LIGHTING APPARATUS

Abstract

The present disclosure describes a lighting system for vehicle interiors, comprising a light source that emits visible light and a component arranged relative to the light source in such a manner that light emitted from the light source passes through it. The lighting system further comprises a transparent substrate with a surface area through which light emitted from the light source passes, and a lenticular screen structure having a plurality of regularly arranged lens elements and being formed on the surface area of the transparent substrate. The invention present disclosure also describes using the lighting system and its component to illuminate the interior of vehicles, wherein generated three-dimensional lighting effects can be perceived differently by a viewer/occupant in the interior space, depending on the angle of viewing.

Claims

1-17. (canceled)

18. A lighting system for a vehicle interior, comprising: a light source configured to emit visible light; and a component arranged relative to the light source such that light emitted by the light source radiates through the component, the component comprising: a transparent substrate having a surface through which light emitted from the light source radiates through; and a lenticular structure disposed on the surface of the transparent substrate, the lenticular structure comprising a plurality of lens elements arranged in a pattern.

19. The lighting system according to claim 18, wherein the light source is at least one of a punctiform light source and an LED.

20. The lighting system according to claim 18, wherein the lenticular screen structure is disposed on a surface of the substrate facing the light source.

21. The lighting system according to claim 18, wherein the lenticular screen structure is disposed on a surface of the substrate facing away from the light source.

22. The lighting system according to claim 18, wherein: the transparent substrate includes a first surface and an opposing second surface; and the lenticular screen structure comprises a first lenticular screen structure disposed on the first surface and a second lenticular screen structure disposed on the second surface, such that a beam of light is configured to pass through the first surface and the second surface in succession.

23. The lighting system according to claim 22, wherein the first lenticular screen structure is laterally offset from the second lenticular screen structure in a cross-sectional direction of the component.

24. The lighting system according to claim 18, comprising: a compensating layer provided at least partly on the lenticular screen structure, the compensating layer configured to form an even surface; and a decor layer provided on the compensating layer.

25. The lighting system according to claim 18, wherein the light source is spaced at a distance of at least 5 mm from the closest lenticular screen structure.

26. The lighting system according to claim 18, wherein the lenticular screen structure comprises at least one of a lenticular screen foil or web.

27. The lighting system according to claim 18, wherein the lens elements are linear in shape.

28. The lighting system according to claim 18, wherein the lens elements have an essentially semicircular, parabolic, hyperbolic or elliptical cross-sectional profile.

29. The lighting system according to claim 28, wherein the cross-sectional profile of the lens elements has a radius of curvature of 75 to 150 μm or 90 to 110 μm.

30. The lighting system according to claim 28, wherein the cross-sectional profile of the lens elements has a conic constant between −0.5 and −1.

31. The lighting element according to claim 18, wherein the lenticular screen structure comprises: a first marginal section having a first rectilinear lens element; a second marginal section arranged opposite the first marginal section, the second marginal section having a second rectilinear lens element; and a middle section arranged between the first and second marginal sections, the middle section having a wavelike lens element.

32. The lighting element according to claim 31, wherein the lenticular screen structure comprises transitional lens elements arranged between the first rectilinear lens element and the wavelike lens element and between the second rectilinear lens element and the wavelike lens element, the transitional lens elements configured to create a smooth transition between the corresponding rectilinear lens element and the wavelike lens element.

33. The lighting element according to claim 32, wherein distances between the transitional elements are constant, and distances across a longitudinal section of the transitional elements vary.

34. The lighting element according to claim 18, wherein the lighting system is configured to generate three-dimensional lighting effects that are perceived differently depending on a viewing angle of an occupant in the interior space.

35. A method for producing a component of a lighting system for a vehicle interior, the method comprising the following steps: inserting a lenticular screen structure into a molding tool for shaping the component, the lenticular structure comprising a plurality of lens elements arranged in a pattern; feeding material of a transparent substrate into the molding tool; molding the material of the substrate to form a transparent substrate; and forming the lenticular screen structure on at least one surface area of the transparent substrate.

36. A component of a lighting system for a vehicle interior, comprising: a transparent substrate having a surface through which light emitted from a light source radiates through; and a lenticular structure disposed on the surface of the transparent substrate, the lenticular structure comprising a plurality of lens elements, wherein the lens elements include elongated structures arranged laterally adjacent one another.

37. The component according to claim 36, wherein: the transparent substrate includes a first surface and an opposing second surface; and the lenticular screen structure comprises a first lenticular screen structure disposed on the first surface and a second lenticular screen structure disposed on the second surface, such that a beam of light is configured to pass through the first surface and the second surface in succession.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a lighting system according to the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of another lighting system according to the present invention.

[0033] FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a component of a lighting system according to the present invention.

[0034] FIG. 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a lenticular screen structure of a lighting system according to the present invention.

[0035] FIG. 5 shows a schematic plan view onto a lenticular screen structure of a lighting system according to the present invention.

WAYS OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0036] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the invention shall not be restricted to these embodiments alone.

[0037] FIG. 1 shows one example of an embodiment of the above-given lighting system 1, comprising a light source 2 and a component 3 composed of a transparent substrate 4 and a lenticular screen structure 5. The lens elements 6 of the lenticular screen structure 5 are schematically indicated accordingly by semicircular structures 6. In FIG. 1 it can be seen that the light source 2 is arranged to emit its light in the direction of the component 3, toward the visible side. This light passes or radiates through the transparent substrate 4 and the lenticular screen structure 5. FIG. 1 also reveals that to produce the 3D lighting effect it is necessary for at least a portion of the light to pass through the lenticular screen structure 5, which is an optically active component and which refracts and deflects the light passing through it. As examples of this, schematic beam paths A and B are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The largest expansions of light here are achieved perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the lens elements (see lens paths described above). The minimum distance of the light source is indicated in FIG. 1 with the reference symbol x. In this example, the closest lenticular screen structure 5 is the one on the side of the transparent substrate 4 facing the light source 2.

[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates another aspect of the present invention in which the lenticular screen structure 5 is embodied on multiple sides or rather on both sides of the substrate 4. FIG. 2 suggests this by showing the substrate 4 with the lenticular screen structures 5 and 5′. Light passes through these two lenticular screen structures 5, 5′ in succession from the back to the visible side of the lighting system 1, with each lenticular screen structure contributing to the modification of this light. In addition, to facilitate understanding of the terms “facing away from” and “facing” as introduced above in relation to the surface area of the substrate 4, FIG. 2 also includes the reference numbers 4a and 4b. The “facing” surface area of the substrate 4 is the area 4a lying directly opposite the light source 2. By contrast, the substrate surface area 4b does not lie directly opposite the light source, since at least the thickness of the substrate 4 lies between it and the light source. The surface area 4b is oriented toward the interior of the vehicle and faces the viewer/occupant, but it faces away from the light source 2.

[0039] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 schematically show that the lenticular screen structures 5 and 5′ provided on either side are arranged in mutual alignment in the cross-sectional direction of the component 3. That means that the semicircular lens elements shown therein are laterally oriented to one another in a direction perpendicular to the component 3 in such a way that the semicircles of the lens elements on the two sides would form a complete circle if the substrate 4 were not lying in between. However, the present invention also includes lenticular screen structures that are not in alignment in which, for example, the semicircular lens elements are mutually offset laterally in the cross-sectional direction of the component 3 in such a manner that no exact circle would be created. In other words, the crests of the outer contours of the lens elements would not lie on a common normal of the component 3.

[0040] FIG. 2 likewise illustrates a compensating layer 7 on the lenticular screen structure, to smooth the frequently coarse surface of the same and to enable application of a decor layer 8, for example. It is not intended for the substrate material to be provided on the lenticular screen structure 5 in the sense of arranging the compensating layer 7 as illustrated in FIG. 2, i.e. on the semicircular elements. The reason is that, as described above, a homogenous, continuous optical boundary surface is to be formed between the substrate 4 and the lenticular screen structure, but this would not be possible due to the roughness of the outer surface of the lenticular screen structure.

[0041] FIG. 4 shows a perspective cross-sectional view of a lenticular screen structure 5 with the individual lens elements 6A to 6E arranged continuously, laterally adjacent to one another in a cross-sectional direction. In addition, the perspective views in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 reveal that the lens elements 6A-6E are elongated structures. That means that their longitudinal extension/exceeds a multiple of their width b. As described above, these elongated structures do not have to extend along/in a strictly linear fashion, but they may also extend on a curved or even circular path. However, it is particularly preferred for the lens elements 6A to 6E to be arranged laterally directly adjacent one another, i.e. along line b in the cross-sectional direction, and to extend continuously.

[0042] FIG. 5 shows a plan view of a schematic representation of the lenticular screen structure 5. The lens elements 6 here are shown as lines. A plurality of lens elements 6 that differ in shape are arranged over the entire surface area of the lenticular screen structure 5. Furthermore, the lenticular screen structure 5 is comprised of a first and a second marginal section 9, 10. A middle section 11 is arranged between the marginal sections 9, 10. The first and the second marginal sections 9, 10 possess a rectilinear lens element 6F, 6G, which at the same time also represents the outermost lens elements 6 of the lenticular screen structure 5. The middle section 11 on the other hand possesses a wavelike lens element 6H. For the sake of clarity both the wavelike lens element 6H and the rectilinear lens elements 6F and 6G are highlighted by thicker lines.

[0043] Transitional elements 6K are arranged on the lenticular screen structure 5 for a smooth transition between the wavelike lens element 6H and the rectilinear lens elements 6F, 6G. Starting from the rectilinear lens elements 6F, 6G, each transitional element 6K somewhat more closely adapts to the shape of the wavelike lens element 6H. With this transition from a rectilinear to a wavy shape of the lens elements 6, a particularly strong three-dimensional effect is produced, provided that a light source is arranged behind the lenticular screen structure 5. This effect is already visible when the light source is arranged at only a short distance from the lenticular screen structure. In addition, the impinging light is widely distributed, so that even in the case of a close arrangement of a light source at the lenticular screen structure, no inhomogeneous light occurs.

[0044] The transitional elements 6K arranged between the respective rectilinear lens elements 6F, 6G and the wavy lens element 6H are arranged at uniform distances from one another in a cross-sectional direction extending perpendicular to the rectilinear lens elements 6F, 6G. However, in the longitudinal direction the size of this constant spacing varies. Also, the transitional elements 6K situated between the rectilinear lens element 6F of the first marginal section 9 and the wavelike lens element 6H of the middle section 11 are arranged at a different constant distance apart than the transitional elements 6K situated between the rectilinear lens element 6G of the second marginal section 10 and the wavelike lens element 6H of the middle section 11.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0045] 1 lighting system

[0046] 2 light source

[0047] 3 component

[0048] 4 substrate

[0049] 5 lenticular screen structure

[0050] 6 lens element

[0051] 7 compensating layer

[0052] 8 decor layer

[0053] 9 first marginal section

[0054] 10 second marginal section

[0055] 11 middle section