Lacks Enterprises, Inc.

Dave Walters

Aaron Johnson

A decorative component for an automobile includes a carrier, a light source, a lens, and a cover. The lens is made of silicone material that is UV resistant, and does not include a UV resistant hardcoat. The silicone lens is flexible and covers the light source, and also seals against the carrier structure. The cover is sized to cover a portion of the lens, leaving an uncovered portion of the lens from which light from the light source will be transmitted and made visible. The lens may be formed by reactive injection molding, including a liquid silicone resin with low viscosity, such that the liquid silicone resin reaches small crevices within the mold cavity. A surface of the mold may include fine detail engraving, replicated in the formed solid of the lens, which may provide aesthetic features and/or light diffusion. The silicone resin may also include a diffusion agent.

Silicone lensing for aesthetic automotive trim lighting

A light assembly includes a light source and a lens. The lens includes a hardcoat surface that protects the lens. The light source is positioned close to the lens, and a microtexture is defined in the hardcoat material to increase diffusion of the light to overcome the limitations of the close spacing between the lens and the light source. The hardcoat material and microtexture may be applied to both sides of the lens or one side of the lens. The light source may be a plurality of spaced apart LEDs. The microtexture may be applied to the entire surface of the lens or select regions of the lens. The microtexture is defined after the hardcoat is applied, and is defined via removal or disruption of hardcoat material. The microtexture may be defined in different ways to vary the appearance of the microtexture.

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Caledonia, MI, United States of America

Dave Walters