Light emitting panel assemblies for use in automotive applications and the like
First Claim
1. A light emitting panel assembly in combination with a body portion of a vehicle, said panel assembly comprising a solid one-piece light emitting panel member made out of a transparent resiliently deformable material that allows flexing of said panel member without breakage, said panel member having a relatively low profile including a greater cross sectional width than thickness and including top and bottom surfaces, and a light transition region for receiving light from a light source and directing such light through said panel member and emission out through a light emitting surface on one of said top and bottom surfaces, said panel member being mounted on said body portion with said light emitting surface facing outwardly for emission of light out through said light emitting surface from a light source associated with said light transition region, said panel member being located on an exterior surface of said body portion so as to provide a running light on said vehicle.
10 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.
214 Citations
16 Claims
- 1. A light emitting panel assembly in combination with a body portion of a vehicle, said panel assembly comprising a solid one-piece light emitting panel member made out of a transparent resiliently deformable material that allows flexing of said panel member without breakage, said panel member having a relatively low profile including a greater cross sectional width than thickness and including top and bottom surfaces, and a light transition region for receiving light from a light source and directing such light through said panel member and emission out through a light emitting surface on one of said top and bottom surfaces, said panel member being mounted on said body portion with said light emitting surface facing outwardly for emission of light out through said light emitting surface from a light source associated with said light transition region, said panel member being located on an exterior surface of said body portion so as to provide a running light on said vehicle.
- 5. A light emitting panel assembly in combination with a body portion of a vehicle, said panel assembly comprising a solid one-piece light emitting panel member made out of a transparent resiliently deformable material that allows flexing of said panel member without breakage, said panel member having a relatively low profile including a greater cross sectional width than thickness and including top and bottom surfaces, and a light transition region for receiving light from a light source and directing such light through said panel member and emission out through a light emitting surface on one of said top and bottom surfaces, said panel member being mounted on said body portion with said light emitting surface facing outwardly for emission of light out through said light emitting surface from a light source associated with said light transition region, said panel member being mounted at an exterior corner of said vehicle with said light emitting surface facing outwardly to provide illumination adjacent said corner, and said light transition region and said associated light source being located inwardly of an outermost edge of said corner to minimize the risk of damage to said light source in the event said outermost edge is impacted during a minor traffic accident.
-
15. A light emitting panel assembly in combination with a body portion of a vehicle, said panel assembly comprising a solid one-piece light emitting panel member made out of a transparent resiliently deformable material that allows flexing of said panel member without breakage, said panel member having a relatively low profile including a greater cross sectional width than thickness and including top and bottom surfaces, and a light transition region for receiving light from a light source and directing such light through said panel member and emission out through a light emitting surface on one of said top and bottom surfaces, said panel member being mounted on said body portion with said light emitting surface facing outwardly for emission of light out through said light emitting surface from a light source associated with said light transition region, said body portion comprising a trunk lid of a vehicle.
-
16. A light emitting panel assembly in combination with a body portion of a vehicle, said panel assembly comprising a solid one-piece light emitting panel member made out of a transparent resiliently deformable material that allows flexing of said panel member without breakage, said panel member having a relatively low profile including a greater cross sectional width than thickness and including top and bottom surfaces, and a light transition region for receiving light from a light source and directing such light through said panel member and emission out through a light emitting surface on one of said top and bottom surfaces, said panel member being mounted on said body portion with said light emitting surface facing outwardly for emission of light out through said light emitting surface from a light source associated with said light transition region, said panel member forming an exterior surface of said body portion.
Specification