ILLUMINATION DEVICE FOR VEHICLES

Abstract

An illumination device for vehicles, having a housing, a cover lens, which closes an opening in the housing, an elongate light guide, a light source for coupling light into the elongate light guide, a groove-like receptacle for receiving the elongate light guide, an outcoupler for coupling out the light coupled into the elongate light guide. The outcoupler is arranged along part of a lateral surface of the elongate light guide. The groove-like receptacle runs along an edge of the cover lens so that a position light is produced.

Claims

1. An illumination device for a vehicle, the illumination device comprising: a housing; a cover lens that closes an opening formed in the housing; an elongate light guide; a light source to couple in light into the elongate light guide; a groove-like receptacle to receive the elongate light guide; and an outcoupler to couple out the light coupled into the elongate light guide, the outcoupler being arranged along part of a lateral surface of the elongate light guide, wherein the groove-like receptacle runs along an edge of the cover lens so that a position light is produced.

2. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the groove-like receptacle is closed and/or formed in one piece.

3. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the groove-like receptacle is attached to the cover lens and/or to the housing and/or to at least part of a frame carrying a light module within the housing.

4. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein at least two diffusing optics elements are arranged in the main emission direction of the illumination device downstream of the elongate light guide on an inside and/or an outside of the cover lens.

5. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the edge section of the cover lens is formed of a material that absorbs laser light, such that the number of diffusing optics elements are formed and arranged in the cover lens by lasering.

6. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the groove-like receptacle and the elongate light guide are arranged circumferentially to the cover lens downstream of the edge section of the same, wherein the edge section surrounds a main section of the cover lens, and that the main section of the cover lens serves as a passage surface for a light emitted by the light module.

7. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the elongate light guide is formed of a rigid plastic material.

8. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the elongate light guide is non-positively and/or positively connected to the groove-like receptacle.

9. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the receptacle has a U-shaped cross-section, and wherein an outer leg of the groove-like receptacle is covered by an edge trim of the cover lens.

10. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the cover lens is produced by injection molding.

11. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the light source is arranged in a corner region of the cover lens for coupling the light into the elongate light guide.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] 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:

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a front view of an illumination device;

[0018] FIG. 2 shows a vertical cross section through the illumination device along line II-II in FIG. 1; and

[0019] FIG. 3 shows an enlarged representation of an upper edge of the cover lens in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] An illumination device for vehicles is used to provide a position light.

[0021] The illumination device has a housing 1 with an opening which is covered by a substantially light-transmitting cover lens 2. A web 3 of the cover lens 2 can, for example, be inserted in a groove 4 on the edge of the housing 1 and be connected non-positively and/or positively. For example, the web 3 can be arranged in an adhesive bed of the groove 4, so that the cover lens 2 is materially connected to the housing 1.

[0022] A light module 5 is arranged within the housing 1 to generate a low beam distribution and/or high beam distribution or other light distributions.

[0023] The cover lens 2 has a central main section 6, which is assigned to the light module 5. This means that the main section 6 of the cover lens 2 can be completely captured by light beams 7 of the light module 5.

[0024] Furthermore, the cover lens 2 has an edge section 8 surrounding the main section 6, which cannot be captured by light beams 7 of the light module 5. In the main emission direction H downstream of the edge section 8 there is an elongate light guide 9 and a groove-like receptacle 10 of a position light device that accommodates the said light guide.

[0025] The groove-like receptacle 10 can be U-shaped and completely accommodate the elongate light guide 9.

[0026] The groove-like receptacle 10 is formed in one piece and is closed and has an outer leg 11 and an inner leg 12. The outer leg 11 is materially connected to the cover lens 2, for example by adhesion or lasering.

[0027] The groove-like receptacle 10 can also be connected to the housing 1 in a non-positive and/or positive manner.

[0028] The groove-like receptacle 10 can also be attached to the cover lens 2 and/or to the housing 1 and/or to a supporting frame, which carries the light module 5 or part of the light module 5, for example a lens. In the main emission direction H, the groove-like receptacle 10 covers the edge section 8 of the cover lens 2. The edge section 8 of the cover lens 2 serves exclusively for the passage of the light 13 emitted by the elongate light guide 9. The edge section 8 of the cover lens 2 forms an edge trim with a width s, which is a width of the elongate receptacle 10 or an outer distance corresponding to the distance between the inner leg 12 and the outer leg 11 of the groove.

[0029] The elongate light guide 9 can have an outcoupler 15 on a side facing a vertex 14 of the receptacle 10 for coupling out the light coupled into the elongate light guide 9. The outcoupler 15 can, for example, be designed as prism elements. The outcoupler 15 thus run along part of a lateral surface of the elongate light guide 9.

[0030] The groove-like receptacle 10 and the elongate light guide 9 run along an edge of the cover lens 2.

[0031] So that the light 13 emitted from the elongate light guide 9 is scattered into the environment, a number of diffusing optics elements 16 are arranged on an outside 17 of the edge section 8 of the cover lens 2. The diffusing optics elements 16 can be designed, for example, as cushion optic elements.

[0032] The number of diffusing optics elements 16 can also be arranged on an inside 18 of the edge section 8 of the cover lens 2.

[0033] The edge section 8 can be formed of a light-absorbing material, so that the number of diffusing optics elements 16 can be generated by lasering within the cover lens 2, so that the cover lens 2 has a more homogeneous exterior appearance.

[0034] Due to the circumferential arrangement of the cover lens 2 or the light guide 9 on the edge of the cover lens 2, the illumination device receives a closed position light, which serves as contour illumination for the illumination device.

[0035] The elongate light guide 9 is formed of a rigid plastic material so that it is held in the elongate receptacle 10 in a dimensionally stable manner. The cover lens 2 is manufactured by injection molding and can be formed of a one-component or two-component plastic material or a three-component plastic material.

[0036] In a corner region 19 of the cover lens 2, a light source 20 is arranged, which is assigned to an end 22 of a subsection 23 of the elongate light guide 9. If necessary, the subsection 23 of the light guide 9 can have an elongating extension, so that the light source 20 can be arranged further away from the circumferential light guide 9.

[0037] Preferably, one end of the subsection 23 is designed to be rectilinear, so that a high light yield is achieved when the light is coupled into the elongate light guide 9.

[0038] The elongate light guide 9 can be composed of three subsections 23, 23, 23, each of which is assigned a light source 20, 20, 20. The subsections 23, 23, 23 are of different lengths. The light sources 20, 20, 20 are controlled in such a way that a homogeneous light emission (with homogeneous illuminance) can be emitted over the entire length of the light guide 9.

[0039] Since the subsection 23 is significantly shorter than the other subsections 23, 23, the luminous flux emitted by the light source 20 assigned to the subsection 23 is smaller than the luminous flux of the other light sources 20, 20.

[0040] Preferably, in an outer edge region of the edge section 8, the cover lens 2 has an edge trim 24 that is not translucent (solid line in FIG. 3). The edge trim 24 covers the outer leg 11 of the receptacle 10, so that it is not visible from the outside when the illumination device is switched off. The further part of the edge section 8 and the main section 6 of the cover lens 2 formed of a preferably crystal-clear plastic material (dashed line in FIG. 3).

[0041] The light guide 9 can also be designed as a flexible glass fiber light guide into which laser light is coupled, which is generated by a laser light source.

[0042] 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.