Micro-projection light module for a motor vehicle headlight, for achieving aplanatic light distribution

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10612741-B2
Application number	US-201615767161-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 24, 2016
Priority date	Oct 23, 2015
Publication date	Apr 7, 2020
Grant date	Apr 7, 2020

Abstract

The invention relates to a microprojection light module ( 1 ) for a motor vehicle headlight, comprising at least one light source ( 2 ) and at least one projection device ( 3 ), which images the light exiting the at least one light source ( 2 ) into a region in front of the motor vehicle in the form of at least one light distribution, wherein the projection device ( 3 ) comprises an entrance lens system ( 30 ) including one, two or more micro entrance lenses ( 31 ), which are preferably arranged in an array, and an exit lens system ( 40 ) including one, two or more micro exit lenses ( 41 ), which are preferably arranged in an array, wherein each micro entrance lens ( 31 ) is associated with exactly one micro exit lens ( 41 ), wherein the micro entrance lenses ( 31 ) are designed in such a way and/or the micro entrance lenses ( 31 ) and the micro exit lenses ( 41 ) are arranged with respect to one another in such a way that substantially all the light exiting the micro entrance lens ( 31 ) enters exactly only the associated micro exit lens ( 41 ), and wherein the light preshaped by the micro entrance lenses ( 31 ) is imaged by the micro exit lenses ( 41 ) into a region in front of the motor vehicle as at least one light distribution (LV 1 to LV 5 ; GLV), wherein a first diaphragm device ( 50 ) is arranged between the entrance lens system ( 30 ) and the exit lens system ( 40 ), wherein at least one second diaphragm device ( 60, 70 ) is arranged between the entrance lens system ( 30 ) and the exit lens system ( 40 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A microprojection light module ( 1 ) for a headlight of a motor vehicle, comprising:
a light source ( 2 ); and
a projection device ( 3 ) configured to image light exiting the light source ( 2 ) into a region in front of the motor vehicle as a light distribution, the projection device ( 3 ) comprising:
an entrance lens system ( 30 ) including micro entrance lenses ( 31 ), which are arranged in an array; and
an exit lens system ( 40 ) including micro exit lenses ( 41 ), which are arranged in an array,

wherein each micro entrance lens ( 31 ) of the micro entrance lenses is associated with exactly one micro exit lens ( 41 ) of the micro exit lenses,
wherein substantially all light exiting each micro entrance lens ( 31 ) enters only the exactly one micro exit lens ( 41 ) associated therewith,
wherein light preshaped by the micro entrance lenses ( 31 ) is imaged by the micro exit lenses ( 41 ) into the region in front of the motor vehicle as the light distribution (LV 1 to LV 5 ; GLV),
wherein a first diaphragm device ( 50 ) is arranged between the entrance lens system ( 30 ) and the exit lens system ( 40 ), and
wherein a second diaphragm device ( 60 , 70 ) is arranged between the entrance lens system ( 30 ) and the exit lens system ( 40 ), the second diaphragm device ( 60 , 70 , 80 ) comprising a diaphragm ( 61 to 65 , 71 to 75 , 81 to 89 ) having an optically effective diaphragm edge ( 61 ′ to 65 ′, 71 ′ to 75 ′, 81 ′ to 89 ′) for a pair of associated micro entrance and micro exit lenses ( 31 , 41 ).

2. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein the second diaphragm device ( 60 , 70 ) is arranged between the first diaphragm device ( 50 ) and the exit lens system ( 40 ).

3. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein a micro entrance lens ( 31 ) of the micro entrance lenses and a micro exit lens ( 41 ) of the micro exit lenses associated with the micro entrance lens ( 31 ) form a micro lens system comprising a micro lens focal point (F 1 ).

4. The microprojection light module according to claim 3 , wherein the micro entrance lens ( 31 ) focuses light passing through it into the micro lens focal point (F 1 ).

5. The microprojection light module according to claim 3 , wherein the micro lens focal point (F 1 ) of the micro entrance lens ( 31 ) is located in front of the micro exit lens ( 41 ), in a light exit direction, wherein the micro entrance lens ( 31 ) is configured to focus light passing through it in a vertical direction onto the micro lens focal point (F 1 ) located in front of the micro exit lens ( 40 ), and wherein the micro exit lens ( 41 ) comprises a focal point that coincides with the micro lens focal point (F 1 ) of the micro entrance lens ( 31 ).

6. The microprojection light module according to claim 3 , wherein the micro lens system widens light passing through it in a horizontal direction (H).

7. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein each micro entrance lens ( 31 ) is designed as a converging lens, the converging lens causing light to come together in at least one direction.

8. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein each micro exit lens ( 41 ) is designed as a projection lens, a spherical lens, an aspherical lens, or as a free-form lens.

9. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein mutually facing interfaces ( 31 ′, 41 ′) of the pair of associated micro entrance and micro exit lenses ( 31 ) are designed to be congruent and planar.

10. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein optical axes ( 310 , 410 ) of the pair of associated micro entrance and micro exit lenses ( 31 ) extend parallel to one another and coincide.

11. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein the first diaphragm device ( 50 ) is located in a plane spanned by a micro lens focal points (F 1 ), the first diaphragm device ( 50 ) comprising a diaphragm ( 51 to 55 ) having an optically effective diaphragm edge ( 51 ′, 52 ′, 53 ′, 54 ′, 55 ′) for the pair of associated micro entrance and micro exit lenses ( 31 , 41 ).

12. The microprojection light module according to claim 11 , wherein the diaphragm ( 51 to 55 ) has exactly one optically effective diaphragm edge ( 51 ′, 52 ′, 53 ′, 54 ′, 55 ′) for multiple or all of the pairs of associated micro entrance and micro exit lenses ( 31 , 41 ).

13. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein the diaphragm ( 61 to 65 , 71 to 75 , 81 to 89 ), having the optically effective diaphragm edge ( 61 ′ to 65 ′, 71 ′ to 75 ′, 81 ′ to 89 ′), for multiple pairs of the pair of associated micro entrance and micro exit lenses, comprises a gable-like progression.

14. The microprojection light module according to claim 13 , wherein, with respect to a vertical direction (V), a lower optically effective diaphragm edge ( 61 ′ to 65 ′, 71 ′ to 75 ′) of the diaphragm ( 61 to 65 , 71 to 75 ) and/or an upper optically effective diaphragm edge ( 81 ′ to 89 ′) of the diaphragm ( 81 to 89 ) comprise two or more curved and/or rectilinear segments.

15. The microprojection light module according to claim 14 , wherein the lower optically effective diaphragm edge ( 61 ′ to 65 ′, 71 ′ to 75 ′) of the diaphragm ( 61 to 65 , 71 to 75 ) and/or the upper optically effective diaphragm edge ( 81 ′ to 89 ′) of the diaphragm ( 81 to 89 ) comprise a triangular, trapezoidal, curved, or circular design.

16. The microprojection light module according to claim 13 , wherein the second diaphragm device ( 60 ) is arranged in relation to the first diaphragm device ( 50 ) in such a way that the diaphragm ( 61 to 65 , 71 to 75 , 81 to 89 ) of the second diaphragm device ( 60 , 70 , 80 ) is offset parallel to a vertical direction (V), in relation to a diaphragm ( 51 to 55 ) of the first diaphragm device ( 50 ).

17. The microprojection light module according to claim 13 , wherein the diaphragm comprises (i) a plurality of diaphragms having identical diaphragm edges or (ii) at least two diaphragms having differently configured diaphragm edges.

18. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein the first diaphragm device ( 50 ) and the second diaphragm device ( 60 ) are spaced apart in a horizontal direction (H), designed identically, and/or in one piece, wherein the second diaphragm device ( 60 ) is arranged in a mirrored fashion in relation to the first diaphragm device ( 50 ) with respect to a horizontal plane (B-B).

19. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein the first diaphragm device ( 50 ) is arranged on an interface ( 31 ′) of the entrance lens system ( 30 ), which faces the exit lens system ( 40 ), and wherein the second diaphragm device ( 60 , 70 ) is arranged on an interface ( 41 ′) of the exit lens system ( 40 ), which faces the entrance lens system ( 30 ).

20. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein the entrance lens system ( 30 ) and the exit lens system ( 40 ) are two separate components.

21. The microprojection light module according to claim 1 , wherein the first diaphragm device ( 50 ) is a component that is separate from the entrance lens system ( 30 ), the exit lens system ( 40 ), and the second diaphragm device ( 60 , 70 ), and wherein the second diaphragm device ( 60 , 70 ) is a component separate from the entrance lens system ( 30 ) and the exit lens system ( 40 ).

Assignees

• Zkw Group Gmbh

Inventors

• Moser Andreas
• Mandl Bernhard
• Jackl Christian

Classifications

• F21S41/143

  the main emission direction of the LED being parallel to the optical axis of the illuminating device · CPC title

• G02B3/0056

  arranged along two different directions in a plane, e.g. honeycomb arrangement of lenses (G02B3/0043 takes precedence; miniaturised objectives for electronic devices employing wafer level optics G02B13/0085) · CPC title

• F21S41/265

  Composite lenses; Lenses with a patch-like shape · CPC title

• F21V5/004

  using microlenses · CPC title

• F21S41/635

  by moving refractors, filters or transparent cover plates · CPC title