Patent Description:
Automotive lighting devices require an increasing amount of electric connections, which are intended to provide control and power supply to the light sources contained therein.

These electric connections are usually managed in harness of wires coming from the control unit. This harness usually ends in a connector which in turn couples with the local connector in the device.

There is a specific type of connectors known as "card-edge" connectors. These connectors comprise a female element configured for receiving a protrusion element of a printed circuit board. This protrusion element comprises the electrical connections of the board, while the female element contains the corresponding connections which will be transformed into the wire harnesses to be arranged along the vehicle.

Since the connection of the printed circuit board into the card-edge connector is usually done manually, a correct connection must be ensured. To achieve this aim, the lighting device housings provide a guide to guide the protrusion towards their final position in the correct orientation, together with retaining means to keep the connector in place, thus avoiding accidental detachments.

The document <CIT> describes a side marker lamp with a substrate comprising tracks that can be reversibly attached to a housing through the cooperation of a guiding part of the substrate and the housing. <CIT> discloses a fixing structure of an indoor lamp.

This configuration presents some drawbacks. Firstly, the guide is provided for a specific design of a lighting device. A slight design change may render this guide useless, since the guide may only be used under very specific conditions. So the guide has to be redesign specifically for each lighting device.

Further, as the guide is integrally moulded with the housing, its orientation is constrained by the demoulding axis of the housing. It is therefore difficult, to adapt the orientation of the guide. Since the orientation of the printed circuit board depends on the orientation of the guide, it is thus difficult to adapt the orientation of the printed circuit board in the housing. Yet, some lighting devices require a specific orientation of the printed circuit board. And, it is also desirable to be able to customize the orientation of the connection according to customer requests.

It is therefore desired to find an alternative solution to the attachment of a card-edge protrusion into a card-edge connector which may overcome the aforementioned problems.

The invention provides a solution for this problem by an automotive lighting device as claimed in claim <NUM>.

A separate carrier part which houses the female connector provides several advantages. First one is protection of the edge protrusion: the edge protrusion is protected by the guide element of the carrier part, so that it is safe while being introduced in the carrier part. Second one is the protection of the female connector: since the correct insertion direction is provided by these guides, the edge protrusion reaches the female connector in the right direction, so that the integrity of this female connector is preserved. Further, the carrier part is a different element from the housing and houses the female connector. The guiding element is not fixed to the housing, the orientation direction may be chosen when designing this part and its coupling to the housing. This provides more freedom to the arrangement of the elements inside the lighting device.

According to the invention, the housing comprises securing means configured to cooperate with the attaching means in order to attach the carrier part to the housing.

As said before, the carrier part is a separate part from the housing, and is attached thereof by its attaching means.

According to the invention, the housing comprises securing means which actively cooperate with the attaching means of the carrier part.

According to the invention, the securing means comprises a first securing protrusion and a second securing protrusion that protrude from the housing in a protrusion direction when the housing is assembled on the vehicle and the protrusion direction is different from the insertion direction. In particular embodiments, when the light device is assembled on the vehicle, the protrusion direction forms an angle between 1º and 30º with respect to the insertion direction.

Then, the electronic substrate can be oriented along the insertion direction, and thus have an orientation which is different from the protrusion direction. The orientation of the electronic substrate and of the light source can thus be chosen independently from the orientation of the securing means.

This design is enabled by the carrier part. Indeed, as the securing means is integrally moulded with the housing, the protrusion direction is determined by the moulding process. The protrusion direction of the securing means has to follow the demoulding axis of the housing so that the securing means can be easily demoulded. Without the carrier part, the insertion direction would necessarily be the protrusion direction, and it would be determined by the demoulding axis. According to the invention, the carrier part can be adapted so that once it is attached to the housing, the insertion direction is different from the protrusion direction. In particular, the way the carrier part is attached to the securing means can determined the insertion direction.

There are different ways to implement this concept.

According to the invention, the securing means and the attaching means are configured to cooperate as a snap fit connection.

A snap fit connection comprises two elements which accept the joint but prevent the separation, due to an elastic slope element which deforms to allow insertion and a stop element which avoids separation.

This arrangement of holes for the snap fit connection is one of the options to achieve an insertion direction which is different from the protrusion direction. Only by adjusting the position of the holes in securing protrusion, the positioning of the carrier part relative to the securing means is different, and it is thus possible to achieve a different insertion direction than the protrusion direction.

Moreover, with this adjustment of positioning of the holes, the orientation of the insertion direction relative to the protrusion direction can be selected and changed from one lighting device to another. Indeed, for two different lighting devices, the modification of the moulding process of the housing is very slight. Only the position of the hole on the securing protrusion is modified, but the demoulding axis can remain the same, and can be determined by the demoulding axis of the housing. It is thus possible to easily adapt each lighting device to obtain the wanted insertion direction.

In some particular embodiments, the portion of the housing comprised between the first securing protrusion and the second securing protrusion comprises an abutment intended to receive a zone of the carrier part. For example, this abutment also forms a protrusion from the housing, in the direction of the carrier part.

In particular, the housing is moulded in a single part, meaning that the abutment is integrally moulded with the rest of the housing. The stability of the carrier part is thus improved. Since the carrier part is tilted with respect to the protrusion direction, this abutment provides a support for the advanced portion of the carrier part, thus providing a way of securely inserting the carrier part into the attaching means.

In some particular embodiments, the guide element comprises bevelled ends.

These bevelled ends are oriented for protecting the edge protrusion when being inserted in the guide element.

In some particular embodiments, the edge protrusion of the electronic substrate comprises a first mechanic connector and the carrier part comprises a second mechanic connector configured to cooperate with the first mechanic connection for the retention of the edge protrusion, wherein the first mechanic connector and the second mechanic connector comprises one of notches and protrusions.

This notch-protrusion system is used to retain the edge protrusion in the correct position inside the female connector, thus ensuring the electric connection between these two elements.

In some particular embodiments, the electronic substrate is a printed circuit board.

This invention is particularly adapted to the use of printed circuit boards, which have edge connections for card edge female connectors.

In some particular embodiments, the light source is a solid-state light source, such as a light emitting diode.

The term "solid state" refers to light emitted by solid-state electroluminescence, which uses semiconductors to convert electricity into light. Compared to incandescent lighting, solid state lighting creates visible light with reduced heat generation and less energy dissipation. The typically small mass of a solid-state electronic lighting device provides for greater resistance to shock and vibration compared to brittle glass tubes/bulbs and long, thin filament wires. They also eliminate filament evaporation, potentially increasing the lifespan of the illumination device. Some examples of these types of lighting comprise semiconductor light-emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), or polymer light-emitting diodes (PLED) as sources of illumination rather than electrical filaments, plasma or gas.

The lighting device may be a headlamp or a rearlamp, although this invention could also be implemented in a lighting module comprised in one of them.

In these figures, the following reference numbers have been used:.

Accordingly, while embodiment can be modified in various ways and take on various alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and described in detail below as examples. There is no intent to limit to the particular forms disclosed. On the contrary, all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims should be included. Elements of the example embodiments are consistently denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings and detailed description where appropriate.

<FIG> shows some elements of a first embodiment of an automotive lighting device not covered by the invention.

In this figure, a housing <NUM> is presented to house all the elements which are described below. This housing <NUM> comprises some securing protrusions <NUM>.

A carrier part <NUM> is coupled to these securing protrusions <NUM> by means of attaching legs <NUM>. These attaching legs <NUM> are especially configured to provide a snap fit connection with the securing protrusions <NUM>, thus creating an easy and secure way of placing the carrier part <NUM> in a specific location of the housing <NUM>.

This carrier part <NUM> comprises a connector zone, which is a hollow zone where a card edge female connector <NUM> is housed. This card edge female connector <NUM> provides the electric connection from the vehicle main power supply. This card edge female connector <NUM> comprises a plurality of electric connection tracks which are intended to be electrically connected with the connection tracks of an edge protrusion.

This edge protrusion which matches with the card edge female connector <NUM> is part of a printed circuit board <NUM>. This printed circuit board <NUM> comprises an electronic circuit with a LED <NUM>, and a reflector <NUM> which is especially adapted to project the light emitted by the LED <NUM>. However, in different embodiments, the printed circuit board <NUM> may comprise any type of lighting arrangement. The printed circuit board <NUM> is intended to be electrically fed via the card edge female connector <NUM>. To do so, the edge protrusion <NUM> of the printed circuit board <NUM>, which comprises the electric connection tracks, as seen in <FIG>, is inserted in the card edge female connector <NUM>, so that the electric connection tracks of the edge protrusion <NUM> and the electric connection tracks of the card edge female connector <NUM> make contact. With this connection, power supply is carried to the electric circuit of the printed circuit board <NUM> so that the LED <NUM> receives electric power to emit light.

This insertion is performed in an insertion direction (which in this case is horizontal, from the left of the image to the right). For a better protection of this connection, the carrier part <NUM> comprises a guide <NUM> which protrudes from an opening <NUM> which opens the connector zone to the exterior. This guide <NUM> is oriented in this insertion direction, to ensure that the printed circuit board <NUM> reaches the card edge female connector <NUM> in the correct orientation. The ends of the guide <NUM> are bevelled for a more secure insertion, helping the printed circuit board <NUM> to enter the guide <NUM> safely.

Hence, the insertion direction of the printed circuit board <NUM> with respect to the housing <NUM> is defined by the orientation of the card edge female connector <NUM> with respect to the housing <NUM>. This orientation is provided by the orientation that the carrier part <NUM> confers to this card edge female connector <NUM>, since this connector <NUM> is housed in the connector zone of the carrier part <NUM>. If the carrier part <NUM> is moved, the female connector <NUM> is moved. If the carrier part <NUM> rotates, the female connector <NUM> rotates.

Hence, a rotation in the carrier part <NUM> would affect to the orientation of the insertion direction.

This rotation may be desired by the designer because the lighting device can be rotated but the light emission direction should be maintained in the same direction (since the direction of the light emission is provided by the regulations, while the orientation of a lighting device may be defined by the car manufacturer).

Without the carrier part <NUM> of the invention, this orientation modification would require a complete re-design of the lighting device.

However, due to the presence of the carrier part <NUM>, a modification in the orientation of the printed circuit board <NUM> with respect to the housing <NUM> can be made without a substantial re-design.

<FIG> shows some parts of a second embodiment of a lighting device not covered by the invention. This second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment shown in <FIG>, but in this case, the housing has been slightly modified to achieve the aforementioned orientation change. This orientation change is performed by the modification of the securing protrusions <NUM>. The different angle of the protrusions <NUM> provides a different angulation reference for the rest of the system, which remains unchanged. The carrier part <NUM> is inserted in the securing protrusions <NUM> in the same way as in <FIG>, and the rest of the elements (printed circuit board, LED,. ) are the same as in the previous figure.

This is an easy and quick way of modifying the relative orientation of the light emission direction with respect to the housing. However, in some cases, this option may be difficult to demould.

<FIG> shows some parts of a third embodiment of a lighting device according to the invention. In this embodiment, the change in the orientation of the card edge female connector <NUM> is achieved by a slight modification in the position of the holes of the securing protrusions <NUM>. Further, an additional support element <NUM> forming an abutment is integrated in the moulding process of the housing.

This additional support element <NUM> is used in conjunction with this different location of the holes in each of the securing protrusions <NUM>. As may be seen in this figure, the securing means <NUM> comprises a first securing protrusion 11a and a second securing protrusion 11b. The attaching means <NUM> comprises in turn a first attaching leg 7a and a second attaching leg 7b. The first securing protrusion 11a comprises a first hole <NUM> intended to receive the snap fit connection of the first attaching leg 7a. The second securing protrusion comprises a second hole <NUM> intended to receive the snap fit connection of the second attaching leg 7b. However, the perpendicular projection of the centre of the first hole <NUM> over the second securing protrusion 11b does not cross the centre of the second hole <NUM>. This bias has the effect of tilting the carrier part <NUM> without modifying the protrusion direction, making this embodiment as easy to demould as the embodiment of <FIG>, but with the result of an angle α of the printed circuit board with respect to these securing protrusions <NUM>.

<FIG> provides a top view of the connection between the edge protrusion <NUM> of the printed circuit board <NUM> and the carrier part <NUM>.

As seen in this figure, the edge protrusion <NUM> of the printed circuit board <NUM> comprises two notches <NUM> and the carrier part <NUM> comprises two protrusions <NUM>, configured to cooperate with the notches <NUM> for the retention of the edge protrusion <NUM>. The edge protrusion <NUM> comprising the conductive tracks <NUM> abuts against the back portion of the female card edge connector <NUM>.

Claim 1:
An automotive lighting device (<NUM>) comprising
a housing (<NUM>);
an electronic substrate (<NUM>) comprising an electronic circuit and an edge protrusion (<NUM>) comprising electric connection tracks;
a light source (<NUM>) arranged in the electronic circuit of the electronic substrate (<NUM>);
a carrier part (<NUM>) and a card edge female connector (<NUM>), wherein:
the carrier part (<NUM>) comprises attaching means (<NUM>) configured to attach the carrier part (<NUM>) to the housing (<NUM>);
the carrier part (<NUM>) comprises a connector zone where the card edge female connector (<NUM>) is housed, the connector zone comprising an opening (<NUM>) configured to receive the edge protrusion (<NUM>);
the edge protrusion (<NUM>) is configured to be inserted in the card edge female connector (<NUM>) along an insertion direction when the carrier part is assembled on the vehicle;
the carrier part (<NUM>) comprises a guide element (<NUM>) which protrudes from the opening (<NUM>) of the connector zone in the same direction as the insertion direction, the guide element (<NUM>) being configured to guide the edge protrusion (<NUM>) of the electronic substrate towards the connector zone;
the housing comprises securing means (<NUM>) configured to cooperate with the attaching means (<NUM>) in order to attach the carrier part to the housing;
the securing means (<NUM>) comprises a first securing protrusion (11a) and a second securing protrusion (11b) that protrude from the housing in a protrusion direction when the housing is assembled on the vehicle and the protrusion direction is different from the insertion direction;
the securing means (<NUM>) and the attaching means (<NUM>) are configured to cooperate as a snap fit connection;
characterized in that
the attaching means (<NUM>) comprises a first attaching leg (7a) and a second attaching leg (7b);
the first securing protrusion (11a) comprises a first hole (<NUM>) intended to receive the snap fit connection of the first attaching leg (7a);
the second securing protrusion (11b) comprises a second hole (<NUM>) intended to receive the snap fit connection of the second attaching leg (7b), and the perpendicular projection of the centre of the first hole (<NUM>) over the second securing protrusion (11b) does not cross the centre of the second hole (<NUM>).