or goods transport vehicle (54) with such a lighting device (10) and to a passenger and/or goods transport vehicle (54) with such a cladding component (56).