Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
  • F21S43/00—Signalling devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. brake lamps, direction indicator lights or reversing lights
  • F21S43/20—Signalling devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. brake lamps, direction indicator lights or reversing lights characterised by refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters
  • F21S43/26—Refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters not provided in groups F21S43/235 - F21S43/255
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
  • F21S43/00—Signalling devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. brake lamps, direction indicator lights or reversing lights
  • F21S43/20—Signalling devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. brake lamps, direction indicator lights or reversing lights characterised by refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters
  • F21S43/27—Attachment thereof

Definitions

• the invention relates to the field of the automotive industry, and more particularly to a motor vehicle body part comprising an optical element.
• the chrome strips running along the side of the vehicle, the sill protectors, the logo of the brand, the door handles hubcaps, the hulls of mirrors are these pieces of style whose design is the subject of special care on the part of the designers of the vehicle.
• all parts of the body visible from the outside and participating in the general appearance of the vehicle, such as an opening, a bumper, a grille, can also be considered as bodywork elements or style parts within the scope of the invention.
• optical elements include light sources placed directly under the transparent surface.
• light devices comprising light sources disposed in cavities formed in a diffusing body. When the light source is on, the light passes through the transparent element and the entire element is illuminated.
• the invention aims to overcome the disadvantages mentioned above, by providing a motor vehicle body part provided with a flexible and transparent optical element adapted to be reported in the skin of a large body part. without play or outcrop.
• the invention relates to a bodywork part of a motor vehicle, comprising a wall having an outer face, an inner face, and at least one slot.
• the part comprises an optical element provided with a body attached in the slot by elastic casing, the optical element comprising at least a portion of transparent or translucent material capable of transmitting light from the inner face to the outer face of the wall.
• the part according to the invention thus allows an assembly in full body skin, without play or outcrop. Thanks to the flexibility of the optical element, it is possible to follow the curve of the bodywork part more easily.
• the part of the invention also allows to retain the absorption characteristics of plastic body parts without adding stiffness due to a stack of plastic parts.
• the part may further comprise one or more of the following features, taken alone or in combination:
• the optical element has a flexibility able to allow him to follow a curve of the piece
• the body comprises a surface forming a shoulder in contact with the outer face of the wall;
• the shoulder comprises at least one protrusion fitting into a shape complementary to the wall, so as to prevent opening of the slot;
• the body comprises at least one fastening clip making it possible to assemble the body by elastic coupling, and cooperating with the shoulder so that the engagement of the optical element in the slot comes to exert a counter-force to hold in sandwich the thickness of the wall under the shoulder;
• the fixing clip makes it possible to permanently assemble the optical element on the bodywork part
• the fixing clip makes it possible to dismountably assemble the optical element on the bodywork part
• the fastening clip comprises a protrusion fitting into a shape complementary to the wall, so as to prevent opening of the slot;
• the outer face of the wall has a partial recess at the edge of the slot, and the shoulder engages in the recess without apparent assembly play;
• the body has a cavity on its opposite side to the shoulder, providing the optical element with a p-shaped cross section;
• the slot and the optical element are elongate
• the slot does not come into contact with one of the edges of the coin
• the optical element is made of polycarbonate mixed with an elastomer type additive, such as TPU;
• the optical element is made of transparent polypropylene, or any transparent or translucent material
• the optical element is adapted to be assembled by insertion into the bodywork part by the outer face of the wall;
• the piece comprises a light element whose light is transmitted via the optical element to the outside of the vehicle, when the part is mounted on a vehicle.
• FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a motor vehicle body part according to the invention, comprising a wall, a slot and a flexible optical element attached in the slot by elastic casing;
• FIG. 2 illustrates a motor vehicle comprising a plurality of bodywork parts according to the invention
• FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate two examples of detail of an optical element
• FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate two examples of detail of a flexible optical element
• FIG. 5 illustrates a cross section of a portion of a first example of a motor vehicle body part according to the invention
• FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate in detail two embodiments of the engagement of a protuberance of the optical element in the wall;
• Figure 7 illustrates a cross section of a portion of a second example of a motor vehicle body part according to the invention
• FIG. 8 illustrates the diffraction of the light emitted by a source as it passes through the optical element
• Figure 9 illustrates a part with reflectors on each side of the light source.
• FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a body part 10 of a motor vehicle according to the invention.
• the body part 10 has a wall 20 having an outer face 22 and an inner face 24.
• the outer face 22 is visible from the outside of the vehicle when the part 10 is mounted on a vehicle, unlike the inner face, directed towards inside the vehicle.
• the wall 20 has at least one slot 30.
• the slot 30 may be "full skin” that is to say that the slot 30 does not come into contact with one of the edges of the part 10.
• the part 10 also comprises an optical element 40.
• the optical element is an element capable of transmitting light from the inner face 24 to the outer face 22 of the wall 20, that is to say towards the outside the vehicle when the part 10 is mounted on a vehicle.
• FIG. 2 illustrates a motor vehicle comprising several body parts 10 according to the invention, each part comprising an optical element 40.
• the bodywork part may be a roof, a hood or a door. , a bumper, but it could also be a hatchback for example.
• the optical element 40 is provided with a body 50 reported in the slot 30 by elastic casing, including the clip type.
• the casing is sealed.
• the elastic casing is a method of assembly where the elements are deformed during the introduction.
• the optical element 40 comprises at least a portion 60 of transparent or translucent material capable of transmitting light from the inner face 24 to the outer face 22 of the wall 20.
• the plastic element is made of one piece, transparent or translucent material.
• the transparent or translucent material has the ability to diffuse the light, to distribute it over the entire outer surface of the optical element, and also avoid hot spots.
• Such an embodiment is illustrated in FIG. on which the angle a indicates the opening angle of the diffusion.
• Such diffusion can be achieved by adding charges to diffract the light into the plastic of the portion 60.
• the body 50 can also have a funnel shape.
• the optical element 40 has a flexibility adapted to allow it to follow the curve of the part 10.
• a large body part (length greater than 800mm), and having a thickness about 3mm, usually has a curve. Now it is very difficult, if not impossible, to follow such a curve with a rigid optical element, especially when the slot is elongated.
• An elongated member is a slender, elongate member.
• the optical element is a member having a length greater than 100 mm, a width of less than 25 mm (preferably between 5 and 10 mm), and a thickness of between 1.5 mm and 5 mm. .
• the assembly of the elongate optical element 40 and of small section, on the part 10, is made possible by the flexibility of the optical element 40 which conforms to the part 10 which accommodates it.
• the optical element 40 according to the invention has a flexibility adapted to allow it to follow the curve of the workpiece 10, even if it is large and has an elongated slot also large.
• the optical element 40 has a flexibility adapted to follow a radius of curvature of the bodywork part.
• Such flexibility can be achieved by making the optical element 40 polycarbonate mixed with an elastomeric type additive, such as TPU.
• Such flexibility can also be achieved by making the optical element 40 transparent polypropylene.
• the optical element 40 according to the invention is perfectly suitable for slits 30.
• the body 50 comprises a surface forming a shoulder 52 in contact with the outer face 22 of the wall 20.
• the shoulder 52 is preferably continuous all around the body 50 on the side of the outer face 22 of the wall 20, once the optical element 40 reported in the slot 30.
• the shoulder 52 has at least one protrusion 54 substantially perpendicular to the external face 22, and fitting into a complementary shape 26 of the wall 20, so as to avoid opening of the slot 30. Indeed, once inserted into the complementary shape 26, the protuberances 54, preferably arranged from and other of the slot 30, all around the slot, retain the wall 20 on both sides of the slot 30.
• FIG. 6A illustrates a particular embodiment in which the surface of the shoulder 52 in contact with the surface 22 is not parallel with the external surface 22.
• FIG. 6B illustrates a particular embodiment in which the protuberance 54 is positioned at the end of the shoulder 52.
• the body 50 comprises at least one fastening clip 56 for assembling the body 50 by elastic casing, and cooperating with the shoulder 52 so that the interlocking of the element 40 in the slot 30 come to exert a counter-effort to pinch, to sandwich the thickness of the wall 20 under the shoulder 52.
• the fastening clip 56 can be permanently assembled or dismountable optical element 40 on the body part 10.
• the fastening clip 56 comprises a protrusion 58 substantially perpendicular to the outer face 22 fitting into a complementary shape 28 of the wall 20, so as to prevent opening of the slot 30.
• the outer face 22 of the wall has a recess 23 partially, that is to say not over the entire thickness of the wall 20, at the edge of the slot 30.
• the slot 30 and has a cross section substantially T, as illustrated in Figures 1, 5 and 7.Le shoulder 52 fits into the recess 23 without apparent assembly clearance.
• the shoulder 52 engages in the recess 23 without outcropping: the outer surface of the optical element 40 is flush with the outer surface 22 of the wall 20.
• the body 50 may comprise a cavity 51 on its face opposite to the shoulder 52, providing the optical element 40 with a cross-section in the form of pi (TT), and increased flexibility.
• TT pi
• the optical element 40 is adapted to be assembled by insertion into the bodywork part 10 by the face external 22 of the wall 20, which allows easy assembly on automobile assembly lines.
• the part 10 comprises a light source 70 whose light is transmitted via the optical element 40 to the outside of the vehicle, when the part 10 is mounted on a vehicle.
• the light source 70 is placed behind the bodywork part 10, for example behind a bumper skin, but it is not necessarily fixed beforehand on the optical element 40.
• D represents the distance between the light source 70 and the optical element 40. This distance can vary to zero when the light source 70 is glued to the optical element 40, or when the light source 70 is integrated in the optical element 40.
• the part 10 comprises reflectors 80 on each side of the source 70 so as to be able to direct the light output of the optical element 40 with an angle not perpendicular to the external surface of the wall 20.
• the reflectors allow to concentrate the light in order to use a maximum of light emitted by the source.
• the optical element 40 may be made by means of an extrusion molding process, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B.
• the optical element preferably has a thickness greater than 1.2 mm, preferably greater than 1.5 mm for parts of great length (greater than 800 mm). According to this method of manufacture, the clip 56 is present continuously all around the optical element 40 ( Figure 4B), thus promoting a good seal.
• the optical element 40 can be realized by means of an injection molding process.
• the optical element preferably has a thickness of between 2 and 3.5 mm for parts of great length and / or height (greater than 200 mm), and greater than 1 2 mm for parts of smaller dimensions.
• the clip 56 can also be present at the ends and it is possible not to have the profile of the clip over the entire length of the optical element 40, to facilitate installation on the part 10.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)
• Clamps And Clips (AREA)
• Fittings On The Vehicle Exterior For Carrying Loads, And Devices For Holding Or Mounting Articles (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=61027973

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 2017
  • 2017-11-30 FR FR1761460A patent/FR3074116B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2018
  • 2018-11-29 WO PCT/EP2018/083058 patent/WO2019106111A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2018-11-29 EP EP18811537.2A patent/EP3717829B1/de active Active

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