Masked double-sided optical sheet lighting assembly
View Patent ↗Disclosed herein are vehicle lamp assemblies comprising a double-sided optical sheet with a mask printed directly onto the optical sheet. The optical sheet comprises a light-homogenizing sheet disposed over a plurality of light-emitting diodes. Instead of placing the mask over the optical sheet on a structure, the light-homogenizing sheet itself serves as a substrate during a printing process such that the mask is printed directly onto the optical sheet. The optical sheet supports the weight of the mask. The mask itself may be opaque with cutouts such that light escapes through the cutouts; the cutouts may be designed to create any number of custom patterns as desired. Other types of masks, such as translucent masks, may also be printed on the other side of the optical sheet to protect portions of the lighting assembly or to otherwise further adjust the lighting character of the vehicle lamp.
1 . A lighting assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
an array of light-emitting diodes;
an optical sheet oriented to receive light emitted directly from the array of light-emitting diodes;
a first pattern of light-modifying elements disposed on a first side of the optical sheet, wherein the first pattern of light-modifying elements comprises a first parallel array of convex lenses aligned lengthwise in a first direction;
a second pattern of light-modifying elements disposed on a second side of the optical sheet opposite the first side, wherein the second pattern of light-modifying elements comprises a second parallel array of convex lenses aligned lengthwise in a second direction which is distinct from the first direction;
an offset angle between the first direction and the second direction configured to distribute light emitted from the array of light-emitting diodes such that light emitted from the lighting assembly appears homogeneous; and
a first mask printed directly on one side of the optical sheet for blocking or filtering light through a portion of the optical sheet thereby providing a custom lit appearance of the lighting assembly,
wherein:
the first mask comprises one or more continuous portions printed directly onto and across one or more subsets of the light-modifying elements, in a custom pattern;
the one or more continuous portions of the first mask conform to the shape of and span the entire width of at least some of the light-modifying elements within the one or more subsets; and
the pattern is selected, from amongst a plurality of possible custom patterns, to create the custom lit appearance of the lighting assembly by the mask's coverage of the one or more subsets of light-modifying elements.
2 . The lighting assembly of claim 1 , wherein the offset angle is approximately ninety degrees such that the first pattern of light-modifying elements is oriented substantially perpendicular to the second pattern of light-modifying elements.
3 . The lighting assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first mask comprises printed portions and open portions, the printed portions having an ink deposited directly on one side of the optical sheet and the open portions lacking the ink allowing light to pass unfiltered and unblocked after having passed through the optical sheet.
4 . The lighting assembly of claim 3 , wherein the printed portions comprise substantially opaque material configured to block light emitted from the array of light-emitting diodes.
5 . The lighting assembly of claim 3 , wherein the printed portions comprise substantially translucent material configured to filter light emitted from the array of light-emitting diodes.
6 . The lighting assembly of claim 3 , wherein the printed portions are configured to match an exterior color of the vehicle.
7 . The lighting assembly of claim 3 , comprising a second mask printed on the optical sheet, wherein the first mask is on one side of the optical sheet and the second mask is on an opposite side of the optical sheet.
8 . The lighting assembly of claim 7 , wherein the second mask comprises a translucent mask configured to cover some or all of the open portions of the first mask for filtering light emitted through the open portions of the opaque mask.
9 . The lighting assembly of claim 8 , wherein the first mask is printed on an exterior side of the optical sheet and the second mask is printed on an interior side of the optical sheet to further homogenize light incident on the optical sheet from the array of light emitting diodes.
10 . The lighting assembly of claim 3 , comprising an outer lens made of a substantially transparent material and configured to protect the optical sheet and first mask while allowing light to pass through.
11 . The lighting assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first mask is printed on an inner side of the optical sheet adjacent to the light-emitting diodes such that the first mask is protected from environmental elements outside of the optical sheet.
12 . The lighting assembly of claim 1 , wherein each pattern of light-modifying elements of the optical sheet comprises a parallel array of lenticular lenses having a width of about 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm.
13 . The lighting assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first mask comprises a thickness greater than 0.07 mm and less than 0.13 mm.
14 . The lighting assembly of claim 1 , wherein the printed portions cover more of the surface of the optical sheet than the open portions.
15 . A method of creating a custom lighting assembly, comprising:
imprinting an optical sheet such that it has a first lenticular pattern formed onto a first side of the optical sheet and a second lenticular pattern formed onto a second side of the optical sheet opposite the first side, wherein the first lenticular pattern comprises a parallel array of lenses aligned lengthwise in a first direction and the second lenticular pattern comprises a parallel array of lenses aligned lengthwise in a second direction which is at an offset angle from the first direction;
selecting a custom lighting appearance desired from the custom lighting assembly;
selecting a shape for a custom mask for blocking or filtering light through a portion of the optical sheet, such that the selected custom lit appearance is created by shining light through the optical sheet, wherein the custom mask comprises one or more mask portions printed on the first side, second side, or both the first and second sides;
printing the one or more portions of the custom mask directly and continuously across one or more subsets of the lenticular lenses, such that the mask portions conform to the shape of, stretch across, and span the entire width of at least some of the lenticular lenses within the one or more subsets; and
shining light through the optical sheet using an array of light-emitting diodes.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the printed portions cover a majority of the first side, second side, or both sides of the optical sheet.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the custom mask comprises opaque material configured to substantially block light emitted from the array of light-emitting diodes.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the custom mask comprises translucent material configured to filter light emitted from the array of light-emitting diodes.
19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the mask comprises a thickness greater than 0.07 mm and less than 0.13 mm.
20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the lenticular lenses comprise a width of about 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm.