Optical structure for a lighting device for a motor vehicle headlight

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10378718-B2
Application number	US-201414916404-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 28, 2014
Priority date	Sep 3, 2013
Publication date	Aug 13, 2019
Grant date	Aug 13, 2019

Abstract

The invention relates to an optical structure ( 100 ) for a lighting device ( 1 ) of a motor vehicle headlight, which lighting device ( 1 ) is designed to radiate light, the light radiated from the lighting device ( 1 ) forming a predefined light distribution (LV 1 ), wherein the optical structure ( 100 ) is associated with the lighting device ( 1 ) in such a way or is part of the lighting device ( 1 ) in such a way that substantially the entire flow of light from the lighting device ( 1 ) passes through the optical structure ( 100 ), and wherein the unmodified light distribution (LV 1 ) produced by the lighting device ( 1 ) is modified by the optical structure ( 100 ) into a predefinable, modified light distribution (LV 2 ), wherein the modified light distribution (LV 2 ) is formed by convolution of the unmodified light distribution (LV 1 ) with a scattering function (PSF), and wherein the optical structure ( 100 ) is designed in such a way that the unmodified light distribution (LV 1 ) is modified according to the scattering function.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical structure ( 100 ) for a lighting device ( 1 ) of a motor vehicle headlight, wherein light radiated from the lighting device ( 1 ) forms a predefined light distribution (LV 1 ), the optical structure comprising:
at least one optics element ( 5 , 6 ); and
a plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) which are distributed over at least one defined area ( 111 ) of the at least one optics element and which are configured to provide a light-scattering effect,
wherein the at least one defined area ( 111 ) is divided into a virtual, hexagonal grid structure ( 200 ) and the plurality of optical structural elements are arranged at grid points ( 201 ), or between the grid points ( 201 ), of the virtual, hexagonal grid structure ( 200 ),
wherein the predefined light distribution (LV 1 ) comprises a segmented light distribution formed from individual light distributions (LS 1 ), wherein the individual light distributions (LS 1 ) are arranged inn rows and m columns, wherein n>1, m≥1 or n≥1, m>1,
wherein the optical structure ( 100 ) of the lighting device ( 1 ) is associated with the lighting device ( 1 ) or is part of the lighting device ( 1 ) such that substantially all light from the lighting device ( 1 ) passes through the optical structure ( 100 ), and the unmodified light distribution produced by the lighting device ( 1 ) is modified by the optical structure ( 100 ) into a predefinable, modified light distribution (LV 2 ),
wherein the predefinable, modified light distribution (LV 2 ) is formed by convolution of the unmodified light distribution with a scattering function (PSF),
wherein adjacent optical structural elements ( 110 ) of the plurality of optical structural elements (i) are arranged in contact with one another, or (ii) are isolated from one another and do not contact one another,
wherein the optical structural elements ( 110 ) are configured to provide that at least some of the light of the lighting device ( 1 ) is deflected into boundary regions, in each of which two individual light distributions are arranged adjacently to one another, and
wherein the plurality of optical structural elements is arranged on at least one boundary surface of the at least one optics element, and the at least one optics element is a diffusing plate or covering plate ( 6 ) of the lighting device ( 1 ).

2. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) is formed such that each optical structural element ( 110 ) modifies a light bundle (LB 1 ) passing through the optical structural element ( 110 ) into a modified light bundle (LB 2 ) according to a scattering function.

3. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein the optical structure is arranged on at least one surface of the at least one optics element in the form of a projection lens of the lighting device ( 1 ).

4. The optical structure of claim 3 , wherein the optical structure is arranged on a light exit side ( 5 a ) of the projection lens ( 5 ).

5. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) is distributed over all of the at least one boundary surface ( 5 a , 6 a ) of the at least one optics element ( 5 , 6 ).

6. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein all of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) are substantially identical.

7. The optical structure of claim 6 , wherein all of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) are identical relative to a planar surface ( 111 ) or a surface ( 111 ) intended to be planar.

8. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein all of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) are identically oriented.

9. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein the scattering function (PSF) is a point-spread function.

10. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein a diameter, a height, and/or another dimension of one or more of the plurality of optical structural elements is/are greater than a wavelength of visible light.

11. The optical structure of claim 10 , wherein the height (h) of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) lies in the μm range.

12. The optical structure of claim 11 , wherein the height (h) of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) lies in the range of 0.5 μm to 5 μm.

13. The optical structure of claim 12 , wherein the height (h) of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) lies in the range of 1 μm to 3 μm.

14. The optical structure of claim 13 , wherein the height (h) of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) is approximately 2.7 μm.

15. The optical structure of claim 10 , wherein the diameter (d) or a length of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) lies in the millimeter range.

16. The optical structure of claim 15 , wherein the diameter (d) or the length of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) lies between 0.5 mm and 2 mm.

17. The optical structure of claim 16 , wherein the diameter (d) or the length of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) is approximately 1 mm.

18. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) has a circular cross section at its base.

19. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein precisely one of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) is arranged at each grid point ( 201 ) or between the grid points ( 201 ) of the virtual, hexagonal grid structure ( 200 ).

20. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein adjacent grid points ( 201 ) are arranged at a distance from one another that is in a range from 0.5 mm to 2 mm.

21. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein the optical structural elements of the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) are distributed randomly over the defined area ( 111 ).

22. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of optical structural elements ( 110 ) transition to the defined area ( 111 ) in a continuous manner.

23. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein the lighting device ( 1 ) is configured to map light radiated therefrom as a dipped beam distribution, wherein the dipped beam distribution has a light-dark boundary (HD 1 ),
wherein a gradient of the light-dark boundary (HD 1 ) of the unmodified light distribution of the lighting device ( 1 ) is reduced.

24. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein the lighting device is configured to map light radiated therefrom as a dipped beam distribution, wherein the dipped beam distribution has a light-dark boundary (HD 1 ),
wherein a portion of the light of the lighting device ( 1 ) is mapped into a region (LV 2 ′) above the light/dark boundary (HD 1 , HD 2 ).

25. The optical structure of claim 24 , wherein deflected light lies in the region (LV 2 ′) between 1.5° and 4° above the HD line.

26. The optical structure of claim 24 , wherein approximately 1% of the light of the lighting device ( 1 ) is deflected by the optical structural elements into the region (LV 2 ′) above the light-dark boundary (HD 1 , HD 2 ).

27. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein adjacent individual light distributions (LS 1 ) of the unmodified light distribution are arranged at a defined distance or defined distances (d 1 , d 2 ) from one another.

28. The optical structure of claim 1 , wherein the individual light distributions

Assignees

• Zizala Lichtsysteme Gmbh
• Zkw Group Gmbh

Inventors

• Kieslinger Dietmar

Classifications

• F21S41/43 Primary

  characterised by the shape thereof · CPC title

• F21S41/275

  Lens surfaces, e.g. coatings or surface structures · CPC title

• F21W2102/18

  for overhead signs · CPC title

• F21W2102/16

  having blurred cut-off lines · CPC title

• G02B27/00 Primary

  Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00 · CPC title