Vehicle having a lighting device with an elongate lighting unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10124714-B2
Application number	US-201715782777-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 12, 2017
Priority date	Nov 8, 2013
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle ( 1 ), particularly a motor vehicle, with at least one illuminating device having a longitudinally shaped illuminating fixture for creating a light strip along a defined line of the illuminating fixture, wherein a first section ( 2, 2 ′) of the illuminating fixture is arranged on the interior ( 3 ) of the vehicle ( 1 ) and a second section ( 4, 4 ′) of the illuminating fixture is arranged on the exterior ( 5 ) of the vehicle, the illuminating device is set up so as to create a similar light strip along a line of the first ( 2, 2 ′) and of the second section ( 4, 4 ′)of the illuminating fixture, and the light of the light strip created by the first section ( 2, 2 ′) of the illuminating fixture is radiated such that it is visible for an occupant located at a definable position on the interior of the vehicle ( 1 ), and the light of the light strip created by the second section ( 4, 4 ′) of the illuminating fixture is radiated such that it is visible from a definable position relative to and outside of the vehicle ( 1 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle, comprising:
an interior compartment;
an exterior surface; and
an illuminating device having a longitudinally shaped light strip that emits light in operation along a specified line of the illuminating device, the illuminating device including:
a first section positioned within the interior compartment; and
a second section positioned on the exterior surface.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the light strip is a single piece light conductor body.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the interior compartment includes a dashboard, the illuminating device extending from the dashboard to the exterior surface.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the exterior surface includes a surface of an outside mirror, the illuminating device extending from the interior compartment to the surface of the outside mirror.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the longitudinally shaped light strip includes one or more light coupling points.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein light is fed into the illuminating device at an end of the first section.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein light is fed into the illuminating device at an end of the second section.

8. An illuminating device, comprising:
a first section having a first longitudinally shaped light strip that includes a first plurality of lighting devices arranged in series, the first section configured to be positioned on an interior compartment of a vehicle; and
a second section having a second longitudinally shaped light strip that includes a second plurality of lighting devices arranged in series, the second section configured to be positioned on an exterior compartment of the vehicle.

9. The illuminating device of claim 8 wherein the first plurality of lighting devices arranged in series and the second plurality of lighting devices arranged in series each include a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged in series.

10. The illuminating device of claim 8 , further comprising a light coupling point between the first and second section, the light coupling point being positioned in a vehicle component partition.

11. The illuminating device of claim 8 , further comprising a first plurality of light coupling points positioned at substantially equal intervals along the first section.

12. The illuminating device of claim 11 wherein light is fed into the first plurality of light coupling points.

13. The illuminating device of claim 8 , further comprising a second plurality of light coupling points positioned at substantially equal intervals along the second section.

14. The illuminating device of claim 13 wherein light is fed into the second plurality of light coupling points.

15. The illuminating device of claim 8 , further comprising the second section fixed to an exterior surface of a vehicle component wherein the vehicle component is movable from a first to a second position.

16. A vehicle system, comprising:
an interior compartment having a dashboard and a center console;
an exterior surface separated from the interior compartment by a plurality of partitions; and
an illuminating device extending from the interior compartment to the exterior surface through a first partition of the plurality of partitions, the illuminating device having one or more lighting devices along a length of the illuminating device.

17. The vehicle system of claim 16 , further comprising a control device coupled to the illuminating device to control a property of the illuminating device.

18. The vehicle system of claim 16 wherein the illuminating device extends through a second partition of the plurality of partitions.

19. The vehicle system of claim 16 wherein the illuminating device is a single longitudinally shaped light strip.

Assignees

• Audi Ag

Inventors

• Reuschel Jens Dietmar
• Tovar Johannes

Classifications

• B60Q1/545

  for indicating other traffic conditions, e.g. fog, heavy traffic · CPC title

• B60Q1/544

  for indicating other states or conditions of the vehicle occupants, e.g. for indicating disabled occupants · CPC title

• B60Q1/507

  specific to autonomous vehicles · CPC title

• B60Q1/543

  for indicating other states or conditions of the vehicle (indicating taxis' state of hire or fare G07B13/045) · CPC title

• B60Q1/52

  for indicating emergencies · CPC title