CN209893300U

CN209893300U - Spatial light modulation unit

Info

Publication number: CN209893300U
Application number: CN201920611547.3U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 佐藤隆芳
Original assignee: Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-09-07
Filing date: 2019-04-29
Publication date: 2020-01-03
Anticipated expiration: 2029-04-29
Also published as: CN110887014B; CN110887014A; JP7211739B2; JP2020042929A

Abstract

In a spatial light modulation unit for vehicle mounting provided with a reflective spatial light modulator, damage to a connection portion between the spatial light modulator and a support substrate due to a vibration load or the like is effectively suppressed. A support substrate is arranged on the cell rear side of the spatial light modulator, and configured to support a peripheral edge portion of the spatial light modulator via a receptacle in an electrically connected state with the spatial light modulator. Further, a holder is configured to be disposed on the front side of the unit with respect to the spatial light modulator, and to be in contact with the peripheral edge portion. The holding members are fixed to the holder in a state where the holding members holding the support substrate from both sides in the front-rear direction of the unit are attached to a plurality of locations of the support substrate. Thus, even when a vibration load or an impact load acts on the spatial light modulation cell, the positional relationship in the cell front-rear direction between the support substrate and the holder does not deviate.

Description

Spatial light modulation unit

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a spatial light modulation unit for vehicle mounting, which is provided with a reflective spatial light modulator.

Background

Conventionally, as a spatial light modulation unit for vehicle mounting, a spatial light modulation unit including a reflective spatial light modulator is known. For example, "patent document 1" describes a spatial light modulation unit as a vehicle lamp, the spatial light modulation unit including a spatial light modulator configured to reflect light from a light source toward a projection lens.

In addition, conventionally, as a structure of a spatial light modulation unit including a reflective spatial light modulator, a structure in which the spatial light modulator is electrically connected to a support substrate that supports a peripheral portion of the spatial light modulator from a unit rear side is known.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2016-91976

In the spatial light modulation unit described in the above-mentioned "patent document 1", various light distribution patterns as a vehicle lamp can be formed with high accuracy by controlling the spatial distribution of the reflected light by the spatial light modulator.

However, if the spatial light modulation unit including the reflective spatial light modulator is configured such that the holder abutting the peripheral edge portion from the cell front side is arranged on the cell front side with respect to the spatial light modulator, the electrical connection between the spatial light modulator and the support substrate can be stably maintained.

However, when such a structure is directly applied to a spatial light modulation unit for vehicle mounting, the following problems arise.

That is, since a vibration load or an impact load acts on the spatial light modulator unit for mounting on the vehicle when the vehicle is traveling, the positional relationship between the support substrate for supporting the spatial light modulator and the bracket is likely to be deviated. Further, if the positional relationship between the support substrate and the holder is deviated, an unreasonable load may be applied to the connection portion between the spatial light modulator and the support substrate, and the connection portion may be broken.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a spatial light modulation unit capable of effectively suppressing damage to a connection portion between a spatial light modulator and a support substrate due to a vibration load or the like in an in-vehicle spatial light modulation unit including a reflective spatial light modulator.

The utility model discloses an implement the research to spatial light modulator's supporting structure, realize above-mentioned purpose and accomplish.

That is, the present invention provides a spatial light modulation unit for vehicle use including a reflective spatial light modulator for reflecting light from a light source,

a support substrate arranged on the cell rear side of the spatial light modulator and configured to support a peripheral portion of the spatial light modulator from the cell rear side in a state of being electrically connected to the spatial light modulator,

a holder which is arranged on the front side of the unit with respect to the spatial light modulator and abuts on the peripheral edge of the spatial light modulator from the front side of the unit,

clamping members for clamping the supporting substrate from both sides in the front-back direction of the unit are mounted on a plurality of positions of the supporting substrate,

each of the holding members is fixed to the bracket.

The "spatial light modulation unit" is not particularly limited in specific application as long as it is mounted on a vehicle, and for example, it can be used for a function of forming a light distribution pattern in a vehicle lamp, a function of generating image information in a head-up display (HUD), or the like.

The "spatial light modulator" is not particularly limited as long as the spatial distribution of the reflected light can be controlled when the light from the light source is reflected, and for example, a structure using a digital micromirror or a structure using a reflective liquid crystal can be employed.

The "cell front-rear direction" refers to a direction orthogonal to the reflected light control region of the spatial light modulator, and the front surface side of the reflected light control region is the "cell front side" and the rear surface side of the reflected light control region is the "cell rear side".

The direction of reflection of light from the light source by the "spatial light modulator" may be a direction perpendicular to or oblique to the reflection light control region of the spatial light modulator.

The "support substrate" is configured to support the peripheral portion of the spatial light modulator from the cell rear side in a state of being electrically connected to the spatial light modulator, and in this case, may be configured to directly support the peripheral portion of the spatial light modulator, or may be configured to support the peripheral portion of the spatial light modulator via another member.

The "holding member" is not particularly limited in specific holding structure and mounting position as long as it is mounted on the support substrate in a state where the support substrate is held from both sides in the front-rear direction of the unit. Further, a specific structure for fixing each of the "clip members" to the bracket is not particularly limited.

The spatial light modulation unit of the present invention is provided with a reflective spatial light modulator that reflects light from a light source, and therefore, by controlling the spatial distribution of its reflected light in this spatial light modulator, various light distribution patterns can be formed with high accuracy, or various image information can be generated with high accuracy.

In this case, the spatial light modulator is electrically connected to the support substrate that supports the peripheral edge portion of the spatial light modulator from the cell rear side, but since the holder that abuts the peripheral edge portion from the cell front side is arranged on the cell front side of the spatial light modulator, the electrical connection between the spatial light modulator and the support substrate can be stably maintained.

In addition, since the holding members for holding the support substrate from both sides in the unit longitudinal direction are attached to a plurality of locations of the support substrate, and the holding members are fixed to the holder, the support substrate and the holder can be maintained in a fixed positional relationship in the unit longitudinal direction.

Therefore, even when a vibration load or an impact load acts on the spatial light modulation cell, the positional relationship between the support substrate and the holder in the cell front-rear direction does not deviate. In addition, even when the spatial light modulator is mounted on a vehicle, it is possible to effectively prevent an unreasonable load from being applied to a connection portion between the spatial light modulator and the support substrate and the connection portion from being broken.

As described above, according to the present invention, in the in-vehicle spatial light modulation unit including the reflective spatial light modulator, it is possible to effectively suppress damage of the connection portion between the spatial light modulator and the support substrate due to a vibration load or the like.

In the above configuration, further, in addition to the configuration in which screw holes extending in the direction orthogonal to the unit longitudinal direction are formed at a plurality of locations on the bracket, and long holes extending in the unit longitudinal direction are formed in each of the clamping members, if a configuration is formed in which screws are fastened to the screw holes via the long holes, and each of the clamping members is fixed to the bracket, it is possible to form a configuration in which the support substrate is fixedly supported by the bracket in a state of being arranged at an optimum position in the unit longitudinal direction. In addition, this can further effectively suppress damage to the connection portion between the spatial light modulator and the support substrate due to a vibration load or the like.

In this case, if a guide groove portion that engages with each of the clamping members and extends in the unit front-rear direction is formed at each of a plurality of locations on the holder, the clamping members can be prevented from being accidentally rotated when the clamping members are attached to the support substrate by screw fastening. Further, the respective holding members can be mounted in an appropriate state with respect to the support substrate.

In the above configuration, if a configuration is further provided in which a plurality of portions where the respective holding members are mounted on the support substrate are set at two upper and lower portions on both left and right sides of the spatial light modulator, the support substrate can be stably fixed and supported by the holder. In addition, this can further effectively suppress damage to the connection portion between the spatial light modulator and the support substrate due to a vibration load or the like.

In the above-described configuration, if the two metal plates formed in an L-shape are welded to each other in a state where the two metal plates are arranged at an interval in the unit front-rear direction, the respective clamping members can be regarded as a simple and inexpensive configuration.

In the above configuration, if a heat sink that elastically presses the spatial light modulator toward the cell front side in a state of being in contact with the central portion of the spatial light modulator is further disposed on the cell rear side of the support substrate, heat dissipation of the spatial light modulator can be realized without applying an undue load to the spatial light modulator.

In this case, since the positional relationship between the support substrate and the holder in the cell front-rear direction is maintained constant, even when a vibration load or an impact load acts on the spatial light modulator cell, the positional relationship between the spatial light modulator and the heat sink does not deviate, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the spatial light modulator from being damaged by the load from the heat sink.

In the case of forming a structure including such a heat sink, in addition to a structure in which a plurality of stepped bolts for fixing the heat sink to the bracket are arranged around the spatial light modulator, if each stepped bolt is formed in a structure in which a bolt through hole formed in the heat sink and a bolt through hole formed in the support substrate are inserted into a large diameter portion thereof, and is in contact with the bracket at a distal end surface thereof, and is screwed to the bracket at a small diameter portion thereof, and a spring for elastically pressing the heat sink toward the front of the unit is attached to the large diameter portion thereof, it is possible to easily and stably press the spatial light modulator through the heat sink with a predetermined elastic pressing force.

In addition, in the case of forming a structure including such a heat sink, if a structure is further formed in which at least one shaft extending in the unit front-rear direction is arranged in a state in which the rear end portion of the spatial light modulator is fixed to the heat sink, a structure is formed in which at least one shaft through hole is formed in the support substrate and at least one shaft positioning hole is formed in the holder, and a structure is formed in which the front end portion of each shaft is inserted into each shaft positioning hole in a state in which each shaft through hole is arranged to be inserted, the following operational effects can be obtained.

That is, the heat sink and the bracket can be maintained in a fixed positional relationship with respect to the direction orthogonal to the unit front-rear direction due to the presence of at least one axis. Therefore, only by mounting the holding members at a plurality of locations on the support substrate, the positional relationship can be maintained even when it is difficult to maintain the support substrate and the holder in a fixed positional relationship with respect to the direction orthogonal to the unit front-rear direction. Further, the portion to which the clamping member is attached can be kept to a minimum, and the structure of each clamping member can be simplified.

The "at least one shaft" may be formed of a member different from the heat sink, or may be formed integrally with the heat sink.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle lamp in which a spatial light modulation unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention is incorporated;

FIG. 2 is a view from direction II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a detail view of section V of FIG. 2;

fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the spatial light modulation unit in an exploded manner as its constituent elements;

fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a main part of the spatial light modulation unit;

fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the lens side subassembly of the vehicle lamp together with the holder of the spatial light modulation unit;

fig. 9(a) to (d) are perspective views showing the holding member according to the first to fourth modified examples of the first embodiment;

fig. 10 is a side sectional view showing a head-up display in which a spatial light modulation unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention is incorporated.

Description of the reference numerals

2 front window

4 drivers

10. 510 spatial light modulation unit

20 spatial light modulator

20a reflection light control region

20b peripheral edge portion

20b1 location hole

20c, 22a terminal pin

22 socket

30 support substrate

30a opening part

30b bolt through hole

30c axis through hole

32. 132, 232, 332, 432 clamping component

32A, 32B, 132A, 132B, 232A, 232B, 432A, 432B metal plates

32a, 132a, 232a, 332a, 432a overlapping part

32a1 front half

32b, 132b, 232b, 332b, 432b long hole

34. 76 screw

40. 540 support

40A vertical face

40Aa opening

40Ab threaded hole

40Ac thick wall section

40Ad axle locating hole

40Ae sleeve

40Af threaded hole

40Ag guide groove part

40Ah projection

40Ai cut-out

40Aj locating pin

40B horizontal plane part

Opening part of 40Ba

40Bb boss part

40Bc long hole

40C reinforced flange part

50 radiator

50a bolt through hole

50b radiating fin

50c projection

52 stepped bolt

52a small diameter part

52b large diameter part

52c head

54 spring

56 shaft

60 light source side subassembly

62 light source

64 reflector

64a reflecting surface

66 base part

70 lens side subassembly

72 projection lens

72A first lens

72B second lens

74 lens holding frame

74A cage body

74Aa projection

74B flange part

74Ba screw through hole

74Bb locating pin

100 vehicle lamp

232Aa, 232Ba front end parts

332A, 332B plate-like parts

432c connecting part

500 head-up display

580 concave mirror

Ax optical axis

Ax1 unit reference shaft

F back side focus

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Fig. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle lamp 100 in which a spatial light modulation unit 10 according to the present embodiment is incorporated, and fig. 2 is a view in the direction II of fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of fig. 1, and fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of fig. 1. In the drawings, a part of the constituent elements is shown in a state where it is appropriately cut.

In these figures, the direction indicated by X is the "front" (also "front" as the vehicle) of the spatial light modulation unit 10 and the vehicular lamp 100, the direction indicated by Y is the "left direction" (also "left direction" as the vehicle, but "right direction" when the lamp is viewed from the front) orthogonal to the "front", and the direction indicated by Z is the "upper direction". The same applies to figures other than these figures.

As shown in these drawings, the vehicle lamp 100 of the present embodiment is a headlamp provided at a front end portion of a vehicle, and is configured as a projection-type lamp unit that is built into a lamp chamber and is formed of a lamp body and a translucent cover, not shown.

The vehicle lamp 100 includes a spatial light modulation unit 10, a light source side sub-assembly 60, and a lens side sub-assembly 70. The vehicle lamp 100 is supported by the lamp body via a mounting structure, not shown, in the bracket 40, which is a component of the spatial light modulation unit 10.

As shown in fig. 3, the light source side unit 60 includes a light source 62, a reflector 64 for reflecting light emitted from the light source 62 toward the spatial light modulation unit 10, and a base member 66 for supporting them.

The spatial light modulation unit 10 includes a spatial light modulator 20, a support substrate 30 disposed on the lamp rear side (i.e., on the unit rear side) of the spatial light modulator 20, a holder 40 disposed on the lamp front side of the support substrate 30, and a heat sink 50 disposed on the lamp rear side of the spatial light modulator 20.

The lens-side subassembly 70 includes a projection lens 72 having an optical axis Ax extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and a lens holder 74 for supporting the projection lens 72.

The vehicle lamp 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to irradiate the light from the light source 62 reflected by the reflector 64 toward the front of the lamp through the spatial light modulator 20 and the projection lens 72, thereby forming various light distribution patterns (for example, a light distribution pattern for low beam, a light distribution pattern for high beam, a light distribution pattern that changes according to the traveling condition of the vehicle, and a light distribution pattern such as characters or symbols on the road surface in front of the vehicle) with high accuracy.

In order to achieve this, in the assembly process of the vehicle lamp 100, the positional relationship between the spatial light modulator 20 and the projection lens 72 is finely adjusted in a state where the light source 62 is turned on to form a light distribution pattern, thereby improving the positional relationship accuracy.

Next, specific configurations of the spatial light modulation unit 10, the light source side sub-assembly 60, and the lens side sub-assembly 70 will be described.

First, before describing the structure of the spatial light modulation unit 10, the structure of the light source side subassembly 60 will be described.

The light source 62 is a white light emitting diode, and is fixedly supported by the base member 66 in a state where the light emitting surface faces obliquely upward and forward. The base member 66 is fixedly supported by the support 40 of the spatial light modulation unit 10.

The reflector 64 is disposed so as to cover the light source 62 from the front side of the lamp, and is fixed and supported by the base member 66 at the peripheral edge portion thereof. The reflector 64 reflects the light emitted from the light source 62 obliquely upward and rearward. At this time, the reflecting surface 64a of the reflector 64 is formed so as to converge the light emitted from the light source 62 in the vicinity of the rear focal plane including the rear focal point F of the projection lens 72.

Next, the structure of the spatial light modulation unit 10 will be described.

The spatial light modulator 20 is a reflective spatial light modulator, and is composed of a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) in which a plurality of (for example, hundreds of thousands) micromirrors are arranged in a matrix as a reflection light control area 20 a.

The spatial light modulator 20 is configured to be able to selectively switch the direction of reflection of the light from the light source 62 that reaches the reflected-light control region 20a by controlling the angle of the reflection surface of each of the plurality of micromirrors constituting the reflected-light control region 20 a. Specifically, a mode in which light from the light source 62 is reflected toward the projection lens 72 and a mode in which light is reflected in the other direction (i.e., the direction that does not adversely affect the formation of the light distribution pattern) are selected.

The spatial light modulator 20 is disposed in a state where the front surface of the reflected light control region 20a extends along a vertical plane orthogonal to the optical axis Ax at the position of the rear focal point F of the projection lens 72, and the reflected light control region 20a has a horizontally long rectangular outer shape centered on the optical axis Ax.

In the spatial light modulator 20, a peripheral portion 20b surrounding the reflection light control region 20a is formed in a state that its front surface is lowered by one step toward the lamp rear side with respect to the front surface of the reflection light control region 20a, and is supported on the support substrate 30 via the socket 22 at its rear surface.

The socket 22 is configured as a horizontally long rectangular frame member along the peripheral edge portion 20b of the spatial light modulator 20, and is fixed to the support substrate 30 in a state of being electrically connected to a conductive pattern (not shown) formed on the support substrate 30. The support substrate 30 is formed with an opening 30a having substantially the same shape as the inner peripheral edge shape of the socket 22.

As shown in fig. 4, a plurality of terminal pins 20c protruding from the rear surface of the peripheral portion 20b of the spatial light modulator 20 toward the rear of the lamp are formed. On the other hand, the socket 22 is formed with a plurality of terminal pins 22a protruding from the rear surface thereof toward the rear of the lamp at positions corresponding to the plurality of terminal pins 20 c.

The base end portions of the terminal pins 22a of the socket 22 (i.e., the tip end portions embedded in the socket 22) are formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the tip end portions of the terminal pins 20c of the spatial light modulator 20 are fitted into the base end portions, whereby the spatial light modulator 20 and the socket 22 are electrically connected.

Each terminal pin 22a of the socket 22 is soldered at its front end (i.e., rear end) to the conductive pattern of the support substrate 30. Therefore, the socket 22 is disposed in a state where its rear surface slightly floats from the front surface of the support substrate 30.

The spatial light modulation unit 10 has a structure in which the spatial light modulator 20 is supported from both sides in the front-rear direction of the lamp by the holder 40 and the heat sink 50.

The holder 40 is a metal (e.g., aluminum die-cast) member, and includes a vertical surface portion 40A extending along a vertical plane perpendicular to the optical axis Ax, and a horizontal surface portion 40B extending from a lower end edge of the vertical surface portion 40A toward the front of the lamp along a horizontal plane. Further, reinforcing flange portions 40C for increasing the connecting portion between the vertical surface portion 40A and the horizontal surface portion 40B are formed at both left and right end portions of the bracket 40.

As shown in fig. 1, a horizontally long rectangular opening 40Aa is formed in the vertical surface portion 40A around the optical axis Ax. The opening 40Aa has a horizontally long rectangular opening shape smaller than the outer peripheral edge shape of the spatial light modulator 20 but larger than the reflection light control region 20a, and the front edge of the inner peripheral surface thereof is chamfered over the entire periphery.

On the rear surface of the vertical surface portion 40A, cylindrical protruding portions 40Ah protruding rearward of the lamp are formed at three locations around the opening portion 40 Aa. The holder 40 abuts on the peripheral edge 20b of the spatial light modulator 20 from the front side of the lamp at the front end surface (i.e., the rear end surface) of the three protruding portions 40 Ah.

As shown in fig. 2, the horizontal surface portion 40B is formed to extend to the lamp front side of the reflector 64, and a horizontally long rectangular opening 40Ba for inserting the reflector 64 is formed in the horizontal surface portion 40B.

The heat sink 50 is a metal (e.g., aluminum die-cast) member, and is disposed so as to extend along a vertical plane orthogonal to the optical axis Ax, and has a plurality of heat dissipating fins 50b formed in a longitudinal stripe pattern on the rear surface thereof.

A prismatic protrusion 50c protruding toward the front of the lamp is formed at the center of the front surface of the heat sink 50. The protrusion 50c has a horizontally long rectangular cross-sectional shape centered on the optical axis Ax, and its size is set to a value smaller than the inner peripheral surface shape of the socket 22. The projection 50c abuts on the central portion of the spatial light modulator 20 (i.e., the portion where the reflection light control region 20a is located) from the lamp rear side at the front end surface thereof in a state of being inserted into the opening 30a of the support substrate 30.

The heat sink 50 is fixed to the vertical surface portion 40A of the bracket 40 by two pairs of left and right stepped bolts 52 in a state where the front end surface of the protrusion 50c abuts against the central portion of the spatial light modulator 20 (i.e., the portion where the reflection light control region 20A is located) from the lamp rear side. This fixing is performed in a state where the spatial light modulator 22 is elastically pressed toward the front of the lamp by the protrusion 50 a.

A specific structure for performing this pressing is as follows.

That is, the two pairs of left and right stepped bolts 52 are disposed at two upper and lower positions on the left and right sides of the spatial light modulator 20.

As shown in fig. 4, each stepped bolt 52 is disposed such that the large diameter portion 52b thereof is inserted from the lamp rear side into the bolt through hole 50A formed in the heat sink 50 and the bolt through hole 30b formed in the support substrate 30, and the small diameter portion 52a at the tip thereof is screwed to the vertical surface portion 40A of the bracket 40. To achieve this, screw holes 40Ab for screwing the small diameter portions 52a of the stepped bolts 52 are formed in the vertical surface portion 40A of the bracket 40 at four locations corresponding to the four stepped bolts 52. The vertical surface 40A of the bracket 40 is formed as a thick portion 40Ac in which the peripheral portion of each screw hole 40Ab becomes thicker on the lamp rear side.

A spring 54 for elastically pressing the protrusion 50a of the heat sink 50 toward the front side of the lamp is attached to the large diameter portion 52b of each stepped bolt 52. Each spring 54 is formed of a compression coil spring disposed between the head 52c of each stepped bolt 52 and the heat sink 50.

In this way, the heat sink 50 is elastically pressed toward the front side of the lamp at two upper and lower portions on both left and right sides of the spatial light modulator 20, so that the central portion of the spatial light modulator 20 is elastically pressed toward the front side of the lamp without applying an undue load thereto. In addition, this maintains a state in which the plurality of terminal pins 20c formed in the peripheral edge portion 20b of the spatial light modulator 20 are appropriately fitted into the plurality of fitting holes formed in the receptacle 22 (i.e., the proximal end portions of the terminal pins 22a formed in a substantially cylindrical shape) (i.e., a state in which the spatial light modulator 20 and the receptacle 22 are reliably electrically connected).

Around the spatial light modulator 20, a pair of left and right shafts 56 extending in the front-rear direction of the lamp are disposed in a state of being fixed to the heat sink 50 at rear ends thereof. Specifically, the shafts 56 are formed integrally with the heat sink 50, and are formed to extend in a cylindrical shape toward the front of the lamp on both left and right sides of the protrusion 50c of the heat sink 50.

A pair of left and right shaft through holes 30c for inserting the pair of left and right shafts 56 are formed in the support substrate 30. Each shaft through hole 30c is formed as a cylindrical opening having a diameter slightly larger than that of each shaft 56.

Further, a pair of left and right shaft positioning holes 40Ad for positioning in a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the lamp in a state where the distal end portions of the pair of left and right shafts 56 are inserted are formed in the vertical surface portion 40A of the bracket 40. Each shaft positioning hole 40Ad is formed with a slightly larger diameter than each shaft 56.

Each of the shaft positioning holes 40Ad is formed by a sleeve 40Ae formed on the rear surface of the vertical surface portion 40A so as to be longer than the plate thickness of the vertical surface portion 40A and extend toward the rear of the lamp, and is thereby slidably engaged with each of the shafts 5 within a certain length range. Further, the vertical surface portion 40A of the holder 40 is thereby prevented from being inclined with respect to a vertical plane orthogonal to the optical axis Ax in advance.

Fig. 5 is a detailed view of the V portion of fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the spatial light modulation unit 10 in an exploded manner as its constituent elements, and fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a main part of the spatial light modulation unit 10.

As shown in these figures, the vertical surface portion 40A of the holder 40 is formed to have a larger left-right width than the support substrate 30, and rectangular cutout portions 40Ai are formed in two upper and lower portions of both left and right end surfaces thereof.

Clamping members 32 for clamping the support substrate 30 from both sides in the unit front-rear direction are attached to two upper and lower portions of both left and right end surfaces of the support substrate 30. Each of the holding members 32 is fixed to the vertical surface portion 40A of the bracket 40 at the position of each of the cutout portions 40 Ai.

Each of the holding members 32 is formed by welding two

metal plates

32A, 32B formed in an L shape in plan view to each other in a state where the two metal plates are arranged at an interval in the lamp front-rear direction (i.e., the unit front-rear direction), and an overlapping portion 32A where the two

metal plates

32A, 32B overlap is fixed to a vertical surface portion 40A of the bracket 40.

Specifically, screw holes 40Af extending in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the lamp are formed in two upper and lower portions of both left and right end surfaces of the vertical surface portion 40A of the bracket 40. On the other hand, the overlapping portion 32a of each clip member 32 is formed with an elongated hole 32b extending in the front-rear direction of the lamp. The screws 34 are fastened to the screw holes 40Af through the elongated holes 32b, whereby the clamping members 32 are fixed to the bracket 40. Each of the clip members 32 is formed such that the front half portion 32a1 of the overlapping portion 32a has a smaller vertical width than the other portion.

The two

metal plates

32A and 32B are welded at a plurality of locations around the elongated hole 32B of the overlapping portion 32A (for example, three locations on the elongated hole 32B on the front side of the lamp, on the obliquely upper side of the lamp, and on the obliquely lower side of the lamp) by spot welding.

Further, in order to avoid interference with the large diameter portion 52B of the stepped bolt 52, the tip end surfaces (i.e., end surfaces closer to the optical axis Ax) of the

metal plates

32A, 32B are cut in an arc shape.

Guide groove portions 40Ag extending in the front-rear direction of the lamp in a state of being engaged with the front half portions 32a1 of the overlapping portions 32a of the respective sandwiching members 32 are formed at two upper and lower portions of the left and right end surfaces of the vertical surface portion 40A of the bracket 40.

As shown in fig. 6, cylindrical positioning holes 20b1 are formed in two places diagonally on the optical axis Ax on the front surface of the peripheral edge portion 20b of the spatial light modulator 20. On the other hand, on the vertical surface portion 40A of the holder 40, a columnar positioning pin 40Aj extending rearward of the lamp is formed at a position corresponding to the positioning hole 20b1 of the spatial light modulator 20.

Further, by inserting the positioning pins 40Aj of the holder 40 into the positioning holes 20b1 of the spatial light modulator 20, positioning in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis Ax is performed when the spatial light modulation unit 10 is assembled with the holder 40, and accidental displacement of the spatial light modulator 20 in the vertical plane orthogonal to the optical axis Ax after the assembly is prevented in advance.

Next, the structure of the lens-side subassembly 70 will be described.

As shown in fig. 3, the projection lens 72 is composed of first and

second lenses

72A and 72B disposed at a desired interval in the front-rear direction of the lamp on the optical axis Ax.

The first lens 72A positioned on the front side of the lamp is configured as a biconvex lens, and the second lens 72B positioned on the rear side of the lamp is configured as a meniscus lens bulging toward the rear of the lamp. In this case, the first and

second lenses

72A and 72B are configured such that the upper end portions thereof are slightly cut off along the horizontal plane and the lower portions thereof are largely cut off along the horizontal plane.

The first and

second lenses

72A and 72B are supported by a common lens holding frame 74 at their outer peripheral edges.

The lens holder 74 is a metal (e.g., aluminum die-cast) member, and includes a holder main body 74A formed to surround the projection lens 72 in a cylindrical shape, and a pair of flange portions 74B formed to protrude along a horizontal plane to both left and right sides at a lower end portion of an outer peripheral surface of the holder main body 74A.

A projection 74Aa for positioning the first and

second lenses

72A, 72B is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the holder main body 74A. On the other hand, the pair of left and right flange portions 74B are each formed in a flat plate shape extending in the front-rear direction of the lamp over the entire length of the lens holder 74 with a constant left-right width.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the lens side subassembly 70 exploded together with the holder 40.

As shown in the figure, the lens holder 74 is fixed to the horizontal surface portion 40B of the holder 40 by mechanical coupling at a pair of left and right flange portions 74B thereof. The fixation by the mechanical coupling is performed by screw fastening.

To achieve this, a pair of front and rear screw through holes 74Ba that vertically penetrate the flange portion 74B are formed in each flange portion 74B of the lens holder 74. A pair of boss portions 40Bb on the front and rear sides of the bracket 40, each having a screw hole in the horizontal surface portion 40B, are formed to protrude downward. The screws 76 are screwed into the screw holes of the boss portions 40Bb from above the flange portions 74B through the screw through holes 74 Ba.

At this time, the screw through holes 74Ba are formed as long holes extending in the front-rear direction of the lamp with a width larger than the screw diameter of the screws 76, and thus the lens holder 74 is screwed in a state where the position of the holder 40 in the front-rear direction of the lamp is adjusted.

A positioning pin 74Bb protruding vertically downward at the central position in the front-rear direction of the front and rear pair of screw through holes 74Ba is formed on the lower surface of each flange portion 74B of the lens holder 74. Each positioning pin 74Bb is formed in a cylindrical shape, and its tip portion is formed in a convex curved surface shape. The amount of protrusion of each positioning pin 74Bb from the lower side of the flange portion 74B is set to a value slightly larger than the plate thickness of the horizontal surface portion 40B of the bracket 40.

On the other hand, the horizontal surface portion 40B of the bracket 40 is formed with a long hole 40Bc that penetrates the horizontal surface portion 40B in the vertical direction at a position corresponding to each positioning pin 74 Bb. Each elongated hole 40Bc is formed as an elongated hole extending in the front-rear direction of the lamp with a lateral width slightly larger than the diameter of the positioning pin 74 Bb.

When the lens holder 74 and the bracket 40 are screwed together, the positioning pin 74Bb is inserted into the elongated hole 40Bc in advance, so that the positional relationship between the lens holder 74 and the bracket 40 in the front-rear direction of the lamp can be finely adjusted while the lens holder 74 is restricted from being displaced in the left-right direction with respect to the bracket 40. This prevents the lens holder 74 from rotating unexpectedly with respect to the holder 40 due to the torque generated when the screws are fastened, thereby improving the positional relationship accuracy between the spatial light modulator 20 and the projection lens 72.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

The spatial light modulator unit 10 of the present embodiment is incorporated in the vehicle lamp 100, but since the spatial light modulator unit 10 includes the reflective spatial light modulator 20 that reflects the light from the light source 62, various light distribution patterns can be formed with high accuracy by controlling the spatial distribution of the reflected light in the spatial light modulator 20.

At this time, the spatial light modulator 20 is electrically connected to the support substrate 30 that supports the peripheral edge portion 20b of the spatial light modulator 20 from the cell rear side (i.e., the lamp rear side) via the socket 22, but since the holder 40 that abuts the peripheral edge portion 20b from the cell front side is arranged on the cell front side of the spatial light modulator 20, the electrical connection between the spatial light modulator 20 and the support substrate 30 can be stably maintained.

Further, since the holding members 32 holding the support substrate 30 from both sides in the unit front-rear direction are attached to a plurality of locations of the support substrate 30, and the holding members 32 are fixed to the holder 40, the support substrate 30 and the holder 40 can be maintained in a fixed positional relationship in the unit front-rear direction.

Therefore, even when a vibration load or an impact load acts on the spatial light modulation cell 10, the positional relationship between the support substrate 30 and the holder 40 in the cell front-rear direction does not deviate.

In addition, even though the spatial light modulator unit 10 is mounted on a vehicle, it is possible to effectively suppress a situation in which an unreasonable load acts on a connection portion between the spatial light modulator 20 and the support substrate 30 and the connection portion is broken.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to effectively suppress damage to the connection portion between the spatial light modulator 20 and the support substrate 30 due to a vibration load or the like in the in-vehicle spatial light modulation unit 10 including the reflective spatial light modulator 20.

In the present embodiment, since the screw holes 40Af extending in the direction orthogonal to the unit longitudinal direction are formed at a plurality of locations of the bracket 40, the long holes 32b extending in the unit longitudinal direction are formed in the respective clamping members 32, and the screws 34 are fastened to the respective screw holes 40Af through the respective long holes 32b to fix the respective clamping members 32 to the bracket 40, the support board 30 can be fixed and supported to the bracket 40 in a state of being arranged at an optimum position in the unit longitudinal direction. In addition, this can further effectively suppress damage to the connection portion between the spatial light modulator 20 and the support substrate 30 due to a vibration load or the like.

At this time, since the guide groove portions 40Ag that engage with the respective clamping members 32 and extend in the unit front-rear direction are formed at each of the plurality of portions of the holder 40, it is possible to prevent the clamping members 32 from being accidentally rotated when the respective clamping members 32 are attached to the support substrate 30 by screw fastening. In addition, the holding members 32 can be mounted in a state suitable for the support substrate 30.

In the present embodiment, since the plurality of portions on which the respective holding members 32 are mounted are set at two upper and lower portions on both left and right sides of the spatial light modulator 20 on the support substrate 30, the support substrate 30 can be stably fixed and supported by the holder 40. In addition, this can further effectively suppress damage to the connection portion between the spatial light modulator 20 and the support substrate 30 due to a vibration load or the like.

In this case, since the respective clamping members 32 are welded to each other in a state where the two metal plates formed in the L shape are arranged at an interval in the unit front-rear direction, the respective clamping members 32 can be formed at a low cost and in a simple structure.

In the present embodiment, since the heat sink 50 that elastically presses the spatial light modulator 20 toward the cell front side in a state of being in contact with the central portion of the spatial light modulator 20 (i.e., the portion where the reflection light control region 20a is located) is arranged on the cell rear side of the support substrate 30, heat dissipation of the spatial light modulator 20 can be realized without applying an undue load to the spatial light modulator 20.

At this time, since the positional relationship in the cell front-rear direction of the support substrate 30 and the holder 40 is maintained constant, even when a vibration load or an impact load acts on the spatial light modulation cell 10, the positional relationship between the spatial light modulator 20 and the heat sink 50 is not deviated, and thus it is possible to prevent the spatial light modulator 20 from being damaged by a load from the heat sink 50 in advance.

Further, a plurality of stepped bolts 52 for fixing the heat sink 50 to the holder 40 are arranged around the spatial light modulator 20, each stepped bolt 52 abuts on the holder 40 at its tip end surface in a state where its large diameter portion 52b is inserted into the bolt through hole 50a formed in the heat sink 50 and the bolt through hole 30b formed in the support substrate 30, and is screwed to the holder 40 at its small diameter portion 52a, and a spring 54 for elastically pressing the heat sink 50 toward the unit front side is attached to its large diameter portion 52b, so that it is possible to easily realize stable pressing of the heat sink 50 to the spatial light modulator 20 with a predetermined elastic pressing force.

Further, around the spatial light modulator 20, a pair of left and right shafts 56 extending in the cell front-rear direction are disposed in a state of being fixed to the heat sink 50 at rear end portions thereof, a pair of left and right shaft through holes 30c are formed in the support substrate 30, a pair of left and right shaft positioning holes 40Ad are formed in the holder 40, and the shaft positioning holes 40Ad are inserted into front end portions thereof in a state where the shafts 56 are disposed to be inserted into the shaft through holes 30c, so that the following operational effects can be obtained.

That is, the radiator 50 and the bracket 40 can maintain a fixed positional relationship in a direction orthogonal to the unit front-rear direction due to the presence of the pair of left and right shafts 56. Therefore, by merely attaching the holding members 32 to the upper and lower portions on both the left and right sides of the spatial light modulator 20 of the support substrate 30, the positional relationship between the support substrate 30 and the holder 40 can be maintained even though it is difficult to maintain a constant positional relationship in the direction orthogonal to the unit front-rear direction. Further, this can minimize the portion where the clip member 32 is attached, and can further simplify the structure of each clip member 32.

In the first embodiment, the description has been given of the structure in which the shafts 56 are integrally formed as a part of the heat sink 50, but the shafts 56 may be formed of a member different from the heat sink 50, and the rear end portions 56c thereof may be fixed by press fitting or screw fastening.

In the first embodiment, the description has been given of the structure in which the support substrate 30 is electrically connected to the spatial light modulator 20 in a state of being in contact with the peripheral edge portion 20b of the spatial light modulator 20 via the socket 22, but the support substrate 30 may be electrically connected to the spatial light modulator 20 in a state of being in direct contact with the peripheral edge portion 20b of the spatial light modulator 20.

In the first embodiment described above, the lamp front-rear direction (i.e., the direction in which the optical axis Ax extends) and the unit front-rear direction (i.e., the direction orthogonal to the front surface of the reflection light control region 20a of the spatial light modulator 20) are aligned, but a configuration may be employed in which the unit front-rear direction extends in a direction inclined with respect to the lamp front-rear direction.

In the first embodiment, the light emitted from the light source 62 reflected by the reflector 64 for reflection of the spatial light modulator 20 is configured, but the light emitted from the light source 62 whose deflection is controlled by a lens or the like may be reflected by the spatial light modulator 20 or the light emitted from the light source 62 may be directly reflected by the spatial light modulator 20.

Next, first to fourth modified examples of the holding member 32 according to the first embodiment will be described.

Fig. 9(a) is a perspective view showing a clamping member 132 according to a first modification.

As shown in fig. (a), the clip member 132 of this modification is also formed by welding two metal plates 132A, 132B formed in an L shape in plan view to each other in a state of being arranged at an interval in the unit front-rear direction, and a long hole 132B extending in the unit front-rear direction is formed in an overlapping portion 132A where the two metal plates 132A, 132B overlap each other, as in the clip member 32 of the first embodiment.

However, the two metal plates 132A and 132B are formed in a state in which the positions of the distal end surfaces (i.e., the end surfaces closer to the optical axis Ax) are shifted from each other.

By adopting the structure of the present modification, the holding member 132 can be easily attached to the support substrate 30.

Fig. 9(b) is a perspective view showing a clamping member 232 according to a second modification.

As shown in fig. (B), the clip member 232 of this modification is also formed by welding two metal plates 232A and 232B formed in an L shape in plan view to each other in a state of being arranged at an interval in the unit front-rear direction, and a long hole 232B extending in the unit front-rear direction is formed in an overlapping portion 232A where the two metal plates 232A and 232B overlap each other, similarly to the clip member 32 of the first embodiment.

However, the two metal plates 232A and 232B are bent obliquely so that their tip end portions (i.e., end portions closer to the optical axis Ax) 232Aa and 232Ba open in the unit front-rear direction.

By adopting the configuration of the present modification, the holding member 232 can be easily attached to the support substrate 30.

Fig. 9(c) is a perspective view showing a clamp member 332 according to a third modification.

As shown in fig. (c), the clip member 332 of the present modification also has the same shape as the clip member 32 of the first embodiment, but is different from the first embodiment in the point formed by bending a single metal plate.

That is, the clamp member 332 of the present modification is constituted by a single metal plate in which two plate-shaped portions 332A, 332B having the same shape as the two

metal plates

32A, 32B of the clamp member 32 of the first embodiment are connected at their tip positions.

In the clamping member 332, a long hole 332B extending in the unit front-rear direction is also formed in an overlapping portion 332A where the two plate-shaped portions 232A and 232B overlap.

By adopting the configuration of the present modification, the welding step in manufacturing the clamp member 332 can be omitted.

Fig. 9(d) is a perspective view showing a clamping member 432 according to a fourth modification.

As shown in fig. d, the clamp member 432 according to this modification is configured such that the pair of upper and lower clamp members 32 disposed at two upper and lower positions are integrally formed in the first embodiment.

That is, the clamping member 432 of the present modification is also configured by welding two metal plates 432A, 432B formed in an L-shape in plan view to each other in a state of being arranged at a distance in the cell front-rear direction. The clamp member 432 is configured such that upper and lower two-part portions having the same configuration as the clamp member 32 of the first embodiment are integrated with each other at an overlapping portion 432A where the two metal plates 432A and 432B overlap each other via a connecting portion 432c extending in the vertical direction.

In the clamping member 432, a long hole 432b extending in the unit front-rear direction is also formed in the overlapping portion 332a at two upper and lower positions.

By adopting the configuration of the present modification, the number of parts can be reduced, and the screw fastening can be stably performed when the holding member 432 attached to the support substrate 30 is fixed to the bracket 40 at two upper and lower positions.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be explained.

Fig. 10 is a side sectional view showing a head-up display 500 incorporating a spatial light modulation unit 510 of the present embodiment.

The head-up display 500 includes a front window 2 of a vehicle, a spatial light modulation unit 510 disposed in a vehicle interior below the front window 2, and a concave mirror 580 disposed on a vehicle front side with respect to the spatial light modulator 20, and is configured to be able to visually recognize a driver 4 by reflecting image information generated by the spatial light modulation unit 510 in the concave mirror 580 and the front window 2 in this order.

Therefore, the spatial light modulator 510 is the same as the spatial light modulator 10 of the first embodiment in terms of its basic configuration, but the spatial light modulator 20 has a different content of controlling the reflection of the light from the light source 62 reflected by the reflector 64. In the spatial light modulation unit 510, the point that the holder 540 does not have the function of supporting the lens-side subassembly 70 as in the holder 40 of the first embodiment is also different from the case of the first embodiment.

Since the spatial light modulation unit 510 reflects the reflected light from the spatial light modulator 20 by the concave mirror 580 and is incident on the inner surface of the front window 2, the unit reference axis (i.e., the axis extending in the direction orthogonal to the reflection light control region 20a of the spatial light modulator 20) Ax1 is arranged in a state of extending in a direction inclined downward toward the front of the vehicle. That is, in fig. 10, the direction indicated by X is the "front" of the spatial light modulation unit 10 (the "obliquely downward front" as the vehicle), and the direction indicated by Z is the "upward direction" orthogonal to the "front" (the "obliquely upward front" as the vehicle).

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

Since the spatial light modulation unit 510 of the present embodiment is configured as a part of the head-up display 500 and the spatial light modulation unit 510 includes the reflective spatial light modulator 20 that reflects the light from the light source 62, various image information can be generated with high accuracy by controlling the spatial distribution of the reflected light in the spatial light modulator 20.

In this case, since the spatial light modulator unit 510 has the same configuration as the spatial light modulator unit 10 of the first embodiment, it is possible to effectively suppress damage to the spatial light modulator 20 due to a vibration load or the like, or damage to a connection portion between the spatial light modulator 20 and the support substrate 30.

Note that the numerical values shown as various factors in the above embodiments and modifications thereof are merely examples, and it is needless to say that the numerical values may be set to appropriately different values.

The present invention is not limited to the configurations described in the above embodiments and modifications thereof, and various modifications other than the above may be added.

Claims

1. A spatial light modulation unit for vehicle use, comprising a reflective spatial light modulator for reflecting light from a light source,

a support substrate that supports a peripheral edge portion of the spatial light modulator from a cell rear side in a state of being electrically connected to the spatial light modulator is disposed on the cell rear side of the spatial light modulator,

each of the holding members is fixed to the bracket.

2. The spatial light modulation unit according to claim 1,

screw holes extending in a direction orthogonal to the unit front-rear direction are formed at a plurality of portions of the bracket,

a long hole extending in the unit front-rear direction is formed in each of the holding members,

the fixing of each of the clamping members to the bracket is performed by fastening a screw into each of the threaded holes through each of the elongated holes.

3. The spatial light modulation unit according to claim 2,

guide groove portions extending in the unit front-rear direction in a state of being engaged with the respective clamping members are formed in the plurality of portions of the holder, respectively.

4. The spatial light modulation unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the plurality of portions of the support substrate are set at two upper and lower portions on both left and right sides of the spatial light modulator.

5. The spatial light modulation unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

each of the clamping members is formed by welding two metal plates formed in an L shape to each other in a state where the two metal plates are arranged at an interval in the unit front-rear direction.

6. The spatial light modulation unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

a heat sink is disposed on the cell rear side of the support substrate, and the heat sink elastically presses the spatial light modulator toward the cell front side in a state of being in contact with the central portion of the spatial light modulator.

7. The spatial light modulation unit according to claim 6,

a plurality of stepped bolts for fixing the heat sink to the bracket are arranged around the spatial light modulator,

each stepped bolt abuts against the bracket at a tip end surface of the large diameter portion of the stepped bolt in a state where the large diameter portion of the stepped bolt is inserted into the bolt through hole formed in the radiator and the bolt through hole formed in the support substrate, and is screwed to the bracket at the small diameter portion of the stepped bolt,

a spring for elastically pressing the heat sink toward the unit front is attached to the large diameter portion of each stepped bolt.

8. The spatial light modulation unit according to claim 6,

at least one shaft extending in a cell front-rear direction is disposed around the spatial light modulator in a state of being fixed to the heat sink at a rear end portion of the shaft,

at least one shaft through hole is formed in the support substrate, and at least one shaft positioning hole is formed in the holder,

the shaft is inserted into the shaft through hole, and the shaft is inserted into the shaft positioning hole at the tip end thereof.