Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a light assembly having a collimator that has a transparent region and an opaque.

BACKGROUND

Lighting units are employed in a two-wheeler for various purposes. Further, based on their purpose, the lighting units can be headlights or taillights that illuminate the road ahead or behind the two-wheeler and indicators that blink to indicate the direction in which the two-wheeler is or is about to turn. The lighting unit typically has a lighting emitting diode (LED) housed in a housing and a collimator which collimates the light.

The current design of the lighting units has various limitations. For instance, the lighting unit is bulky and has complex construction. Therefore, the current type of lighting unit is not suitable as compact blinkers for two-wheeler. One of the ways to mitigate this issue is to reduce the size of the lighting unit. However, reducing the size of the lighting unit also reduces the lumen output. Therefore, the reduction in size is limited to the lumen output.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

The present disclosure relates to a light assembly having a collimator for a two-wheeler. The collimator is a compact unit and is designed collimate the light as well as has a provision for the display of a symbol or a logo.

In an embodiment, a light assembly is disclosed which includes a housing and a light source adapted to provide uncollimated light beams. The light assembly includes a collimator installed in front of the light source. The collimator comprises a rear face facing the light source and a front face opposite the rear face. The collimator also includes an opaque region formed at the centre of the collimator and extending between the rear face and the front face. Further, the opaque region includes a symbol. The collimator also includes a light transmission region formed radially around the opaque region and extending between the rear face and the front face, the light transmission region having a step profile on the front face and adapted to collimate the uncollimated light beams.

In another embodiment, the light transmission region includes a plurality of sectors formed on the front face around the opaque region, each of the plurality of sectors including a plurality of collimating sections adapted to form parallel light beams. In addition, the light transmission region includes a plurality of light wells formed on the rear face for the plurality of sectors, wherein a light well is coaxial to a corresponding sector and is adapted to direct uncollimated light beams from the light source to the sector.

In another embodiment, a two-wheeler is disclosed that includes a blinker assembly installed on a frame of the two-wheeler. The blinker assembly comprises a housing and a light source adapted to provide uncollimated light beams. The light assembly includes a collimator installed in front of the light source. The collimator comprises a rear face facing the light source and a front face opposite the rear face. The collimator also includes an opaque region formed at the centre of the collimator and extending between the rear face and the front face. Further, the opaque region includes a symbol. The collimator also includes a light transmission region formed radially around the opaque region and extending between the rear face and the front face, the light transmission region having a step profile on the front face and adapted to collimate the uncollimated light beams.

To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates an exploded view of a light assembly, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a sectional view of the light assembly, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates a front view of a light source, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrates a front view of a collimator and a zoom in view of a portion of the collimator, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5 illustrates a cut section taken along lines A-A in Figure 4, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 6 illustrates a perspective view of the collimator, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 7 illustrates a bottom view of the collimator, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 8 illustrates different views of the collimator, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 9 illustrates various step of assembling the light assembly, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which invention belongs. The system and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

For example, the term “some” as used herein may be understood as “none” or “one” or “more than one” or “all.” Therefore, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would fall under the definition of “some.” It should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and therefore, should not be construed to limit, restrict or reduce the spirit and scope of the present disclosure in any way.

For example, any terms used herein such as, “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and similar grammatical variants do not specify an exact limitation or restriction, and certainly do not exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated. Further, such terms must not be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated, for example, by using the limiting language including, but not limited to, “must comprise” or “needs to include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do not preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language including, but not limited to, “there needs to be one or more...” or “one or more elements is required.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements of the present disclosure. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of explaining one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the proposed disclosure fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms including, but not limited to, “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or other variants thereof do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or in the context of more than one embodiment, or in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should not necessarily be taken as limiting factors to the proposed disclosure.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

For the sake of clarity, the first digit of a reference numeral of each component of the present disclosure is indicative of the Figure number, in which the corresponding component is shown. For example, reference numerals starting with digit “1” are shown at least in Figure 1. Similarly, reference numerals starting with digit “2” are shown at least in Figure 2.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate various aspects of a light assembly 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, Figure 1 illustrates an exploded view of the light assembly 100 while Figure 2 illustrates a sectional view of the light assembly 100. The light assembly 100 may be used as a blinker in a two-wheeler. Accordingly, the light assembly 100 may also be called a blinker assembly 100. The light assembly 100 or the blinker assembly 100 is a compact assembly than a current type of blinker of the same lumen output. Accordingly, the light assembly 100 has a better lumen output while being compact in size. Moreover, the light assembly 100 has the provision of a symbol that improves the aesthetics of the light assembly 100. The light assembly 100 includes, but is not limited to, a housing 102, a light source 104, a collimator 106, a logo 108, and a lens 110, details of which will be provided in subsequent paragraphs.

The housing 102 forms the basis of the light assembly 100. The housing 102 is made of plastic material adapted to house the aforementioned components of the light assembly 100. The housing 102 may include a cavity in which the light source 104. Further, the housing 102 may include a neck 102A that enables the mounting of the housing 102 on the two-wheeler. In addition, the neck 102A also provides access to wires 104A that power the light source 104 as well as the control signal of activating the light source 104. In one example, the housing 102 can be manufactured using the injection moulding technique. Alternatively, the housing 102 can be manufactured using other techniques, such as blow moulding, and compression moulding, among other examples. As shown in Figure 1, the housing 102 may have a cylindrical casing and have provisions to mount the light source 104. In one example, the housing 102 may include a pair of threaded pillars 102B that receives a pair of fasteners 112 to secure the light source 104 inside the housing 102.

In one example, the light source 104 is sandwiched between the housing 102 and the collimator 106. The light source 104 is adapted to provide uncollimated laser beams. Details of the light source 104 are provided with respect to Figure 3 which shows a front view of the light source 104. The light source 104 includes a printed circuit board (PCB) 202 and a plurality of light-emitting diode (LED) 204. The PCB 202 may receive power from the wire 104A (shown in Figure 1) to power the LEDs 204. In the present illustrations, nine LEDs 204 are mounted on the PCB 202 although a greater or lesser number of LEDs 204 can be installed based on the required lumen output. Further, the PCB has holes 206 through which the fasteners 112 may pass through to secure the PCB 202 to the housing 102. The PCB 202 may also include additional circuitry 206 to power the LEDs 204.

Referring back to Figures 1 and 2, the collimator 106 is installed in front of the light source 104. The collimator 106 is designed to collimate the light emitted by the light source 104 so that the throw distance of the light is increased. The collimator 106 is designed in such a way that the collimator 106 maintains the throughput of the light while being smaller in size. The collimator 106 is designed in such a way that the logo 108 can be installed. In one example, the lens 110 can be part of the collimator 106 and will be referred to as an opaque region of the collimator 106. The collimator 106 also has a light transmission region 114 surrounding the opaque region 108. Details of each region will be explained in subsequent embodiments.

In one example, the lens 110 is installed in front of the collimator 106, such that the lens 110 becomes the cover of all the components installed inside the housing 102. The lens 110, during its operation, is adapted to focus the collimated light beams coming from the collimator 106. Further, the lens 110 is made of a material suitable to join with the housing 102. For instance, the lens 110 is made of a material that is joined by the housing 102 using ultrasonic welding. Further, the lens 110 is installed at the periphery of the housing 102 using ultrasonic welding, such that the periphery of the collimator 106 is sandwiched between the lens 110 and the housing 102. Such an arrangement ensures that the collimator 106 is secured inside the housing 102 when the light assembly 100 is assembled.

According to the present disclosure, the collimator 106 is designed to maximise the light throughput while ensuring compact size. The collimator 106 of the present disclosure also has aesthetic appeal because of the logo 108 or a symbol. The structural and functional attributes that enable the aforementioned advantages are explained with respect to Figures 4 to 8.

Specifically, Figure 4 illustrates a front view of a collimator 106 and a zoom-in view of a portion of the collimator 106 while Figure 5 illustrates a cut section taken along lines A-A in Figure 4. Further, Figure 6 illustrates a perspective view of the collimator 106 while Figure 7 illustrates a bottom view of the collimator 106. Further, Figure 8 illustrates different views of the collimator 106.

The collimator 106 has a front face 402 and a rear face 404, such that the rear face 404 faces the light source 104 and the front face is opposite to the front face 402 and faces the lens. Further, the collimator 106 has the opaque region 108 formed at the centre of the collimator 106 and the light transmission region 114 formed radially around the opaque region 108. The opaque region 108 may be detachable as shown in Figure 1 and the light transmission region 114 has an opening 114A at its centre to receive the opaque region 108. In one example, the opaque region 108 is a single-piece injection moulded component. Further, the opaque region 108 has a symbol, which can be a logo of the manufacturer to any other custom symbol. Furthermore, the symbol on the opaque region 108 is a fluorescent that doubles up as a reflector for the two-wheeler thereby doing away with the need for a separate reflector resulting in a lesser number of parts installed on the two-wheeler. Moreover, such a configuration also enhances the aesthetic appeal of the light assembly 100.

The opaque region 108 is designed to lock into the opening 114A using locks 108A, such as snap locks. The provision of locks 108A enables easy installation and uninstallation of the collimator 106 or in an event of damage to either the opaque region 108 or the light transmission region 114.

In one example, the light transmission region 114 is designed to collimate the uncollimated light beams. Further, the light transmission region 114 has a plurality of sectors 406 formed on the front face 402. Referring now to the zoom-in portion, the sector 406 further includes a plurality of collimating sections 408. Each collimating section 408 is formed radially extending defining a small-arced region on the front face 402. Further, as shown in cut section 1-1 in Figure 5, the height of the collimating sections 408 reduces from inward to outward thereby creating a step profile. The step profile enables the light transmission region 114 to form collimated light beams or parallel light beams. Furthermore, the collimating sections 408 creates parallel light beams with greater resolution thereby reducing the light dispersion. As a result, the light transmission region 114 enables the greater length of illumination as compared to the currently used similar sized collimator which produces less collimated light beams even with a greater area to collimate the light beams (including the opaque region 108).

According to the present disclosure, to maximize the light collimation, the collimator 106 may include a plurality of light wells 410 formed on the rear face 404 of the collimator 106. The light wells 410 are adapted to direct the uncollimated light beam from the LEDs 204 to the collimating sections 408 of the sectors 406. Further, a light well 410 is coaxial to a corresponding sector 406, such that the light emitted by the LED 204 is directed towards the sectors 406. Furthermore, the number of LEDs 204 on the PCB 202 are equal to the number of light well 410 and the bottom of the light well 410 covers the LED 204, such that the bottom of the light well 410 encapsulates the LED 204. As a result, the total amount of light emitted by the LED 204 is directed to the sector 406 and leakage of light is prevented. Prevention of leakage of light ensures that the maximum amount of uncollimated light beams is reached to the collimating sections 408 for collimation. Hence, the light wells 410 along with the sectors 406 ensure the maximum collimation of light.

The present disclosure also relates to the assembly of the light assembly 100 as illustrated in Figure 9. In order to assemble the light assembly 100, the light source 104 is installed in the housing 102 by pushing the wire 104A through the neck 102B and aligning the holes 206 with the threaded pillars 102B. Thereafter, the fasteners 112 are inserted into the holes 206 and fastened into the threaded pillars 102B to secure PCB 202 to the housing 102. Once secured, the collimator 106 is installed on the PCB 202, such that the light wells 410 completely covers the LEDs 204. Thereafter, the lens 110 is placed on top of the collimator 106 and the periphery of the lens 110 is welded to the edges of the housing 102 using ultrasonic welding. The ultrasonic welding also causes the circular edges of the collimator 106 to sandwich between the lens 110 and the housing 102.

According to the present disclosure, the collimator 106 ensures that the maximum amount of uncollimated light beams is collimated while also providing the provision for providing symbol or logo at the centre of the collimator 106. Therefore, the collimator 106, in spite of the lesser area to collimate the light beams is able to maximise the light collimation.

While specific language has been used to describe the present disclosure, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. , Claims:1. A light assembly (100) comprising:
a housing (102);
a light source (104) adapted to provide uncollimated light beams; and
a collimator (106) installed in front of the light source (104), the collimator (106) comprising:
a rear face (404) facing the light source (104);
a front face (402) opposite to the rear face (404);
an opaque region (108) formed at a center of the collimator (106) and extending between the rear face (404) and the front face (402), the opaque region (108) including a symbol; and
a light transmission region (114) formed radially around the opaque region (108) and extending between the rear face (404) and the front face (402), the light transmission region (114) having a step profile on the front face (402) and adapted to collimate the uncollimated light beams.

2. The light assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light transmission region (114) comprising:
a plurality of sectors (406) formed on the front face (402) around the opaque region (108), each of the plurality of sectors (406) including a plurality of collimating section (408) adapted to form parallel light beams; and
a plurality of light wells (410) formed on the rear face (404) for the plurality of sectors (406), wherein a light well (410) is coaxial to a corresponding sector (406) and is adapted to direct uncollimated light beams from the light source (104) to the sector.

3. The light assembly (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the plurality of collimating section (408) forms the step profile.

4. The light assembly (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the light source (104) comprises:
a printed circuit board (PCB) (202); and
a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) (204) installed radially on the PCB (202), wherein each LED (204) is coaxial to a corresponding light well (410).

5. The light assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a lens installed on a periphery of the housing (102) and in front of the collimator (106), wherein the lens is adapted to focus collimated light beams from the collimator (106).

6. The light assembly (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the lens is installed on the housing (102) by ultrasonic welding and edges of the collimator (106) are sandwiched between the lens and periphery of the housing (102).

7. A two-wheeler comprising:
a blinker assembly (100) installed on a frame of the two-wheeler, the blinker assembly (100) comprising:
a housing (102);
a light source (104) adapted to provide uncollimated light beams; and
a collimator (106) installed in front of the light source (104), the collimator (106) comprising:
a rear face (404) facing the light source (104);
a front face (402) opposite to the rear face (404);
an opaque region (108) formed at a center of the collimator (106) and extending between the rear face (404) and the front face (402), the opaque region (108) including a symbol; and
a light transmission region (114) formed radially around the opaque region (108) and extending between the rear face (404) and the front face (402), the light transmission region (114) having a step profile on the front face (402) and adapted to collimate the light emitted by the light source (104).

8. The two-wheeler as claimed in claim 7, wherein the light transmission region (114) comprising:
a plurality of sectors (406) formed on the front face (402) around the opaque region (108), each of the plurality of sectors (406) including a plurality of collimating section (408) adapted to form parallel light beams; and
a plurality of light wells (410) formed on the rear face (404) for the plurality of sectors (406), wherein a light well (410) is coaxial to a corresponding sector (406) and is adapted to direct uncollimated light beams from the light source (104) to the sector:

9. The two-wheeler as claimed in claim 8, wherein the plurality of collimating section (408) forms the step profile.

10. The two-wheeler as claimed in claim 7, comprising a lens installed on a periphery of the housing (102) and in front of the collimator (106), wherein the lens is adapted to focus collimated light beam from the collimator (106).