Patent ID: 11878626
Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  F

Claim 13:
14. An illumination module for illuminating a region of a vehicle component, wherein the illumination module comprises:
a light source support, in the form of a printed circuit board, having at least one light source;
a housing in which the light source support having the at least one light source is received at least regionally, wherein the housing comprises at least one light outlet region, via which light emitted by the at least one light source is decoupled from the housing; and
a light diffuser optically coupled or couplable to the light outlet region of the housing,
wherein
the at least one light source comprises a first light source;
the light diffuser comprises a first light outlet region, via which light is decoupled for direct illumination or highlighting of the region of the vehicle component and which comprises a second light outlet region, spatially separated from the first light outlet region, via which signal light is decoupled, for indicating a state or for indicating a situation;
wherein the first light outlet region is defined in part by a first external surface portion of the light diffuser that faces in a first direction away from the housing, and the second light outlet region is defined in part by a second external surface portion of the light diffuser that faces in a second direction to one side of the housing, the second external surface portion angularly intersecting the first external surface portion;
wherein a first portion of light emitted by the first light source is coupled directly to the first light outlet region and a second portion of light emitted by the first light source is coupled directly to the second light outlet region;
wherein a switching device, in the form of a microswitch, is associated with the illumination module and is indirectly actuable via a flexible region of the housing, the switching device is arranged on the light source support of the illumination module or connected thereto, and the switching device is further configured in order to indicate, change, or influence an operational state of a charging system, when the switching device is actuated.