Automotive lamp optical system with light diffusive projection lens

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11512828-B2
Application number	US-202017108418-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 1, 2020
Priority date	Dec 1, 2020
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automotive optical system; the optical system includes one or more first optical elements that reflect light rays emitted from a number of first light sources that are configured to perform a first lighting function and a second optical element; the second optical element is configured to project a light beam from the first optical elements configured to perform the first lighting function where a portion of the second optical element is made of a diffusive material. Furthermore, the optical system includes a number of secondary light sources where the second optical element is configured to receive light ray emissions from the secondary light sources and perform a second lighting function by scattering light rays received from secondary light sources.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optical system of an automotive vehicle, the optical system comprises:
a number of first optical elements that are configured to reflect light from a number of first light sources that are configured to perform a first lighting function,
said first optical elements being shaping reflectors;
a second optical element configured to project a light beam transmitted from said first optical elements wherein at least a portion of the second optical element is made of a light diffusive material; and
a number of secondary light sources, wherein the second optical element is configured to receive light emitted from said secondary light sources and configured to perform a second lighting function by scattering the light received from said secondary light sources.

2. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein said secondary light sources are arranged on at least a number of sides of the second optical element and on a top of a second optical module.

3. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein said first light sources are arranged at a vicinity of a focus of said first optical elements.

4. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the second optical element is a light diffusive lens.

5. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the second optical element is arranged at a downstream location of said first optical elements in a direction of propagation of associated light rays.

6. The optical system of claim 4 , wherein the light diffusive lens has a thickness of about 2 mm to 7 mm.

7. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein said secondary light sources are arranged on a top of a flange of a light diffusive lens.

8. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein said first light sources and said secondary light sources are arranged on a same Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

9. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein said first light sources and said secondary light sources are arranged on different PCBs or portions thereof.

10. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the first lighting function is one of: a low-beam function, a high-beam function, and a fog function.

11. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the second lighting function is one of: signature function, park function.

12. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein said diffusive material includes at least one of Poly methyl methacrylate types: Evonik Acrylite, PMMA 8N LD12, PMMA 8N LD24, and PMMA 8N LD 48, and the like.

13. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the second optical element is adapted to produce the light beam pattern with a sharper cut off.

14. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein top and bottom portions of the second optical element is made of a non-diffusive material and a middle portion of the second optical element is made of said diffusive material.

15. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein an entire portion of the second optical element is made of said diffusive material.

16. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the second optical element is produced by a multi-shot injection process.

17. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the second optical element is adapted to increase the sharpness of the cut-off of the light beam pattern with an increased light diffusivity of said diffusive material, which is applied to produce the second optical element.

18. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein the second optical element is an outer lens of the optical system.

19. A headlamp assembly of an automotive vehicle, the headlamp assembly comprises:
a number of low beam modules configured to generate a low beam distribution;
a number of high beam modules configured to generate a high beam distribution; and
wherein at least one of the low beam modules and the high beam modules includes an optical system comprising:
a number of first optical elements that are configured to reflect light from a number of first light sources that are configured to perform a first lighting function, said first optical elements are shaping reflectors;
a second optical element arranged at a downstream location of said first optical elements that is configured to project a light beam transmitted from said first optical elements that are configured to perform the first lighting function, wherein a portion of the second optical element is made of a light diffusive material; and
a number of secondary light sources, wherein the second optical element is configured to receive light from said secondary light sources and configured to perform a second lighting function by scattering the light from said secondary light sources.

Assignees

• Valeo Vision

Inventors

• Potter Brant

Classifications

• F21S41/148

  the main emission direction of the LED being perpendicular to the optical axis · CPC title

• F21W2102/30

  Fog lights · CPC title

• F21S41/321

  the reflector being a surface of revolution or a planar surface, e.g. truncated · CPC title

• F21W2102/13

  for high-beam region or low-beam region · CPC title

• F21S43/239

  plate-shaped · CPC title