Patents by Inventor Benjamin WILLEKE

Benjamin WILLEKE has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240117949
    Abstract: A Fresnel projection lens for a headlight of a motor vehicle having a light entry surface, wherein the light entry surface has a smooth or substantially smooth surface, and with a light exit surface. The light exit surface has a plurality of adjacent, in particular annular, flanks, wherein one flank each comprises a bottom, an effective facet, and an interfering facet arranged at a first pitch angle to the effective facet. The effective facet and the interfering facet form a cut edge opposite the bottom. A pass-through area is provided on at least one of the flanks, wherein the pass-through area is angled to the effective facet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2023
    Publication date: April 11, 2024
    Applicant: HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Carmen BUNGENSTOCK, Mathias DRUEPPEL, Gerhard KLOOS, Philip STROOP, Benjamin WILLEKE
  • Patent number: 11815241
    Abstract: A lighting device for a vehicle, in particular a headlight, including a light source, from which light emerges in operation of the lighting device, a collimation optical system having an incident face and an emergent face, which the light emerging from the light source passes through, a projection optical system having a first array of lenses and a second array of lenses, wherein the light emerging from the collimation optical system first passes through the first array of lenses and after that through the second array of lenses, as well as a diaphragm, which the light passes through, wherein the diaphragm is arranged in front of the first array of lenses, so that in operation of the lighting device the light does not strike the first array of lenses until after passing through the diaphragm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Bernd Fischer, Benjamin Willeke
  • Patent number: 11802674
    Abstract: A lighting device is provided for a motor vehicle. The lighting device comprises at least one imaging component with at least one active surface, on which imaging elements for the generation of pixels of a light distribution are arranged matrix-like. The lighting device further comprises a light-guiding optics having at least one entry surface and one exit surface. During operation of the lighting device, the light emanating from the at least one active surface enters the light-guiding optics through the at least one entry surface and exits the light-guiding optics through the exit surface. The exit surface has a different shape and/or a different size than the at least one active surface, and/or a plurality of active surfaces and only one exit surface or a plurality of adjacent exit surfaces are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Karsten Eichhorn, Markus Giehl, Daniela Karthaus, Christian Schmidt, Benjamin Willeke
  • Patent number: 11762128
    Abstract: A method for producing an aperture array for a microlens array, in particular for a microlens array of a vehicle headlamp, comprising at least the following steps: providing a wafer having a microlens array arranged on a first wafer surface, masking a second wafer surface of the wafer by means of a shadow mask, wherein the shadow mask includes a negative of the aperture array, coating the masked wafer surface with an opaque layer, removing the shadow mask and obtaining the aperture array on the second wafer surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: William Castellon Rivera, Benjamin Willeke
  • Patent number: 11725794
    Abstract: A lighting module for use in a lighting device for a vehicle, having at least one light source unit, a first optical unit and a second optical unit as well as at least one support element, wherein the light source unit comprises at least one light source, and wherein at least the first optical unit and the second optical unit are arranged, in particular in a positionally fixed manner, on the support element, and wherein at least one first reference mark is provided on the first optical unit and at least one second reference mark on the second optical unit. In addition, the invention relates to a lighting device as well as to a method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Bernd Fischer, Benjamin Willeke
  • Patent number: 11719405
    Abstract: A lighting device having a light source, an optical element associated with the light source and designed as a reflection lens which, in a central region accommodating an optical axis of the optical element, has a lens section which has a first coupling-in surface on a coupling-in side and a first coupling-out surface on a coupling-out side. The light source is tilted and/or is arranged rotated about the optical axis in the plane running perpendicular to the optical axis, with the formation of an obliquely running edge of the light source, and the first coupling-in surface, the second coupling-in surface, the reflection surface, the first coupling-out surface, and/or the second coupling-out surface of the optical element are shaped in such a way that the predetermined light distribution is produced with imaging of the edge of the light source as a cut-off line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Carmen Bungenstock, Gerhard Kloos, Alfons Puls, Philip Stroop, Benjamin Willeke
  • Publication number: 20230160554
    Abstract: A lighting module for use in a lighting device for a vehicle, having at least one light source unit, a first optical unit and a second optical unit as well as at least one support element, wherein the light source unit comprises at least one light source, and wherein at least the first optical unit and the second optical unit are arranged, in particular in a positionally fixed manner, on the support element, and wherein at least one first reference mark is provided on the first optical unit and at least one second reference mark on the second optical unit. In addition, the invention relates to a lighting device as well as to a method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2022
    Publication date: May 25, 2023
    Applicant: HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Bernd FISCHER, Benjamin WILLEKE
  • Publication number: 20230160552
    Abstract: A lighting device having a light source, an optical element associated with the light source and designed as a reflection lens which, in a central region accommodating an optical axis of the optical element, has a lens section which has a first coupling-in surface on a coupling-in side and a first coupling-out surface on a coupling-out side. The light source is tilted and/or is arranged rotated about the optical axis in the plane running perpendicular to the optical axis, with the formation of an obliquely running edge of the light source, and the first coupling-in surface, the second coupling-in surface, the reflection surface, the first coupling-out surface, and/or the second coupling-out surface of the optical element are shaped in such a way that the predetermined light distribution is produced with imaging of the edge of the light source as a cut-off line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2022
    Publication date: May 25, 2023
    Applicant: HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Carmen BUNGENSTOCK, Gerhard KLOOS, Alfons PULS, Philip STROOP, Benjamin WILLEKE
  • Patent number: 11519583
    Abstract: A lighting apparatus for vehicles, comprising a light source and comprising an optical unit for generating a specified light distribution, wherein the optical unit has an optical element with a light entry surface for coupling in light emitted by the light source and with a light exit surface, disposed at a distance from the light entry surface, for coupling out the light that has been input coupled at the light entry surface and guided along the principal light guiding direction within the optical element, wherein the optical element is embodied as a layered body with a plurality of layers, wherein at least a number of the layers respectively have sections of materials with different refractive indices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Guenther Fischer, Benjamin Willeke
  • Publication number: 20220364702
    Abstract: A lighting device for a vehicle, in particular a headlight, including a light source, from which light emerges in operation of the lighting device, a collimation optical system having an incident face and an emergent face, which the light emerging from the light source passes through, a projection optical system having a first array of lenses and a second array of lenses, wherein the light emerging from the collimation optical system first passes through the first array of lenses and after that through the second array of lenses, as well as a diaphragm, which the light passes through, wherein the diaphragm is arranged in front of the first array of lenses, so that in operation of the lighting device the light does not strike the first array of lenses until after passing through the diaphragm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2022
    Publication date: November 17, 2022
    Applicant: HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Bernd FISCHER, Benjamin WILLEKE
  • Publication number: 20220283364
    Abstract: A display device for a motor vehicle is provided. The display device includes at least one display with a display surface for displaying content via a plurality of pixels. The display device comprises a light-guiding lens with at least one entry surface and an exit surface. During operation of the display device the light emitted from the display surface enters the light-guiding lens through the at least one entry surface and is emitted by an exit surface, such that the content is shown on the exit surface. In one embodiment, the exit surface features a different shape. In another embodiment, the exit surface is a different size than the at least one display surface. In another embodiment, the display device comprises several displays with display surfaces at distances to each other, and the light-guiding lens features merely one exit surface or several exit surfaces directly adjoining each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2022
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: Karsten Eichhorn, Markus Giehl, Daniela Karthaus, Christian Schmidt, Benjamin Willeke
  • Publication number: 20220260223
    Abstract: A lighting device is provided for a motor vehicle. The lighting device comprises at least one imaging component with at least one active surface, on which imaging elements for the generation of pixels of a light distribution are arranged matrix-like. The lighting device further comprises a light-guiding optics having at least one entry surface and one exit surface. During operation of the lighting device, the light emanating from the at least one active surface enters the light-guiding optics through the at least one entry surface and exits the light-guiding optics through the exit surface. The exit surface has a different shape and/or a different size than the at least one active surface, and/or a plurality of active surfaces and only one exit surface or a plurality of adjacent exit surfaces are provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2022
    Publication date: August 18, 2022
    Inventors: Karsten Eichhorn, Marcus Giehl, Daniela Karthaus, Christian Schmidt, Benjamin Willeke
  • Patent number: 11359784
    Abstract: A lighting device for a motor vehicle, in particular a headlamp, comprising at least two, preferably three, light sources, from which light emanates during the operation of the lighting device, the light of each of the light sources differing from that of the other light sources with regard to its wavelength spectrum, comprising modulator, which bring about a modulation of the light emanating from the light sources during the operation of the lighting device, so that information is transmitted by the light, the lighting device having a mixer for mixing the light emanating from the individual light sources, so that white light emerges from the lighting device during the operation of the lighting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Mathias Drueppel, David Duhme, Kai Ehlert, Bernd Fischer, Julien Hansen, Marc Kaup, Lukas Poertner, Claas Tebruegge, Benjamin Willeke, Jan-Henning Willrodt
  • Publication number: 20220075099
    Abstract: A method for producing an aperture array for a microlens array, in particular for a microlens array of a vehicle headlamp, comprising at least the following steps: providing a wafer having a microlens array arranged on a first wafer surface, masking a second wafer surface of the wafer by means of a shadow mask, wherein the shadow mask includes a negative of the aperture array, coating the masked wafer surface with an opaque layer, removing the shadow mask and obtaining the aperture array on the second wafer surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2021
    Publication date: March 10, 2022
    Applicant: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: William CASTELLON-RIVERA, Benjamin WILLEKE
  • Patent number: 11254256
    Abstract: A method for detecting misadjustments of a headlamp of a vehicle and to a device for this purpose. It is provided that the vehicle is provided with a detector with which at least one light signal of another road user is detected, and wherein the vehicle is equipped with a control unit with which light signal information of the detector is captured and by means of which adjustment information for correcting the misadjustment of the headlamp is output as a function of the captured light signal information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Mathias Drueppel, David Duhme, Kai Ehlert, Bernd Fischer, Julien Hansen, Marc Kaup, Lukas Poertner, Claas Tebruegge, Benjamin Willeke, Jan-Henning Willrodt
  • Publication number: 20220003381
    Abstract: A lighting apparatus for vehicles, comprising a light source and comprising an optical unit for generating a specified light distribution, wherein the optical unit has an optical element with a light entry surface for coupling in light emitted by the light source and with a light exit surface, disposed at a distance from the light entry surface, for coupling out the light that has been input coupled at the light entry surface and guided along the principal light guiding direction within the optical element, wherein the optical element is embodied as a layered body with a plurality of layers, wherein at least a number of the layers respectively have sections of materials with different refractive indices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2021
    Publication date: January 6, 2022
    Applicant: HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Guenther FISCHER, Benjamin WILLEKE
  • Patent number: 11098871
    Abstract: A headlamp for vehicles comprising at least one light source for generating at least one light beam, a scanning device for one-dimensionally scanning the at least one light beam bidirectionally in a scanning direction, and an array of optical elements arranged side by side in a direction that corresponds to the scanning direction so that the at least one light beam impinges on the optical elements successively. At least some of the optical elements are designed to expand the at least one light beam in a direction perpendicular to the direction, in which the optical elements are arranged side by side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Marcel Bursy, Markus Giehl, Julien Hansen, Marc Kaup, Thomas Rettweiler, Christian Schmidt, Christian Smarslik, Philip Stroop, Carsten Wilks, Benjamin Willeke
  • Patent number: 10948153
    Abstract: A lighting apparatus for an automated or partially automated vehicle, having a light module, which contains a light source unit having a number of light sources and an optical unit assigned to the light source unit for generating a light signal, a surroundings sensor unit for detecting road users in surroundings of the vehicle, a control unit for controlling the light module, so that the light module generates the light signal as a function of the road users detected by the surroundings sensor unit and/or a relative position thereof with respect to the vehicle, the light module being positioned in a defined location of the vehicle and being designed in such a way that the light signal may be radiated at different horizontal and/or vertical spatial angles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Bernd Fischer, Marc Kaup, Diana Mundt, Benjamin Willeke, Jan-Henning Willrodt
  • Publication number: 20200393106
    Abstract: A headlamp for vehicles comprising at least one light source for generating at least one light beam, a scanning device for one-dimensionally scanning the at least one light beam bidirectionally in a scanning direction, and an array of optical elements arranged side by side in a direction that corresponds to the scanning direction so that the at least one light beam impinges on the optical elements successively. At least some of the optical elements are designed to expand the at least one light beam in a direction perpendicular to the direction, in which the optical elements are arranged side by side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2017
    Publication date: December 17, 2020
    Inventors: Marcel Bursy, Markus Giehl, Julien Hansen, Marc Kaup, Thomas Rettweiler, Christian Schmidt, Christian Smarslik, Philip Stroop, Carsten Wilks, Benjamin Willeke
  • Publication number: 20200295523
    Abstract: A laser light source unit for vehicles, with a resonator containing a first end mirror and a second end mirror, between which an active laser medium is arranged, and with a pump device for generating pump radiation, which can be introduced into the resonator via the first end mirror, wherein a rotatable birefringent medium is arranged in the resonator such that, according to a rotation of the birefringent medium, preferred radiation of different wavelengths is stimulated in the active laser medium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2020
    Publication date: September 17, 2020
    Applicant: HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventors: Mathias DRUEPPEL, David DUHME, Kai EHLERT, Bernd FISCHER, Julien HANSEN, Marc KAUP, Lukas POERTNER, Claas TEBRUEGGE, Benjamin WILLEKE, Jan-Henning WILLRODT