Overhead light console brings design flexibility to interior lighting
Fine-tuned and interactive interior lighting contributes significantly to a high-quality ambience and comfort in the vehicle. To expand the possibilities for personalised designs in this area, the partners ams Osram Automotive Lighting Systems, the thin-film technology company Kurz and the plastics manufacturer Syntech Plastics have developed an Overhead Light Console. The complete solution is thus based on the combined expertise from the areas of intelligent lighting, plastics finishing and injection moulding technology. Together, the partners offer a modern lighting element with an elegant, completely closed decorative look.
“The Overhead Light Console not only provides vehicle occupants with particularly comfortable light to illuminate their respective areas, but also allows them to flexibly adapt it to their personal needs – thanks to matrix light as well as static or semi-dynamic logo projectors,” Tobias Huber, Group Manager ADMA at ams Osram Automotive Lighting Systems, explains the added value of the console.
The product is equipped with matrix LED spots whose size and white tones can be individually adjusted for pleasant reading lighting. In addition, the module enables various welcome and entertainment scenarios in the entire RGB colour palette. Thus, the static or optionally semi-dynamic projector in the module can be used to cast individual motifs onto different surfaces to convey information, designs or animations. In addition, the light animations integrated into the module and matched to the design of the decorative surface can be adapted to different driving situations or vehicle interactions. The light structures in the décor are basically invisible and only light up, for example, when there is an incoming call – and this matches the ambient lighting. In this way, the Overhead Light Console offers numerous possibilities for personalising the entire front area in the vehicle interior.
The console features an integrated capacitive touch sensor system that replaces traditional buttons, providing a seamless interface. Particularly noteworthy is the high transparency of the touch sensor system, which, among other things, is located directly above the matrix light and is illuminated by it, so that it can be activated with an intuitive touch of the exit aperture. With its high integration capability, the Overhead Light Console can also be easily expanded with additional functions such as haptic feedback via a piezo actuator, Proof Control and Hands Free for more complex applications.
An in-mould decoration process is used for the decoration unit, which is not only significantly more economical than conventional manufacturing methods, but also more sustainable. This is achieved, among other things, by combining various work steps into a one-shot process, which leads to a certain reduction in CO2 emissions. Neither the touch sensors, which replace all the previously necessary switches and buttons, nor the decorative layers have a detrimental effect on the recyclability of the component, the supplier promises. Further CO2 savings can be achieved if recycled materials are used in the injection moulding process. Depending on the customer’s requirements, these can either be visually accentuated by a corresponding finish or concealed under a wafer-thin layer of lacquer.