This is 1st Design Concept Rendering for projected puddle light and Automotive Monogram located in the Rocker.
Basic requirement is to light up automotive monogram or welcome sequence in addition to providing functional puddle light for ingress and egress. Egress is designed to avoid stepping into puddle on days like this winter.
Design could be wireless with battery and controller lighting up the graphics upon signal from door security module or directly wired with ON / OFF controlled by door module.
- Puddle light with monogram (projection distance is 220mm)
- Hard coated clear Polycarbonate cover
- Ingress protection design.
- Puddle light area is about 1180mm*300mm at 220 mm.
- The center of the Automotive Logo area is about 140mm*40mm.
Lighting Solutions:
- Printed light guides.
- OLED projection.
- Laser projection.
- Imbedded projection – not recommend.
Next Steps:
- Uninterrupted light feasible, but length restrictions may apply.
- Hard winter blocking with snow / mud is an open issue.
- Lighting intensity assumed as 50 Lux for day time definition.
- Need rocker CAD data and design studio concept design.
- Lighting intensity assumed as 50 Lux for day time definition.
BMW “Welcome Light Carpet” feature that illumines the ground on both sides of the car, guiding owners to the safety and comfort of their car. The solution places the light on the underbody of the car using microoptic lenses to project light on the ground, covering four square meters, in a striped pattern that leads from the back of the car all the way up to the door and continues to illuminate the correct area even when the door has been opened.
The light show is accomplished by utilizing extremely small projectors grouped together in a honeycomb pattern. The number of projectors only increases the intensity of the light but doesn’t increase thickness of the light array, allowing the engineers to fit them on underbody of the car.
The array faces away from the direction of the car’s travel, which protects it against stone and dust thrown up by the car’s movements. Although dirt might be a bit of a problem, it can only reduce the intensity of the light produced. Thanks to the multitude of projectors used, 150 in BMW’s implementation, the light can never be completely obscured.
Please refer SLASHGEAR for more information on BMW solution.
Other design options evaluated is the option as below:
TQ Technology Projection Welcome light. Concept is with micro-lens in the light guide. Advantages of this design are small-size device, mounting opposite direction of travel to prevent staining and dust and focused picture due to laser technology, known from effect projection applications.
OSRAM Micro LED Projector That Can Be Personalized. The only disadvantage here is that projector is still located in the rear view mirror.
SCHOTT Glass Retractable Running Board Lighting Concept. There are two concepts here. One is to flood the step ladder and the other is lens positioning on the outer light guide allows it to illuminate the ground surface providing added safety. This could be used as both a welcome and disembarking feature.
