CN217863902U - Lighting device for vehicle and corresponding vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides a lighting device for vehicle, including the main part, the main part includes light exit port, indirect lighting parts and light source, and wherein, the light source is arranged to be via the light exit port towards external environment, and indirect lighting parts is arranged to be towards the light source and the light exit port two to reflect/refract the transmission light of light source in external environment via the light exit port. The utility model discloses a scheme can not increase structural complexity and manufacturing cost and can not occupy under the condition in more valuable vehicle space, for the vehicle user provides more decorative illuminating effect, promotes the holistic science and technology of vehicle and feels and the aesthetic feeling to improve user experience.

Description

Lighting device for vehicle and corresponding vehicle

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to the field of vehicle lighting technologies, and more particularly, to a lighting device for a vehicle and a corresponding vehicle.

Background

For modern vehicles, lighting devices provided inside and outside the vehicle are increasingly important in exhibiting a technological sense and an aesthetic sense. For example, a vehicle intelligent cabin system would be much less attractive to a user if it had no ambient lighting effect.

In order to provide better decorative effect and stronger attraction, the existing vehicles have been provided with many different solutions to present more technological and aesthetic ambiance lighting effects, such as various dynamic and gradient lighting effects, etc., to customers, so as to improve the technological and user experience of the vehicle as a whole. However, for these solutions, more light sources/light emitting components and correspondingly more complex wiring are typically required, which not only increases the overall production cost of the vehicle, but also takes up more valuable vehicle space.

Based on this, the inventors realized that there is still room for further improvement in this type of solution of the prior art.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

This disclosure summarizes aspects of embodiments of the present invention and should not be used to limit the claims. Other embodiments are contemplated as will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description and are intended to be included within the scope of the present application.

The inventor of the present application has recognized that there is a need for a vehicle lighting device and corresponding vehicle, which improved scheme should be able to provide a more decorative lighting effect for the vehicle, promote the overall science and technology feel and aesthetic feeling of the vehicle, and thereby promote the user experience, while being structurally simpler, with low production cost and without occupying too much vehicle space.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lighting device for a vehicle, including a main body, the main body including:

a light exit port;

an indirect lighting component;

a light source disposed toward an external environment via a light exit port;

wherein the indirect lighting means is arranged towards both the light source and the light exit opening to reflect/refract the emitted light of the light source into the external environment via the light exit opening.

According to an embodiment of the invention, wherein the indirect lighting means comprises a light reflecting surface inclined towards the light source and the light exit opening.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the main body is a part of an overhead Console (OHC) of the vehicle.

According to the utility model discloses an embodiment, wherein, the main part still includes overhead console exterior trim board and circuit board apron, and the light exit port is the gap between overhead console exterior trim board and the circuit board apron.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the indirect lighting component comprises a light reflecting surface of the circuit board cover plate inclined towards the outer trim panel of the overhead console.

According to the utility model discloses an embodiment, wherein, the light reflecting surface defines a side of light exit port.

According to an embodiment of the invention, wherein the light source comprises a strip-shaped light guide arranged along said gap.

According to an embodiment of the invention, wherein the light reflecting surface comprises a light reflecting coating or a light reflecting material.

According to an embodiment of the invention, wherein the light exit opening is covered with a light transmissive material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a vehicle including the lighting device for a vehicle as described in any one of the above embodiments.

Drawings

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the embodiments illustrated in the following drawings. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, and related elements may be omitted, or in some cases the scale may have been exaggerated, in order to emphasize and clearly illustrate the novel features described herein. In addition, the system components may be arranged differently as is known in the art. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a vehicle according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of the interior area of the vehicle shown in fig. 1, illustrating a vehicle overhead console incorporating a lighting device for the vehicle in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the overhead console shown in fig. 2 in isolation;

fig. 4 showsbase:Sub>A cross-sectional view ofbase:Sub>A lighting device forbase:Sub>A vehicle according to one or more embodiments of the present invention taken along sectionbase:Sub>A-base:Sub>A' in fig. 3;

fig. 5 is a schematic view of the overhead console shown in fig. 3, further illustrating in phantom a light guide of a light source of a lighting device for a vehicle according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 6a and 6b show respectively enlarged views of a partially reflective surface of an indirect lighting component of a lighting device for a vehicle according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 7 showsbase:Sub>A cross-sectional view ofbase:Sub>A lighting device forbase:Sub>A vehicle according to one or more other embodiments of the present invention taken along sectionbase:Sub>A-base:Sub>A' in fig. 3.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and that other embodiments may take various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; certain features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, various features illustrated and described with reference to any one of the figures may be combined with features illustrated in one or more other figures to produce embodiments that are not explicitly illustrated or described. The combination of features shown provides a representative embodiment for a typical application. However, various combinations and modifications of the features consistent with the teachings of the present disclosure may be desired for certain specific applications or implementations.

In this document, when an element or portion is referred to as being "on," "engaged to," "connected to," or "coupled to" another element or portion, the element or portion may be directly on, engaged, connected, or coupled to the other element or portion, or intervening elements or portions may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly engaged to," "directly connected to" or "directly coupled to" another element or component, there may be no intervening elements or components present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a similar manner.

As mentioned in the background above, the present inventors have realized that in prior art solutions, in order to present a more technological and aesthetic ambiance lighting effect, more light sources/lighting components and corresponding wiring are generally required, increasing the structural complexity, thereby increasing the production costs of the vehicle as a whole, and taking up more valuable vehicle space, for example, in the vertical direction. The inventors of the present application, in one or more embodiments, provide a lighting device for a vehicle and corresponding vehicle that are believed to solve one or more problems in the prior art.

Fig. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of a vehicle 10 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that in the context of the present disclosure, a vehicle 10 embodying the present disclosure may refer to any vehicle, which may include, for example and without limitation, a gasoline vehicle, a diesel vehicle, an electric vehicle (such as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a Full Hybrid Electric Vehicle (FHEV), a Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle (MHEV), or a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), etc.), a boat, an aircraft, and so forth. In general, the vehicle 10 may include various decorative lighting devices, such as the vehicle lighting device 110, at several locations inside or outside the vehicle to provide a technological and aesthetic ambiance lighting effect. The number of interior and exterior locations include, but are not limited to, vehicle locations such as vehicle instrument panels, door panels, roofs, and the like.

In view of the above-mentioned technical problems, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a lighting device 110 for a vehicle. Referring to fig. 2 through 7, the vehicle lighting device 110 includes a body 112, and the body 112 may be integrated with an interior or exterior trim panel or show surface of a vehicle location to provide a corresponding decorative lighting effect to the vehicle at the location. The body 112 further comprises a light exit port 114, an indirect lighting component 116, and a light source 118. The light source 118 is disposed toward the light exit port 114 and further toward the external environment via the light exit port 114, so as to directly emit light into the external environment via the light exit port 114, thereby providing a direct lighting effect, such as a direct lighting ray a, to an intended observer position (e.g., driver seat position, passenger seat position). Wherein the indirect illumination component 116 is directed towards both the light source 118 and the light exit port 114 to reflect/refract the emitted light of the light source 118 via the light exit port 114 towards the external environment, thereby providing an indirect illumination effect, such as indirect illumination ray a', to the intended viewer position. The superposition of both the direct illumination rays a and the indirect illumination rays a' may provide a light waterfall effect, e.g. a natural transition, to the intended viewer position, greatly enriching the user experience.

Referring now to the structure and effects of the present invention in detail based on one embodiment of the present invention, various perspective views of one or more embodiments of the vehicular illumination device 110 are shown in fig. 2 to 7, and the main body 112 is configured as a part of a vehicular overhead Console (OHC) 100 to provide corresponding illumination effects for users in the driver's seat and the passenger seat, thereby improving the technological and aesthetic feelings of the vehicular overhead Console 100. Referring in detail to fig. 4, in addition to the light exit port 114, the indirect lighting component 116, and the light source 118, in this embodiment, the body 112 may include, within its scope, an overhead console trim (Bezel) 122 and a circuit board cover (PCB cover) 120. As shown in the drawing, the circuit board cover 120 is further joined to a ceiling (Headliner) fixed to the vehicle interior on the outside and to a console exterior panel 122 on the inside. An overhead console trim panel 122 is disposed around an overhead console surface trim panel (grilll) 124.

With continued reference to fig. 4, according to several embodiments, the light exit port 114 may be configured as a gap between the overhead console outer trim panel 122 and the circuit board cover plate 120 to simplify the overall structure of the device and correspondingly save installation costs. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the light exit port 114 may be located elsewhere, for example, the light exit port 114 may be a separate elongated opening in the overhead console outer fascia 122 or the circuit board cover 120. Further, referring to the embodiment of the present invention shown in fig. 7, the light exit port 214 may be further covered with a light transmissive material 136, such as a cover plate formed of transparent resin, glass, or the like, to provide a sealing effect to the interior of the device, preventing, for example, dust from entering the interior of the overhead console 100 through the light exit port 114.

As shown in fig. 4, the indirect lighting component 116 may include a light reflecting surface 128 that is angled toward the light source 118 and the light exit port 114 to reflect/refract the emitted light of the light source 118 to the external environment via the light exit port 114 to provide an indirect lighting effect, such as indirect lighting ray a'. It is further seen that in this embodiment, the light reflecting surface 128 may be constructed as a portion of the surface of the circuit board cover plate 120 for simplicity in overall construction and installation costs. It should be understood that the light reflecting surface 128 may be a light reflecting surface on other structures, such as a light reflecting surface protruding from the overhead console outer trim panel 122 and facing the light source 118, or a light reflecting surface facing the light source 118 on a separately provided light reflecting panel.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to the enlarged view of the partially reflective surface 228 of the indirect lighting component 116 shown in fig. 6a, a light reflective coating or material 134 may be included on the reflective surface 228 to enhance light reflectivity and provide better or more varied indirect lighting effects. According to other embodiments, the light-reflecting surface may also be formed via a partial surface of the part on which the high gloss is injection molded.

According to several other embodiments of the present invention, referring to the enlarged view of the part of the light reflecting surface 328 of the indirect lighting component 116 shown in fig. 6b, the indirect lighting component 116 may further comprise a serrated/stepped optical element 138 on the light reflecting surface 328, in which case part of the light rays are reflected via the serrated/stepped optical element 138, and part of the light rays may enter the inside of the serrated/stepped optical element 138 and enter the external environment via refraction/reflection thereof, thereby providing an indirect lighting effect, such as indirect lighting light ray a'.

The light reflecting surface 128 may be arranged in close proximity to the light exit opening 114, see fig. 4, such that the light reflecting surface 128 delimits a side of the light exit opening 114, thereby providing a larger light reflecting area for the indirect illumination section.

Referring to fig. 4, the light source 118 may be disposed between the overhead console outer fascia 122 and the circuit board cover plate 120 to simplify assembly costs. As shown in the drawing, the light source 118 is seated on the circuit board cover plate 120 and abuts a stopper 130 protruded on the circuit board cover plate 120, and an overhead console exterior panel 122 covers the light source 118 from an upper side to surround it therebetween.

Referring to fig. 5, in some embodiments of the invention, the light source 118 may comprise a strip-shaped light guide 132, e.g. a closed or semi-open ring-shaped light guide, here shown in dashed lines, arranged along said slit of the light exit opening 114. Further, light emitting components (not shown), such as, but not limited to, light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), incandescent lights, etc., of the light source 118 may be positioned at the ends of the light bar guide 132, or may be distributed at various locations along the light bar guide 132, as desired. It should be understood that in some other embodiments, the light source 118 may also not comprise a light guide, but only a number of light emitting components arranged along the slit.

As can be seen in fig. 4, the light source 118 is illuminated to emit a plurality of light rays, wherein a first portion of the light rays is emitted toward the light exit port 114 formed between the console exterior trim panel 122 and the circuit board cover 120 to directly enter the external environment to provide direct illumination light rays a to desired locations such as the driver's seat and the passenger seat, and a second portion of the light rays is emitted toward the indirect illumination member 116 (here, the light reflective surface 128) to reflect/refract into the external environment via the indirect illumination member 116 to provide indirect illumination light rays a ' to desired locations such as the driver's seat and the passenger seat. In addition, some of the light rays emitted to other positions are reflected for multiple times and then enter the external environment through the light exit port 114, which also constitutes a part of the indirect illumination light ray a'. As mentioned before, the direct illumination light a and the indirect illumination light a' are superimposed to provide a richer illumination effect to the intended viewer, e.g. a natural transitional light waterfall effect. In some embodiments, where the light source 118 includes a plurality of light emitting components (e.g., a plurality of light emitting diodes or a plurality of incandescent lamps) distributed along the strip-shaped light guide 132, further flowing light effects may be provided to the aforementioned light waterfall by sequential illumination and extinction of the plurality of light emitting components in accordance with different instructions or triggering conditions. This further enriches the experience of the user and increases user satisfaction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a vehicle 10, where the vehicle 10 includes the lighting device 110 for vehicle according to any one of the above embodiments. It should be understood that all embodiments, features and advantages set forth above with respect to the vehicular illumination device 110 according to the first aspect of the present invention are equally applicable, without conflict therewith, to the vehicle 10 according to this further aspect of the present invention. That is, all of the embodiments and variations thereof described above may be directly transferred to and incorporated herein. For the sake of brevity of this disclosure, no further discussion is repeated herein.

To sum up, compare in prior art, the utility model provides a lighting device and corresponding vehicle for vehicle, this modified scheme can be under the condition that does not increase structural complexity and manufacturing cost and can not occupy more valuable vehicle space, for the vehicle provides more decorative illuminating effect, promotes the holistic science and technology of vehicle and feels and the aesthetic feeling to improve user experience.

It is to be understood that the features listed above for different embodiments may be combined with each other to form further embodiments within the scope of the invention, where technically feasible.

In this application, the use of the term "meaning" is intended to include the term "meaning". The use of the definite or indefinite article is not intended to indicate cardinality. In particular, references to "the" object or "an" and "an" object are intended to mean one of many such objects possible. Furthermore, the conjunction "or" may be used to convey simultaneous features, rather than mutually exclusive schemes. In other words, the conjunction "or" should be understood to include "and/or". The term "comprising" is inclusive and has the same scope as "comprising".

The above-described embodiments are possible examples of the embodiments of the present invention, and are given only for clearly understanding the principles of the present invention by those skilled in the art. Those skilled in the art will understand that: the above discussion of any embodiment is merely exemplary, and is not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, of embodiments of the invention is limited to these examples. The technical features of the above embodiments or of the different embodiments can also be combined with each other under the general idea of the invention and produce many other variations of the different aspects of the embodiments of the invention as described above, which are not provided in the detailed description for the sake of brevity. Therefore, any omissions, modifications, substitutions, improvements, and the like that may be made without departing from the spirit and principles of the embodiments of the present invention are intended to be within the scope of the claims.

Claims (10)

1. A lighting device for a vehicle, comprising a main body, the main body comprising:

a light exit port;

an indirect lighting component;

a light source disposed toward an external environment via a light exit port;

wherein the indirect lighting component is arranged towards both the light source and the light exit port to reflect/refract the emitted light of the light source into the external environment via the light exit port.

2. The vehicular illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the indirect illumination member includes a light reflecting surface inclined toward the light source and the light exit port.

3. The vehicular illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the main body is a part of a vehicle overhead console.

4. The vehicular illumination device according to claim 3, wherein the main body further comprises an overhead console outer panel and a circuit board cover, and the light exit port is a gap between the overhead console outer panel and the circuit board cover.

5. The vehicular lighting device according to claim 4, wherein the indirect lighting member comprises a light reflecting surface of which a circuit board cover plate is inclined toward the overhead console outer trim.

6. The vehicular illumination device according to claim 5, wherein the light reflecting surface defines one side of the light exit port.

7. The vehicular illumination device according to claim 4, wherein the light source comprises a strip-shaped light guide disposed along the slit.

8. The vehicular illumination device according to claim 2, wherein the light reflecting surface comprises a light reflecting coating or a light reflecting material.

9. The vehicular illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the light exit port is covered with a light transmitting material.

10. A vehicle comprising the vehicular illumination device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

Images