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US-12628250-B2 - Illuminated body for a lamp of a vehicle, lamp of a vehicle and method for setting an electric current of a light source of an illuminated body

US12628250B2US 12628250 B2US12628250 B2US 12628250B2US-12628250-B2

Abstract

An illuminated body is provided for a lamp of a vehicle, and includes at least one carrier body, at least one light source arranged on the carrier body, at least one sensor unit for detecting a temperature, and at least one control unit for setting an electric current of the light source for emitting the light of the light source as a function of the temperature detected by the sensor unit. The control unit is at least designed to set for a first temperature range (B 1 ) the electric current of the light source as a function of the temperature detected by the sensor unit on the basis of a first control section (A 1 ) of a control curve (C 1 ) and for a second temperature range (B 2 ) on the basis of a second control section (A 2 ) of the control curve (C 1 ).

Inventors

  • Martin Dobrescu
  • Christian Schlump
  • Patrick Vogel

Assignees

  • HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20230913
Priority Date
20210316

Claims (18)

  1. 1 . An illuminated body for a lamp of a vehicle, the illuminated body comprising: at least one carrier body; at least one light source arranged on the at least one carrier body for emitting light; at least one sensor unit for detecting a temperature of the at least one light source; and at least one control unit for setting an electric current of the at least one light source for emitting the light of the at least one light source as a function of the temperature detected by the at least one sensor unit, wherein the at least one control unit sets, for a first temperature range (B 1 ), the electric current of the at least one light source as a function of the temperature detected by the at least one sensor unit on the basis of a first control section (A 1 ) of a control curve (C 1 ), wherein the at least one control unit sets, for a second temperature range (B 2 ) differing from the first temperature range (B 1 ), the electric current of the at least one light source as a function of the temperature detected by the at least one sensor unit on the basis of a second control section (A 2 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) differing from the first control section (A 1 ), wherein the at least one light source comprises multiple light sources for emitting the light, wherein the at least one sensor unit is configured to detect an average temperature or essentially an average temperature of the light sources, wherein the at least one control unit is configured to determine a light source of the light sources having a closest temperature to the average temperature, and wherein the at least one control unit is configured to set the electric current of the light sources as a function of the temperature of the light source having the closest temperature to the average temperature.
  2. 2 . The illuminated body in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first control section (A 1 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) includes a first control behavior for setting the electric current of the light sources and the second control section (A 2 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) includes a second control behavior differing from the first control behavior.
  3. 3 . The illuminated body in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the control curve (C 1 ) represents an allocation regulation to allocate, to the average temperature of the light sources detected by the at least one sensor unit, an electric current for setting the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light of the light sources.
  4. 4 . The illuminated body in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one control unit, at least in certain ranges in the first temperature range (B 1 ) in the event of a detected change in the average temperature of the light sources, changes the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the first control section (A 1 ) of the control curve (C 1 ).
  5. 5 . The illuminated body in accordance with claim 4 , wherein in the event of a detected average temperature increase of the light sources, the at least one control unit increases the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the first control section (A 1 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) and/or, in the event of a detected average temperature decrease of the light sources, the at least one control unit decreases the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the first control section (A 1 ) of the control curve (C 1 ).
  6. 6 . The illuminated body in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one control unit maintains, at least in certain ranges in the second temperature range (B 2 ) in the event of a detected change in the average temperature of the light sources, the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the second control section (A 2 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) constant or essentially constant.
  7. 7 . The illuminated body in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one control unit sets, for a third temperature range (B 3 ) differing from the first temperature range (B 1 ) and the second temperature range (B 2 ), the electric current of the light sources as a function of the average temperature of the light sources detected by the at least one sensor unit on a third control section (A 3 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) differing from the second control section (A 2 ) and the first control section (A 1 ).
  8. 8 . The illuminated body ( 10 ) in accordance with claim 7 , wherein the at least one control unit, at least in certain ranges in the third temperature range (B 3 ) in the event of a detected change in the average temperature of the light sources, changes the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the third control section (A 3 ) of the control curve (C 1 ), wherein in the event of a detected average temperature increase of the light sources, the at least one control unit decreases the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the third control section (A 3 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) and/or, in the event of a detected average temperature decrease of the light sources, the at least one control unit increases the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the first control section (A 3 ) of the control curve (C 1 ).
  9. 9 . The illuminated body in accordance with claim 7 , wherein the second temperature range (B 2 ) is between the first temperature range (B 1 ) and the third temperature range (B 3 ).
  10. 10 . The illuminated body in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor unit for detecting the average temperature of the light sources is arranged on the at least one carrier body.
  11. 11 . A lamp of a vehicle, wherein the lamp comprises: a housing body, and at least one illuminated body in accordance with claim 1 arranged on the housing body.
  12. 12 . The illuminated body in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one control unit is configured to determine the light source having the closest temperature to the average temperature via thermography.
  13. 13 . A method for setting an electric current of multiple light sources of an illuminated body for a lamp of a vehicle, wherein the illuminated body is in accordance with claim 1 , the method comprising: detecting an average temperature of the light sources by the at least one sensor unit of the illuminated body; receiving, by the at least one control unit of the illuminated body, the detected average temperature from the at least one sensor unit of the illuminated body ( 10 ); determining, by the at least one control unit, a light source of the light sources having a closest temperature to the average temperature; and at least one of: setting the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light for the first temperature range (B 1 ) on the basis of the first control section (A 1 ) of the control curve (C 1 ), wherein an electric current is allocated to the detected average temperature by an allocation regulation as a control curve (C 1 ), and/or setting of the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light for the second temperature range (B 2 ) on the basis of the second control section (A 2 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) differing from the first control section (A 1 ), wherein an electric current is allocated to the detected average temperature by means of an allocation regulation as a control curve (C 1 ); wherein the at least one control unit sets the electric current of the light sources as a function of the temperature of the light source having the closest temperature to the average temperature.
  14. 14 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the at least one control unit, at least in certain ranges in the second temperature range (B 1 ) in the event of a detected change in the average temperature of the light sources, changes the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the first control section (A 1 ) of the control curve (C 1 ), and wherein the at least one control unit, in the event of a detected average temperature increase of the light sources, increases the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the first control section (A 1 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) and/or, in the event of a detected average temperature decrease of the light sources, decreases the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the first control section (A 1 ) of the control curve (C 1 ).
  15. 15 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the at least one control unit, at least in certain ranges in the second temperature range (B 2 ) in the event of a detected change in the average temperature of the light sources, maintains the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the second control section (A 2 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) constant or essentially constant.
  16. 16 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the at least one control unit, at least in certain ranges in a third temperature range (B 3 ) differing from the first temperature range (B 1 ) and the second temperature range (B 2 ) in the event of a detected change in the average temperature of the light sources, changes the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of a third control section (A 3 ) of the control curve (C 1 ), wherein in the event of a detected average temperature increase of the light sources, decreases the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the third control section (A 3 ) of the control curve (C 1 ) and/or, in the event of a detected average temperature decrease of the light sources, increases the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light on the basis of the third control section (A 3 ) of the control curve (C 1 ).
  17. 17 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the at least one control unit, in the event of a detected change in the average temperature of the light sources, incrementally sets the electric current of the light sources for emitting the light by the at least one control unit to an electric current allocated to the detected average temperature.
  18. 18 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the at least one control unit determines the light source having the closest temperature to the average temperature via thermography.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE This application claims priority to PCT Application No. PCT/EP2022/055620, filed Mar. 4, 2022, which itself claims priority to German Application No. 10 2021 106327.2, filed Mar. 16, 2021 and to German Application No. 10 2021 113177.4, filed May 20, 2021, the entireties of both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an illuminated body for a lamp of a vehicle, a lamp of a vehicle and a method for setting an electric current of a light source of an illuminated body. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Nowadays, lamps of a vehicle, such as a headlamp or a rear lamp, fulfill several functions. The rear lamp can, for example, comprise a reverse lamp and/or a direction indicator light and/or a stop light and/or a tail light and/or a rear fog light and/or a reflex reflector. Alongside halogen lamps, xenon lamps and increasingly lamps with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for emitting light are available on the market. For the lamps, a notable role is played not only by legal aspects of the lamp, for example light values according to statutory regulations (ECE, CCC, SAE) to be complied with but also technical aspects, for example the lifetime of the lamp. A luminous flux emitted by a light-emitting diode as a light source can depend on a temperature of the light-emitting diode, wherein the temperature of the light-emitting diode itself can depend on external influences, such as an ambient temperature. Furthermore, the luminous flux emitted by the light-emitting diode can depend on the electric current of the light source for emitting the light. Alongside the luminous flux, the lifetime of the light-emitting diode can also depend on the temperature of the light-emitting diode. Current lamps at least comply with these two aspects, in particular a compromise between these two aspects, only in a suboptimal manner. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The purpose of this invention is to remedy at least some of the aforementioned disadvantages. In particular, it is the task of the present in particular to generate or set in a particularly simple and/or cost-effective manner a luminous flux of a light source of an illuminated body or of a lamp across a specifiable temperature range, in particular across an operating temperature range, of the illuminated body or of the lamp in a particularly advantageous manner. Furthermore, it is in particular the task of the invention to generate or set a luminous flux of at least one light source of an illuminated body or of a lamp across at least one specifiable temperature range, in particular across an operating temperature range, of the illuminated body or the lamp in such a way that the luminous flux complies with specifiable values and/or technical threshold values of the illuminated body or the lamp, such as a specifiable lifetime and/or a maximum temperature of the illuminated body or the lamp, in particular of a light source, are complied with. The aforementioned task is solved by an illuminated body and a lamp, as well as by a method as described herein. The features and details described in the context of the inventive illuminated body also apply in the context of the inventive lamp and/or the inventive method, and vice versa in each case, so that any disclosed information regarding individual aspects of the invention refer to and/or can refer to either. According to a first aspect, the present invention depicts an illuminated body for a lamp of a vehicle, in particular for a lamp of a motor vehicle, wherein the illuminated body features at least a carrier body and at least one light source arranged on the carrier body for emitting light, and at least one sensor unit for detecting a temperature of the illuminated body. Furthermore, the illuminated body comprises at least one control unit for setting an electric current of the light source for emitting the light of the light source as a function of the temperature detected by the sensor unit, wherein the control unit at least designed to set for a first temperature range the electric current of the light source as a function of the temperature detected by the sensor unit on the basis of a first control section of a control curve and wherein the control unit is designed to set for a second temperature range differing from the first temperature range the electric current of the light source as a function of the temperature detected by the sensor unit on the basis of a second section of the control curve differing from the first control section. The motor vehicle is in particular an automobile. In particular, the illuminated body can be understood to be a reflector. In particular, the reflector is designed in such a way that it catches the light or the luminous flux emitted by the light source and directs it in a definable direction, for example in the direction of a traffic lane. The carrier body can feature an upper side for arranging at least an electronic componen