HOLDING ARRANGEMENT AND LIGHT MODULE

Abstract

A holding arrangement for lenses of a lighting device for vehicles with a number of lenses which are arranged axially spaced from one another and which are enclosed by a surrounding body formed of two half shells firmly connected to one another, wherein the surrounding body has a plastic material, wherein the surrounding body has such an axial length and holder that a light source unit of the lighting device is enclosed in an end region of the surrounding body to form a light module and that the plastic material is filled as a thermoplastic or thermosetting material or as a composite material with at least one thermal expansion-reducing additional material.

Claims

1. A holding arrangement for lenses of a lighting device for vehicles with at least two lenses that are arranged axially spaced from one another, the holding arrangement comprising: a surrounding body enclosing the at least two lenses, the surrounding body comprising two half shells firmly connected to one another, the surrounding body being formed of a plastic material, the surrounding body having an axial length and holder such that a light source unit of the lighting device is enclosed in an end region of the surrounding body to form a light module, wherein the plastic material is filled as a thermoplastic or thermosetting material or as a composite material with at least one thermal expansion-reducing additional material.

2. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the plastic material is designed as a thermoplastic material and wherein the thermal expansion-reducing additional material is designed as a fiber material.

3. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the fiber material is designed such that the fibers of the fiber material run through a component filling oriented predominantly in the axial direction of the surrounding body.

4. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the plastic material is filled with predominantly isotropic thermal expansion-reducing additional materials.

5. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the mass fraction of the fiber material and/or the additional material is 35-90% of the total mass of the surrounding body.

6. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic material is amorphous.

7. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the linear thermal expansion quotient of the composite material, formed of the plastic material and the thermal expansion-reducing additional materials, in the axial direction of the surrounding body, is in a range between 10?10.sup.?6/K and 40?10.sup.?6/K.

8. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the lenses and/or the light source unit are each fixed in a fastening region in a mounting position within the surrounding body by at least two pretensioned spring elements arranged distributed in a circumferential direction, and wherein a spring section of the respective spring elements is designed such that an edge of the lenses and/or the light source unit are pressed against a stop surface of the surrounding body.

9. The holding arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the spring elements are each arranged inserted in a slot-shaped receptacle of the surrounding body.

10. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a first half shell and a second half shell for forming the surrounding body are of identical design.

11. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first half shell and the second half shell are connected to each other in the mounting position via a fastener, and wherein the surrounding body is formed tubular in the mounting position and is light-tight and dust-tight on the circumferential side.

12. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the light source unit comprises at least two light sources that are arranged in a matrix-like manner and which are arranged on a printed circuit board.

13. The holding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the printed circuit board is arranged in a rear end region of the surrounding body and a front lens is arranged in a front end region of the surrounding body so that the surrounding body is closed.

14. A light module comprising: the holding arrangement according to claim 1; at least two lenses enclosed by the surrounding body, and a light source unit, wherein the light module is fastened to a housing of the lighting device via a fastening flange of the surrounding body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a cross section through a lighting device for vehicles; and

[0020] FIG. 2 shows a cross section through the surrounding body without lenses.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] A lighting device shown in FIG. 1 can be designed as a high-resolution headlight 1, which is used to generate different light distributions depending on the current driving situation of the vehicle (dynamic light distribution). Headlight 1 essentially has a light source unit 2, an optical unit 3, and a control unit 4 for controlling light source unit 2.

[0022] Light source unit 2 has a number of light sources 5 which are arranged in a matrix-like manner and which are imaged by optical unit 3 to form light spots in an area in front of the vehicle. For example, the matrix can have 256 rows and 64 columns to form more than 16,000 light sources 5. Light sources 5 can be controlled individually. The light distribution is therefore pixel-like, so that different light distributions, for example, a low beam distribution, a glare-free high beam distribution, and the like, can be generated depending on a control signal generated by control unit 4. In the case of the glare-free high beam distribution, individual areas of the high beam distribution can be omitted so that traffic objects are not dazzled.

[0023] Optical unit 3 comprises a plurality of lenses 6, 6, 6, which are arranged offset to one another along an axis A.

[0024] Light source unit 2 and optical unit 3 are fixed in a holding arrangement 7 and together with it form a light module 8, which is fastened to a housing 10 of headlight 1 via a fastener. The pot-shaped housing 10 is closed by a transparent cover plate 11.

[0025] As can be seen in FIG. 1, light sources 5, which are preferably designed as LED light sources, are arranged on the optical axis A, along which lenses 6 run spaced apart from each other.

[0026] Holding arrangement 7 is designed as a hollow-cylindrical surrounding body formed of two half shells 12, 12. A first half shell 12 and a second half shell 12 are of identical design and their walls 13, 13 run along an inscribed angle ? of 180?. Lenses 6, 6, 6 and light source unit 2 are each arranged in a fastening region of peripheral body 7. For this purpose, it has a stop surface 14, on the one hand, and a spring element 15, on the other. Stop surface 14 can, for example, be formed as a semicircular ring 16 projecting inwards from wall 13, 13 of half shells 12, 12 or as a number of inwardly projecting webs. In the mounting position of lenses 6, 6, 6 and light source unit 2, an edge 17 of the respective lenses 6, 6, 6 and an edge 18 of light source unit 2 are pressed against stop surface 14 by means of spring elements 15 arranged distributed in the circumferential direction U.

[0027] Edge 18 of light source unit 2 is also the edge of a printed circuit board 20 of light source unit 2, which is equipped with light sources 5. Printed circuit board 20 is formed rigid. Light sources 5 are arranged on a flat side of printed circuit board 20, said side facing in the main beam direction H of headlight 1.

[0028] Surrounding body 7 or half shells 12, 12 have such an axial length that lenses 6 can be arranged at a predetermined axial distance from one another and light source unit 2 can be arranged at a predetermined distance from one another. Light source unit 2 is arranged fixed in a rear end region 21 of surrounding body 7, wherein a rear end face of surrounding body 7 is closed by printed circuit board 20. A front lens 6 is fixedly arranged in a front end region 22, so that a front end face of surrounding body 7 is closed. Because walls 13, 13 of half shells 12, 12 are continuous, i.e., free of openings, surrounding body 7 is arranged closed in this way, in particular light-tight and dust-tight. Unwanted dust cannot penetrate into the interior of surrounding body 7.

[0029] In addition to front lens 6, a middle lens 6 and a rear lens 6 are held securely in the same way by pressing edge 17 against stop surface 14 by means of the pretensioned spring element 15.

[0030] First half shell 12 and second half shell 12 are detachably connected to each other by a fastener, so that the surrounding body is formed tubular and light-tight on the circumferential side in the mounting position. First half shell 12 and second half shell 12 can, for example, be connected to each other by clamping, screwing, or latching.

[0031] Spring elements 15 are preferably made of a metal material. For example, spring elements 15 can be designed as spring plate elements. Spring elements 15 are preferably designed as insertion elements, each of which is inserted into a preferably slot-shaped receptacle 23 of half shells 12, 12. The slot-shaped receptacles 23 can, for example, be designed as pockets into which spring elements 15 can be inserted with their straight base section 24, whereas a curved spring section 25 of spring element 15 projects radially inwards to engage behind lenses 6, 6, 6.

[0032] The slot-shaped receptacles 23 can be arranged distributed in the circumferential direction U; for example, four slot-shaped receptacles 23 can be arranged in the respective fastening regions in the circumferential direction U. This ensures a secure positioning of lenses 6, 6, 6 or light source unit 2. The slot-shaped receptacles 23 of spring elements 15 assigned to lenses 6, 6, 6 run in the axial direction, wherein a main component of the spring force generated by spring elements 15 in the axial direction is ensured. If a main component of the spring force is to run in a radial direction, the slot-shaped receptacle 23 runs in the radial direction, as is intended for holding circuit board 20.

[0033] The slot-shaped receptacles 23, 23 can each be arranged in a top region 26 of half shells 12, 12 and in a free end region 27 of half shells 12, 12, wherein spring element 15 associated with the free end region 27 is partially inserted in the slot-shaped receptacle 23 of first half shell 12 and second half shell 12.

[0034] In the rear end region 21 of surrounding body 7, the same has outwardly projecting fastening flanges 28, so that surrounding body 7 can be fixed to housing 10 of headlight 1 via a fastener. For example, screw bolts can be provided as a fastener, which engage in corresponding holes 29 in fastening flange 28.

[0035] According to an example, surrounding body 7 or first half shell 12 and second half shell 12 each formed of a plastic material 30 and a thermal expansion-reducing additional material 31. The plastic material 30 can be an amorphous thermoplastic material.

[0036] A thermosetting plastic material or a composite plastic material, to which in each case the thermal expansion-reducing additional materials described below are added, can be used instead of the thermoplastic material.

[0037] The thermal expansion-reducing additional material 31 can be designed as a fiber material, which can be designed as a glass fiber material. Alternatively, the additional material can be made as carbon fibers, hemp fibers, or cellulose fibers, for example.

[0038] The thermal expansion-reducing additional material can be isotropic. For example, minerals, glass beads, glass powder, organically based materials, formed of renewable raw materials, such as ground shells, seeds, etc., have an isotropic shape or isotropic expansion.

[0039] These materials advantageously have an isotropy in terms of shrinkage and thermal expansion.

[0040] First half shell 12 and second half shell 12 are injection molded using the same mold, wherein glass fibers 32 of the glass fiber material are arranged oriented in the axial direction of the respective half shells 12, 12 by longitudinal injection molding in the mold cavity. Glass fibers 32 are surrounded by the plastic material. The plurality of glass fibers 32 together form fiber material 31, the mass fraction of which is 35% to 75% of the total mass of the composite material formed of plastic material 30 and fiber material 31.

[0041] A linear thermal expansion quotient ? of the manufactured half shells 12, 12 or surrounding body 7 in the axial direction of the same is in a range between 10?10.sup.?6/K and 40?10.sup.?6/K. The fiber-filled plastic material of surrounding body 7 has anisotropic thermal expansions, wherein the coefficient of thermal expansion in the transverse direction of surrounding body 7 is at least twice as large as the linear thermal expansion quotient a in the axial direction.

[0042] The thermal expansion-reducing fiber material 31 thus allows the thermal expansion to be reduced to a level that applies to metals.

[0043] Alternatively, when executed as a thermosetting plastic instead of a thermoplastic material, the filler content can be 35% to 90% of the total mass of the composite material formed of the plastic material and the fiber material.

[0044] Further, minerals, glass beads, glass powder, and/or organically based materials, formed of renewable raw materials, such as ground shells and seeds, for example, can be used instead of the fiber material as a thermal expansion-reducing additional material 31 (fillers).

[0045] The mass fraction of the additional material is also 35% to 90% of the total mass of the composite material formed from the additional material and plastic material 30. The linear thermal expansion quotient ? of surrounding body 7 formed in this way in the axial direction is also in the range between 10?10.sup.?6/K and 40?10.sup.?6/K.

[0046] The light module 8 may be assembled as follows:

[0047] First half shell 12 and second half shell 12 are produced by injection molding. Preferably by means of a robot, spring elements 15 are inserted into and locked in molded slot-shaped receptacles 23, 23. First half shell 12 is provided, wherein top region 26 points downwards and the free ends point upwards. Lenses 6, 6, 6 and circuit board 20 with light sources 5 are then inserted into first half shell 12, wherein they are pressed against stop surface 14 by the corresponding spring elements 15. First half shell 12 is equipped with spring elements 15 both at top region 26 and in the end region, whereas second half shell 12 is only equipped with spring elements 15 in top region 26. Second half shell 12 is then mounted from above, wherein an upwardly directed edge 17, 18 of lenses 6, 6, 6 or circuit board 20 is pressed onto stop surface 14 by means of spring elements 15 of second half shell 12.

[0048] First half shell 12 and second half shell 12 are detachably connected to each other via the fastener(s). Finally, surrounding body 7, formed by the joined first half shell 12 and second half shell 12, is fixed to housing 10 using the fastener.

[0049] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.