WO2020147679A1

WO2020147679A1 - Optical assembly, vehicle lamp and vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2020147679A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/071777
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shifeng YE; Cheng Zhang; Wen Huang; Zhan HUANG; Fei Xiong
Original assignee: Valeo Lighting Hubei Technical Center Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2019-01-14
Filing date: 2020-01-13
Publication date: 2020-07-23
Also published as: CN209371135U

Abstract

An optical assembly (1), a vehicle lamp and a vehicle; the optical assembly (1) has a light source (52), a light guide (20) and a support (10) holding the light guide (20), light emitted by the light source (52) entering the light guide (20) via a light entry surface of the light guide (20), wherein the optical assembly (1) also has a first covering part (30) and a second covering part (40) which cover two ends of the light guide (20) respectively, the two ends being opposite each other in a direction of longitudinal extension of the light guide (20).

Description

Optical assembly, vehicle lamp and vehicle

Technical field

The present invention relates to an optical assembly, a vehicle lamp and a vehicle.

Background art

Optical assemblies are known from the prior art, in particular an optical assembly of a vehicle lamp for a vehicle. The optical assembly has a light source, a light guide and a support. Light emitted by the light source enters the light guide via an entry surface of the light guide, and continues to be propagated in the light guide in a direction of extension of the light guide. The light guide is held and fixed in the support. In order to prevent leakage of light from another end opposite an end where the entry surface of the light guide is located, a known solution is to subject the other end to light-blocking processing, e.g. applying a light-blocking coating.

Content of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical assembly, in which an end of a light guide of a light guide assembly can be blocked using a simple structure, in order to prevent undesired leakage of light.

This object is thus achieved by means of a proposed optical assembly: the optical assembly has a light source, a light guide and a support holding the light guide, light emitted by the light source entering the light guide via a light entry surface of the light guide, wherein the optical assembly also has a first covering part and a second covering part which cover two ends of the light guide respectively, the two ends being opposite each other in a direction of longitudinal extension of the light guide. The ends of the light guide are covered by the covering parts to prevent undesired leakage of light.

The light entry surface of the light guide is for example disposed at an end of the light guide.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the support has an accommodating recess for the light guide, wherein a retaining protuberance is disposed on an edge of the accommodating recess. The retaining protuberance has a very small extension as compared with the accommodating recess, and has a small height, in order to reduce as far as possible any adverse effect on a light exit surface of the light guide, and at the same time retains the light guide in the accommodating recess, in order to prevent the light guide from coming out due to vibration. The retaining protuberance may be integrally formed on the support; this can reduce costs. The hardness of the retaining protuberance should not be greater than that of the light guide, in order to prevent damage to the light guide by scraping.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the retaining protuberances are disposed on edges of the accommodating recess in such a way as to be opposite each other or staggered in a direction of extension of the accommodating recess. This provides a flexible arrangement scheme.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a locating structure is provided on that one of the first covering part and second covering part which is close to the light source, the locating structure acting together with a mating locating structure disposed on the light guide. Here, an arrangement may be considered in which the locating structure takes the form of a depression and the mating locating structure takes the form of a protrusion, wherein an inner profile of the depression is matched to an outer profile of the protrusion. This prevents the light guide from sliding back and forth in the accommodating recess of the support.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the first covering part and the second covering part is connected to the support. Here, “connected” should be understood as meaning “directly connected” or “indirectly connected” .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the first covering part and the second covering part is a component integrated with the support. Alternatively, at least one of the first covering part and the second covering part may be designed separately from the support. A choice can be made in this respect according to corresponding requirements.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the separately designed covering part has at least two snap-fit hooks at a periphery thereof, and the support has corresponding openings, the snap-fit hooks snapping into the openings in order to lock the covering part on the support. Furthermore, the support has a stop for the covering part. The covering part is thereby fixed on the support.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the light source is a semiconductor light source. The colour of the light source may be white, yellow, red or another colour, in order to realize a corresponding lighting or indicating function.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the optical assembly also has a heat sink. This is particularly suitable for situations in which the light source has a high power.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle lamp having the optical assembly described above is also proposed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle having the optical assembly or vehicle lamp described above is also proposed.

Through the embodiments described above, with the covering parts being provided for the ends of the light guide, light leakage at the ends of the light guide can be reliably avoided without changing the structure of the light guide itself. In particular in the case where a covering part forms the bottom of a tubular cavity of the support, the tubular cavity being used to accommodate an end of the light guide, it is possible to simplify the manufacturing process of the support and thereby reduce costs.

Brief description of the drawings

The present invention is expounded further below with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic three-dimensional drawing of an embodiment of an optical assembly according to the present invention, wherein the covering parts are in an assembled state;

Fig. 2 shows another schematic three-dimensional drawing of the optical assembly of Fig. 1, wherein the covering parts are in a partially assembled state;

Fig. 3 shows a three-dimensional partial drawing of an end of the optical assembly of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows a sectional view along section line A-A in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 shows a partial enlarged drawing of region D in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 shows a partial sectional view along section line B-B in Fig. 1.

Particular embodiments

Embodiments of the present invention are explained demonstratively below. As those skilled in the art should realize, the embodiments explained may be amended in various ways without departing from the concept of the present invention. Thus, the accompanying drawings and the Description are in essence demonstrative and non-limiting. In the following text, identical drawing reference labels generally indicate functionally identical or similar elements.

As can be seen from Figs. 1 and 2, an optical assembly 1 according to this embodiment mainly comprises a support 10, a light guide 20 and a light source 52, wherein the light guide 20 is held in the support 10, and the light source 52 is distributed to the light guide 20; these are expounded in detail below. The optical assembly shown has a long shape; only an interrupted drawing thereof is shown here.

The light source 52 is a semiconductor light source, e.g. an LED (light-emitting diode) light source, an OEL (organic electroluminescence) light source or an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) light source, etc. The light source 52 may be arranged on a printed circuit board 51. Of course, other elements may also be arranged on the printed circuit board 51, e.g. an electrical connector establishing a connection with a power supply, a capacitor, a resistor, etc., thereby forming a light-emitting assembly 50.

The light-emitting assembly 50 may be arranged on a heat sink 60, or the light source 52 is arranged on the heat sink 60 directly, to facilitate the dissipation of heat. Here, a thermally conductive material, such as thermally conductive silicone or a thermally conductive silicone sheet, may be provided between the heat sink 60 and the light source 52 or the printed circuit board 51 of the light-emitting assembly. As an example, the thermally conductive silicone may be a thermally conductive organosilicon grease-like composite made using organic silicone as a main starting material with the addition of a material having excellent heat resistance and thermal conductivity; the thermally conductive silicone sheet may have silicone as a substrate, with various auxiliary materials such as metal oxides added thereto. Of course, other suitable thermally conductive materials may also be used. The heat sink 60 is made of a metal such as aluminium. In some embodiments, multiple fins are disposed on that side of the heat sink 60 which faces away from a side on which the light source is disposed, in order to increase the heat dissipation area, and thereby further improve the heat dissipation effect.

The light guide 20 is a component in which light from the light source 52 is guided from a light entry surface to a light exit surface by total internal reflection. Here, the light guide 20 may be formed of a transparent material such as an acrylate resin, PC (polycarbonate) or PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) . The light guide 20 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 has different cross-sectional sizes in the direction of longitudinal extension thereof; specifically, a cross-sectional size of a first segment at a side close to the light source is narrower than that of a second segment at a side away from the light source, wherein a cross section of the first segment is approximately circular, and a cross section of the second segment is formed of three circles which intersect each other, are arranged side by side and have approximately equal diameters. In other embodiments which are not shown, the light guide 20 may have the same or approximately the same circular cross section from one end to the other end, with a diameter of about 6 mm -8 mm for example. In summary, the form of the light guide may be designed according to the light exit surface which is desired, in order to attain a desired illumination effect.

Light emitted by the light source enters the light guide via the light entry surface of the light guide. The light entry surface is disposed opposite the light source. The centre of the light entry surface coincides with, or substantially coincides with, the centre of the light source. The light entry surface may be a flat surface or a curved surface, or a combination of a flat surface and a curved surface. The light entry surface may be disposed at an end side of the long-shaped light guide.

The support 10 has an accommodating recess 17 for accommodating the light guide 20. The direction of longitudinal extension of the accommodating recess 17 corresponds to the direction of longitudinal extension of the light guide 20 accommodated therein. At the same time, at corresponding positions of the accommodating recess 17 and the light guide 20, a cross-sectional profile of the accommodating recess 17 is at least approximately matched to a cross-sectional profile of that part of the light guide 20 which is accommodated in the accommodating recess 17. Here, “corresponding positions” should be understood in the following way: when the light guide 20 is installed in the accommodating recess 17 of the support 10, the “corresponding positions” lie in the same cutting plane. As can be seen from Fig. 4 in particular, in one segment, the accommodating recess 17 has an approximately semicircular cross section. The accommodating recess 17 also has other cross-sectional shapes in other segments, e.g. a left-side part matched to the light guide 20 has a cross-sectional shape formed of semicircles superimposed side by side.

The support 10 is provided with a retaining protuberance 18 on an edge of the accommodating recess 17, the retaining protuberance protruding from an inner wall of the accommodating recess 17; this can be clearly seen from Figs. 4 and 5. In an assembled state, the retaining protuberance 18 is in tight contact with a surface of the light guide 20. The light guide 20 is thereby prevented from coming out of the accommodating recess 17. The retaining protuberance 18 is integrally formed on the support.

In some embodiments, the accommodating recess 17 has two edges, which similarly extend longitudinally and are disposed opposite each other; the accommodating recess 17 is formed in a sunken part therebetween. Retaining protuberances 18 are disposed on both edges of the accommodating recess 17, and may be disposed opposite each other or staggered with respect to each other in the longitudinal direction. The number of retaining protuberances 18 may be set arbitrarily according to requirements. For example, at least one retaining protuberance 18 is disposed on each of the two edges.

The optical assembly 1 also has a first covering part 30 and a second covering part 40, which cover two ends of the light guide 20 respectively after the light guide has been installed in the support, said two ends being opposite each other in the direction of extension of the light guide.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first covering part 30 and the second covering part 40 may be directly or indirectly connected to the support.

In the embodiment shown, the first covering part 30 is formed integrally with the support 10, and used for covering a light entry end segment of the light guide 20. For this purpose, the first covering part 30 has an inner wall of a shape matched to the light entry end segment of the light guide 20. The first covering part 30 is connected to the support 10 at one side by means of a pair of flexible bridging parts 32, and is snap-fitted to the support 10 at another side by means of a fastener eye 33. The flexible bridging part 32 may be a thin plate. One end of the light guide is thereby covered by means of the first covering part 30 and the support 10, in order to prevent leakage of light here.

The accompanying drawings also show that the first covering part 30 has a locating structure 31 at the inner wall thereof; here, the locating structure takes the form of a depression. The locating structure 31 acts together with a mating locating structure 21 disposed on the light guide 20; the mating locating structure 21 takes the form of a protrusion, wherein an inner profile of the depression is matched to an outer profile of the protrusion. Thus, when the protrusion is placed in the depression, the light guide can be prevented from sliding back and forth in the support.

As an alternative to the circular locating structure 31 and mating locating structure 21 shown, they may also have a strip-like shape or another polygonal shape.

The second covering part 40 is also shown in the drawings; here, it takes the form of a separately constructed, approximately square cover. The second covering part 40 is installed at a hole 14 of the support 10, and used for covering another end of the light guide, said other end being positioned in the hole 14. Here, a circumferential inner wall of the hole 14 is columnar and has a predetermined depth. The second covering part 40 has two snap-fit hooks 41, 43 at a periphery thereof; these are arranged on two adjacent edges, wherein the top of a first snap-fit hook 41 has an approximately V-shaped groove, and the top of a second snap-fit hook 43 has a flat segment. The second covering part 40 also has a tenon 42, which is at a side opposite the first snap-fit hook 41.

Correspondingly, the support 10 also has

openings

11, 13 at a position used for the second covering part 40, the openings being used for the corresponding snap-fit hooks 41, 43. In an installed state, the two snap-fit hooks 41, 43 are snapped into the corresponding

openings

11, 13 respectively. Furthermore, the support 10 also has a rib 15 opposite the opening 13, and a boss 12. The

openings

11, 13 and the rib 15 and boss 12 are disposed around the hole 14.

When the second covering part 40 is installed on the support, another side opposite a side provided with the snap-fit hook 43 abuts the rib 15, and at the same time, the snap-fit hook 43 snaps into the opening 13 at least partially by elastic deformation; the second covering part 40 is thereby held in a pretightened manner in one direction. Here, the rib 15 may be regarded as a stop for the second covering part 40, limiting the displacement of the second covering part 40 in at least one direction. An arrangement may also be considered in which the rib 15 has two small projections 16 at a side facing the hole 14, in order to achieve reliable contact between the second covering part 40 and the rib 15.

At the position used for the second covering part 40, the support 10 also has the boss 12. In an installed state, the tenon 42 of the second covering part 40 is positioned on the boss 12. At a side facing the hole 14, the second covering part 40 also has another region abutting the support 10; in the drawing in Fig. 6, this region is between the snap-fit hooks 41, 43. Thus, through the snap-fit connection at two regions and abutment at two regions of the second covering part and the support, the second covering part is fixed in the direction normal to a surface covering the hole of the support of the second covering part.

A region of the support used for the snap-fit hook 41 has a V-shaped cross section. When the first snap-fit hook 41 of the second covering part is engaged at this region, a V-shaped surface of the first snap-fit hook 41 and a V-shaped surface of this region of the support enable the second covering part to be fixed in an approximately horizontal direction in Fig. 6.

Functional surfaces of the snap-fit hooks 41, 43 and the tenon 42 of the second covering part all have a predetermined length; this can increase the reliability of fixing and prevent rotation of the second covering part.

Besides the embodiment explained above, the second covering part 40 may be connected to the support wholly by snap-fit connection, e.g. by a pair of snap-fit hooks arranged opposite one another snapping into a corresponding pair of openings disposed in the support, or a different number of snap-fit hooks is provided. If necessary, at least one of the rib or boss may be omitted, as long as the snap-fit hook can reliably fix the second covering part. The connection of the separately constructed second covering part 40 to the support may also be accomplished by screw-thread connection, bonding, hot riveting or welding, etc.

Alternatively, the second covering part 40 may be implemented in a similar manner to the first covering part 30, i.e. connected to the support integrally by means of flexible bridging parts 32, e.g. thin connecting plates.

Of course, the first covering part 30 may also be implemented separately in a similar manner to the second covering part 40, then connected to the support in a manner mentioned above, e.g. snap-fit connection, screw-thread connection, bonding, hot riveting or welding, etc.

It should be mentioned here that once the covering part has been installed on the support, there should be no light leakage from a surface of contact between the covering part and the support. To this end, the covering part may for example have a predetermined overlap with a corresponding part of the support in a direction of covering. It is also possible for an intermediate blocking member to be disposed between the covering part and the support.

Although at least a partial segment of the light guide 20 in the embodiment above has a columnar shape having a circular cross section, the cross section of the light guide 20 of the present invention may also have another suitable shape such as triangular, quadrilateral or polygonal.

Furthermore, at least a partial segment of the light guide 20 in the embodiment above in the direction of extension thereof has a variable cross section. However, the present invention does not impose particular limitations on the shape of the light guide 20.

Furthermore, in the embodiment above, the light source is disposed at the light entry surface at one end side of the light guide 20, but it is also possible for light sources to be arranged at two end sides of the light guide respectively.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle lamp having the optical assembly described above is also proposed.

The vehicle lamp may be used for front side lights, daytime running lights, direction indicator lights, fog lights, rear side lights, tail lights, brake lights and reversing lights, etc., of vehicles. To this end, a corresponding light source type, e.g. white, yellow or red, is selected according to a corresponding light function, in order to meet the requirements of regulations with regard to colour, light intensity and light distribution, etc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle having the optical assembly 1 or vehicle lamp described above is also proposed.

The present invention is not limited to the structure described above; various other variants could also be used. Although the present invention has already been described by means of a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art could, drawing benefit from this disclosure, design other embodiments which do not depart from the scope of protection of the present invention disclosed herein. Thus, the scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the attached claims alone.

Claims

Optical assembly (1) , having a light source (52) , a light guide (20) and a support (10) holding the light guide (20) , light emitted by the light source (52) entering the light guide (20) via a light entry surface of the light guide, characterized in that the optical assembly (1) also has a first covering part (30) and a second covering part (40) which cover two ends of the light guide (20) respectively, the two ends being opposite each other in a direction of longitudinal extension of the light guide.
Optical assembly (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the support (10) has an accommodating recess (17) for the light guide (20) , wherein a retaining protuberance (18) is disposed on an edge of the accommodating recess (17) .
Optical assembly (1) according to Claim 2, characterized in that the retaining protuberances (18) are disposed on edges of the accommodating recess (17) in such a way as to be opposite each other or staggered in a direction of extension of the accommodating recess (17) .
Optical assembly (1) according to Claim 3, characterized in that a locating structure (31) is provided on that one of the first covering part (30) and second covering part (40) which is close to the light source (52) , the locating structure (31) acting together with a mating locating structure (21) disposed on the light guide (20) .
Optical assembly (1) according to Claim 4, characterized in that the locating structure (31) takes the form of a depression and the mating locating structure (21) takes the form of a protrusion, wherein an inner profile of the depression is matched to an outer profile of the protrusion.
Optical assembly (1) according to any one of Claims 1-5, characterized in that at least one of the first covering part (30) and the second covering part (40) is connected to the support (10) .
Optical assembly (1) according to Claim 6, characterized in that at least one of the first covering part (30) and the second covering part (40) is a component integrated with the support (10) .
Optical assembly (1) according to Claim 6, characterized in that at least one of the first covering part (30) and the second covering part (40) is designed separately from the support (10) .
Optical assembly (1) according to Claim 8, characterized in that the separately designed covering part has at least two snap-fit hooks at a periphery thereof, and the support (10) has corresponding openings, the snap-fit hooks snapping into the openings in order to lock the covering part on the support (10) .
Optical assembly (1) according to Claim 9, characterized in that the support (10) has a stop for the covering part.
Optical assembly (1) according to any one of Claims 1-5, characterized in that the light source (52) is a semiconductor light source.
Optical assembly (1) according to any one of Claims 1-5, characterized in that the optical assembly (1) also has a heat sink (60) .
Vehicle lamp, having the optical assembly (1) according to any one of Claims 1-12.
Vehicle, having the optical assembly (1) according to any one of Claims 1-12 or the vehicle lamp according to Claim 13.