Optical structure for signal light

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9879837-B2
Application number	US-201615143841-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 2, 2016
Priority date	May 4, 2015
Publication date	Jan 30, 2018
Grant date	Jan 30, 2018

Abstract

An optical structure for a lighting device of a motor vehicle headlight is disclosed. The optical structure is paired with or is a part of the lighting device such that it modifies a light distribution produced by the lighting device. The optical structure ( 1 ) includes two, three or more optical structural elements. Each structural element has a light-scattering effect. A first proportion of the structural elements is formed in such a way that beams generated by the lighting device and impinging on this first proportion of the structural elements pass through the proportion of the structural elements. Each beam is refracted by the relevant structural element to form a first exit beam, to form a second exit beam, and to form at least one further exit beam.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical structure for a lighting device ( 2 ) of a motor vehicle headlight, which lighting device ( 2 ) is configured to irradiate light in order to form a first unmodified light distribution ( 3 ) in a region in front of the lighting device ( 2 ), wherein the optical structure ( 1 ) of the lighting device ( 2 ) is paired with or is part of the lighting device ( 2 ) in such a way that at least part of an entire luminous flux of the lighting device ( 2 ) radiates through the optical structure ( 1 ), wherein the first unmodified light distribution ( 3 ) generated by the lighting device ( 2 ) is modified by the optical structure ( 1 ) to provide a predefinable modified second light distribution ( 4 ), the optical structure ( 1 ) comprising:
two, three, or more optical structural elements ( 5 , 5 ′), wherein each structural element ( 5 , 5 ′) has a light-scattering effect,
wherein a first proportion of the structural elements ( 5 ) is formed such that beams ( 6 ) generated by the lighting device ( 2 ) and impinging on the first proportion of the structural elements ( 5 ) pass through the first proportion of the structural elements ( 5 ), wherein each beam ( 6 ) is refracted by the relevant structural element ( 5 ) to form a first exit beam ( 7 ), a second exit beam ( 8 ), and at least one further exit beam ( 9 a ).

2. The optical structure according to claim 1 , wherein at least two of the exit beams ( 7 , 8 , 9 a ) in a scatter pattern are not superimposed.

3. The optical structure according to claim 1 , wherein a second proportion of the structural elements ( 5 ′) is formed in such a way that the light impinging on the second proportion of the structural elements ( 5 ′) is scattered in the form of exactly one beam.

4. The optical structure according to claim 1 , wherein the structural elements ( 5 , 5 ′) each have a regular hexagonal base area ( 10 ) such that the regular hexagonal base areas ( 10 ) of the structural elements ( 5 , 5 ′) completely cover a regular hexagonal grid ( 13 ) and areas ( 11 ) between corner points ( 12 ) of the regular hexagonal grid ( 13 ) are covered by the regular hexagonal base area ( 10 ) of exactly one structural element ( 5 , 5 ′).

5. The optical structure according to claim 4 , wherein the regular hexagonal grid has one, two, or more rows ( 14 ) extending in parallel, which rows ( 14 ) extend parallel to a direction ( 16 ) defined by a diagonal over two sides ( 15 ) of one of the areas ( 11 ), wherein the regular hexagonal base areas ( 10 ) formed as regular hexagons of the first proportion of the structural elements ( 5 ) cover each second row ( 14 ′).

6. The optical structure according to claim 1 , wherein the first proportion of the structural elements ( 5 ) has at least one rising region ( 17 ), one outlet region ( 18 ), and one, two, or more rising flanks ( 19 a , 19 b , 19 c ), wherein the rising region ( 17 ) refracts the beam ( 6 ) generated by the lighting device ( 2 ) and impinging on the relevant structural element ( 5 ) in order to form the first exit beam ( 7 ), the outlet region ( 18 ) refracts the beam ( 6 ) generated by the lighting device ( 2 ) and impinging on the relevant structural element ( 5 ) to form the second exit beam ( 8 ), and the one, two or more rising flanks ( 19 a , 19 b , 19 c ) refracts/refract the beam ( 6 ) generated by the lighting device ( 2 ) and impinging on the relevant structural element ( 5 ) to form the at least one further exit beam ( 9 a ).

7. The optical structure according to claim 6 , wherein the rising region ( 17 ) transitions continuously into the at least one rising flank ( 19 a , 19 b , 19 c ).

8. The optical structure according to claim 6 , wherein the structural elements ( 5 ) are each formed symmetrically with respect to an axis ( 20 ) extending through a geometric centre ( 24 ) of the structural element ( 5 ) parallel to a diagonal over two sides ( 15 ).

9. The optical structure according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one rising flank ( 19 a ) is substantially V-shaped in a section through the structural element ( 5 ) along a plane parallel to a base area ( 10 ).

10. The optical structure according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one rising flank ( 19 a ), in a section through the structural element ( 5 ) along a plane parallel to a base area ( 10 ), is formed symmetrically with respect to an axis ( 20 ) extending through a geometric centre ( 24 ) of the structural element ( 5 ) parallel to a diagonal over two sides ( 15 ) and has a corner point ( 21 ) and an angle of aperture ( 22 ), which angle of aperture ( 22 ) lies in a range between 2° and 180°.

11. The optical structure according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one rising flank ( 19 a , 19 b , 19 c ) transitions continuously into the outlet region ( 18 ).

12. The optical structure according to claim 1 , wherein the structural elements ( 5 ) have a rising region ( 17 ), an outlet region ( 18 ) and exactly one rising flank ( 19 a ), wherein a part of the beam ( 6 ) impinging on the rising region ( 17 ) of the structural element is refracted to form the first exit beam ( 7 ), which first exit beam ( 7 ) is scattered below an h-axis, a part of the beam ( 6 ) impinging on the outlet region ( 18 ) of the structural element is refracted to form the second exit beam ( 8 ), which second exit beam ( 8 ) is scattered above the h-axis, a part of the beam ( 6 ) impinging on the flank ( 19 a ) of the structural element is refracted to form the third exit beam ( 9 a ), which third exit beam ( 9 a ) is scattered above the h-axis, and the second exit beam ( 8 ) is scattered in a region between 0° and 3° above the h-axis, and the flank ( 19 a ) has a slope in a range between 5° and 20°, and the third exit beam ( 9 a ) is scattered in a region between 2° and 4° or between 4° and 5° or between 5° and 7° above the h-axis.

13. The optical structure according to claim 1 , wherein the structural elements ( 5 ) have a rising region ( 17 ), an outlet region ( 18 ), and exactly three rising flanks ( 19 a , 19 b , 19 c ), wherein a part of the beam ( 6 ) impinging on the rising region ( 17 ) of the structural element is refracted to form the first exit beam ( 7 ), which first exit beam ( 7 ) is scattered below an h-axis, a part of the beam ( 6 ) impinging on the outlet region ( 18 ) of the structural element is refracted to form the second exit beam ( 8 ), which second exit beam ( 8 ) is scattered above the h-axis, a part of the beam ( 6 ) impinging on the flanks ( 19 a , 19 b , 19 c ) of the structural element is refracted to form a third, a fourth and a fifth exit beam ( 9 a ), wherein the exit beams ( 9 a ) are scattered in a region above the h-axis, and the fourth exit beam overlaps neither the third exit beam ( 9 a ) nor the fifth exit beam in the scatter pattern, and the second exit beam ( 8 ) is scattered in a region between 0° and 3° above the h-axis, and the first and the third flank ( 19 a , 19 c ) have a slope in a range between 8° and 12°, and the second flank ( 19 b ) has a slope in a range between 12° and 16°, and the third and the fifth exit beams ( 9 a ) are scattered in a region between 4° and 6° above the h-axis, and the fourth exit beam is scattered in a region between 6° and 8° above the h-axis.

14. The optical structure according to claim 1 , wherein the structural elements ( 5 ) have a rising region ( 17 ), an outlet region ( 18 ), and a flank ( 19 a ), wherein the flank ( 19 a ) is V-shaped and has a corner point ( 21 ) and an angle of aperture ( 22 ), wherein the corner point ( 21 ) lies

Assignees

• Zizala Lichtsysteme Gmbh
• Zkw Group Gmbh

Inventors

• Kieslinger Dietmar
• Pürstinger Josef
• Danner Markus

Classifications

• F21S41/32

  Optical layout thereof · CPC title

• G02B5/021

  the diffusion taking place at the element's surface, e.g. by means of surface roughening or microprismatic structures · CPC title

• F21S41/255 Primary

  Lenses with a front view of circular or truncated circular outline · CPC title

• F21S41/265

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

• F21S41/20

  characterised by refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters · CPC title