Light guide assembly, vehicle lamp and vehicle

Technical field

The present invention relates to a light guide assembly, a vehicle lamp and a vehicle. Background art

In vehicle lamp illumination, in cases where there are long, narrow openings which need to be illuminated, strip-like light guides are generally used, e.g. integrated in day running lamps, turn signal lamps or stop lamps, etc. Depending on styling requirements, there might be several long, narrow openings requiring illumination, and there will correspondingly be a need for several strip-like light guides 2 having their own independent LED light sources or PCB assemblies, as shown in Fig. 1. The multiple independent light guides will bring with them many problems, including, for example, installation, fixing, foolproofing and mould cost problems.

Summary

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a light guide assembly which can at least partially solve the above- mentioned technical problems.

The light guide assembly according to the present invention comprises: at least two light guide elements and a connecting element, wherein each light guide element comprises a light entry face for in coupling light emitted by a light source, and a light exit face for outputting light, wherein the light entry face is an end face of the light guide element that is close to the light source; and the connecting element connects the at least two light guide elements.

According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the light exit face is located at a circumferential surface of the light guide element.

According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, a light decoupling structure is provided on each of the at least two light guide elements. According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the connecting element comprises a rib located at an end of the at least two light guide elements.

According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the connecting element comprises a connecting piece that is perpendicular to the length direction of the light guide elements and connects two adjacent light guide elements.

According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, each of the at least two light guide elements has the same length or a different length. According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the light guide assembly is a one-piece structure.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle lamp is proposed, having a light source assembly, a light guide assembly and a lens, the light source assembly being allocated to the light guide assembly, and the lens being arranged at a light exit side of the light guide assembly, wherein the light guide assembly is the light guide assembly described above.

According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the light source assembly has a light emitting diode. According to a third aspect of the present invention, a vehicle is proposed, having the light guide assembly or vehicle lamp described above. Brief description of the drawings

The present invention is further explained below with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein

Figure 1 shows schematically multiple independent strip-like light guides; Figure 2 shows schematically a light guide assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a schematic illustration of the interaction between one of the light guide elements of the light guide assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention and a light source; Figure 4 shows schematically a right side view of the light guide assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 2;

Figure 5 shows schematically a cross-sectional drawing, at the position of the connecting piece, of two adjacent light guide elements of the light guide assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 2.

Detailed description of embodiments

Embodiments of the present invention are exemplified below. As those skilled in the art should realize, the embodiments described may be modified in various ways without departing from the concept of the present invention. Thus, the drawings and description are essentially illustrative, not restrictive. In the following text, identical reference numerals generally denote elements with identical or similar functions. A light guide assembly according to the present invention is shown schematically in Fig. 2. The light guide assembly 1 comprises at least two light guide elements 21, 22 and a connecting element 3. The light guide elements 21 and 22 are connected by the connecting element 3.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the number of light guide elements is 11. For convenience of description, only the light guide elements 21, 22 labelled in Fig. 2 are taken as an example here to explain an embodiment of the present invention. It must be explained that the drawings shown and the embodiments serving as examples here do not constitute specific restrictions on the number of light guide elements; the number of light guide elements may be greater or smaller, and may specifically be set according to actual needs. Correspondingly, when the number of light guide elements is a plurality greater than two, the connecting element 3 connects the plurality of light guide elements.

The light guide assembly 1 acts together with a light source assembly. The light source assembly may be multiple independent light sources corresponding to each of the light guide elements of the light guide assembly 1 respectively, or may be a PCB carrying multiple light sources. The number of light sources is determined according to the number of light guide elements.

For conciseness, one of the light guide elements, specifically, light guide element 21, is taken as an example below to explain the interaction between the light guide assembly 1 and the light sources. Fig. 3 shows a schematic illustration of the interaction between one of the light guide elements of the light guide assembly 1, specifically, light guide element 21, and a light source 4. The light guide element 21 comprises a light entry face 211 for in-coupling the light source, and a light exit face 212 for outputting light, wherein the light entry face 211 is an end face of the light guide element 21 that is close to the light source 4, and the light exit face 212 is located at a circumferential surface of the light guide element 21. Light emitted by the light source 4 enters the light guide element 21 through the light entry face 211, is transmitted through the light guide element 21, and then exits through the circumferential surface of the light guide element 21, to achieve an illumination effect.

At least a partial section of the light guide elements 21, 22 has a light decoupling structure extending in the length direction thereof at the circumferential outer side. Taking the light guide element 21 in Fig. 3 as an example, at least a partial section of the light guide element 21 has a light decoupling structure 213 extending in the length direction thereof at a circumferential outer side, to break the total reflection of light in the light guide element 21, so that light entering the light guide element through the light entry face 211 can exit from the side of the light guide element 21 that is opposite the light decoupling structure 213. The light decoupling structure 213 can take the form, for example, of optical teeth, i.e. a prism, etc.

In a specific embodiment, the light exit face 212 may undergo microstructuring, e.g. may be designed as an array of pillow-like faces, to improve the uniformity of emergent light.

The light guide elements 21, 22 are arranged substantially parallel to each other, to form a structure that is substantially in the form of a flat plate. The overall running direction of the light guide elements 21, 22 is generally designed according to the overall shape of the motor vehicle.

Again referring to Fig. 2, the connecting element 3 connecting the light guide elements 21 and 22 may be a rib 31 located at an end of the light guide elements, or a connecting piece 33 that is perpendicular to the length direction of the light guide elements and connects the two adjacent light guide elements. As the light guide elements 21 and 22 are connected by the connecting element 3, the positions of the at least two light guide elements are fixed relative to each other, making it possible to effectively simplify the process of installing the light guide assembly, avoid problems such as misplacement which can easily arise in the process of installing and fixing the light guide assembly when multiple light guide elements are present, and reduce the complexity of the installation process.

Both the rib 31 and the connecting piece 33 are shown in Fig. 2; however, in specific embodiments, the connecting element may simultaneously comprise the rib 31 located at the end of the light guide elements and the connecting piece 33 that is perpendicular to the length direction of the light guide elements and connects the two adjacent light guide elements, or may only comprise the rib 31 located at the end of the light guide elements, or may only comprise the connecting piece 33 that is perpendicular to the length direction of the light guide elements and connects the two adjacent light guide elements 21, 22.

Fig. 4 shows a right side view of the light guide assembly 1 according to the present invention shown in Fig. 2. The rib 31 located at the end of the light guide elements comprises a positioning structure 311, to facilitate adjustment and fixing of the positions of the light guide assembly and the light sources; in particular, in the case where the light source assembly is a PCB, the design of the positioning structure 311 can achieve convenient and precise installation and positioning.

Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional drawing, at the position of the connecting piece 31, of the light guide elements 21 and 22 of the light guide assembly 1 according to the present invention shown in Fig. 2. The connecting piece 33 that is perpendicular to the length direction of the light guide elements and connects the two adjacent light guide elements not only connects and positions the independent light guide elements, but can also provide support for the light guide elements, to increase the overall strength and stability of the light guide assembly. At the same time, to reduce the effect on the optical properties of the light guide elements, the connecting piece 33 preferably has a small cross-sectional area, as shown in Fig. 5.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the light guide elements 21, 22 are columnar, and generally have a round cross section, but may also have other cross-sectional shapes, e.g. oval, etc.

In a specific embodiment, different light guide elements 21, 22 may have the same shape and structure, or different shapes and structures; this includes but is not limited to the shape, length, diameter, etc. of the light guide elements 21, 22.

In a specific embodiment, light reflecting faces of the light guide elements 21, 22 have a collimating action, thereby reflecting incident light as a parallel light beam as much as possible, to further facilitate subsequent light distribution.

A light emitting device in the light source assembly is preferably a light emitting diode (LED), the colour of emitted light thereof being chosen according to the required function. For this purpose, LEDs emitting white, red or amber light may be used, in order to perform a number of lighting and/or signalling functions. The objective of emitting different colours to perform different lighting and/or signalling functions is known to those skilled in the art, so is not discussed in detail again herein. In the case where white LEDs are used, the intensity of emitted light thereof is preferably adjustable, to perform the functions of, for example, daytime running lamps, position lamps and turn signal lamps, etc. The light guide elements 21, 22 and connecting element 3 of the light guide assembly 1 preferably form a one-piece component, and are preferably formed of the same material. The material preferably facilitates the propagation of a light beam through the material, and is generally, for example, polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), etc.

The light guide assembly 1 is generally formed by injection moulding. The rib 31 located at the end of the light guide assembly 1 can also control deformation of the light guide elements during injection moulding, and provide a necessary channel for injection moulding material flow.

The present invention also proposes a vehicle lamp, having a light source assembly, the light guide assembly 1 described above, and a lens; the light source assembly is allocated to the light guide assembly 1, and the lens is arranged at a light exit side of the light guide assembly 1. Furthermore, in the vehicle lamp, an additional lens may also be arranged before the light guide assembly 1 in the direction of light emergence, to further homogenize light.

The present invention also proposes a vehicle, which has the light guide assembly 1 or vehicle lamp described above.

The present invention is not limited to the structure described above; various other variants may also be used. Although the invention has been described in terms of a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art can, with the benefit of this disclosure, devise other embodiments without departing from the scope of protection of the invention disclosed herein. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be defined only by the appended claims.