EP4643053A1

EP4643053A1 - Light guide assembly for vehicle

Info

Publication number: EP4643053A1
Application number: EP23858401.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Huijie Gao; Yagui GAO; Zhujun WANG
Original assignee: Valeo Vision SAS
Current assignee: Valeo Vision SAS
Priority date: 2022-12-28
Filing date: 2023-12-21
Publication date: 2025-11-05
Also published as: CN219995148U; WO2024140398A1

Abstract

Disclosed is a light guide assembly, the light guide assembly comprising a strip-shaped main body (10), the main body comprising a first light guide element (11) and a second light guide element (12) which are mutually independent, the main body (10) being provided with emergent light segments (13,14) for guiding light from a light source to project outwards in a target direction, the emergent light segments having a corner (20), and at the corner (2), an end of the first light guide element (11) and an end of the second light guide element (12) abutting each other to form the corner (20). Further disclosed are a lighting apparatus used for a vehicle and comprising said light guide assembly, and a vehicle.

Description

LIGHT GUIDE ASSEMBLY FOR VEHICLE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of lighting, and in particular to a light guide assembly, and a lighting apparatus having said light guide assembly, and a vehicle.

Background Art

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are increasingly used in vehicle lamps in conjunction with light guides, for example, in signal lamps to provide a desired emergent light effect. Here, generally the orientation of the light guide itself is determined according to the desired emergent light style. However, if the orientation of the light guide suddenly changes, for example, to have a corner of less than 90°, in this type of situation, the corner changes or breaks reflection (such as total reflection) of the light on the light guide, with the result that light emerges or leaks in an undesired direction from the position of bending of the light guide or the vicinity thereof, and an illumination effect is impaired, for example having dark zones. Therefore, a light guide in the prior art cannot satisfy desired style requirements (for example, having a corner of less than 90°) , while also achieving a uniform illumination effect.

Summary of the Invention

An objective of the present disclosure is to solve at least one aspect of the above-described problems and shortcomings in the prior art.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a light guide assembly is provided, wherein the light guide assembly comprises a strip-shaped main body, the main body comprises a first light guide element and a second light guide element which are mutually independent, the main body is provided with emergent light segments for guiding light from a light source to project outwards in a target direction, the emergent light segments are provided with a corner, and at the corner, an end of the first light guide element and an end of the second light guide element abut each other to form the corner.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an angle of the corner is less than or equal to 90 degrees.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an abutting end of at least one of the first light guide element and the second light guide element comprises an arc-shaped section.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first light guide element and the second light guide element respectively define, near ends opposite the abutting ends, incident light segments, and said incident light segments are used for receiving light from the light source, so that the received light propagates in the main body to the emergent light segments.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first light guide element and the second light guide element respectively comprise, at the emergent light segments, at least one tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one of the first light guide element and the second light guide element comprises multiple tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements arranged side by side, and, among the multiple tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements, the size of the cross section of the tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element located at an inner side of the corner is smaller than the size of the cross section of the tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element located at an outer side of the corner.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one of the first light guide element and the second light guide element comprises multiple tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements arranged side by side, and the multiple tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements converge at the incident light segment to form a single light guide sub-element.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first light guide element and the second light guide element respectively comprise, at the emergent light segments, light decoupling elements, and the light decoupling elements cause light rays to project transversely to a plane of extension of the emergent light segments.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a lighting apparatus for a vehicle is further provided, wherein the lighting apparatus comprises a light source and the light guide assembly as described above.
According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle is further provided, wherein the vehicle comprises the lighting apparatus for a vehicle as described above.
Other purposes and advantages of the present invention will become obvious through the below description of the present invention with reference to the drawings, which also helps to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the present invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a structural schematic drawing of a light guide assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 2 is a structural schematic drawing of the light guide assembly shown in Fig. 1, viewed from a different angle.
Fig. 3 shows a partial enlarged drawing of the light guide assembly shown in Fig. 2.
Detailed Description of the Embodiments
The technical solution of the present disclosure is explained in further detail below by means of embodiments, in conjunction with the drawings. Herein, identical or similar reference labels indicate identical or similar components. The following explanation of embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the drawings are intended to explain the general invention concept of the present disclosure, and should not be interpreted as a limitation of the present disclosure.
In addition, in the following detailed description, to facilitate explanation, many specific details are expounded for a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it is obvious that one or more embodiments may also be implemented without these specific details. In other cases, well-known structures and apparatuses are illustratively embodied to simplify the accompanying drawings.
Figs. 1 and 2 show structural schematic drawings of a light guide assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, said light guide assembly comprises a strip-shaped main body 100; said main body 100 has a first end 16 and a second end 17 opposite each other, and emergent light segments extending between the first end 16 and the second end 17; the emergent light segments 13 and 14 are used for guiding light from a light source to project in a target direction, thereby providing a desired illumination styling, lighting or signal indication function. Said main body 100 comprises a first light guide element 11 and a second light guide element 12 which are mutually independent, wherein the emergent light segments of the main body 100 comprise an emergent light segment 13 of the first light guide element 11 and an emergent light segment 14 of the second light guide element 12. The emergent light segments of the main body 100 are provided with a corner 20, and at said corner 20, an end of the first light guide element 11 and an end of the second light guide element 12 abut each other to form said corner 20.
According to the light guide assembly of the present invention, the integrally formed strip-shaped main body 100 in the prior art is divided into a first light guide element 11 and a second light guide element 12 which are a mutually independent pair, and this can prevent a large amount of light leakage from occurring at the corner 20, hence preventing comparatively serious light leakage, resulting in dark zones in the appearance of illumination, when light rays advance to the corner 20. In addition, when the first light guide element 11 and the second light guide element 12 abut each other at the corner 20, light leaving either one of the first light guide element 11 and the second light guide element 12 may enter the other, so that an illumination effect is better.
In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, an angle of the corner 20 is less than 90 degrees; however, those skilled in the art should understand that, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the angle of the corner 20 may be equal to 90 degrees, and, in this type of situation in which the corner is less than or equal to 90 degrees, comparatively serious light leakage occurs, resulting in dark zones in the appearance of illumination, when light rays advance to the corner 20, and this type of dark zone may be maximally eliminated using an embodiment in the present disclosure.
In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, an abutting end of the second light guide element 12 comprises an arc-shaped section 15, which may cause the emergent light segment 14 of the second light guide element 12 to be smoother by means of transition of the arc-shaped section 15, the illumination effect is better, and it may also enable more light leaving either one of the first light guide element 11 and the second light guide element 12 to enter the other, when the first light guide element 11 and the second light guide element 12 abut each other. It must be explained that, in other embodiments, the abutting end of the first light guide element 11 also may comprise an arc-shaped section, or abutting ends of the first light guide element 11 and the second light guide element 12 both comprise arc-shaped sections.
In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the first light guide element 11 defines, near an end 16 opposite the abutting end, an incident light segment 18, and said incident light segment 18 is used for receiving light from a light source, so that the received light propagates in the main body 100 to the emergent light segment 13 of the first light guide element 11. Similarly, the second light guide element 12 defines, near an end 17 opposite the abutting end, an incident light segment 19, and said incident light segment 19 is used for receiving light from another light source, so that the received light propagates in the main body 100 to the emergent light segment 14 of the second light guide element 12.
Fig. 3 shows a partial enlarged drawing of the corner 20 of the light guide assembly, and for clearer illustration, shows the first light guide element 11 and the second light guide element 12 abutting each other at the corner 20. It can be seen therefrom that an end of the first light guide element 11 and an end of the second light guide element 12 abut each other to form said corner 20.
In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, the first light guide element 11, at the emergent light segment 13 thereof, comprises three tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements 1A, 2A and 3A, such as light guide tubes or light guide rods, arranged side by side. The second light guide element 12, at the emergent light segment 14 thereof, comprises three tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements 1B, 2B and 3B, such as light guide tubes or light guide rods, arranged side by side. The three tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements 1A, 2A and 3A of the first light guide element 11 respectively abut, in one-to-one correspondence, the three tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements 1B, 2B and 3B of the second light guide element 12. In an embodiment not shown, the first light guide element 11, at the emergent light segment 13 thereof, may comprise one, two or another number of tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements. Similarly, the second light guide element 12, at the emergent light segment 14 thereof, may comprise one, two or another number of tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements.
In an exemplary embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the size of the cross section of the tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element located at an inner side of the corner 20 is smaller than the size of the cross section of the tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element located at an outer side of the corner 20, that is, the size of the cross section of the tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element 1A/1B is smaller than the size of the cross section of the tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element 2A/2B, and the size of the cross section of the tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element 2A/2B is smaller than the size of the cross section of the tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element 3A/3B. Since the angle of the inner side of the corner is smaller than the angle of the outer side of the corner, the inner side of the corner leaks light more easily, and, using an embodiment of the present disclosure, by means of reducing the size of the corresponding light guide sub-element, the area of a dark zone may also be reduced, thereby improving the appearance of illumination.
In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, three tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements 1A, 2A and 3A of the first light guide element 11, at an incident light segment 18 thereof, converge to form a single light guide sub-element, to save on light sources and simplify the structure. Similarly, three tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements 1B, 2B and 3B of the second light guide element 12, at an incident light segment 19 thereof, converge to form a single light guide sub-element, to save on light sources and simplify the structure.
In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the first light guide element 11, at the emergent light segment 13 thereof, comprises a light decoupling element, and said light decoupling element causes light rays to project transversely to a plane of extension of the emergent light segment 13 of the first light guide element 11. The light decoupling element, for example, may be arranged on a back face, opposite an emergent light face, of the emergent light segment 13 of the first light guide element 11, and used for causing at least some of the light propagating inside the emergent light segment 13 of the first light guide element 11 to project from the emergent light face. The second light guide element 12, at the emergent light segment 14 thereof, comprises a light decoupling element, and said light decoupling element causes light rays to project transversely to a plane of extension of the emergent light segment 14 of the second light guide element 12. The light decoupling element, for example, may be arranged on a back face, opposite an emergent light face, of the emergent light segment 14 of the second light guide element 12, and used for causing at least some of the light propagating inside the emergent light segment 14 of the second light guide element 12 to project from the emergent light face.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a lighting apparatus for a vehicle is further provided, said lighting apparatus comprising a light source and the light guide assembly as described above. Each light guide element of the light guide assembly has its own light source.
According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle is further provided, and the vehicle comprises the lighting apparatus for a vehicle as described above.
Those skilled in the art should understand that all the embodiments described above are exemplary. In addition, those skilled in the art can improve them. The structures described in various embodiments can be freely combined without a conflict in structure or in principle.
Although the present invention has been explained in conjunction with the drawings, the embodiments disclosed in the drawings are intended to provide an illustrative description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, and cannot be interpreted as a limitation of the present invention.
Although some embodiments of the present general invention concept have been shown and described, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principle and spirit of the present general invention concept. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.
It should be noted that the word “comprise” does not rule out other elements or steps, and the word “a” or “one” does not rule out a plurality. In addition, any element labels in the claims should not be understood as limiting the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Light guide assembly, characterized in that the light guide assembly comprises a strip-shaped main body (10) , the main body (10) comprises a first light guide element (11) and a second light guide element (12) which are mutually independent, the main body (10) is provided with emergent light segments (13, 14) for guiding light from a light source to project outwards in a target direction, the emergent light segments are provided with a corner (20) , and at the corner (20) , an end of the first light guide element (11) and an end of the second light guide element (12) abut each other to form the corner (20) .
Light guide assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that an angle of the corner (20) is less than or equal to 90 degrees.
Light guide assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that an abutting end of at least one of the first light guide element (11) and the second light guide element (12) comprises an arc-shaped section (15) .
Light guide assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the first light guide element (11) and the second light guide element (12) respectively define, near ends (16, 17) opposite the abutting ends, incident light segments (18, 19) , and said incident light segments are used for receiving light from the light source, so that the received light propagates in the main body to the emergent light segments (13, 14) .
Light guide assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that the first light guide element (11) and the second light guide element (12) respectively comprise, at the emergent light segments (13, 14) , at least one tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element (1A, 2A, 3A; 1B, 2B, 3B) .
Light guide assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that at least one of the first light guide element (11) and the second light guide element (12) comprises multiple tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements (1A, 2A, 3A; 1B, 2B, 3B) arranged side by side, and, among the multiple tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements (1A, 2A, 3A; 1B, 2B, 3B) , the size of the cross section of the tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element located at an inner side of the corner is smaller than the size of the cross section of the tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-element located at an outer side of the corner.
Light guide assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that at least one of the first light guide element (11) and the second light guide element (12) comprises multiple tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements (1A, 2A, 3A; 1B, 2B, 3B) arranged side by side, and the multiple tubular or rod-shaped light guide sub-elements (1A, 2A, 3A; 1B, 2B, 3B) converge at the incident light segment (18, 19) to form a single light guide sub-element.
Light guide assembly according to any one of claims 1 -7, characterized in that the first light guide element (11) and the second light guide element (12) respectively comprise, at the emergent light segments (13, 14) , light decoupling elements, and the light decoupling elements cause light rays to project transversely to a plane of extension of the emergent light segments.
Lighting apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that the lighting apparatus comprises a light source, and the light guide assembly according to any one of claims 1 -8.
Vehicle, characterized in that the vehicle comprises the lighting apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 9.