Light emitting panel assemblies for use in automotive applications and the like
First Claim
1. A light emitting panel assembly mounted on a body portion of a vehicle, said panel assembly comprising at least one solid light emitting panel member having top and bottom surfaces and a greater cross sectional width than thickness, said panel assembly having at least one light input surface for receiving light from at least one light source and directing the light through said panel assembly from an edge of said panel assembly for emission of the light from one of said top and bottom surfaces of said panel member.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Light emitting panel assemblies include in one form of the invention a light emitting panel member made of a transparent resiliently deformable elastomeric material that absorbs impact without breakage for use in automotive lighting applications of various types. In another form of the invention, a rigid light emitting panel member may be used with dome switches for switch area lighting or to backlight control buttons/key pads by providing holes or openings in the panel member for the control buttons/key pads. Also, a rigid light emitting panel member may be used as a structural member, and two or more such light emitting panel members may be stacked together and used to light an instrument panel or the like. One or more light sources may be mounted within one or more light transition areas adjacent one or more light input surfaces of the light emitting panel members. Also one or more light sources may be positioned adjacent one side of the light emitting panel members for causing light to shine through the panel members or through holes in the panel members for performing specified lighting functions.
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Citations
27 Claims
- 1. A light emitting panel assembly mounted on a body portion of a vehicle, said panel assembly comprising at least one solid light emitting panel member having top and bottom surfaces and a greater cross sectional width than thickness, said panel assembly having at least one light input surface for receiving light from at least one light source and directing the light through said panel assembly from an edge of said panel assembly for emission of the light from one of said top and bottom surfaces of said panel member.
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25. A light emitting panel assembly that forms an indicator light for a vehicle, said panel assembly comprising at least one solid light emitting panel member having top and bottom surfaces and a greater cross sectional width than thickness, said panel assembly having at least one light input surface for receiving light from at least one light source and directing the light through said panel assembly from an edge of said panel assembly for emission of the light from one of said top and bottom surfaces of said panel member.
Specification