CN117722654A - Adjustable lighting - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to adjustable lighting. A system may have a support structure separating an outer region from an inner region. The system may include a lighting system having an interior and/or exterior light with an adjustable diffuser. The interior lights may be used as task lights, cabin lights, sensor lights or decorative lights. Adjustment of the adjustable diffuser may be used to adjust the angular spread of the emitted light for operation in different illumination modes.

Description

Adjustable lighting

The present application claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/450,117, filed 8/15 at 2023, and U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/407,946, filed 9/19 at 2022, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to systems with illumination, and more particularly to systems with adjustable illumination.

Background

Buildings, mobile systems and other systems may be provided with lighting. The illumination may be adjusted to change the brightness level and other settings.

Disclosure of Invention

A system may have a body or other support separating an outer region from an inner region. The system may include a lighting system having an interior and/or exterior light with an adjustable diffuser. The lamp may comprise a light source such as a white light emitting diode and/or a color light emitting diode. The adjustable diffuser may be an electrically adjustable liquid crystal diffuser.

The exterior lamp on the vehicle body may be used as a headlight, a position lamp or another vehicle lamp. The interior lights may be used as task lights, cabin lights, sensor lights or decorative lights. Adjustment of the adjustable diffuser may be used to adjust the angular spread of the emitted light for operation in different illumination modes.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary system according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary adjustable diffuser according to one embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary adjustable lamp according to one embodiment.

Fig. 4 and 5 are front and side views of an exemplary adjustable lamp according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view of an exemplary lamp having a plurality of light emitters and a plurality of individually adjustable diffusers, according to one embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a side view of an exemplary system with an adjustable light according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side view of an exemplary display with an adjustable viewing angle according to one embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of exemplary operations involved in using an adjustable lamp in a system, according to one embodiment.

Detailed Description

A system may have adjustable illumination. The adjustable illumination may include one or more adjustable lights operative to provide external and/or internal illumination. The adjustable lamp may have one or more light emitting diodes or other light emitters, and may have an adjustable diffuser. By adjusting the light emitters and the diffuser, lighting properties such as lighting color, lighting brightness, and lighting coverage (e.g., angular spread of light emission) may be adjusted.

FIG. 1 is a top view of an exemplary system of the type that may include an adjustable light. As shown in fig. 1, the system 10 may include a support structure such as a support 12 and one or more adjustable lights 16. The support 12 may separate the interior region 14 of the system 10 from the exterior region 20 surrounding the system 10. The system 10 may be a building, a mobile system (e.g., a vehicle), and/or other suitable system. In arrangements where the system 10 is a vehicle, the support 12 may be a vehicle body and may include doors, windows, and/or other vehicle structures.

The system 10 may include electrical components 22 in the interior region 14, such as sensors, displays, buttons, communication circuitry, control circuitry (e.g., microprocessors, storage devices, etc.), and/or other electrical and/or optical equipment. In an exemplary arrangement, these components may include sensors such as touch sensors and button sensors that receive user finger press inputs, microphones that receive user voice command inputs, and other devices that receive user inputs. These components may also include ambient light sensors (color and/or monochrome photodetectors), cameras, and/or other optical sensors for measuring the brightness of the outer region 20.

The support 12 (e.g., a vehicle body) may have portions such as a front F, a rear R, a side W, and a top T. The adjustable light 16 may be coupled to the support 12 and supported by the support 12.

The adjustable light 16 may include an external light (e.g., a light that emits external light 24 into the external area 20). The exterior lights may be located on the front F, rear R, side W, and/or top T, and may include a head light on the front F, a tail light on the rear R, a position light on the front F and/or rear R, and/or other lighting (e.g., a light providing visibility in fog, a light providing a turn signal, a brake light, a backup light, and/or other vehicle lights).

The adjustable light 16 may also include an interior light (e.g., a light that emits built-in (interior) light 26 into the interior region 14). The interior lights may be mounted on the front portion F (e.g., as inwardly facing lights on the dashboard, rearview mirror, sun visor, and/or front body pillar), may be mounted on the rear portion R (e.g., as inwardly facing lights on the small piece luggage rack), may be mounted on the side portion W (e.g., as inwardly facing lights on the door and/or side body panels), may be mounted on the roof T (e.g., as inwardly facing overhead lights), and/or may be mounted on other surfaces in the interior region 20 (e.g., on the surfaces of seats, armrests, door panels, and/or other body panels, pillars, dashboard surfaces, etc.). The interior lighting may be used as task lighting, cabin (floodlight) lighting, decorative lighting, indicator lights (e.g., sensor location lighting), and/or other lighting.

To adjust the output of the lamp 16, the lamp 16 may be provided with an adjustable component, such as an electrically adjustable light emitter. The electrically adjustable light emitters may be adjusted to change properties of the lamp 16, such as illumination brightness, illumination color, illumination timing pattern (e.g., fast flashing, slow flashing, continuous illumination), and/or other illumination properties. The electrically adjustable light emitters may include one or more light emitting diodes, lamps, lasers, electroluminescent light sources, and/or other light emitters. The light emitters may be white light emitters such as white light emitting diodes and/or may be color light emitters such as color light emitting diodes that emit non-white illumination (e.g., red light emitting diodes, green light emitting diodes, blue light emitting diodes, yellow light emitting diodes, and other color light emitting diodes that may be independently adjusted to vary the relative proportion of each of a plurality of different colors emitted and thereby adjust the overall color of the emitted light). An illustrative configuration in which each lamp 16 includes a light source formed from one or more light emitters, such as one or more white light emitting diodes and/or colored light emitting diodes, may be described herein at times as an example. In general, the lamp 16 may include any suitable light source.

The lamp 16 may also be provided with an adjustable diffuser. The lamp may, for example, have an adjustable diffuser that overlaps a light source having one or more light emitting diodes. The diffuser may be, for example, an adjustable haze layer or an adjustable haze material block that may be electrically adjusted to exhibit a desired amount of haze (e.g., a desired amount of light scattering, sometimes referred to as an adjustable amount of light diffusion). Haze (transmission haze) can be defined as the amount of light that is subject to wide angle scattering (e.g., at an angle greater than 2.5 ° from normal according to ASTM D1003 standard of ASTM international (formerly american society for testing and materials). In some embodiments, the adjustable diffuser in the lamp may be adjusted between a low haze state (sometimes referred to as a transparent state) and a high haze state. The low haze state may, for example, exhibit less than 3% haze, less than 2% haze, or less than 1% haze (as examples). The high haze state may, for example, exhibit a haze of at least 90%, a haze of at least 95%, or a haze of at least 98% (as examples). In some configurations, the lower and higher haze states may be characterized by other haze values. For example, a lower haze state may correspond to a haze of less than 50%, less than 25%, or less than 15%, and a higher haze state may correspond to a haze of greater than 50%, greater than 65%, greater than 75%, or greater than 85% (as examples). The amount of haze produced by each adjustable diffuser can be continuously adjusted between a low haze value and a high haze value if desired (e.g., so that one or more intermediate levels of light scattering can be produced).

When the adjustable diffuser in the lamp 16 is adjusted to exhibit low haze, the light may be emitted at a first angular spread. When the adjustable diffuser in the lamp is adjusted to increase its haze, the emitted light will be scattered (diffused) by the adjustable diffuser and will exhibit a second angular spread that is larger than the first angular spread. The adjustment of the adjustable diffuser may be based on an ambient light level measured with the ambient light sensor (e.g., an ambient light sensor output indicating whether it is day or night), may be based on user input measured with a user input sensor, and/or may be based on other criteria (e.g., other sensor output). Examples of diffuser adjustment based on ambient light sensor measurements and/or other sensor measurements may sometimes be described herein as examples.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary adjustable diffuser. The adjustable diffuser 30 of fig. 2 is an adjustable liquid crystal diffuser. As shown in fig. 2, the diffuser 30 may have a polymer matrix, such as a polymer layer 36 with openings filled with a liquid crystal material 38. The openings may include discrete voids (e.g., hollow spheres) filled with bubbles of liquid crystal material (e.g., the diffuser 30 may be a polymer dispersed liquid crystal diffuser) or may form an interconnected pattern of voids in the polymer matrix (e.g., the diffuser may be a polymer network liquid crystal diffuser). The polymer matrix may be sandwiched between opposing transparent electrodes such as electrode 32 (e.g., an electrode formed of indium tin oxide or other transparent conductive material). Terminal 34 may be used to receive a control voltage (e.g., a control voltage generated based on an ambient light reading from an ambient light sensor, etc.). By adjusting the voltage across the terminals 34, the strength of the electric field applied to the liquid crystal material 38 can be adjusted, thereby rotating the liquid crystals in the material 38. Rotation of the liquid crystal changes the refractive index of the liquid crystal material 38 relative to the refractive index of the polymer layer 36, thereby adjusting the haze of the diffuser 30. When the refractive index values of the liquid crystal material and the polymer are closely matched, the haze will be low (e.g., the diffuser 30 may be transparent). When the refractive index values of the liquid crystal material and the polymer are different, the haze will be higher (e.g., the diffuser 30 may exhibit significant haze and may appear hazy). In the exemplary diffuser 30 of fig. 2, the polymer matrix has the shape of a film (e.g., the polymer matrix forms the polymer layer 36). If desired, the polymer matrix may have the shape of a solid block of material (e.g., a rectangular box shape, a hemispherical shape, a plate with planar and/or curved surfaces, and/or other suitable matrix shape). The example of fig. 2 is illustrative.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary adjustable lamp. As shown in fig. 3, the lamp 16 may have a support such as support 42. The support 42 may be formed from one or more pieces of polymer, glass, metal, ceramic, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials, and may be coupled to and supported by an exterior portion or an interior portion of the system support 12. The support 42 may have refractive structures forming a back reflector, walls forming a cavity into which the light emitters and/or other components may be mounted, and/or other adjustable light support structures. The light source 44 may be coupled to the support 42. The light source 44 may include one or more light emitters, such as one or more light emitting diodes. An adjustable diffuser 30 (which may sometimes be referred to as an electrically adjustable liquid crystal light diffuser or an adjustable light diffuser) may be coupled to the support 42 in alignment with the light source 44 (e.g., the diffuser 30 may overlap with the light source 44 such that light emitted from the light source 44 passes through the diffuser 30 before being emitted from the lamp 16). The lamp 16 may include optional light conditioning optics 46 if desired. Optics 46 may include, for example, one or more lenses, reflectors, filters, fixed diffusers, prisms, shutters with electrically adjustable actuators to selectively block different selected portions of light emitted from light source 44, and/or other optical components. If desired, these components may be interposed between the light source 44 and the diffuser 30 (e.g., to help regulate and control the light emitted from the light source 44 so that, for example, the emitted light has a desired angular spread).

During operation of the lamp 16, properties of the lamp 16 may be adjusted, such as output light intensity (sometimes referred to as illumination intensity), output light color (sometimes referred to as illumination color), and/or output light temporal characteristics (e.g., time-dependent characteristics of the emitted illumination, such as whether the illumination is continuous or blinking in a particular pattern, etc.). The diffuser 30 may also be adjustable. When the diffuser 30 has a low haze (e.g., when the diffuser 30 is in its transparent state), an external viewer may view the interior of the lamp 16 and its components. For example, in an arrangement where the light source 44 has an array of five light emitting diodes, the light output from each light emitting diode may be individually distinguished, and the location of each light emitting diode may therefore be discerned (e.g., as a point of light). The light 40 emitted from the light emitting diodes when the diffuser 30 is transparent may have a first angular spread, such as the exemplary angular spread NA of fig. 3. When the diffuser 30 is placed in a blurred state, the light 40 will be diffused as it passes through the diffuser 30 and may have a second angular spread, such as the angular spread WA of fig. 3, that is greater than the first angular spread.

As shown in this example, adjustment of the haze level of the diffuser 30 may be used to adjust the angular spread of the light 40 emitted from the lamp 16. As an example, when the light 16 is used as an interior light in the system 10 (e.g., when the light 16 is mounted to an interior surface of the support 12 (such as an interior surface of a roof T or other portion of the support 12)), the diffuser 30 may be placed in a transparent state to allow the light 16 to provide directional (narrow angle) illumination suitable for task illumination (e.g., such that the light 16 is used as a task light to provide task illumination to illuminate a book for reading) and may be placed in a dimmed state to allow the light 16 to provide diffuse illumination suitable for cabin illumination (e.g., such that the light 16 is used as a cabin light to provide cabin illumination to illuminate a substantial portion of the interior area 14). As another example, the interior lights may be angled toward the vehicle occupant's seat. When the diffuser 30 is transparent, light from the interior lights may illuminate the reading material on the occupant's legs. When the diffuser 30 obscures, a portion of the light emitted from the interior light will scatter toward the user's face (e.g., provide illumination for a video call). In another example, the lamp 16 may have an elongated shape or other suitable shape that allows the lamp 16 to be used as interior decorative lighting. The diffuser 30 in the decorative lighting may be used to adjust the appearance of the emitted decorative lighting. The adjustment of the diffuser 30 can also be used for external lamps.

Fig. 4 and 5 are front and side views, respectively, of an exemplary adjustable light 16 mounted to an exterior portion of the support 12. As shown in fig. 4, the lamp 16 may have a light source with a first portion (such as a central portion 44-1 having a circular shape) and a second portion (such as a peripheral portion 44-2 having a ring shape or other shape surrounding the first portion). Portions 44-1 and 44-2 may be concentric and may be separated by an annular gap (as an example). As shown in the side view of FIG. 5, adjustable diffuser 30 may overlap the light source formed by portions 44-1 and 44-2.

In an exemplary configuration, the lamp 16 of fig. 4 and 5 may be mounted on a front F of the system 12 (e.g., a front of a vehicle) and may be used as an adjustable headlamp. During daytime conditions (e.g., when an ambient light detector in the system 10 measures an ambient light level above a predetermined threshold), the diffuser 30 may be placed in its blurred state. In this state, both portions 44-1 and 44-2 may emit light that is diffused by diffuser 30. The diffusely emitted light may be used as daytime running light illumination (e.g., the lamp 16 may be used as a daytime running lamp). Because diffuser 30 is obscured, the light from portions 44-1 and 44-2 mixes such that the light emitting diodes of both portions 44-1 and 44-2 may contribute to the total amount of daytime running light illumination provided. During night time conditions (e.g., when the amount of ambient light detected by the ambient light detector falls below a predetermined threshold and thus below during daytime conditions), the diffuser 30 may be placed in its transparent state. In the transparent state, the portion 44-2 may function as a position light (stop light) and may emit position light illumination. The portion 44-1 may serve as a headlamp and may provide headlamp illumination. If desired, the section 44-1 may include a movable shutter to adjust the output light pattern from the section 44-1 between a low beam mode and a high beam mode, and/or may have independently controlled low beam and high beam light emitting diodes. Because the diffuser 30 is transparent, the intensity of light emitted in the forward direction (the +z direction of fig. 5) is not attenuated by off-axis scattering in the diffuser 30, which may help to improve efficiency.

The lamp 16 may have a multi-sector diffuser if desired. As shown in fig. 6, for example, the lamp 16 may have a series of sections, each section having an individually adjustable light source portion 44 'and an individually adjustable diffuser portion 30'. The light source portion 44' may sometimes be referred to as a light source or a light emitting diode. The adjustable diffuser portion 30' may sometimes be referred to as a diffuser sector, region or segment. Each diffuser portion 30 'may be aligned with an overlapping corresponding light source portion 44'. There may be a one-to-one correspondence between the light source portions 44 'and the diffuser portion 30', or the light source portions 44 'may be more or less than the diffuser portion 30'. The lamp 16 may have a one-dimensional array of portions 44 'and 30' (e.g., the lamp 16 may form an elongated strip) or the lamp 16 may have other shapes (e.g., rectangular shapes, circular shapes, other two-dimensional shapes, etc.). The lights 16 may be mounted on an interior portion of the support 12 (e.g., on one or more portions of the vehicle body, such as one or more door panels, pillars, seats, armrests, roof (headliner), window frames, etc.), or may be mounted on an exterior portion of the support 12. As an example, the light 16 may form a trim piece that is mounted to a vehicle door (e.g., a vehicle door interior) or other interior portion of the support 12.

When mounted to the interior of a vehicle door or other interior portion of a vehicle body, the diffuser portion 30 'may be entirely transparent (such that the individual light source portions 44' may be distinguishable and may appear as separate light points) or may be entirely obscured (e.g., such that the lamp 16 forms an uninterrupted diffuse band of light). Arrangements in which various subsets of the light source portions 44 'emit light and/or in which various subsets of the diffuser portions 30' are adjusted to a desired haze level may also be used. This allows the appearance of the lamp 16 to be adjusted (e.g., to produce decorative lighting having a desired pattern, color, angular spread, etc.). In yet another mode of operation, the light source portion 44' may be illuminated to indicate the presence of available vehicle control sensors (e.g., such that the light 16 functions as a sensor indicator light). For example, a single light source portion 44' aligned with and overlapping the touch sensor may be illuminated. A touch sensor (e.g., touch sensor 50 of fig. 6) may be used as a door open/close button (e.g., a touch sensor that is touched to direct a door open and close actuator to open or close a door in system 10 on which light 16 or a portion of light 16 is mounted). The corresponding diffuser portion 30' overlapping the single illumination source portion 44' may be placed in a desired state (e.g., transparent or opaque) to provide the illumination source portion 44' with a desired appearance. In this configuration, the illumination light source portion 44' may be used to indicate the presence and availability of a door touch sensor (door open-close sensor). Other patterns of undiffused and/or diffuse light may be emitted if desired (e.g., the light source portions 44' may be independently controlled to adjust the intensity, color, timing, etc. of the emission, while the diffuser portions 30' are independently controlled to adjust each portion 30' to produce a corresponding desired amount of light diffusion for that portion of the lamp 16).

Fig. 7 shows another exemplary configuration of the adjustable lamp 16. In the example of fig. 7, the light 16 is an exterior light on the exterior of the support 12 (e.g., the front, rear, or side exterior portion of the vehicle body). A sensor 52, which may be an optical sensor such as a camera, may collect images in direction 55. For example, the sensor 52 may be used to capture images to detect objects such as obstacles 56 on the road 54. When a touch sensor or other user input sensor detects that the system 10 (e.g., a vehicle) has started or is instructed to begin driving (e.g., when the vehicle is initially started or commanded to begin driving), the light 16 may be activated and the diffuser 30 of the light 16 may be placed in a dimmed state. In this state, the diffuser 30 diffuses light emitted from the lamps 16 downward in the direction 60 to illuminate the image captured by the sensor 52 (e.g., illuminate the obstacle 56 and the road 54). In this way, the sensor 52 may capture satisfactory images of the obstacle 56 and the road 54 (e.g., so that driving may be suspended or stopped each time an obstacle is detected). After detecting the presence of an obstacle, the adjustable diffuser in the lamp 16 may be placed in a transparent state so that light from the lamp 16 may be emitted over a narrower angular spread in the direction 58 for use as a headlamp illumination. As shown in this example, the external light may operate in a first mode in which diffuse supplemental illumination is provided to the sensor 52 and a second mode in which more directional headlamp illumination (or other vehicle illumination) is provided. The light 16 may switch between the two modes in response to sensor outputs (e.g., output from user input sensors, output from vehicle sensors, and/or other sensor outputs in the system 10).

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary adjustable viewing angle display for the system 10 or other systems including an adjustable diffuser (e.g., an adjustable liquid crystal diffuser of the type described in connection with the diffuser 30 of the lamp 16). The display 64 may have an array of pixels 68 on a substrate, such as substrate 66. The pixels 68 may be liquid crystal display pixels, light emitting diode pixels, and/or other pixels. An array of pixels 68 may be used to display an image through a diffuser 70. The diffuser 70 may be adjustable and thus may be switchable between a first state and a second state having different amounts of haze. For example, the diffuser 70 can be adjusted between a transparent state and a blurred state. In the transparent state, the viewing angle of the display 64 may be determined by the inherent angular spread of the pixels 68 (see, e.g., the first viewing angle NA of fig. 8). In the blurred state, diffuser 70 diffuses light emitted by pixels 68 such that display 64 exhibits a second viewing angle WA that is wider than the first viewing angle. User input sensors, such as touch sensors, button sensors, voice sensors, and/or other sensors, may be used to collect user input that is used to determine which of the two states to place the diffuser 70. In response to the sensor output indicating that a private viewing mode is desired, diffuser 70 may become transparent, narrowing the view angle at which the image on display 64 may be viewed (e.g., narrowing to an angle that is narrow enough that a person sitting next to a central viewer in front of display 64 may not view any content on display 64). In response to the sensor output indicating that a common viewing mode is desired, diffuser 70 may enter its blurred state, widening the angle of view at which the image on display 64 may be viewed (e.g., widening to an angle wide enough to allow multiple adjacent viewers to view the image on display 64).

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of exemplary operations involved in using adjustable lights 16 in system 10.

During operation of block 71, touch sensors, button sensors, voice sensors (e.g., microphones), and/or other user input sensors may be monitored to collect user input and/or other sensors such as ambient light sensors may be used in measuring ambient light levels and/or collecting other ambient sensor readings.

During operation of block 72, the lamp 16 may be adjusted based on the output of one or more sensors monitored during operation of block 71. Attributes of the lamp 16 that can be adjusted include output intensity, output color, illumination timing (e.g., whether illumination is continuous or pulsed, etc.), and output light angle spread. The light sources 44 may be adjusted to control which light emitting diodes or other light emitters are activated and the intensity at which they are turned on. The adjustable diffuser 30 may be adjusted to control the amount of light diffusion associated with the diffuser and, thus, the angular spread of light from the light source passing through the diffuser.

The operations of fig. 9 may be repeatedly performed during operation of the system 10, as indicated by line 74.

According to one embodiment, a lighting system is provided that includes a light source configured to emit light, an ambient light sensor, and an adjustable diffuser configured to diffuse the emitted light in an amount based on an output from the ambient light sensor.

According to another embodiment, the adjustable diffuser is adjustable between a transparent state and a blurred state, and the adjustable diffuser is configured to operate in the transparent state in response to detection of a first ambient light level and is configured to operate in the blurred state in response to detection of a second ambient light level that is greater than the first ambient light level.

According to another embodiment, the light source and the adjustable diffuser are configured to form a vehicle lamp.

According to another embodiment, the light source comprises a first portion and a second portion that are independently adjustable, and the adjustable diffuser overlaps the first portion and the second portion.

According to another embodiment, the first portion comprises a first light emitting diode and the second portion comprises a second light emitting diode.

According to another embodiment, the first portion is configured to emit headlamp illumination when the adjustable diffuser is in the transparent state.

According to another embodiment, the first portion and the second portion are configured to emit daytime running light illumination when the adjustable diffuser is in the dimmed state.

According to another embodiment, the second portion is configured to emit position light illumination when the adjustable diffuser is in the transparent state.

According to another embodiment, the second portion surrounds the first portion.

According to another embodiment, the adjustable diffuser comprises an electrically adjustable liquid crystal diffuser.

According to one embodiment, a vehicle is provided that includes a body, a light source coupled to the body, and an adjustable diffuser overlapping the light source, the adjustable diffuser configured to switch between a transparent state and a blurred state.

According to another embodiment, the vehicle comprises a camera configured to capture an image of an exterior area surrounding the vehicle body, the adjustable diffuser being configured to scatter light emitted from the light source to serve as illumination of the image when the adjustable diffuser is switched to the blurred state.

According to another embodiment, the light source comprises a plurality of independently adjustable light source sections, which are overlapped by respective independently adjustable diffuser sections of the adjustable diffuser.

According to another embodiment, the vehicle includes a sensor aligned with one of the adjustable diffuser portions and one of the adjustable light source portions.

According to another embodiment, the sensor comprises a door open-close sensor.

According to another embodiment, the vehicle body has an interior region, and the light source and the adjustable diffuser are configured to emit decorative lighting in the interior region.

According to another embodiment, the vehicle body has an interior region and the light source is configured to emit light into the interior region through the adjustable diffuser, the emitted light being used as task lighting when the adjustable diffuser is in the transparent state and as cabin lighting when the adjustable diffuser is in the dimmed state.

According to another embodiment, the light sources comprise light emitting diodes of different colors.

According to another embodiment, the adjustable diffuser comprises an electrically adjustable liquid crystal diffuser.

According to one embodiment, there is provided a vehicle including: a body surrounding an interior region and surrounded by an exterior region; an external light having an adjustable diffuser, the external light configured to emit light into the external region; and an interior light having an adjustable diffuser, the interior light configured to emit light into the interior region.

The foregoing is merely exemplary and various modifications may be made to the embodiments described. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented independently or may be implemented in any combination.

Claims (20)

1. A lighting system, comprising:

a light source configured to emit light;

an ambient light sensor; and

an adjustable diffuser configured to diffuse emitted light in an amount based on an output from the ambient light sensor.

2. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the adjustable diffuser is adjustable between a transparent state and a dimmed state, and wherein the adjustable diffuser is configured to operate in the transparent state in response to detecting a first ambient light level and is configured to operate in the dimmed state in response to detecting a second ambient light level that is greater than the first ambient light level.

3. The lighting system of claim 2, wherein the light source and the adjustable diffuser are configured to form a vehicle lamp.

4. The lighting system of claim 3, wherein the light source comprises first and second portions that are independently adjustable, and wherein the adjustable diffuser overlaps the first and second portions.

5. The lighting system of claim 4, wherein the first portion comprises a first light emitting diode and the second portion comprises a second light emitting diode.

6. The lighting system of claim 5, wherein the first portion is configured to emit headlamp illumination when the adjustable diffuser is in the transparent state.

7. The lighting system of claim 6, wherein the first portion and the second portion are configured to emit daytime running light illumination when the adjustable diffuser is in the dimmed state.

8. The illumination system of claim 7, wherein the second portion is configured to emit position light illumination when the adjustable diffuser is in the transparent state.

9. The lighting system of claim 8, wherein the second portion surrounds the first portion.

10. The illumination system of claim 1, wherein the adjustable diffuser comprises an electrically adjustable liquid crystal diffuser.

11. A vehicle, comprising:

a vehicle body;

a light source coupled to the vehicle body; and

an adjustable diffuser overlapping the light source, wherein the adjustable diffuser is configured to switch between a transparent state and a blurred state.

12. The vehicle of claim 11, further comprising a camera configured to capture an image of an exterior area surrounding the vehicle body, wherein the adjustable diffuser is configured to scatter light emitted from the light source to serve as illumination for the image when the adjustable diffuser is switched to the blurred state.

13. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the light source comprises a plurality of independently adjustable light source portions that are overlapped by respective independently adjustable diffuser portions of the adjustable diffuser.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, further comprising a sensor aligned with one of the adjustable diffuser portions and one of the adjustable light source portions.

15. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the sensor comprises a door open-close sensor.

16. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the body has an interior region, and wherein the light source and the adjustable diffuser are configured to emit decorative lighting in the interior region.

17. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the body has an interior region, and wherein the light source is configured to emit light into the interior region through the adjustable diffuser, wherein the emitted light is used as task lighting when the adjustable diffuser is in the transparent state, and wherein the emitted light is used as cabin lighting when the adjustable diffuser is in the dimmed state.

18. The vehicle of claim 17, wherein the light sources comprise different colored light emitting diodes.

19. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the adjustable diffuser comprises an electrically adjustable liquid crystal diffuser.

20. A vehicle, comprising:

a body surrounding an interior region and surrounded by an exterior region;

an external light having an adjustable diffuser, the external light configured to emit light into the external region; and

an interior light having an adjustable diffuser, the interior light configured to emit light into the interior region.