CN114909637A

CN114909637A - Light emitting module for a vehicle, vehicle headlamp and vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN114909637A
Application number: CN202110181580.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 白璐; 陈林; 陈飞
Original assignee: Valeo Lighting Hubei Technical Center Co Ltd
Current assignee: Valeo Lighting Hubei Technical Center Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-09
Filing date: 2021-02-09
Publication date: 2022-08-16
Also published as: WO2022171693A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a light module for a vehicle, a vehicle headlamp and a vehicle, wherein the light module comprises: a primary optical unit (2) having a light entry section (3), a light exit section (5) with a light exit surface (6), a light intercepting surface (10) between the light entry section (3) and the light exit section (5); a secondary optical unit (7) arranged downstream of the primary optical unit; a light source assigned to the light entrance section, wherein the light entrance section (3) has a first light entrance region (3A) and a second light entrance region (3B) configured to focus light rays of the received light source at an edge (30) of the light intercepting surface (10) facing away from the light entrance section (3) to form a primary image, the light exit surface (6) forms a virtual image of the primary image at a virtual focus location (30'), the focus location of the secondary optical unit falling at the virtual focus location.

Description

Light emitting module for a vehicle, vehicle headlamp and vehicle

Technical Field

The invention relates to a light module for a vehicle, a vehicle headlamp and a vehicle.

Background

Light modules for vehicle headlamps are known which can be realized by different solutions, for example by purely reflector systems based on curved surfaces, by combined systems based on reflectors, shutters and lenses. Both systems require a relatively large installation space: the former requires a large structural space in a direction transverse to the optical axis direction of the light-emitting module, while the latter requires a large structural space in a direction along the optical axis of the light-emitting module.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a light module for a vehicle, which can have a compact size while achieving a desired light distribution.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the proposed light module for a vehicle comprises:

a primary optical unit having

A light-entry section having a first light-entry region for a first light function and a second light-entry region for a second light function,

a light exit section having a light exit face,

-a light intercepting surface arranged between the light entrance section and the light exit section and configured to form a cut-off profile;

a secondary optical unit arranged downstream of the primary optical unit;

a first light source assigned to a first light incident region of the light incident section;

a second light source assigned to a second light incident region of the light incident section,

wherein the light emitting module is configured to focus light rays of the light source received through the first and second light incident regions towards an edge of the light intercepting surface facing away from the light incident section to form a primary image, the light exit surface forming a virtual image at a virtual focus location for the primary image, the focus location of the secondary optical unit falling at the virtual focus location.

In the proposed light module, the light emitted by the light source is focused at the edge of the intercepting surface via its primary optical unit and forms a virtual image by the light exit section of the primary optical unit, which in particular contributes to a reduction of the size of the entire light module in the main light propagation direction by means of projection by the secondary optical unit.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the primary optical unit has a block shape, and the first light incident region and the second light incident region of the light incident section are disposed on one end side of the primary optical unit to overlap. This design is suitable, for example, for the case of light modules for implementing a low beam function and a high beam function. For this purpose, for example, the first light entry region is located entirely above the second light entry region, and the first light entry region is used for the low-beam function and the second light entry region is used for the high-beam function.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the primary optical unit is constructed in one piece. This allows for a simple installation.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the light intercepting surface is flat or has a step or a depression to meet the requirements of the corresponding light distribution. In an example, the cut-off profile of the light intercepting surface may have two flat sections, which may be staggered up and down, thereby forming a step connecting the two flat sections, the step profile may be, for example, tilted left or right by an angle of 15 °. Alternatively, a recess may also be formed between two flat sections.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first light incident region has at least one first light incident unit, and the second light incident region has at least one second light incident unit. In particular, in the case where the respective light incident regions have a plurality of light incident units, the light incident units of the respective light incident regions are arranged side by side. The light incidence units may be arranged side by side adjacent to each other, or may have a space therebetween. The number and arrangement of the light incidence units may be set according to a desired light distribution.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the first light entrance unit of the first light entrance region is in the form of a collimator, the light exit surface of which is configured to guide the light rays of the light source to the edge in a concentrated manner. This facilitates better guiding of the light.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the respective light exit surface of the first light incidence unit guides the light of the light source to the edge in a concentrated manner, wherein the light can be concentrated at one or more portions of the edge. Especially in case of a wide light exit angle, light rays can be concentrated at multiple locations of the edge, i.e. there are multiple concentration points at the edge.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the light emitting surfaces of the respective first light incidence units are discontinuous, and the adjacent light emitting surfaces are connected by the intermediate surface. This may for example help to reduce the longitudinal dimension of the first light entrance unit as a whole.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the primary optical element and the secondary optical element are lenses, preferably at least one of them being an achromatic lens. A smaller aperture can be achieved by the inventive solution being a lens than by a combination of a reflector and a lens. In the case where the lens has an achromatic function, chromatic aberration can be corrected.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the primary optical unit and the secondary optical unit are constructed in one piece, thereby facilitating assembly.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the light source is a semiconductor type light source, such as a light emitting diode. Such light sources are readily available on the market.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a vehicle headlamp is proposed, which has a light module as described above.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a vehicle is proposed, which has a light module or a vehicle headlight as described above.

Drawings

The invention is further elucidated below with the aid of the drawing. Wherein,

fig. 1 schematically illustrates a light emitting module for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 shows a top view of the light emitting module of fig. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the light emitting module of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an outline of an embodiment of a light intercepting surface of the light emitting module of FIG. 1; and

fig. 5 illustrates a profile of another embodiment of a light intercepting surface of the light emitting module of fig. 1.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are exemplarily described below. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the illustrated embodiments may be modified in various different ways, without departing from the inventive concept. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive. In the following, the same reference numbers generally indicate functionally identical or similar elements.

For better illustration, a vehicle coordinate system is introduced with reference to the mounting position of the light emitting module according to the present application in the vehicle, wherein the X-direction denotes a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, i.e. a length direction of the light emitting module of the present application, which corresponds to a main light emitting direction of the light emitting module, the Y-direction denotes a lateral direction of the vehicle, i.e. a width direction of the light emitting module of the present application, and the Z-direction denotes a height direction of the vehicle, i.e. a height direction of the light emitting module of the present application.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a lighting module 1 for a vehicle according to the invention, comprising a light source, a primary optical unit 2 and a secondary optical unit 7. The primary optical unit 2 has: a light incident section 3 having a first light incident region 3A for a first light function and a second light incident region 3B for a second light function; a light exit section 5 having a light exit surface 6; a light intercepting surface 10 arranged between the light entrance section 3 and the light exit section 5 and configured to form a cut-off profile. The secondary optical unit 7 is arranged downstream of the primary optical unit 2. The light sources include first light sources L1 assigned to the first light incident region 3A of the light incident section 3, and second light sources L2 assigned to the second light incident region 3B of the light incident section 3. The light emitting module 1 is configured to focus light rays of the light source received through the first and second

light incident regions

3A, 3B towards an edge 30 of the light intercepting surface 10 facing away from the light incident section 3 to form a primary image, the light exit surface 6 forming a virtual image for the primary image at a virtual focus location 30 ', the focus location of the secondary optical unit 7 falling at the virtual focus location 30'.

The lighting module 1 according to the invention can therefore be regarded as a projection system, the secondary optical unit 7 forming the light of the light source received by the primary optical unit 2 into a desired light image and projecting this light image into the lighting module or into an area in front of the vehicle. Since the primary optical unit 2 first forms a virtual image of the received light rays of the light source, which virtual image is then projected outwards by the secondary optical unit 7, this is particularly advantageous for achieving a compact structure of the light emitting module 1 as a whole in the case of both light source units being lenses, especially when the virtual image is remote from the edge of the light intercepting surface 10 in the direction opposite to the main light exit direction, since the primary optical unit 2 can be designed with a small length and the secondary optical unit 7 itself can also have a small size in the main light exit direction. Two optical units having a small dimension in the main light exit direction are also advantageous for their injection molding. In addition, the cooperation of both the primary optical unit 2 and the secondary optical unit 7 also enables better concentration of the light source to achieve a smaller aperture of the light emitting module.

As can be seen in fig. 1, the primary optical element 2 is block-shaped, i.e. it has predetermined dimensions in the X, Y and Z directions.

The primary optical element 2 may be made of any material suitable for guiding light from the light entrance face to the light exit face in the manufactured primary optical element, and light may be totally reflected at the side walls of the primary optical element made of this material. Exemplary materials may be polycarbonate PC, polymethylmethacrylate PMMA, silicone gel or glass, etc.

The illustrated primary optical unit 2 is constructed in one piece, for example by injection molding of the above-mentioned materials. The first light incident region 3A and the second light incident region 3B of the light incident section 3 may be disposed on one end side of the primary optical unit 2 to be overlapped.

A void 4 may be formed in the primary optical unit 2 to form a light intercepting surface 10. In the example shown, the light intercepting surface 10 is flat. As can also be seen in fig. 4 and 5, the cut-off profile of the light intercepting surface 10 may have two

flats

10A, 10B offset from each other in the Z-direction, between which a step 10B (see fig. 4) or a recess 10D (see fig. 5) is provided. In other words, the run of the cut-off profile can be set corresponding to the respective legislation for the cut-off line of the low-beam light beam for a vehicle. For this purpose, as can be seen in the side view of fig. 3, the recess 4 can have a flat bottom on one side of which the light-entry section is arranged, while the edge on the opposite side forms the above-mentioned edge 30.

The first light incident region 3A and the second light incident region 3B may have at least one first incident unit, respectively. In the illustrated example, the first light incident region 3A has 6 first light incident units 11 to 16, and the second light incident region 3B has three second light incident units 21 to 23. Other numbers of light entrance units are also possible. Each light incident unit has a light incident surface. For the sake of clarity, only the light incident surface 11A of one light incident unit 11 of the first light incident region 3A and the light incident surface 21A of one light incident unit 21 of the second light incident region 3B are provided with reference numerals in the drawing.

The light entrance surfaces 11A, 21A are used to receive light from a light source, which is coupled into the

light entrance regions

3A, 3B through the light entrance surfaces. The light entry faces 11A, 21A have the form of a cavity with a central projection and a recess surrounding the projection, both projections and recesses being rotationally symmetrical about the optical axis of the light source assigned to the light entry face, wherein the light source is positioned at the focus of the projection. Preferably, the concave portion is a spherical segment having a center that coincides with the focal point of the convex portion. A part of the light coupled into the light entrance unit continues to propagate after being reflected by the reflecting

walls

11B, 21B of the light entrance unit, i.e. in the first light entrance unit towards the light exit surface 11C configured to guide the light rays of the light source concentrated at the edge 30, and in the second light entrance unit towards the edge 30 of the intercepting surface 10. Thus, the edge 30 forms a common light focusing point of the first light incident unit and the second light incident unit.

Preferably, the first light entrance unit of the first light entrance region 3A is in the form of a collimator, i.e. it collimates the light of the light source to be directed in parallel from the light entrance face to the light exit face.

In the case where the first and second light incident regions have a plurality of light incident units, the light incident units of the respective light incident regions are arranged side by side. In this case, one light source, for example, a light emitting diode, may be assigned to each light incidence unit. All light emitting diodes may advantageously be arranged in the same plane.

The first light incident region directs light of the received light source focally at the edge 30, as desired. For this purpose, the respective light entrance units of the first light entrance region may have the same concentration site, or have respective concentration sites, or partially jointly have the same concentration site. In short, the first light incident unit, specifically, the light emergent surface thereof can make the light of the light source have one or more concentrated parts at the edge 30. The same applies to the second light-entry region, i.e. the respective light-entry units of the second light-entry region may have the same concentration locations, or have respective concentration locations, or partly jointly have the same concentration locations. In short, the second light incident unit may make one or more light rays of the light source be condensed at the edge 30.

In fig. 2, an optical path diagram in the X-Y plane is shown, in which the light rays exiting the light exit surface 11C of the first light entrance unit 11 are collected at F1, while the light rays exiting the light exit surfaces 13C, 14C of the first

light entrance units

13, 14 are jointly collected at F2, the image formed by the light rays at F1, F2 by the light exit section 5 forms a virtual image at F1 ', F2' of the virtual focus location 30 ', and the light emitted by the corresponding light source is projected outward in the distance direction by the image formed by the primary optical unit 2 at the virtual focus location 30'.

Fig. 3 shows an optical path diagram in the X-Z plane, in which the light rays exiting the light exit surface 14C of the first light entrance unit 14 are collected at F2 of the edge 30, while the second light entrance unit 22 guides the coupled-in light rays to be collected toward F2, the light exit section 5 forms a virtual image of the image formed by the light rays at F2 at F2 ' of the virtual focus location 30 ', and the secondary optical unit 7 projects the corresponding light source outward toward the distant side from the image formed by the primary optical unit 2 at the virtual focus location 30 '.

Therefore, the light emitting module 1 according to the present invention can be seen as comprising a primary optical unit 2 for forming a light beam having a cut-off profile and a secondary optical unit 7 for projecting the light beam outwards in a far direction.

As seen in the optical path diagram of fig. 2, the light beams from the respective first light incident units projected through the secondary optical unit 7 may not be parallel to each other, which is advantageous in achieving a wide illumination width in the Y direction.

The light exit surfaces of the respective first light incidence units may be discontinuous, i.e. discrete, with adjacent light exit surfaces being connected by an intermediate surface 11D.

The secondary optical unit 7 has a light input surface 8 and a light output surface 9. The light input surface 8 can be designed to be convex, concave or free-form, given the contour of the light output surface 9.

For example, the first light incidence region 3A may be used for a low beam function and the second light incidence region 3B may be used for a high beam function.

The primary optical element 2 and the secondary optical element 7 are lenses, preferably at least one of them is an achromatic lens, to correct chromatic aberrations.

The primary optical unit 2 and the secondary optical unit 7 can be constructed in one piece, for example injection molded, which facilitates assembly. For this purpose, the light module can have a holder, not shown in the figures, for holding the primary optical element 2 and the secondary optical element 7.

The light source may be a semiconductor type light source, for example a light emitting diode, such as a white light emitting diode.

It is noted that, although it is shown in the drawings that the light incident units of the respective light incident regions are adjacently arranged, they may be spaced apart from each other.

The present invention is not limited to the above configuration, and various other modifications may be adopted. While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A light module (1) for a vehicle, comprising:

a primary optical unit (2) having

A light-entry section (3), the light-entry section (3) having a first light-entry region (3A) for a first light function and a second light-entry region (3B) for a second light function,

a light exit section (5), the light exit section (5) having a light exit face (6),

-a light intercepting surface (10), which light intercepting surface (10) is arranged between the light entrance section (3) and the light exit section (5) and is configured to form a cut-off profile;

a secondary optical unit (7) arranged downstream of the primary optical unit (2);

a first light source (L1) assigned to a first light-incident region (3A) of the light-incident section (3);

a second light source (L2) assigned to a second light-incident region (3B) of the light-incident section (3),

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the light emitting module (1) is configured to focus light rays of a light source received through the first and second light entrance regions (3A, 3B) towards an edge (30) of the light intercepting surface (10) facing away from the light entrance section (3) to form a primary image, the light exit face (6) forming a virtual image of the primary image at a virtual focus location (30 '), a focus location of the secondary optical unit (7) falling at the virtual focus location (30').

2. The lighting module (1) according to claim 1, wherein the primary optical unit (2) is block-shaped, and the first light incident region (3A) and the second light incident region (3B) of the light incident section (3) are disposed on one end side of the primary optical unit (2) to overlap.

3. The lighting module (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the primary optical unit (2) is constructed in one piece.

4. The lighting module (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the light intercepting surface (10) is flat or has a step (10B) or a recess (10D).

5. A light emitting module (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the first light entrance region (3A) has at least one first light entrance unit and the second light entrance region (3B) has at least one second light entrance unit.

6. The light emitting module (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that, in case that the respective light incident regions have a plurality of light incident units, the light incident units of the respective light incident regions are arranged side by side.

7. A light emitting module (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the first light entrance unit of the first light entrance region (3A) is in the form of a collimator, the light exit face of which is configured to guide the light rays of the light source to the edge (30) in a concentration.

8. A light emitting module (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the respective light exit surface of the first light entering unit directs the light of the light source to the edge (30) in a concentrated manner, wherein the light can be concentrated at one or more locations of the edge (30).

9. A light emitting module (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the light exit surfaces of the respective first light entering units are discontinuous, adjacent light exit surfaces being connected by an intermediate surface (11D).

10. The lighting module (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the primary optical unit (2) and the secondary optical unit (7) are lenses, preferably at least one of them is an achromatic lens.

11. The lighting module (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the primary optical unit (2) and the secondary optical unit (7) are constructed in one piece.

12. Light emitting module (1) according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the light source is a semiconductor type light source.

13. A vehicle headlamp with a light-emitting module (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A vehicle having a light-emitting module (1) according to one of claims 1 to 12 or a vehicle headlamp according to claim 13.