Lighting device for a motor vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11435045-B2
Application number	US-202117336955-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 2, 2021
Priority date	Dec 7, 2018
Publication date	Sep 6, 2022
Grant date	Sep 6, 2022

Abstract

A Lighting device for a motor vehicle is provided comprising at least one light source from which light is emitted during operation of the lighting device. An optical component into which the light emanating from the at least one light source enters is also provided, along with a light influencing means having an active surface for selectively influencing individual pixels or groups of pixels of the light. The light influencing means reflects or deflects light incident thereon in such a way that it emerges at least partially from the lighting device. Illumination optics are formed on or in the optical component. The light is reflected or deflected by the illumination optics during operation of the lighting device onto the active surface of the light influencing means. The light influencing means is arranged outside the optical component in such a way that light emanating from the illumination optics emerges from the optical component, impinges on the active surface of the light influencing means, is reflected or deflected by the latter, and then re-enters into the optical component.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A Lighting device for a motor vehicle comprising:
at least one light source from which light is emitted during operation of the lighting device,
an optical component into which the light emanating from the at least one light source enters,
a light influencing mechanism arranged outside the optical component and having an active surface for selectively influencing individual pixels or groups of pixels of the light, the light influencing mechanism reflecting or deflecting light incident thereon in such a way that the light incident thereon is reflected or deflected back into the optical component and then emerges at least partially from the lighting device,
a connecting layer arranged between an outside of the optical component and the light influencing mechanism that couples the light influencing mechanism to the outside of the optical component, and
illumination optics formed on or in the optical component,
wherein the illumination optics reflect or deflect the light emanating from the at least one light source out of the optical component and onto the active surface of the light influencing mechanism.

2. The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the light influencing mechanism is in direct or indirect contact with a section of the outside of the optical component through which light can exit from and enter the optical component.

3. The lighting device according to claim, wherein the connecting layer is liquid silicon rubber.

4. The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the light influencing mechanism is a digital micromirror device or an LCoS or as LC display, or that the light influencing mechanism comprises a digital micro-mirror device or an LCoS or an LC display.

5. The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the illumination optics comprise a reflector having a single uninterrupted mirror surface or a plurality of mirror elements.

6. The lighting device according to claim 5 , wherein the reflector has a concave curved base surface.

7. The lighting device according to claim 5 , wherein the reflector is formed by a reflecting surface of the optical component.

8. The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the lighting device comprises decoupling optics through which the light emitted by the light influencing mechanism emerges from the lighting device during operation of the lighting device.

9. The lighting device according to claim 8 , wherein the decoupling optics are integrated into the optical component as an exit surface thereof.

10. The lighting device according to claim 9 , wherein the exit surface being aspherically curved and/or being designed as a free-form surface.

11. The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the optical component is a monolithic component.

12. The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the optical component consists of glass or polycarbonates (PC).

13. The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one light source is a laser light source or a light-emitting diode.

Assignees

• Hella Gmbh & Co Kgaa

Inventors

• Drüppel Mathias
• Fischer Bernd
• Kaup Marc

Classifications

• F21S41/322

  the reflector using total internal reflection · CPC title

• F21S41/365 Primary

  successively reflecting the light · CPC title

• F21Y2115/30

  Semiconductor lasers · CPC title

• F21S41/285

  Refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters not provided in groups F21S41/24 - F21S41/2805 · CPC title

• F21S41/645

  by electro-optic means, e.g. liquid crystal or electrochromic devices · CPC title