Technical Field

The present invention relates to the technical field of vehicle lamps, specifically, a light guide blade, a lighting device, and a motor vehicle.

Background Art

In vehicle lamp, the light guide blades have been widely used because they not only reduce costs, but also has good luminous efficiency.

However, for the C-shaped or U-shaped light guide blades, when multiple PCBs at different angles are needed, the light output directions between couplers are inconsistent due to space constraints, and their joints or transition areas usually fail to have good lighting effect, thus affecting the final optical effect of the vehicle lamp.

Summary

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a light guide blade, which can partially solve the technical problems mentioned above at least.

The light guide blade according to the present invention, comprising a first light guide and a second light guide, the first light guide and the second light guide are connected at an angle, the first light guide and the second light guide respectively comprise at least one coupler, and an auxiliary reflecting surface is arranged on at least one of the first light guide and the second light guide.

In one non-limiting embodiment according to the present invention, when the coupler is arranged so that the light source is located at a predetermined point of the coupler, the light from the light source that enters the light guide blade from the predetermined point through an input surface of the coupler is refracted on parallel planes.

In one non-limiting embodiment according to the present invention, the auxiliary reflecting surface is a stepped structure in which the coupler of the first light guide and/or the second light guide is recessed into the light guide blade relative to its corresponding light guide plane.

In one non-limiting embodiment according to the present invention, the surface of the auxiliary reflecting surface also comprises a stepped light guiding surface.

In one non-limiting embodiment according to the present invention, each coupler corresponds to one the light source respectively.

In one non-limiting embodiment according to the present invention, the light source is a light emitting diode.

In one non-limiting embodiment according to the present invention, the light source corresponding to each coupler of the first light guide is formed on a first PCB, and the light source corresponding to each coupler of the second light guide is formed on a second PCB.

In one non-limiting embodiment according to the present invention, the light guide blade is integrally formed.

The present invention further provides a lighting device, comprising a light guide blade as claimed in any of the above claims.

The present invention further provides a motor vehicle, comprising a lighting device according to the preceding item.

Due to the adoption of the above solution, the light guide blade of the present invention shows the following beneficial effects: the light guide blade of the present invention can also achieve good optical effects in the transition area and finally yield the desired lighting effect, and can also improve the layout flexibility of light sources.

Description of Attached Drawings

The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the attached drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a front view of the light guide blade according to the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a lateral view of the light guide blade according to the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a sectional view of the side face of the second light guide;

Figure 4 shows a diagram of the light guide blade according to the present invention when light sources are arranged on the PCB;

Figure 5 shows an optical path diagram at the first light guide of the light guide blade according to the present invention;

Figure 6 shows an optical path diagram at the second light guide of the light guide blade according to the present invention;

Figure 7 shows an optical path diagram at the transition area of the light guide blade according to the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

Embodiments of the present invention are exemplified below. As those skilled in the art should realise, the embodiments described may be modified in various ways without departing from the concept of the present invention. Thus, the accompanying drawings and the description are in essence demonstrative and non-limiting. The same reference numbers in the figures hereinafter usually represent elements having the same or similar functions.

Figure 1 and Figure 2 schematically show a front view and a lateral view of the light guide blade 100 according to the present invention respectively. The thick walled photoconductive 100 is generally U-shaped or C-shaped and designed in a lamellar structure.

In one embodiment, a light guide blade 100 comprises a first light guide 101 and a second light guide 102, the first light guide 101 and the second light guide 102 are connected at a fixed angle, the first light guide 101 and the second light guide 102 respectively comprise at least one coupler 103.

The angle between the first light guide 101 and the second light guide 102 can be set according to the needs of the actual light emitting modelling, and no specific angle is limited here. In a preferred embodiment, the first light guide 101 and the second light guide 102 are generally connected vertically.

Each coupler 103 corresponds to one the light source 106 respectively.

The input surface 105 of coupler 103 is arranged so that, when the light source 106 is located at a predetermined point of the coupler 103, for each input surface 105, the light from the light source 106 that enters the light guide blade 100 through the input surface 105 from the predetermined point is refracted on parallel planes.

Figure 5 shows the optical path at the coupler 103 of the first light guide 101. The light emitted by the light source 106 corresponding to the coupler 103 is incident through the input surface 105. These rays are refracted by the incident surface 105 and oriented towards the reflecting surface 1031 of the coupler 103. Then, the reflecting surface 1031 reflects the light it receives, and emits the light along the final light emitting direction.

In an optional embodiment, the reflecting surface 1031 is generally in a shape of parabola or approximate parabola profile.

The second light guide 102 is provided with an auxiliary reflecting surface 104. Figure 3 shows a sectional view of the side face of the second light guide, wherein the auxiliary reflecting surface 104 is a stepped structure in which the coupler 103 of the second light guide 102 is recessed into the light guide blade 101 relative to the plane of the second light guide 102. The auxiliary reflecting surface 104 is set to ensure a good lighting effect at the second light guide 102 and in the connection area between the first light guide 101 and the second light guide 102, that is, the transition area.

In an optional embodiment, the surface of the auxiliary reflecting surface 104 also comprises a stepped light guiding surface 107.

Figure 6 shows the optical path at the coupler 103 of the second light guide 102. The light emitted by the light source 106 corresponding to the coupler 103 of the second light guide 102 is incident through its input surface 105. These rays are refracted by the incident surface 105 and oriented towards the reflecting surface 1031 of the coupler 103. Then, the reflecting surface 1031 reflects the light it receives. Since the second light guide 102 is provided with an auxiliary reflecting surface 104 between its coupler 103 and the light guide plane, the light reflected by the reflecting surface 1031 enters the auxiliary reflecting surface 104, the light reflected at the auxiliary reflecting surface 104 is received by the light guiding surface 107, the light is again reflected at the light guiding surface 107, and the light is emitted along the final light emitting direction. The direction of light emitted and the light emitted from the first light guide 101 are on two mutually parallel planes.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, preferably, all of the reflection at the reflecting surface 1031, at the auxiliary reflecting surface 104, and at the light guiding surface 107 is total reflection.

An embodiment according to of the present invention, the auxiliary reflecting surface 104 is preferably a total reflecting surface, which can have a roughly planar profile.

Figure 7 shows an optical path diagram at the transition area of the light guide blade according to the present invention.

The coupler of the first light guide 101 adjacent to the second light guide 102 receives the light emitted by its corresponding light source 106, and the light enters through its input surface 105. The light incident to the input surface 105 will arrive at the reflecting surface 1031 after being refracted by the input surface, and will then arrive at the corresponding light emitting surface of the transition area after being reflected by the reflecting surface 1031.

The coupler of the second light guide 102 adjacent to the first light guide 101 receives the light emitted by its corresponding light source 106, and the light enters through its input surface 105. The light incident to its input surface 105 will arrive at the reflecting surface 1031 after being refracted by the input surface, will arrive at the light guiding surface 107 on the upper surface of the auxiliary reflecting surface 104 after being reflected by the reflecting surface 1031, and then will be received by the light guiding surface 107, and the light is reflected again on the light guiding surface 107 and finally also arrives at the corresponding light emitting surface of the transition area.

Since the light emitted from the light emitting surface of the transition area is formed by the superposition of the light emitted from the coupler of the adjacent first light guide 101 and the coupler of the second light guide 102, the light emitting effect at the transition area can be effectively improved to achieve the desired brightness.

In addition, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the light emitting surface 110 has a dentate structure, which enables the light pattern to meet the requirements of lighting regulations.

In a preferred embodiment, the light guide blade 100 is integrally formed, preferably manufactured integrally by moulding a transparent plastic material such as PMMA or polycarbonate, so as to simplify the manufacturing process and save costs.

In an optional embodiment, the light source 106 is a light emitting diode. The light emitting diode is preferably formed on a PCB.

As shown in Figure 4, the light source 106 corresponding to each coupler 103 of the first light guide 101 is formed on the first PCB 108, and the light source 106 corresponding to each coupler 103 of the second light guide 102 is formed on the second PCB 109. Due to the structural design of the light guide blade in the present invention, the transition area of the first light guide 101 and the second light guide 102 can also have a good lighting effect. The first PCB 108 and the second PCB 109 can be set on the planes at different angles, improving flexibility for the design of the vehicle lamp and also ensuring the final optical effect.

The above embodiment describes the present invention by taking the auxiliary reflecting surface 104 provided at the second light guide 102 as an example. In fact, as actually needed, the auxiliary reflecting surface 104 can also be set on the first light guide 101, or on both the first light guide 101 and the second light guide 102. This means, when the PCB and the light guide blade form a non-vertical angle, the light can be guided to the desired light emitting surface by setting the auxiliary reflecting surface 104.

The light guide blade according to the present invention is applicable to the lighting and signal indicating devices of motor vehicles such as tail lights and signal lights.

The light guide blade according to the present invention has a uniform lighting effect as a whole, and the transition area also has a good optical effect, which improves the flexibility in arranging the light sources. The present invention further provides a lighting device, comprising the light guide blade 100.

In addition, the present invention further provides a motor vehicle, comprising the lighting device described above.

The lighting device or the motor vehicle according to the present invention has at least the beneficial effect of the light guide blade 100.

For those skilled in the art, it is clear that the present invention is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the present invention. Thus, regardless of which viewpoint is taken, the embodiments should be regarded as being demonstrative and non-limiting; the scope of the present invention is defined by the attached claims and not by the explanation above, hence it is intended that all changes falling within the meaning and scope of equivalent key elements of the claims be included in the present invention. Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the claims concerned. In addition, it is obvious that the term “comprises” does not exclude other units or steps, and that the singular does not exclude the plural. The terms such as first and second are used to indicate designations, and do not indicate any specific order.