Motor Vehicle Operating Unit Black Panel Effect
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle control units with lighting struggle to create a uniform appearance by making lighting virtually invisible when not activated while maintaining powerful and clear color differentiation when activated.
Innovation Solution
A control unit design featuring a housing with a light guide and a transparent thermoplastic elastomer coupling element, produced as a two-component injection molded part, where the housing is opaque black plastic and the panel is clear transparent plastic, with the gap between the panel and light guide filled with a transparent thermoplastic elastomer to enhance the 'black panel' effect.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a transparent panel is used to allow light passage, then lighting visibility when activated is improved, but reflections and visibility when non-activated worsen
Solution Approach 1:
A coupling element made of transparent thermoplastic elastomer is introduced as an intermediary between the light guide and the transparent panel. This coupling element fills the gap and optically couples the two components, reducing air gaps that cause reflections while maintaining light transmission when activated and enhancing the black panel effect when non-activated.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite structure combining rigid light guide (diffusely transparent plastic) with flexible coupling element (transparent thermoplastic elastomer). This composite material approach allows the system to achieve both optical coupling for reduced reflections and mechanical flexibility for intimate contact with the panel surface.
2Ease of manufacture
If the gap between panel and light guide is left empty, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but optical coupling and disappearance effect worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling element is integrated with the light guide as a two-component injection molded part, merging the light guide and coupling element into a single manufactured component. This integration maintains manufacturing efficiency through automated injection molding while ensuring optimal optical coupling between the light guide and panel.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling element changes the optical parameters of the gap region by providing a material with refractive index between air and the panel/light guide materials. This parameter change optimizes light transmission and reduces reflections, enhancing the disappearance effect without complicating the manufacturing process.
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
Achieves an effective disappearing effect for non-activated lighting while ensuring powerful and clear color differentiation in the activated state, providing a high-quality appearance by minimizing reflections and optimizing light usage.
Implementation Method 1
the light from the light-emitting diodes 3 is guided by light guides 7, which consist of a diffusely transparent plastic, to the corresponding openings 4, where it is emitted particularly evenly
Implementation Method 2
the space between the panel and the underlying light guide is filled with a coupling element made of an at least largely transparent thermoplastic elastomer
Implementation Method 3
light that hits the control unit and thus the panel 5 from the outside is not reflected by the rear surface of the panel 5 but is absorbed by the black plastic of the surface of the housing wall 2'
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to an operating unit for a motor vehicle, comprising at least one operating element (1) and an illumination device associated therewith, which are arranged adjacent to each other in a housing. The illumination device comprises a light source (3) and an opening (4) that can be illuminated by said light source in a wall (2) of the housing (2). The housing wall with the opening is covered at least partially on the visible side by a shield (5), which is substantially transparent to the light of the light source. Said shield is connected tightly to the surface of the housing wall at the back.