ILLUMINATED TRIM

Abstract

The invention relates to an illuminated trim for a motor vehicle with a lighting unit, especially a trim as the cover strip of a sealing strip for a window shaft of a vehicle door, which is designed such that, when assembled as intended on the vehicle a light gap is formed between the trim and the adjoining outer surface of the vehicle or in the trim, as well as the method for making such a trim. In order to achieve a uniform ambient lighting with high functional reliability, low manufacturing expense, and the lowest possible costs, it is provided that the lighting unit comprises a carrier layer and an at least partly translucent functional layer, wherein the light source is arranged on the carrier layer and the light source is covered by the functional layer applied to the carrier layer.

Claims

1. An illuminated trim for a motor vehicle comprising: at least one lighting unit with at least one light source comprising multiple lighting means; wherein the trim when assembled as intended on the vehicle defines a decorative side directed away from the vehicle and an inner side directed toward the vehicle, as well as a cavity on the side of the trim facing away from the decorative side, and it is designed and intended to be mounted on a motor vehicle or a component arranged on the motor vehicle, and to be carried by the motor vehicle; wherein the cavity is designed such that light may escape through a light gap from the cavity and the lighting unit is arranged in the cavity; and wherein light source of the lighting unit is arranged on a film as a carrier layer and is at least partly covered by a translucent functional layer applied to the carrier layer and wherein the lighting means of the light source are arranged on the carrier layer which is applied to the inside of the decorative strip and subsequently overmolded.

2. The illuminated trim of claim 1 wherein the lighting means are light emitting diodes (LEDs).

3. The illuminated trim of claim 1 wherein the trim is intended to be mounted on a sealing profile.

4. The illuminated trim of claim 2, wherein that the at least one light source of the lighting unit is formed by surface-mounted components (SMDs) and/or is printed on the carrier layer.

5. The illuminated trim of claim 1, wherein the lighting unit comprises electronic components and/or conductor tracks, which are printed on the carrier layer.

6. The illuminated trim of claim 1, wherein the carrier layer is formed by a film which is fastened on the inner side of the trim.

7. The illuminated trim of claim 1, wherein the carrier layer is formed by a film which is fastened on the inner side on the sealing profile.

8. The illuminated trim of claim 1, wherein at least one part of the inner side of the trim forms the carrier layer or wherein at least one part of the inner side of the sealing profile forms the carrier layer.

9. The illuminated trim of claim 1, wherein the carrier layer is formed by one part of the inner side of the trim and by one part of the sealing profile.

10. The illuminated trim of claim 1, wherein the functional layer is designed such that it can afford a protection to the electronic components and it can bring about a distribution of the light emitted from the at least one light source, especially for homogenization in the surrounding region of the light source by scattering effects, wherein the distribution is realized by the surface structure of the functional layer and/or by particles within the functional layer.

11. The illuminated trim of claim 1, characterized in that an additional layer is provided between carrier layer and functional layer (12) with different optical properties as compared to the functional layer or a hollow chamber filled with gas or air for the distribution of the light emitted from the at least one light source.

12. The illuminated trim of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the particles form light scattering elements in the functional layer, which at least partly reflect and/or diffract the light emitted by the light source.

13. The illuminated trim according of claim 2, wherein the functional layer is multilayered and/or has at least one totally reflective boundary layer.

14. The illuminated trim of claim 1, wherein the lighting unit comprises additional electronic components, wherein the electronic components are arranged in the vehicle interior and/or on the inner side of the trim, wherein a connection between the electronic components and at least the light source is provided by means of current conductors.

15. A method for manufacturing an illuminated trim for a motor vehicle comprising: at least one lighting unit with at least one light source comprising multiple lighting means; wherein the trim when assembled as intended on the vehicle defines a decorative side directed away from the vehicle and an inner side directed toward the vehicle, as well as a cavity on the side of the trim facing away from the decorative side, and it is designed and intended to be mounted on a motor vehicle or a component arranged on the motor vehicle, and to be carried by the motor vehicle; wherein the cavity is designed such that light may escape through a light gap from the cavity and the lighting unit is arranged in the cavity; and wherein light source of the lighting unit is arranged on a film as a carrier layer and is at least partly covered by a translucent functional layer applied to the carrier layer, comprising the steps of: positioning the lighting unit with the one light source comprising multiple lighting means on the carrier layer; covering the carrier layer and light source the functional layer made consisting of translucent material such that the light source is entirely encapsulated by the carrier layer and the functional layer and wherein the encapsulation is carried out by overmolding the lighting means of the light source subsequently to the arrangement of the lighting means on the film-like carrier layer.

16. The method for manufacturing an illuminated trim for a motor vehicle of claim 15, wherein the electronic components and/or the conductor tracks are printed on the carrier layer before the applying of the functional layer.

17. The method for manufacturing an illuminated trim for a motor vehicle of claim 15 wherein the lighting means, designed as diodes, are surface mounted on the carrier layer before the applying of the functional layer.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein the light source, designed as diodes, is printed on the carrier layer before the providing of the functional layer.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein after printing or surface mounting and before applying of the functional layer the film-like carrier layer is secured to the inner side of the trim or to the sealing profile.

20. A motor vehicle comprising: an illuminated trim for with a lighting unit, wherein the lighting unit comprises at least one light source with multiple lighting means; wherein the illuminated trim is being assembled on the outside of a body of the vehicle and defines a decorative side directed away from the vehicle body and an inner side directed toward the vehicle body, as well as a cavity on the side of the trim facing away from the decorative side; wherein the cavity is designed such that light may escape through a light gap from the cavity and the lighting unit is arranged in the cavity; and wherein light source of the lighting unit is arranged on a film as a carrier layer and is at least partly covered by a translucent functional layer applied to the carrier layer and wherein the lighting means of the light source are arranged on the carrier layer which is applied to the inside of the decorative strip and subsequently overmolded.

Description

DRAWINGS

[0036] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

[0037] FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of an illuminated trim fastened on a sealing profile;

[0038] FIG. 2 shows a cut-out feature of the illuminated trim according to a preferred aspect of the invention in connection with a second embodiment;

[0039] FIG. 3 shows a cut-out feature of the illuminated trim according to another aspect of the invention;

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a cut-out feature of the illuminated trim according to another aspect of the invention in connection with a third embodiment; and

[0041] FIG. 5 shows a top view of the lighting unit in connection with a third embodiment further embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] FIG. 1 shows one possible embodiment of an illuminated trim 2 formed as a cover strip of a sealing profile 6 for the window shaft of a vehicle door. The sealing profile 6 is placed on a body part of a motor vehicle by its U-shaped section, reinforced with an inserted metal bracket, and seals off the door shaft from the window pane. The trim 2 is formed by a profile strip 4 with an arc-shaped main leg and several lateral functional legs 20. The profile strip 4 when mounted as intended defines a decorative side Z directed away from the vehicle and an inner side I directed toward the vehicle. The dash and dot line indicated in the figure illustrates the boundary between the decorative side Z and the inner side I.

[0043] The functional legs 20 are arranged on the inner side I of the profile strip 4 and are in engagement with the correspondingly shaped sealing profile 6. The engagement of the profile strip 4 with the sealing profile 6 is such that a cavity 5 is provided between the lower visible edge of the profile strip 4 and the outer surface of the vehicle body 18 when the trim 2 is properly mounted, from which light can shine to the outside across a gap S.

[0044] In the lower region of the trim 2, a lighting unit 8 is arranged on the inner side I of the profile strip 4. In the side view shown, one can recognize an electronic component 16 and a functional layer 12 of the lighting unit 8 surrounding the electronic component 16. The light source 10 (not shown) and the electronic component 16 are fastened to the lower functional leg 20 of the trim 2. The functional layer 12 is placed on top of the light source 10 (not shown) and the electronic component (electrical component) 16 in such a way that both the light source 10 and the electronic component 16 are entirely encapsulated on the outside. The functional layer 12 is designed to be at least partly translucent and/or transparent. In this way, the light emitted by the lighting unit 8 can emerge from the light gap S beneath the trim and thus produce an especially appealing visual effect.

[0045] FIGS. 2 to 4 show the section of the profile strip 4 of FIG. 1 with different embodiments of the lighting unit 8 each time. The arrangement of the lighting unit 8 on the profile strip does not change in the depicted figures. It is also provided to arrange the lighting unit 8 for example on the lower functional leg 20 or also on the sealing profile 6.

[0046] FIG. 2 shows a lighting unit 8 with a carrier layer formed as a film 18, on which the light sources 10 are arranged. The film 18 is fastened on the inner side I of the profile strip 4 and overmoulded with a light-transmitting material. The embodiment of the lighting unit 8 shown in FIG. 3 has another laminated layer 19 as compared to the embodiment in FIG. 2. The laminated layer 19 is located above the light sources 10 and portions of the electronics (not shown). The functional layer 12 in turn covers the structure and prevents dirt and moisture from getting in.

[0047] FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the lighting unit 8, in which the carrier layer is formed by a portion of the profile strip 4. The light sources 10 and the electronics are applied directly on the profile strip 4, for example by printing and/or surface mounting, and overmoulded with a translucent or light-transmitting material forming a functional layer 12. The functional layer 12 has a multilayered structure for a portion, whose top layer is formed by a totally reflective layer 22. No reflective layer 22 is provided on the side of the functional layer 12 facing the light gap S. In this way, an orienting of the light emitted by the light sources 10 in the direction of the light gap S is accomplished.

[0048] FIG. 5 shows the top view of a lighting unit 8 for an illuminated trim 2 in one possible embodiment. It presents several light sources 10 arranged alongside each other, and an electronic component 16, being connected to each other by conductor tracks 14. A striplike film 18 forms the carrier layer for the light sources 10, the conductor tracks 14 and the electronic component 16. The light sources 10 are surface mounted here, but may also be printed directly on the film 18. The spacing of the light sources 10 and their beam angles are designed such that a homogeneous lighting is produced along the length of the film 18.

[0049] The light sources 10 used are preferably LEDs or OLEDs. But the direct use of electroluminescent films also constitutes one application possibility. The film 18 is secured to the inner side I of the trim 2. This is preferably done by bonding on the profile strip 4 or the sealing profile 6. After this, the structure is overmoulded with a light-transmitting and/or transparent material in one or more layers. The resulting functional layer 12 forms an encapsulation and protects the light sources 10 and the electronics against harmful influences in the vehicle outside region, especially dirt, moisture, and the oxygen of air. In this way, the colour and age resistance and thus the functional reliability of the lighting unit 8 can be increased. As a further assistance, the surface-mounted or printed film 18 may also be laminated prior to the bonding and overmoulding.

[0050] The description of the present invention is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the present disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

TABLE OF REFERENCE NUMBER

[0051] 2 Illuminated trim [0052] 4 Profile strip [0053] 5 Cavity [0054] 6 Sealing profile [0055] 8 Lighting unit [0056] 10 Light source [0057] 12 Functional layer [0058] 14 Conductor tracks [0059] 16 Electronic component [0060] 18 Film [0061] 19 Laminated layer [0062] 20 Profile leg [0063] 22 Totally reflective layer [0064] 24 Vehicle outer surface [0065] S Light gap width [0066] Z Decorative side [0067] I Inner side