# US 12,760,859 B2 · Automotive lighting unit > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,760,859 B2 - Document ID: US12760859B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 19/331,538 - Filed: 2025-09-17 - Published: 2026-03-19 - Granted: 2026-10-13 - Earliest claimed: 2024-09-17 - Assignees: Marelli Automotive Lighting Italy S.p.A. Con Socio Unico - Applicants: Marelli Automotive Lighting Italy S.p.A. Con Socio Unico - Inventors: Guido Macorini; Marco Svettini - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12760859B2 ## CPC - F21S 43/401: {the refractors and the reflectors being distinct parts} - F21S 43/14: Light emitting diodes [LED] - F21S 43/26231: {collimating, focusing, condensing or projecting beams, e.g. projection lenses or Fresnel lenses} - F21S 43/26261: {Single refractor combining two or more properties of the groups F21S43/26211 - F21S43/26251 on opposite sides} - F21S: NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS ## Abstract An automotive lighting unit comprising: a rear casing adapted to be fixed to the vehicle; a front half-shell with a substantially transparent structure, which is arranged to close the mouth of said rear casing; and at least one lighting assembly, which is located inside the rear casing so as to backlight the front half-shell and comprises Kohler optics, which is interposed between the light source and the front half-shell, so as to be crossed by the light beam coming from the light source, and is structured so as to give, to the light beam reaching the front half-shell, a pre-established shape determined by the shape of the lenses that contribute to form said Kohler optics. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An automotive lighting unit comprising: a rear casing adapted to be fixed to the vehicle; a front half-shell with a substantially transparent structure, which is arranged to close the mouth of said rear casing; and at least one lighting assembly, which is located inside the rear casing and is adapted to backlight a corresponding transparent or semi-transparent sector of the front half-shell comprises: a light source, which is placed inside the casing and is adapted to emit and direct a light beam towards the front half-shell; and, a Kohler optics, which is interposed between the light source and the front half-shell, so as to be crossed by the light beam arriving from the light source, and is structured so as to give, to the light beam reaching the front half-shell, a pre-established shape determined by the shape of the lenses that contribute to form said Kohler optics. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein said Kohler optics is provided with a light-inlet face that faces the light source and comprises a series of first converging lenses having their focus on the side opposite said light source, and a light-outlet face, opposite said light-inlet face, that faces the front half-shell and comprises an array of second converging lenses having their focus on the side opposite said front half-shell; each first converging lens of said light-inlet face being aligned and opposite to a respective second converging lens of said light-outlet face and being furthermore shaped so that its focus is placed on the same second converging lens of the light-outlet face, and vice versa. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 2, wherein the first converging lenses of said light-inlet face have substantially the same shape as the second converging lenses of said light-outlet face. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 2, wherein the first converging lenses of the light-inlet face and/or the second converging lenses of the light-outlet face are substantially rhomboidal in shape. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 2, wherein the first converging lenses of the light-inlet face and/or the second converging lenses of the light-outlet face have a spherical geometry. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 2, wherein Kohler optics comprises a transparent body with a substantially rigid structure, which has a first face turned towards said light source and a second face opposite said first face and turned towards said front half-shell; the surface of said first face having a first bossage profile with a complex three-dimensional structure comprising a plurality of first convex lenticular protrusions arranged adjacent to one another; the surface of said second face having a second bossage profile with a complex three-dimensional structure comprising a plurality of second convex lenticular protrusions arranged adjacent to one another. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 6, wherein each second convex lenticular protrusion is aligned to a respective first convex lenticular protrusion. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 6, wherein the shape of the perimeter of said second convex lenticular protrusions is substantially the same as the shape of the perimeter of said first convex lenticular protrusions. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 6, wherein said first and/or second convex lenticular protrusions have a spherical geometry. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 6, wherein the shape of said first bossage profile with a complex three-dimensional structure is substantially the same as the shape of said second bossage profile with a complex three-dimensional structure. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein said light source is structured so as to direct, towards said Kohler optics, a light beam substantially collimated in a predetermined direction. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein said light source comprises: a reflector body, which is located inside the rear casing, behind the Kohler optics, and has a concave reflecting surface oriented so as to reflect the incident light towards the facing Kohler optics; and an electrically-powered light emitting device, which emits light on command and is placed inside the rear casing, beside the reflector body, so as to direct the generated light towards the concave reflecting surface of said reflector body. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 12, wherein said light emitting device includes one or more LEDs. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein said light source is structured so as to support said Kohler optics. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein said Kohler optics is structured to shape the light beam coming from said light source so that it complies with the photometric type-approval specifications provided for the rear fog light. ### Claim 16 (depends on 3) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 3, wherein the first converging lenses of the light-inlet face and/or the second converging lenses of the light-outlet face are substantially rhomboidal in shape. ### Claim 17 (depends on 3) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 3, wherein the first converging lenses of the light-inlet face and/or the second converging lenses of the light-outlet face have a spherical geometry. ### Claim 18 (depends on 4) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 4, wherein the first converging lenses of the light-inlet face and/or the second converging lenses of the light-outlet face have a spherical geometry. ### Claim 19 (depends on 7) The automotive lighting unit according to claim 7, wherein the shape of the perimeter of said second convex lenticular protrusions is substantially the same as the shape of the perimeter of said first convex lenticular protrusions.