[go: up one dir, main page]

WO2006095118A1 - Lamps for a road vehicle - Google Patents

Lamps for a road vehicle Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2006095118A1
WO2006095118A1 PCT/GB2005/000859 GB2005000859W WO2006095118A1 WO 2006095118 A1 WO2006095118 A1 WO 2006095118A1 GB 2005000859 W GB2005000859 W GB 2005000859W WO 2006095118 A1 WO2006095118 A1 WO 2006095118A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
lamp
lamps
road vehicle
vehicle
panel
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2005/000859
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Azfar Shaukat
Original Assignee
Shaukat Consultants Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Shaukat Consultants Limited filed Critical Shaukat Consultants Limited
Priority to PCT/GB2005/000859 priority Critical patent/WO2006095118A1/en
Publication of WO2006095118A1 publication Critical patent/WO2006095118A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/2696—Mounting of devices using LEDs
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/50—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/50—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking
    • B60Q1/503—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking using luminous text or symbol displays in or on the vehicle, e.g. static text
    • B60Q1/5035—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking using luminous text or symbol displays in or on the vehicle, e.g. static text electronic displays
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/50—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking
    • B60Q1/543—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking for indicating other states or conditions of the vehicle
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B45/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light-emitting diodes [LED]
    • H05B45/60—Circuit arrangements for operating LEDs comprising organic material, e.g. for operating organic light-emitting diodes [OLED] or polymer light-emitting diodes [PLED]
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q2400/00—Special features or arrangements of exterior signal lamps for vehicles
    • B60Q2400/20—Multi-color single source or LED matrix, e.g. yellow blinker and red brake lamp generated by single lamp
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B20/00—Energy efficient lighting technologies, e.g. halogen lamps or gas discharge lamps
    • Y02B20/30—Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a lamp for a road vehicle and particularly to tail lamps of road vehicles.
  • Road vehicles have a set of tail lamps at the rear of the vehicle to perform various tasks. These tasks commonly include rear position lamps, stop lamps, direction indicators, hazard warning lamps, reversing lamps and fog lamps. Local laws commonly stipulate the number, position, colour, power angle of visibility and other characteristics of these lamps, depending on the class of vehicle.
  • incandescent filament bulbs are used with an associated coloured filter, each bulb performing one or more tasks, a set of bulbs, bulb housings and filters forming a cluster of lamps which usually performs all the requisite tasks, hi addition, a row of red light emitting diodes is used in some road vehicles as a third stop lamp, typically located in the centre of the rear of the vehicle.
  • the cluster of rear lamps can be visually and physically cumbersome, since each function has a minimum required area and as such can occupy a significant proportion of the view of the rear of a vehicle and impinge on the space available in the rear storage cavity of a vehicle.
  • the overall appearance of a road vehicle is influenced by the design and layout of the rear lamps. Road vehicle designers face the challenge of producing increasingly large and complex forms of rear light clusters cheaply with minimal impact on the vehicle luggage compartment while incorporating these functional components in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
  • Each cluster of rear lamps has a number of bulbs, electrical connections and filters to produce the required colour.
  • Rear lamps are often grouped in a single module which is fitted to the rear of the vehicle. As these modules become larger and have more complex shapes, the combined modules can be expensive to manufacture and expensive to replace if damaged, for example in a collision.
  • OLEDs Organic light emitting diodes
  • LCDs liquid crystal displays
  • Traditional arrays of incandescent filament bulb tail lamps can be replaced with a single or multiple OLED panel, either when the vehicle is designed, or the panel can be retro-fitted to an existing vehicle. It is not necessary to dedicate separate areas of the OLED panel for each required function as each area of the panel can display all of the required colours and a microprocessor can control how these colours are displayed, depending on the required tasks as dictated by the actions of the driver of the vehicle. For combination actions such as breaking and indicating, the display could be segmented electronically.
  • LEDs Traditional light emitting diodes
  • LEDs are self illuminating, and consume a relatively small amount of power compared to an incandescent bulb.
  • a 12 V LED consumes 12OmW.
  • Colour LED panels are made of a large number of LED pixels, each pixel being comprised of red, green and blue LEDs.
  • a large number of LEDs are required and the corresponding power consumption is too high to make such an LED panel feasible on a vehicle.
  • One aspect of the present invention provides a road vehicle comprising one or more lamps, wherein the lamps comprise a plurality of OLEDs.
  • one or more of the functions of rear position lamp, stop lamp, reversing lamp, indicator lamp, warning lamp or fog lamp are performed by selective lighting of the lamp of lamps.
  • a microprocessor is provided to control the electro-luminescence of the OLEDs, in particular the colour and brightness of the OLEDs.
  • the microprocessor is programmed with a set of pre-programmed lamp configurations to configure areas of the lamps to be one or more of a non- illuminated area, a rear distance lamp, a stop lamp, a reversing lamp, an indicator lamp, a warning lamp or a fog lamp.
  • the microprocessor dynamically configures areas of the lamps to be a colour similar to the colour of a body panel of the road vehicle when not being used to indicate driving functions. This will enable the panel to be less conspicuous when no rear lights or indicators are required.
  • one or more of the lamps is transparent, enabling the lamp to be mounted on the rear window of the vehicle or so that if the lamp is mounted on the vehicle then the colour of the body will show through the panel.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic drawing of a vehicle with a prior art tail lamp array.
  • Figure 2 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an OLED.
  • Figure 3 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line X-X of Figure 3.
  • Figure 5 is a block diagram showing how the OLED panel is driven.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a vehicle 1 with two prior art tail lamp arrays 3, one on each lateral side of the vehicle 1.
  • the array 3 is a cluster of lamps comprising a combined rear position lamp/stop lamp 5, direction indicator 7, reversing lamp 9, reflector 11 and fog lamp 13.
  • Each functional lamp has a bulb (not shown) and each bulb has electrical connections.
  • the array 3 fills a noticeable proportion of the rear view of the vehicle 1 and the styling of the array of lamps 3 is critical to produce an aesthetically pleasing overall effect.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an OLED 21.
  • An OLED 21 is typically formed from four layers - a transparent substrate 23, a transparent conductive layer 25, an organic layer 27 and a conducting layer 29.
  • the transparent substrate 23 is formed from glass or a suitable transparent polymer.
  • the organic layer 27 is formed from an organic material which emits visible radiation as a result of electro-luminescence when a current is passed through it.
  • the conductive layers 25, 29 are formed of conductive strips which are mutually perpendicular, forming rows and columns, resulting in an OLED pixel at the overlap of each row and column.
  • the OLED structure described above is representative of the structure of a 'passive' OLED.
  • An 'active' OLED could be used, where instead of having perpendicular rows and columns to stimulate electro-luminescence in each pixel, each pixel is stimulated by a transistor which is embedded in an integrated electronic thin film transistor (TFT) backplane which replaces one electrode layer, the other electrode layer being earthed.
  • TFT integrated electronic thin film transistor
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the invention.
  • the array of lamps 3 of figure 1 is replaced with a single or multiple OLED panel 31 and a reflector panel 11.
  • the function of the reflector panel 11 can not be replicated by an OLED and a separate reflector panel 11 is required at the rear of the vehicle 1. It may be preferable not to locate the fog light within the OLED panel 31 to prevent burn out of the panel 31 when the fog lamp is operated.
  • the outer shape of the combined OLED panel 31 and reflector panel 11 is the same shape as the panel 15 of the array of lamps 3 of Figure 1 , but the combined panels 31, 11 are much thinner than the array of lamps 3.
  • each pixel can be relatively large compared to the size of pixel typically required for a display device such as a computer monitor or hand held computer, as display of fine detail is not required.
  • a microprocessor dynamically allocates the colour of each pixel, depending on the required function as dictated by the actions of the driver of the vehicle. For example, when travelling at night the whole panel could illuminate red to indicate the rear position lamp. Also, the illumination could be less bright than for day use. When the driver operates the stop and/or indicator lamp at night, part of the display could be illuminated bright red and/or flashing amber respectively and the remainder could stay red as before.
  • the OLED panel 31 can be coloured to match another area of the bodywork.
  • an OLED panel 33 is fitted as a third stop lamp to the centre of the top of the rear window 35 of the vehicle 1.
  • the layers of the OLED panel can each be made from transparent material, so that when the OLED panel 33 is turned off it will be transparent and not unduly obscure the view through the rear window 35 of the vehicle.
  • the OLED panel 31 which performs the function of stop lamp, indicator, fog lamp, etc. could also be mounted on the rear window 35 of the vehicle 1.
  • the OLED panel 31 can also be used to display information, in much the same way as, for example, computer display apparatus. For example, when the vehicle is parked and alarmed, the OLED panel 31 could display a message such as "Warning! This vehicle is alarmed” or simply "Alarmed!. If a rear proximity sensor is fitted to the vehicle, a suitable warning message could be displayed for the attention of the driver of an approaching vehicle, which could increase in size as the approaching vehicle draws closer.
  • the information display function can be combined with the traditional lamp functions to enhance the effectiveness of the latter. For example, when an indicator lamp is required, moving arrows could be displayed within the orange colour portion of the OLED display to show the intended direction of movement of the vehicle. If the vehicle is reversing the word "reversing" could be displayed flashing on a white background.
  • animated function displays are more eye-catching than static function lamps and would reduce the size of the display required to produce the same effect on drivers as non-animated lamps.
  • Figure 4 is a horizontal cross sectional view 37 taken along line X-X of Figure 3.
  • the OLED panel 31 is mounted on the exterior of the vehicle panel 39, following the contours of the panel 39.
  • a reflector panel 11 is fitted adjacent the OLED panel 31.
  • the OLED panel 31 can be formed on a curved surface and is only a few millimetres thick, which maximises the storage space available in the rear of the vehicle.
  • the OLED panel 31 can also be retrofitted to an existing vehicle.
  • FIG. 5 is a block diagram 41 showing how the OLED panel 49 is driven.
  • the input devices 43 are activated by the driver of the vehicle during the course of driving, and may include a headlight/rear position lamp switch, direction indicator switch, brake pedal, gear stick switch (triggered when reversing), hazard warning switch, fog lamp switch, alarm-door locking system and rear proximity sensor. When these input devices are triggered they may illuminate one or more of the rear lamps (a rear proximity sensor may be used to trigger a warning message when an approaching vehicle draws close, as mentioned above).
  • the controller 45 processes the signals from the input devices 43 and determines a suitable configuration for the OLED panel 49.
  • the controller 45 sends a signal to the OLED driver 47 to configure the OLED panel 49.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)
  • Electroluminescent Light Sources (AREA)

Abstract

A road vehicle (1) comprises a rear lamp panel (31) comprised of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Areas of the OLED pane1 (31) can be illuminated to display the lamp functions, in response to the driving behaviour of the driver of the vehicle. The OLED pane1 (31) can also be used to display warning messages.

Description

Lamps for a Road Vehicle
This invention relates to a lamp for a road vehicle and particularly to tail lamps of road vehicles.
Road vehicles have a set of tail lamps at the rear of the vehicle to perform various tasks. These tasks commonly include rear position lamps, stop lamps, direction indicators, hazard warning lamps, reversing lamps and fog lamps. Local laws commonly stipulate the number, position, colour, power angle of visibility and other characteristics of these lamps, depending on the class of vehicle.
Two types of light source are commonly used for rear lamps of road vehicles. Primarily, incandescent filament bulbs are used with an associated coloured filter, each bulb performing one or more tasks, a set of bulbs, bulb housings and filters forming a cluster of lamps which usually performs all the requisite tasks, hi addition, a row of red light emitting diodes is used in some road vehicles as a third stop lamp, typically located in the centre of the rear of the vehicle.
The cluster of rear lamps can be visually and physically cumbersome, since each function has a minimum required area and as such can occupy a significant proportion of the view of the rear of a vehicle and impinge on the space available in the rear storage cavity of a vehicle. The overall appearance of a road vehicle is influenced by the design and layout of the rear lamps. Road vehicle designers face the challenge of producing increasingly large and complex forms of rear light clusters cheaply with minimal impact on the vehicle luggage compartment while incorporating these functional components in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Each cluster of rear lamps has a number of bulbs, electrical connections and filters to produce the required colour. Rear lamps are often grouped in a single module which is fitted to the rear of the vehicle. As these modules become larger and have more complex shapes, the combined modules can be expensive to manufacture and expensive to replace if damaged, for example in a collision.
It is one aim of the present invention to provide an improved tail lamp for a road vehicle which performs multiple functions without the need for separate bulbs or colour filters. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tail lamp which is compact and which is comprised of a small number of components, so that it can be easily mounted on the exterior of a vehicle and requires low maintenance. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tail lamp which can provide warning information to drivers or other individuals in the vicinity of the vehicle.
Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) are being deployed in user interface displays of electronic devices such as personal computers, hand held computers and mobile telephones, replacing liquid crystal displays (LCDs) which have traditionally been used for these applications. The role of these displays is to display information which can be viewed by a user. In addition to OLEDs being suitable for displaying information, OLEDs are self illuminating and can be used as a multi-coloured light source. LCDs can not be used as a light source in this manner as they are not self illuminating but require an external light source.
Traditional arrays of incandescent filament bulb tail lamps can be replaced with a single or multiple OLED panel, either when the vehicle is designed, or the panel can be retro-fitted to an existing vehicle. It is not necessary to dedicate separate areas of the OLED panel for each required function as each area of the panel can display all of the required colours and a microprocessor can control how these colours are displayed, depending on the required tasks as dictated by the actions of the driver of the vehicle. For combination actions such as breaking and indicating, the display could be segmented electronically.
Traditional light emitting diodes (LEDs) are self illuminating, and consume a relatively small amount of power compared to an incandescent bulb. Typically a 12 V LED consumes 12OmW. Colour LED panels are made of a large number of LED pixels, each pixel being comprised of red, green and blue LEDs. However, to produce an array the size of a vehicle lamp panel, a large number of LEDs are required and the corresponding power consumption is too high to make such an LED panel feasible on a vehicle.
One aspect of the present invention provides a road vehicle comprising one or more lamps, wherein the lamps comprise a plurality of OLEDs.
Preferably one or more of the functions of rear position lamp, stop lamp, reversing lamp, indicator lamp, warning lamp or fog lamp are performed by selective lighting of the lamp of lamps. Preferably a microprocessor is provided to control the electro-luminescence of the OLEDs, in particular the colour and brightness of the OLEDs.
Preferably the microprocessor is programmed with a set of pre-programmed lamp configurations to configure areas of the lamps to be one or more of a non- illuminated area, a rear distance lamp, a stop lamp, a reversing lamp, an indicator lamp, a warning lamp or a fog lamp.
Preferably the microprocessor dynamically configures areas of the lamps to be a colour similar to the colour of a body panel of the road vehicle when not being used to indicate driving functions. This will enable the panel to be less conspicuous when no rear lights or indicators are required.
Preferably one or more of the lamps is transparent, enabling the lamp to be mounted on the rear window of the vehicle or so that if the lamp is mounted on the vehicle then the colour of the body will show through the panel.
Other aspects and preferred features of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying claims. The invention will be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic drawing of a vehicle with a prior art tail lamp array.
Figure 2 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an OLED.
Figure 3 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line X-X of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a block diagram showing how the OLED panel is driven.
Figure 1 is a schematic drawing of a vehicle 1 with two prior art tail lamp arrays 3, one on each lateral side of the vehicle 1. The array 3 is a cluster of lamps comprising a combined rear position lamp/stop lamp 5, direction indicator 7, reversing lamp 9, reflector 11 and fog lamp 13. Each functional lamp has a bulb (not shown) and each bulb has electrical connections. The array 3 fills a noticeable proportion of the rear view of the vehicle 1 and the styling of the array of lamps 3 is critical to produce an aesthetically pleasing overall effect.
The outer panel 15 of the array 3 is formed in one piece and is fitted to the vehicle by screws (hidden from view). If any part of the panel 15 is damaged, the panel 15 is replaced. Each of the bulbs is set back from the outer panel 15 in a reflective recess, thereby reducing the storage space in the rear of the vehicle 1. Figure 2 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an OLED 21. An OLED 21 is typically formed from four layers - a transparent substrate 23, a transparent conductive layer 25, an organic layer 27 and a conducting layer 29. The transparent substrate 23 is formed from glass or a suitable transparent polymer. The organic layer 27 is formed from an organic material which emits visible radiation as a result of electro-luminescence when a current is passed through it. The conductive layers 25, 29 are formed of conductive strips which are mutually perpendicular, forming rows and columns, resulting in an OLED pixel at the overlap of each row and column.
When a voltage is applied to a row and a column of the conductive layers 25, 29, the pixel of organic material that is sandwiched therebetween emits light. A voltage of between 2 and 10V is required to produce luminescence, this range being conveniently achieved with a vehicle battery which typically produces a voltage in the region of 12V. In this manner, selective areas of an OLED panel can be illuminated as required. Colour OLED panels can be produced by dividing each pixel into three single colour sub-pixels, each sub-pixel for emitting red, blue and green light. The substrate on which an OLED panel is produced may be curved.
The OLED structure described above is representative of the structure of a 'passive' OLED. An 'active' OLED could be used, where instead of having perpendicular rows and columns to stimulate electro-luminescence in each pixel, each pixel is stimulated by a transistor which is embedded in an integrated electronic thin film transistor (TFT) backplane which replaces one electrode layer, the other electrode layer being earthed.
Figure 3 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the invention. The array of lamps 3 of figure 1 is replaced with a single or multiple OLED panel 31 and a reflector panel 11. The function of the reflector panel 11 can not be replicated by an OLED and a separate reflector panel 11 is required at the rear of the vehicle 1. It may be preferable not to locate the fog light within the OLED panel 31 to prevent burn out of the panel 31 when the fog lamp is operated. The outer shape of the combined OLED panel 31 and reflector panel 11 is the same shape as the panel 15 of the array of lamps 3 of Figure 1 , but the combined panels 31, 11 are much thinner than the array of lamps 3. The size of each pixel can be relatively large compared to the size of pixel typically required for a display device such as a computer monitor or hand held computer, as display of fine detail is not required. A microprocessor dynamically allocates the colour of each pixel, depending on the required function as dictated by the actions of the driver of the vehicle. For example, when travelling at night the whole panel could illuminate red to indicate the rear position lamp. Also, the illumination could be less bright than for day use. When the driver operates the stop and/or indicator lamp at night, part of the display could be illuminated bright red and/or flashing amber respectively and the remainder could stay red as before. When the tail lamps are not required, for example when the vehicle is parked or when travelling without braking or indicating during the day, the OLED panel 31 can be coloured to match another area of the bodywork.
In Figure 3, an OLED panel 33 is fitted as a third stop lamp to the centre of the top of the rear window 35 of the vehicle 1. The layers of the OLED panel can each be made from transparent material, so that when the OLED panel 33 is turned off it will be transparent and not unduly obscure the view through the rear window 35 of the vehicle. Similarly, the OLED panel 31 which performs the function of stop lamp, indicator, fog lamp, etc. could also be mounted on the rear window 35 of the vehicle 1.
As well as acting as a light source, the OLED panel 31 can also be used to display information, in much the same way as, for example, computer display apparatus. For example, when the vehicle is parked and alarmed, the OLED panel 31 could display a message such as "Warning! This vehicle is alarmed" or simply "Alarmed!". If a rear proximity sensor is fitted to the vehicle, a suitable warning message could be displayed for the attention of the driver of an approaching vehicle, which could increase in size as the approaching vehicle draws closer.
The information display function can be combined with the traditional lamp functions to enhance the effectiveness of the latter. For example, when an indicator lamp is required, moving arrows could be displayed within the orange colour portion of the OLED display to show the intended direction of movement of the vehicle. If the vehicle is reversing the word "reversing" could be displayed flashing on a white background. These animated function displays are more eye-catching than static function lamps and would reduce the size of the display required to produce the same effect on drivers as non-animated lamps.
Figure 4 is a horizontal cross sectional view 37 taken along line X-X of Figure 3. The OLED panel 31 is mounted on the exterior of the vehicle panel 39, following the contours of the panel 39. A reflector panel 11 is fitted adjacent the OLED panel 31. The OLED panel 31 can be formed on a curved surface and is only a few millimetres thick, which maximises the storage space available in the rear of the vehicle. The OLED panel 31 can also be retrofitted to an existing vehicle.
Figure 5 is a block diagram 41 showing how the OLED panel 49 is driven. There are various input devices 43 which feed into a microprocessor based controller 45. The input devices 43 are activated by the driver of the vehicle during the course of driving, and may include a headlight/rear position lamp switch, direction indicator switch, brake pedal, gear stick switch (triggered when reversing), hazard warning switch, fog lamp switch, alarm-door locking system and rear proximity sensor. When these input devices are triggered they may illuminate one or more of the rear lamps (a rear proximity sensor may be used to trigger a warning message when an approaching vehicle draws close, as mentioned above). The controller 45 processes the signals from the input devices 43 and determines a suitable configuration for the OLED panel 49. The controller 45 sends a signal to the OLED driver 47 to configure the OLED panel 49.
Various modifications will be apparent to those in the art and it is desired to include all such modifications as fall within the scope of the accompanying claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:
1. A road vehicle comprising one or more lamps, wherein the lamps comprise a plurality of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs).
2. A road vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more of the functions of rear position lamp, stop lamp, reversing lamp, indicator lamp, warning lamp or fog lamp are performed by selective lighting of the lamp or lamps.
3. A road vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein a microprocessor is provided to control the electro-luminescence of the OLEDs.
4. A road vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the colour and brightness of the OLEDs is controlled by the microprocessor.
5. A road vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the microprocessor is programmed with a set of pre-programmed lamp configurations to configure areas of the lamps to be one or more of a non-illuminated area, a rear distance lamp, a stop lamp, a reversing lamp, an indicator lamp, a warning lamp or a fog lamp.
6. A road vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the microprocessor dynamically configures areas of the lamps to be a colour similar to the colour of a body panel of the road vehicle.
7. A road vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein one or more of the lamps is transparent.
8. A road vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lamp is mounted on a body panel of the road vehicle.
9. A road vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the lamp is mounted on a glass panel of the road vehicle.
10. A road vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein warning messages can be displayed on the lamps.
PCT/GB2005/000859 2005-03-07 2005-03-07 Lamps for a road vehicle WO2006095118A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/GB2005/000859 WO2006095118A1 (en) 2005-03-07 2005-03-07 Lamps for a road vehicle

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/GB2005/000859 WO2006095118A1 (en) 2005-03-07 2005-03-07 Lamps for a road vehicle

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2006095118A1 true WO2006095118A1 (en) 2006-09-14

Family

ID=35044833

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB2005/000859 WO2006095118A1 (en) 2005-03-07 2005-03-07 Lamps for a road vehicle

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2006095118A1 (en)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1923263A1 (en) * 2006-11-15 2008-05-21 ASPÖCK Systems GmbH Integral rear lamp
DE102007021865A1 (en) 2007-05-10 2008-11-13 Automotive Lighting Reutlingen Gmbh Lighting device for vehicle, especially motor vehicle, has cover frame with organic light emitting diodes visible from outside through cover panel and that emit light to implement at least some lighting functions when activated
DE102011076330A1 (en) * 2011-05-24 2012-11-29 Osram Ag Exterior lighting unit e.g. brake light of motor vehicle e.g. passenger car, has light-generating unit that is equipped with screen formed with several controllable pixels arranged in matrix form
CN103303192A (en) * 2013-07-08 2013-09-18 魏国营 Automobile dynamic intelligent tail lamp system based on OLED technology
CN104976561A (en) * 2014-04-07 2015-10-14 株式会社小糸制作所 Vehicular lamp
WO2016020203A1 (en) * 2014-08-05 2016-02-11 Osram Oled Gmbh Motor vehicle lamp and method for operating a motor vehicle lamp
EP3093192A1 (en) * 2015-05-11 2016-11-16 Lg Electronics Inc. Rear combination lamp for vehicle comprising a display
CN106372360A (en) * 2016-09-23 2017-02-01 莫森 Mobile terminal application-based real-time automobile model design system and method
US20170327034A1 (en) * 2016-05-12 2017-11-16 Ford Global Technologies, Llc Lighting apparatus for vehicle decklid
FR3056284A1 (en) * 2016-09-21 2018-03-23 Valeo Vision LUMINOUS DEVICE WITH CURVED OLEDS
WO2018116894A1 (en) * 2016-12-19 2018-06-28 パイオニア株式会社 Light-emitting device and light-emitting system

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1110816A2 (en) * 1999-12-22 2001-06-27 Osram Sylvania Inc. Electroluminescent vehicle lamp
DE10056315A1 (en) * 2000-11-14 2002-05-16 Volkswagen Ag Combined rear light and other lights for motor vehicle consists of electrically activatable polymer film optical tape connected to computer
DE20207799U1 (en) * 2002-05-17 2002-08-22 FER Fahrzeugelektrik GmbH, 99817 Eisenach Signal light for vehicles
DE10217633A1 (en) * 2002-04-19 2003-11-06 Siemens Ag Illuminated display panel for external use on an automobile, illumination is produced by an organic light emitting material electronically activated
DE20316660U1 (en) * 2003-10-29 2003-12-24 Rank, Franz Car has components, especially indicator or brake lights or head lamps, with surface layer whose color and optical density can be altered by adjusting electric field on electrochromic layer

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1110816A2 (en) * 1999-12-22 2001-06-27 Osram Sylvania Inc. Electroluminescent vehicle lamp
DE10056315A1 (en) * 2000-11-14 2002-05-16 Volkswagen Ag Combined rear light and other lights for motor vehicle consists of electrically activatable polymer film optical tape connected to computer
DE10217633A1 (en) * 2002-04-19 2003-11-06 Siemens Ag Illuminated display panel for external use on an automobile, illumination is produced by an organic light emitting material electronically activated
DE20207799U1 (en) * 2002-05-17 2002-08-22 FER Fahrzeugelektrik GmbH, 99817 Eisenach Signal light for vehicles
DE20316660U1 (en) * 2003-10-29 2003-12-24 Rank, Franz Car has components, especially indicator or brake lights or head lamps, with surface layer whose color and optical density can be altered by adjusting electric field on electrochromic layer

Cited By (17)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1923263A1 (en) * 2006-11-15 2008-05-21 ASPÖCK Systems GmbH Integral rear lamp
DE102007021865A1 (en) 2007-05-10 2008-11-13 Automotive Lighting Reutlingen Gmbh Lighting device for vehicle, especially motor vehicle, has cover frame with organic light emitting diodes visible from outside through cover panel and that emit light to implement at least some lighting functions when activated
DE102011076330A1 (en) * 2011-05-24 2012-11-29 Osram Ag Exterior lighting unit e.g. brake light of motor vehicle e.g. passenger car, has light-generating unit that is equipped with screen formed with several controllable pixels arranged in matrix form
CN103303192A (en) * 2013-07-08 2013-09-18 魏国营 Automobile dynamic intelligent tail lamp system based on OLED technology
CN104976561A (en) * 2014-04-07 2015-10-14 株式会社小糸制作所 Vehicular lamp
WO2016020203A1 (en) * 2014-08-05 2016-02-11 Osram Oled Gmbh Motor vehicle lamp and method for operating a motor vehicle lamp
EP3798056A1 (en) * 2015-05-11 2021-03-31 ZKW Group GmbH Vehicle comprising a rear combination lamp comprising a display
EP3093192A1 (en) * 2015-05-11 2016-11-16 Lg Electronics Inc. Rear combination lamp for vehicle comprising a display
CN106143282A (en) * 2015-05-11 2016-11-23 Lg电子株式会社 Vehicle combined tail lamp and include its vehicle
US20170327034A1 (en) * 2016-05-12 2017-11-16 Ford Global Technologies, Llc Lighting apparatus for vehicle decklid
US9821710B1 (en) * 2016-05-12 2017-11-21 Ford Global Technologies, Llc Lighting apparatus for vehicle decklid
FR3056284A1 (en) * 2016-09-21 2018-03-23 Valeo Vision LUMINOUS DEVICE WITH CURVED OLEDS
CN106372360A (en) * 2016-09-23 2017-02-01 莫森 Mobile terminal application-based real-time automobile model design system and method
CN106372360B (en) * 2016-09-23 2019-11-01 莫森 Vehicle configuration real-time design system and method based on application program for mobile terminal
JPWO2018116894A1 (en) * 2016-12-19 2019-10-24 パイオニア株式会社 Light emitting device and light emitting system
WO2018116894A1 (en) * 2016-12-19 2018-06-28 パイオニア株式会社 Light-emitting device and light-emitting system
US11335890B2 (en) 2016-12-19 2022-05-17 Pioneer Corporation Light-emitting device and light-emitting system

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
GB2405755A (en) Vehicle rear lamp comprising OLED panel
US11231157B2 (en) Lighting device for a vehicle, in particular an electric vehicle
US7821388B1 (en) See-through lighted information display
US8585263B2 (en) Illuminated vehicular sign
US9916781B2 (en) Illuminated vehicular sign
WO2006095118A1 (en) Lamps for a road vehicle
US12111464B2 (en) Display device for a motor vehicle, method for operating a display of a motor vehicle, control module, and motor vehicle
US20140059904A1 (en) Illuminated vehicular sign
DE102004018647B4 (en) Luminous body on a body of a vehicle
CN116323315A (en) Vehicle with combined display lighting unit
US12030436B2 (en) Vehicle lighting and display systems using switchable opaque film
US20160272116A1 (en) Warning light used in lane change of a vehicle
EP1647164A1 (en) Lamp for use on a vehicle body
CN104709165A (en) Vehicle with illuminated display instrument
CN112835236A (en) A car interior panel
CA2962437C (en) Vehicle roof plate
JP2019059387A (en) Lighting system and moving body
JP3020426U (en) Vehicle with information display
CN204879825U (en) Car signal lamp based on OLED
US20160368416A1 (en) Awareness Lights
WO2021166945A1 (en) Vehicle decoration display device
JP2003191771A (en) Instrument device for vehicle
TWM526518U (en) Lighting device for vehicle side mirror
CN203126718U (en) Vehicle signboard
JPH0743143Y2 (en) Information display device

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application
NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: RU

WWW Wipo information: withdrawn in national office

Country of ref document: RU

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 05717928

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

WWW Wipo information: withdrawn in national office

Ref document number: 5717928

Country of ref document: EP