EP3631785A1

EP3631785A1 - Strip lamp

Info

Publication number: EP3631785A1
Application number: EP18724512.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Christoph HAUZENEDER; Daniel Wengert
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2017-05-30
Filing date: 2018-05-08
Publication date: 2020-04-08
Anticipated expiration: 2038-05-08
Also published as: EP3631785B1; PL3631785T3; DE102017209071A1; WO2018219599A1; CN110663075A

Abstract

A strip lamp comprises a plurality of lamp elements, which are arranged along a curve; a transparent emission element for light of the lamp elements; and a connecting element, which is configured to fix the emission element at a predetermined distance from the curve. In this case, the connecting element has a respective web between adjacent lamp elements, which web extends in the direction of the emission element.

Description

strip light

The invention relates to a strip light. In particular, the invention relates to a domestic appliance with a strip light.

State of the art

A home appliance, such as a washing machine, includes an operating device, which may typically include input elements such as switches, buttons, knobs or sensor elements, and output elements such as lamps, numerical or graphical display devices. Occasionally, an input element is also illuminated to facilitate operation, especially in low light conditions. In this context, strip lights are also used, which represent an elongated light band, which can serve for display or illumination. For the distribution of light along the strip light, the light of a single light-emitting element can be distributed, for example by means of a light guide. Alternatively, an elongated light source such as a fluorescent tube may be used, or a plurality of light elements may be used, each illuminating only a portion of the strip light. When using multiple lighting elements, however, mechanical elements of the strip light can become unstable due to the unfavorable ratio of length to width. An assembly of the elements can be difficult and stability of the strip light during operation of the domestic appliance can be reduced. In addition, the lack of stability can form a gap or a joint, can get through the water or dirt inside the home appliance.

An object underlying the invention is to provide an improved strip light, in particular for use in a domestic appliance. The invention solves this problem by means of the subjects of the independent claims. Subclaims give preferred embodiments again. Disclosure of the invention

A strip light includes a plurality of light elements arranged along a curve; a transparent outlet element for light of the luminous elements; and a connection member configured to fix the exit member at a predetermined distance from the curve. In this case, the connecting element between adjacent lighting elements in each case has a web which extends in the direction of the outlet element. The term curve here can be understood in particular in the mathematical sense. The curve does not have to be curved, but can also run straight.

The web or webs extend transversely to a main extension direction of the strip light. The webs can help to mechanically stabilize the connecting element, so that the strip light improves, especially in the region of the outlet element improves its intended shape. Mounting of the strip light can be facilitated and long-term stability, for example when aging the materials used for the outlet element or the connecting element, can be improved. In particular, it can be better prevented that a wall, so a lateral boundary parallel to the main extension direction, incident, so in particular deformed towards the opposite wall. The light exit surface at the exit element can be defined more precisely. A lighting or display quality of the strip light can thus be improved. In addition, the strip light can be improved integrated with an adjacent element, without forming a disturbing joint, in particular an irregular joint. The connector may be shaped to laterally enclose a light channel extending vertically between the light elements and the outlet member and horizontally along the curve. The light channel can, as will be described in more detail below, be filled with air or at least partially with the outlet element. The light channel is like the strip light elongated, wherein the connecting element can prevent lateral emission of light of the light elements. The connecting element can thus form a kind of trough, a prism or an elongated funnel, which can make the strip light improved than separately manageable unit can be used. Preferably, the connecting element between the webs substantially constant material thickness. The connecting element can in particular be produced from a plastic. For this purpose, it can be produced for example by means of an injection molding process or by deep drawing. Especially when an injection molding process is used, the lands can provide stability and prevent walls from collapsing. In one embodiment, the connecting element comprises additional passages for light or control elements. The strip light with the connecting element can be arranged for example between a user interface and a printed circuit board, wherein in the region of the passages in each case an operating element or light between the surface and the circuit board can be performed. In the region of each passage, the connecting element may form a laterally enclosing wall. The wall can support the surface opposite the circuit board. Additional support points between the circuit board and the surface may also be formed without passage. The web can assume a predetermined angle of inclination relative to the curve in the direction of the exit element. A region which lies between a luminous element and the outlet element can be delimited in this way in a funnel-like or prismatic manner. By way of example, the region can take the form of a truncated pyramid, a cone or another, preferably conically tapering, in the direction of the luminous element. A bridge, which lies between two light elements, can include on both sides such a tilt angle with the curve. In order to save material, the web does not have to be prism-shaped for this purpose, but can be open, in particular if the connecting element has substantially constant material thickness, hollow or on the base, that is to say on a side facing the luminous elements.

As already indicated, the connecting element can delimit a hollow body which has an increasing cross section with increasing distance from one of the lighting elements. Due to the shape of the hollow body, light from the luminous element to the outlet element can spread divergently. Adjacent hollow bodies can blend into one another in an improved manner, so that a perceptible brightness on the surface of the exit element along the main extension direction of the strip light can be kept constant in an improved way. Light quantities of the luminous elements can be improved together. SEN. The above-described region of the outlet element can be arranged in the hollow body and have a shape similar to it.

The connecting element can be produced from an opaque (opaque or opaque) material and can be provided at least in sections with a transparent coating. In some embodiments, the connector has a reflective surface. The surface may be correspondingly smooth so that total reflection occurs at least at certain angles. The surface can also be mirrored, for example by vapor deposition. Both the luminous efficacy on the surface of the outlet element and the uniform distribution of the light in the region of the outlet element can thereby be improved.

The exit element may be configured to scatter transmitted light. For this purpose, the exit element can be formed by a light scattering film, which usually has constant thickness in the direction of the luminous elements. The light scattering film can also be arranged below or above the outlet element. Alternatively, the outlet element itself can be designed to be light-scattering. The outlet member may also be colored to make the light passing through appear in a predetermined color like a color filter. On each side of one of the light-emitting elements with respect to the curve can each be provided a web. In this case, the outlet element extends in the direction of the luminous element between the webs. In other words, the exit element can be so thick in the vertical direction that it is at least partially immersed in the area between two adjacent webs. The exit element thus comprises projections between each of which a web lies. As a result, the exit element itself is divided into individual sections or segments in the region of the webs. The mechanical stability of the outlet element can thereby be increased. The uniform distribution of the transmitted light of the lighting elements in the direction of the surface of the outlet element can be improved.

The webs can each extend equally high over the curve. In this case, the exit element between the webs each extend to the same height above the curve. Due to this symmetry in the vertical direction, an improved distribution of the Light of the lighting elements are favored on the surface of the exit element. The installation of the strip light can be simplified. The mechanical strength of the strip light can be improved.

The strip light may also include a circuit board on which the lighting elements are mounted. In this case, the connecting element is preferably supported relative to the printed circuit board. In particular, the connecting element can rest on the printed circuit board and optionally held there by means of a connecting element. As already indicated above, the strip light may be part of an operating device, wherein on the circuit board further input or output elements may be attached.

In yet another embodiment, the strip light further comprises a cover film on the surface of the exit element. The cover film may in particular bear a label, a scale or a symbol. In this case, the cover can be easily replaceable, so that for example the label can be easily set in different languages using different cover sheets. An operating device comprising the strip light can thus be designed to be adapted to different embodiments, variants or localizations of a device associated with the operating device. The strip light can also have a control device, which is preferably set up for the individual control of at least one light-emitting element. More preferably, the control device can control each luminous element individually or one or more groups of luminous elements. One group comprises several, preferably adjacent, lighting elements. The strip light can thereby also be animated, for example to indicate a direction of movement or a percentage degree of fulfillment of a task. The control device can also be set up to influence the brightnesses of the light-emitting elements or groups in a multistage or continuous manner. The animation can thus run more smoothly and be perceived as organic.

An operating device, in particular for a domestic appliance, comprises the strip light described above. Preferably, the operating device still comprises at least one additional input or output element. The operating device is set up to provide an interactive tion between an operator and a device, in particular a household appliance to allow.

A domestic appliance, for example a dishwasher, a washing machine, a refrigerator or freezer, an extractor hood, a stove or a kitchen appliance, comprises the operating device described above.

Alternatively, the domestic appliance may also comprise the strip light without an operating device.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the attached figures, in which:

Fig. 1 is a strip light in a first embodiment;

Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of a strip light;

FIG. 3 shows details of a strip light in an exemplary embodiment; FIG. and fig. 4-6 illustrate an exemplary operating device with a strip light.

FIG. 1 shows a strip light 100 in a first embodiment. The dimensions shown are to be understood as purely exemplary. The strip light 100 comprises a plurality of lighting elements 105 which may be mounted on a printed circuit board 110, a discharge element 15 and a connecting element 120. The lighting elements 105 may in particular comprise light emitting diodes and are mounted along a curve 125 which preferably extends in a plane. The curve 125 indicates the main extension of the strip light 100 and may be straight or curved. It is the purpose of the strip light 100 to represent a light strip along the main extension, the light strip usually being longer than it is wide, for example by a factor of about 5, preferably about 10 or more. The light band should be visible on a surface of the exit element 115 and should show the same light intensity as possible at all points.

The connecting element 120 is configured to fix the outlet element 115 with respect to the lighting elements 105 and the printed circuit board 110. For this purpose, it may have a propagation region for light between the luminous elements 105 and the outlet element 115 in the horizontal direction, ie in the direction of the plane in which the curve 125 lies and usually also the direction in which the circuit board 1 10 extends laterally limit. As a result, a light channel can be formed which extends between the luminous elements 105 and the outlet element 115. The connecting element 120 may in particular be produced from plastic and, in one embodiment, has a constant thickness at least in the region of the lighting elements 105. The connecting element 120 is usually made of an opaque material or at least partially treated so that it absorbs or reflects light. In one embodiment, the connecting element 120 is designed to be reflective at least in sections, for example by a correspondingly smooth surface, a coloring or a surface treatment.

It is proposed that the connecting element 120 has in each case in the area between two lighting elements 105 a web 130 which extends in the direction of the outlet element 115. The web 130 can also lie transversely to the extension direction of the curve 125. Between two webs 130, a hollow body 135 may be formed, the cross section of which grows with increasing distance from the luminous element 105, which lies between the webs 130. Laterally adjacent such hollow bodies 135 may be connected to one another in a region near the outlet element 115. The increase in cross-section may be effected by correspondingly inclined webs 130 and / or inclined lateral boundaries of the connecting element 120. The hollow body 135 preferably has the shape of a truncated pyramid, wherein the pyramid has its base area in the region of the outlet element 115 and its tip in the region of the luminous element 105. The base of the hollow body 135 is preferably rectangular, more preferably square. In another embodiment, the hollow body 135 may also comprise another conical body, for example a truncated cone. In the illustrated embodiment, surfaces of adjacent lands 130 on different sides of a luminous element 105 are inclined so as to enclose an angle of approximately 30 ° with each other. The angle of each individual boundary of a web 130 with respect to a perpendicular through the plane in which the curve 125 and the printed circuit board 110 extend is thus preferably approximately 15 °.

In the illustrated embodiment, the webs 130 extend only at a certain vertical height above the lighting elements 105 in the direction of the exit element 115. The lighting elements 105 are in this case below the hollow body 135, which are each formed between webs 130. In another embodiment, the webs 130 may also extend deeper in the direction of the printed circuit board 110. In one embodiment, the webs 130 extend to a lower, the circuit board 110 facing the boundary of the lighting elements 105th

On the upper side of the strip light 100, on a side of the connecting element 120 facing away from the light-emitting elements 105, the outlet element 115 is located. The outlet element 115 is designed here with a constant vertical thickness. Optionally, the exit element 115 may be configured for light scattering, for example by being made of a transparent material having scattering or reflecting particles. In another embodiment, the exit element 115 is clearly transparent. In addition, the exit element 115 may be colored in the manner of a color filter. In particular, the color may allow passage of light in a wavelength that may be provided by the light elements 105.

The lighting elements 105 can be controlled by means of a control device 140. For this purpose, the lighting elements 105 can be organized individually or in groups. Groups preferably comprise at least two lighting elements 105 which are directly adjacent to one another. A single lighting element 105 or a group of lighting elements 105 can be controlled by the control device 140 in the intensity of the emitted light, ie in its brightness. The brightness can be controlled continuously or the lighting element 105 can be turned on and off. If a plurality of lighting elements 105 or groups of lighting elements 105 can be controlled individually, then the control device 140 can be configured to provide a light animation. Thus, for example, a running light or a movable bar display can be realized.

FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment of a strip light 100. The illustration is based on that of FIG. 1, wherein not all the elements used there are shown. The essential difference is that the outlet element 115 extends between two webs 130 into the hollow body 135. In this case, the hollow body 135 can be completely filled by the outlet element 115 or it remains as shown in Figure 2, a remainder of the hollow body 135 in the region of the associated light-emitting element 105. For transparency or coloring of the outlet element 15, the above applies. At the top of the outlet member 115, a cover sheet 205 may be attached, which is preferably transparent and may bear, for example, a label, a symbol or other reference, which may bear a functional indication in particular to the light emitted by the strip light 100. Due to the relatively thick design of the exit element 115, its stability can be increased. The segmentation of the exit member 115 required for a single section to extend between two webs 130 may maintain sufficient mechanical flexibility of the exit member 115, particularly along the main extension of the strip lamp 100, to accommodate production or assembly tolerances to allow careful installation.

The individual hollow bodies 135 preferably have the same dimensions. In particular, their dimensions d along the curve 125 may be the same. At the ends of the luminous band, in each case a hollow body 135 with a larger extension e can be provided along the curve 125. An angle of each outer boundary of the hollow body 135 with respect to the curve 125 may correspond to the inner boundary or different, in particular smaller.

FIG. 3 shows details in the region of a luminous element 105 of an exemplary embodiment of a strip light 100 like that of FIG. 1. Figure 3A shows a light propagation in the exit element 115 and Figure 3B, the light propagation, if in addition the connecting element 120 is attached. By conically widening of the light-emitting element 105 from the outlet element 115, an approximately uniform illumination at the top can be achieved, so that a viewer can perceive improved evenly bright light-emitting light band. Light leaving the illustrated portion of the exit member 115 laterally may be reflected by a reflective layer 305 back into the exit member 115. The reflection layer 305 may be provided at a boundary of the connection member 120. In this case, the reflection layer 305 is preferably parallel to a boundary of the conical section of the exit element 115. In another embodiment, the reflection layer 305 may also be attached to a lateral surface of the conical section of the exit element 115. The reflective layer 305 may naturally result when the connector 120 has a much greater optical density than air. To improve reflection properties, the surface of the connecting element 120 can also be processed, for example by polishing. It is also possible to provide a coating which favors the reflection, for example by means of vapor deposition with a reflective layer, for example aluminum or silver.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show an exemplary operating device 400 with a strip light 100 in one embodiment. FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the upper surface of the outlet element 115, FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the connecting element 120 with the outlet element 115 removed and FIG. 6 shows the outlet element 115 in a longitudinal section through the curve 125. It should be noted that the connecting element 120 is not only a propagation channel or light channel for the strip light 100, but as shown can also provide one or more propagation channels for further display elements 405. Exemplary display elements 405 include a seven-segment display and a light field. In the area of the light field or outside, an input element may be arranged, for example a button or sensor surface. The operating device 400 may be comprised of a domestic appliance 410, in particular a large appliance such as a dishwasher, a tumble dryer, a washing machine, a refrigerator, a freezer or a vacuum cleaner. The operating device 400 can also be used on a kitchen appliance such as a stove, an oven or an extractor hood. Furthermore, it is also possible to use the operating device 400 on another household appliance such as a toaster, a blender or a food processor. It should be understood that one skilled in the art can readily combine features discussed above with respect to different embodiments of the invention with features of other disclosed embodiments. reference numeral

100 strip light

105 light element

110 circuit board

1 15 outlet element

120 connecting element

125 curve

130 footbridge

135 hollow body

140 control device

205 cover film

305 reflection layer

400 Control device 405 Display element 410 Domestic appliance

Claims

Strip light (100), comprising the following elements:

- A plurality of light-emitting elements (105) which are arranged along a curve (125);

- A transparent outlet element (1 15) for light of the lighting elements (105); and

- A connecting element (120) which is adapted to fix the outlet element (1 15) at a predetermined distance from the curve (125),

- wherein the connecting element (120) between adjacent lighting elements

(105) each having a web (130) which extends in the direction of the outlet element (1 15).

The strip light (100) of claim 1, wherein the connector (120) is shaped to laterally surround a light channel extending between the light elements (105) and the exit member (15).

Strip light (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting element (120), in particular between the webs, has a substantially constant material thickness.

Strip light (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the web (130) in the direction of the outlet member (1 15) assumes a predetermined angle of inclination relative to the curve (125).

Strip light (100) according to claim 4, wherein the connecting element (120), in particular between the webs (130) respectively, delimits a hollow body (135) which has a rising cross-section with increasing distance from one of the lighting elements (105). Strip light (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting element (120) has a reflective surface (305).

7. strip light (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the outlet member (1 15) is adapted to scatter passing light.

8. strip light (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein on each side of one of the light elements (105) depending a web (130) is provided and the outlet element (1 15) in the direction of the luminous element (105) to between the two webs (130) extends.

9. strip light (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the webs (130) extend equally high above the curve (125) and the outlet member (1 15) between webs (130) each at the same height above the curve ( 125).

10. strip light (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a printed circuit board (1 10) on which the lighting elements (105) are mounted, wherein the connecting element (120) relative to the printed circuit board (1 10) is supported. 1 1. Strip light (100) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a covering film (205) on the surface of the outlet element (1 15).

12. strip light (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a control device (140) for individually controlling each light-emitting element (105).

13. Operating device (400), comprising a strip light (100) according to one of the preceding claims. 14. domestic appliance (410), comprising an operating device (400) according to the preceding claim.