Vehicle badge having discretely illuminated portions

• US 10,118,568 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2016
• Issued: 11/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Salter, Stuart C., Surman, James J., Buttolo, Pietro, Dellock, Paul Kenneth, Musleh, Michael A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Negron, Ismael
• Application Number:
  US15/065,240
• Publication Number:
  US 20170259755A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 13/005 Manufacturers' emblems, name plates, bonnet ornaments, mascots or the like; Mounting means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F21K 9/64 using wavelength conversion means distinct or spaced from the light-generating element, e.g. a remote phosphor layer
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 43/16 Light sources where the light is generated by photoluminescent material spaced from a primary light generating element
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 13/0404 the light source being enclosed in a box forming the character of the sign
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 13/20 with luminescent surfaces or parts luminescent compositions C09K11/00; light sources using luminescence F21K2/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 21/04 by land vehicles

Abstract

A badge includes a housing having a front viewable portion, a first light source disposed rearwardly of the viewable portion, a second light source disposed adjacently to the first light source, a third light source disposed adjacently to the second light source, and a controller that illuminates the first, the second, and the third light sources sequentially at offset intervals.

Claims

1. A badge for a vehicle, comprising:

a housing having a viewable portion;

a first light source disposed rearwardly of the viewable portion;

a second light source disposed adjacently to the first light source;

a third light source disposed adjacently to the first light source, wherein the first, the second, and the third light sources are configured to illuminate at offset intervals and emit respective first, second, and third wavelengths that are different from one another; and

a first, a second, and a third photoluminescent structure each including at least one photoluminescent material therein configured to perform an energy conversion on the first, the second, or the third wavelengths of light into a visible converted light.

2. The badge of claim 1, wherein the first light source is disposed proximate at least one of an outer edge and a corner of the front viewable portion.

3. The badge of claim 1, wherein the badge further comprises a light diffuser proximate the front viewable portion.

4. The badge of claim 1, wherein the viewable portion includes a plurality of independently illuminable portions, the first, the second, and the third light sources configured to independently illuminate at least one of the plurality of independently illuminable portions.

5. A vehicle badge, comprising:

a housing having a front viewable portion;

a substrate attached to the housing and having a rear viewable portion; and

first, second, and third sets of light sources, each comprising at least one of an ultraviolet LED, a violet LED, and a blue LED and configured to direct light through the front viewable portion and the rear viewable portion and disposed between the rear viewable portion and the front viewable portion.

6. The vehicle badge of claim 5, further comprising:

a first decorative layer disposed between the first set of light sources and the front viewable portion; and

a second decorative layer disposed between the first set of light sources and the rear viewable portion.

7. The vehicle badge of claim 5, wherein the first, second and third sets of light sources each comprise one or more Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) LEDs.

8. The vehicle badge of claim 5, wherein each set of light sources independently illuminates while at least one other set of light sources is unilluminated to form a predefined lighting pattern.

10. The badge of claim 7, wherein each set of light sources illuminates sequentially as the other sets of light sources become unilluminated to create a marquee lighting pattern.

11. The badge of claim 7, further comprising:

a controller configured to control an output of each light source, wherein each light source illuminates in a different color.

12. The badge of claim 7, further comprising:

a decorative layer disposed between the housing and the first, the second, and the third sets of light sources.

13. The badge of claim 7, wherein each set of light sources sequentially illuminates for a time period of about 1/10 to 1 second.

14. The badge of claim 7, further comprising:

a light diffuser disposed between the housing and the first, the second, and the third sets of light sources.

15. The badge of claim 7, further comprising:

a substrate having a rear viewable portion, wherein the rear viewable portion includes a plurality of independently illuminable portions.

16. The badge of claim 15, wherein each portion illuminates independently based on a predefined vehicular condition.

9. A badge, comprising:

a housing having a front viewable portion, the front viewable portion including a plurality of independently illuminable portions;

a photoluminescent structure operably coupled with the housing; and

a plurality of light sources disposed within each independently illuminable portion, the plurality of light sources distributed into sets within each illuminable portion and configured to independently excite the photoluminescent structure based on an activation of at least one of the plurality of light sources.