Patent Publication Number: US-2013242583-A1

Title: Light ring of vehicle light

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a light ring of vehicle lights, especially to a light ring of vehicle lights with features of easy assembly, time saving and labor saving. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A day time running light (DRL, also daytime running light or daytime lighting system) is a lighting device of vehicles during daylight conditions. The research results show that daytime running lights on the front of vehicles ensure that cars in traffic are better visible to oncoming cars and reduce risk of accidents in daylight hours. Moreover, they improve vehicle visibility and increase safety performance. Thus all motor manufactures are required to have DRLs on new vehicles in Europe. 
     Refer to  FIG. 1 , a light ring of vehicle lights is revealed. A light emitting unit  41  and a cold cathode of a light ring unit  42  of a vehicle light  4  are connected to a vehicle power source. When the light emitting unit  41  is switched on to emit light, the cold cathode of the light ring unit  42  is also lighted up. When the vehicle is moving, vehicle visibility is improved due to auxiliary lights. However, cold cathode devices typically use a complex high-voltage power supply for creating the initial space charge and have high power consumption. Moreover, mercury contamination is a significant environmental problem and the cold cathode is usually affected by electromagnetic interference. 
     Refer to  FIG. 2 , another light ring of vehicle lights available now is revealed. The light ring of vehicle lights mainly includes a light emitting element  52  corresponding to each reflection unit  51  of a vehicle lamp  5 . By the light emitting element  52 , light is projected to the reflection unit  51  and is reflected by the reflection unit  51  to pass through a projecting edge of the light emitting element  52  and a diffusion surface  53 . Thus a light ring is formed in the front of the vehicle light. However, while assembling the vehicle lights with such design, each light emitting element is arranged at the corresponding reflection unit respectively and then the light emitting elements are required to be connected in series or in parallel. This is time and labor-consuming. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a light ring of vehicle lights with advantages of easy assembly, time-saving and labor-saving during the assembly. 
     In order to achieve the above object, a light ring of vehicle lights according to the present invention includes a light collection ring and a light emitting source. The light collection ring is a transparent body while the light emitting source consists of a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) chips. The LED chips are disposed on a substrate orderly and closely by bonding. The distance between two adjacent LED chips is ranging from 1 mm to 3 mm. The substrate is coated with a phosphor adhesive layer and the LED chips are also covered by the phosphor adhesive layer. 
     Once the light emitting source is applied with a voltage, the LED chips of the light emitting source emit light. The phosphor adhesive layer is excited by the light from the LED chip to generate energy as light. The light from the phosphor adhesive layer enters the incident surface to be emitted from the emission surface. Thus the light ring is used like DRL, providing warning effect and auxiliary illumination. 
     The incident surface of the light collection ring is disposed with refractive carved patterns in an orderly manner. The refractive carved patterns are in wave forms that rise and fall. The refractive carved patterns are in the form of sawtooth waves. 
     The light ring of vehicle lights is arranged circularly or linearly curved along with shapes of vehicle lights. 
     The light emitting source is formed by LED chips disposed on the substrate in a compact and orderly way by bonding while the distance between two adjacent LED chips is ranging from 1 mm to 3 mm. And the LED chips are also covered by the phosphor adhesive layer when the substrate is coated with the phosphor adhesive layer. Thus the plurality of LED chips and the substrate form an integrated part. Thus the light emitting source is assembled with the light collection ring directly. The assembly is easy and quick so that time and labor are saved. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an explosive view of a light ring of vehicle lights available now; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing showing a light ring of vehicle lights available now; 
         FIG. 3  is an explosive view of an embodiment of a light ring of vehicle lights according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view of an assembled embodiment of a light ring of vehicle lights according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of a light source of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing showing an embodiment used in headlights, taillights or warning lights of vehicles according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Refer to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , a light ring of vehicle lights of the present invention includes a light collection ring  1  and a light emitting source  2 . 
     The light collection ring  1  is a transparent body that is composed of an incident surface  11  facing the light emitting source  2  and an emission surface  12  far away from the light emitting source  2 . 
     The light emitting source  2  consists of a substrate  21  and a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) chips  22 . The LED chips  22  are arranged at the substrate  21  in a neat and compact way by bonding. The distance between two adjacent LED chips  22  ranges between 1 mm to 3 mm. A phosphor adhesive layer  23  is covered over the substrate  21  and the LED chips  22  are also covered by the phosphor adhesive layer  23 . 
     Moreover, refractive carved patterns  13  are disposed on the incident surface  11  of the light collection ring  1 . And the arrangement of the LED chips  22  is corresponding to the refractive carved patterns  13 . In a preferred embodiment, the refractive carved patterns  13  are arranged orderly. 
     After being applied with the voltage, the LED chips  22  on the substrate  21  of the light emitting source  2  emit light and the light acts on the phosphor adhesive layer  23 . After being excited by the light, the phosphor adhesive layer  23  releases energy in the form of light. The radiated light is refracted by the refractive carved patterns  13  on the incident surface  11  of the light collection ring  1 , entering the light collection ring  1  and emitted out from the emission surface  12 . The distance between two adjacent LED chips  22  is only from 1 mm to 3 mm. Due to such dense and compact arrangement of the LED chips  22 , a light ring with high brightness and uniform illumination is formed. 
     The refractive carved patterns  13  on the incident surface  11  of the light collection ring  1  are in wave forms that rise and fall, especially in sawtooth waves. 
     In the above embodiments, the light ring of vehicles lights is arranged circularly in headlights, taillights or warning lights of automobiles or motorcycles. 
     Refer to  FIG. 6 , in another embodiment, the light ring of vehicles lights is disposed linearly, like a strip curved along with the shape of headlights, taillights or warning lights  3  of automobiles or motorcycles. 
     Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, and representative devices shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalent.