EP2112430B1 - Lamp unit for vehicles - Google Patents
Lamp unit for vehicles Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP2112430B1 EP2112430B1 EP08007952A EP08007952A EP2112430B1 EP 2112430 B1 EP2112430 B1 EP 2112430B1 EP 08007952 A EP08007952 A EP 08007952A EP 08007952 A EP08007952 A EP 08007952A EP 2112430 B1 EP2112430 B1 EP 2112430B1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- light
- reflect surface
- projection lens
- supplemental
- reflected
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
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Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F21—LIGHTING
- F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
- F21S41/00—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps
- F21S41/10—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by the light source
- F21S41/14—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by the light source characterised by the type of light source
- F21S41/141—Light emitting diodes [LED]
- F21S41/143—Light emitting diodes [LED] the main emission direction of the LED being parallel to the optical axis of the illuminating device
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F21—LIGHTING
- F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
- F21S41/00—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps
- F21S41/10—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by the light source
- F21S41/14—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by the light source characterised by the type of light source
- F21S41/141—Light emitting diodes [LED]
- F21S41/155—Surface emitters, e.g. organic light emitting diodes [OLED]
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F21—LIGHTING
- F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
- F21S41/00—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps
- F21S41/20—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters
- F21S41/25—Projection lenses
- F21S41/255—Lenses with a front view of circular or truncated circular outline
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F21—LIGHTING
- F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
- F21S41/00—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps
- F21S41/30—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by reflectors
- F21S41/32—Optical layout thereof
- F21S41/36—Combinations of two or more separate reflectors
- F21S41/365—Combinations of two or more separate reflectors successively reflecting the light
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F21—LIGHTING
- F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
- F21W2102/00—Exterior vehicle lighting devices for illuminating purposes
- F21W2102/10—Arrangement or contour of the emitted light
- F21W2102/13—Arrangement or contour of the emitted light for high-beam region or low-beam region
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F21—LIGHTING
- F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
- F21W2102/00—Exterior vehicle lighting devices for illuminating purposes
- F21W2102/10—Arrangement or contour of the emitted light
- F21W2102/17—Arrangement or contour of the emitted light for regions other than high beam or low beam
- F21W2102/18—Arrangement or contour of the emitted light for regions other than high beam or low beam for overhead signs
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F21—LIGHTING
- F21Y—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED
- F21Y2115/00—Light-generating elements of semiconductor light sources
- F21Y2115/10—Light-emitting diodes [LED]
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)
Description
- The present invention relates to a projector type of lamp unit for vehicles using a semiconductor light source, for example LED and the like, as a light source, especially to a lamp unit for vehicles that can be used as a vertical projector lamp whose depth dimension and height dimension can be miniaturized, can prevent the light except the predetermined distributed light pattern projected from a projection lens, i.e. the light not distributed, from emitting from the projection lens, and can effectively use the light from semiconductor light sources.
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- Patent 0:
Publication EP 1 857 731 A2 - Patent 1: Publication No.
2006-107955 - Patent 2: Publication No.
2005-302328 - Patent 3: Publication No.
2004-311224 - Patent 4: Publication No.
2005-228715 - Patent 5: Publication No.
2004-207235 - There exists the type of lamp unit for vehicles (for example, Patent 0), which includes a reflector having an elliptical reflection surface and a semiconductor light source for example LED and the like arranged in such a way that its light emitting part is positioned at the first focus of the elliptical reflection surface. The lamp unit further comprises a projection lens having a horizontal optical axis. A planar reflection surface is arranged between the projection lens and the focal point so that the planar reflection surface intersects the horizontal axis of the projecting lens to reflect a light pattern toward the projection lens. The planar reflection surface generates an image of the focal point and the horizontal axis of the lens, so that the image axis intersects the horizontal axis of the lens orthogonally. The elliptical reflector is therefore placed such that the corresponding optical axis of the elliptical reflector is coaxial with said image axis and that the focal point of the elliptical reflector coincides with the image focal point of the projection lens. The lamp unit additionally is provided with a shade arranged between the second focal point of the elliptical surface and the semiconductor light source for cutting off some of reflected lights that are emitted from the semiconductor light source and are reflected by the elliptical reflection surface.
- Further, there exists the type of lamp unit for vehicles (for example,
Patent 1,Patent 2, and Patent 3). The explanation of the existing lamp unit for vehicles is given now. The existing lamp unit for vehicles includes a reflector having an ellipse reflect surface, a semiconductor light source, for example LED and the like, arranged in such a way that its light emitting part is positioned at the first focus of the ellipse reflect surface, and a projection lens arranged on the reflector and projecting a predetermined distributed light pattern toward the predetermined direction. - The functions of the lamp unit for vehicles are now explained. The semiconductor light source, for example LED and the like, is lighted to emit light, and thus the light from the semiconductor light source, for example LED and the like, is reflected by the ellipse reflect surface, and, as a predetermined distributed light pattern, is projected (illuminates, emits, or is given off) outwardly in the predetermined direction from the projection lens.
However, because, in the existing lamp unit for vehicles, the light axis of the ellipse reflect surface and the light axis of the projection lens are horizontal, and the semiconductor light source, for example LED and the like, the reflector, and the projection lens are arranged in the horizontal direction, the depth dimension in the horizontal direction becomes big. Because of this reason, the existing lamp unit for vehicles can not meet the demands for reducing the depth dimension. - Furthermore, there exists the type of lamp unit for vehicles (for example, Patent 4) that uses a planar reflect surface and reduces the length between the front and the rear (i.e. reduce the depth dimension). However, this type of existing lamp unit for vehicles uses an electricity discharge lamp bulb instead of the semiconductor light source, for example LED and the like, as a light source. Moreover, in this type of lamp unit for vehicles, the light axis of the projection lens extends in the direction of the front and the rear (the horizontal direction) of the vehicle, making the light axis of the reflector intersect the light axis of the projection lens, and making the reflected light from the reflector reflected toward one side of the projection lens by the planar reflect surface. Therefore, because, in this type of lamp unit for vehicles, the electricity discharge lamp bulb, the reflector, the projection lens, and the planar reflect surface are arranged in the direction of the front and the rear of the vehicle, the depth dimension in the horizontal direction becomes big, just as the lamp unit for vehicles mentioned in Patents 1-3, and it can not meet the demands for reducing the depth dimension.
- Moreover, there exists the type of lamp unit for vehicles (for example, Patent 5) in which the light axis of the first reflector intersects the light axis of the second reflector and they become a compact module. However, this type of existing lamp unit for vehicles is not the projector type of lamp unit for vehicles that does not use projection lens. And moreover, because this type of existing lamp unit for vehicles is the one in which the light axis of the first reflector intersects the light axis of the second reflector, the height dimension in the vertical direction increases at the same time the depth dimension in the horizontal direction reduces, and thus it can not meet the demands for reducing the depth dimension and the height dimension.
- Furthermore, the existing lamp unit for vehicles mentioned above do not take into consideration the method of preventing the light, except the predetermined distributed light pattern projected from the projection lens, from emitting from the projection lens, and therefore, there exists the circumstance where the light except the predetermined distributed light pattern projected from the projection lens, i.e. the light not distributed, emits from the projection lens. In addition, the existing lamp unit for vehicles mentioned above do not take into consideration the method of the effective use of the light from semiconductor light source, and therefore, the existing lamp unit for vehicles mentioned above do not effectively use the light from semiconductor light source.
- The problems to be solved by the present invention are: in the existing lamp unit for vehicles, the demands for reducing the depth dimension in the horizontal direction and the height dimension in the vertical direction can not be met; there exists the circumstance where the light except the predetermined distributed light pattern projected from the projection lens, i.e. the light not distributed, emits from the projection lens; the light from semiconductor light source is not effectively used.
These problems are solved by a lamp unit according toclaim 1. Preferably, a planar reflect surface is arranged between a projection lens and its focus in such a way that the planar reflect surface intersects the light axis of the projection lens; a light shutout member for shutting out the straight light from a semiconductor light source from illuminating toward the projection lens, is arranged between the semiconductor light source and the projection lens; a shade for cutting off a portion of the reflected light emitting from the semiconductor light source and reflected by an ellipse reflect surface, and for using the remaining reflected light to form a predetermined distributed light pattern having cutoff lines, is arranged between the second focus of the ellipse reflect surface and the semiconductor light source; supplemental reflect surface is arranged on the light shutout member for reflecting the light from the semiconductor light source toward the side of the shade; a through hole is arranged on the shade for the reflected light from the supplemental reflect surface to go through and toward the planar reflect surface. - Preferably, the supplemental reflect surface is the first supplemental reflect surface; second supplemental reflect surface is arranged on the shade for the reflected light from the first supplemental reflect surface to go through the through hole and to be reflected by the planar reflect surface.
- Preferably, the supplemental reflect surface comprise the ellipse reflect surface.
- Preferably, the planar reflect surface is arranged between the projection lens and its focus in such a way that the planar reflect surface intersects the light axis of the projection lens, as a result of which, at the symmetrical position with respect to the planar reflect surface by way of the planar reflect surface, the lens focus of the projection lens exists as a fictitious lens focus positioned at the second focus of the ellipse reflect surface, and the horizontal lens light axis of the projection lens exists as the fictitious light axis of the lens that is vertical and intersects the light axis of the lens orthogonally by way of the planar reflect surface, the fictitious light axis of the lens being consistent with the light axis of the ellipse reflect surface. Therefore, in the lamp unit for vehicles according to the present invention the projection lens and the planar reflect surface can be arranged in the horizontal direction, and the projection lens, the planar reflect surface, the reflector, the semiconductor light source, and the shade are arranged in the vertical direction, and thus the lamp unit for vehicles according to the present invention can reduce the depth dimension in the horizontal direction and the height dimension in the vertical direction, and can meet the demands for reducing the depth dimension and the height dimension.
- Furthermore, in the lamp unit for vehicles according to the present invention, the light shutout member for shutting out the straight light from the semiconductor light source from illuminating toward the projection lens, is arranged between the semiconductor light source and the projection lens, and therefore, the light except the predetermined distributed light pattern projected from the projection lens, i.e. the light not distributed, can be prevented from emitting from the projection lens, which is advantageous to the transportation safety. In addition, the lamp unit for vehicles according to the present invention can shut out the outer light illuminating from the projection lens toward the side of the ellipse reflection surface at the side of the semiconductor light source by the light shutout member arranged between the semiconductor light source and the projection lens, as result of which, the lamp unit for vehicles according to the present invention can prevent the dubitable lighted light resulting from the circumstance where the outer light is reflected by the ellipse reflect surface and thus emits outwardly from the projection lens, leading to the semiconductor light source seeming to be lighted even though it is not lighted.
- Moreover, because, in the lamp unit for vehicles according to the present invention, the light shutout member is provided with the supplemental reflect surface for reflecting the light from the semiconductor light source toward the side of the shade, and the shade is provided with the through hole for the reflected light from the supplemental reflect surface to go through and toward the planar reflect surface, the light from the semiconductor light source can be effectively used by way of the supplemental reflect surface of the light shutout member and the through hole of the shade.
- Moreover, because, in the lamp unit for vehicles according to the present invention, the supplemental reflect surface is the first supplemental reflect surface, and the shade is provided with the second supplemental reflect surface for the reflected light from the first supplemental reflect surface to illuminate through the through hole and to be reflected by the planar reflect surface, the distributed light pattern using the light from the semiconductor light source as a overhead sign is effectively used by way of the first supplemental reflect surface and the second supplemental reflect surface.
- Furthermore, because, in the lamp unit for vehicles according to the present invention, the first supplemental reflect surface comprises the ellipse reflect surface, the distributed light pattern for the overhead sign is evenly distributed and the distributed light pattern with good vision identifization for the overhead sign can be obtained.
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Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the light route of the light from the semiconductor light source in the embodiment of the lamp unit for vehicles according to the present invention. -
Fig. 2 is a three-dimensional diagram showing the first reflector of the components of the important parts. -
Fig. 3 is a three-dimensional diagram showing the second reflector of the components of the important parts. -
Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the distributed light pattern obtained in the embodiment of the lamp unit for vehicles according to the present invention. -
Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the reflect function of the planar reflect surface. -
Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the reflect function of the first reflect surface and the second reflect surface. -
Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the light shutout function of the light shutout member -
Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating the status in which the light from the semiconductor light source illuminates through the through hole and is reflected by the fifth part of the first supplemental reflect surface acting as a secondary distributed light pattern. - The detailed explanation of the lamp unit for vehicles of the embodiments according to the present invention is now given with reference to the drawings. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. In the specification, the words "front, rear, up, down, left, right" mean the "front, rear, up, down, left, right" of the vehicle when the lamp unit for vehicles is mounted on the vehicle. In the drawings, the mark "VU-VD" means the up-down vertical line of the paper surface. The mark "HL-HR" means the left-right horizontal line of the paper surface. In addition, in the scope of the specification and the claims, "horizontal" means "horizontal or roughly horizontal", and "vertical" means "vertical or roughly vertical".
- Now the explanation of the structure of the lamp unit for vehicles of the embodiment is given. In the figures, mark I is the lamp unit for vehicles in the embodiment which is, for example, the head lamp of the vehicle. The lamp unit for vehicles mentioned here comprises a first reflector 2 (a main reflector, a light shutout member and concurrently a reflector) on the front side, a second reflector 3 (a subreflector, a shade and concurrently a reflector) on the rear side, a
semiconductor light source 4, ashade 5, a projection lens 6 (a convex lens, spotlight lens), a planar reflectmirror 7, heat sink member (not shown), alight shutout member 8, a lamp housing and a lamp lens not shown (for example, a transparent outer lens, etc.). - The
first reflector 2, thesecond reflector 3, thesemiconductor light source 4, theshade 5, theprojection lens 6, the planar reflectmirror 7, the heat sink member, and thelight shutout member 8 constitute a lamp unit. As shown in the figures, the lamp unit is a stand-up type of projecting lamp constituting the lamp unit. In the lamp chamber divided by the lamp housing and lamp lens, of the head lamp of the vehicle, one or more of the lamp units are arranged, by, for example, the light axis adjusting device. In addition, there exist other cases where other lamp units besides the lamp units mentioned above are arranged in the lamp chamber and constitute the lamp unit for vehicles of the present invention. - The
first reflector 2 and thesecond reflector 3 are formed of lightproof resin members, and are concurrently used as holding members such as a casing, a housing, and a holder. In addition, thefirst reflector 2 and thesecond reflector 3 are formed by being divided vertically along the vertical light axis Z2-Z2 of a later-on mentioned first reflectsurface 9. Thefirst reflector 2, thesecond reflector 3 and the heat sink member are fixed integratedly by the fixing members not shown (such as boltnut, screw, rivet, clip, etc.). In addition, thefirst reflector 2 and thesecond reflector 3 can be formed integratedly - As shown in
Fig.2 , thefirst reflector 2 has a semicircle opening at the lower part of its upper half, and has an opening at the rear part of its lower half, and furthermore, the front part of its lower half is sealed. The sealed part of the front part of the lower half of thefirst reflector 2 is formed with a protrusion in shape protruding outwardly (from the rear to the front). Afirst reflect surface 9 is arranged in the recess of the sealed part of the lower half of thefirst reflector 2 by way of aluminum steam plating or silver coating. Ascrew hole 10 for screw to fix the fixing member (or a through hole for screw to fix the fixing member) is arranged at each of the four corners of thefirst reflector 2. - The
first reflect surface 9 is an ellipse reflect surface, i.e. an ellipse reflect surface or a reflect surface on the basis of ellipse. The ellipse reflect surface of thefirst reflect surface 9 is formed of reflect surface (the vertical section inFig.1 ,Fig. 5-8 , is ellipse, and the horizontal section not shown is reflect surface such as paraboloid or deformed paraboloid) such as rotary ellipse surface or free NURBS on the basis of ellipse. Therefore, thefirst reflect surface 9 has a first focus F1 and a second focus or a focus line F2 of the horizontal section (i.e. the focus line whose two ends is at the up part and whose centre is at the lower part, as viewed from the front). In addition, the second focus or the focus line F2 of the horizontal section is called shortly as "the second focus F2". In addition, in the scope of the specification and the patent application, the second focus of the ellipse reflect surface and the second focus of the first reflect surface are referred to as "the second focus or the focus line F2 of the horizontal section". - As shown in the figures, the
second reflector 3 is formed of the vertical board with a semicircle opening at its upper part and arecess 11 at its lower part. In front of the vertical board of thesecond reflector 3, asecond reflect surface 12 is provided along the plane or roughly a plane of the light axis Z2-Z2 of thefirst reflect surface 9 by way of aluminum steam plating or silver coating. Thesecond reflect surface 12 is arranged between the second focus F2 of the first reflect surface 9 (i.e. the second focus F2 or its vicinity) and thesemiconductor light source 4. Ascrew hole 13 for screw to fix the fixing member (or a through hole for screw to fix the fixing member) is arranged at each of the four corners of the vertical board of thesecond reflector 3. - The
semiconductor light source 4 employs light-self-emitting semiconductor light source such as LED, EL (organic EL), etc. Thesemiconductor light source 4 comprises a base board 14, an illuminant (not shown) of the light source chip (semiconductor chip) in tiny rectangular shape (square shape) fixed on one surface of the base board 14, a light through member 15 covering the illuminant, and a connector or electric harness (not shown) connected to a power supply (not shown). Thesemiconductor light source 4 is fixed on the bottom of therecess 11 of thesecond reflector 3. In addition, an opening can be arranged on therecess 11 of thesecond reflector 3, and thesemiconductor light source 4 can be fixed on the heat sink member. The illuminant (illuminant member) of thesemiconductor light source 4 is positioned at the first focus F1 (i.e. the first focus or its vicinity) of thefirst reflect surface 9. - The
shade 5 and thesecond reflector 3 are arranged integratedly, that is, theshade 5 is concurrently used as the vertical board of thesecond reflector 3, as a result of which, thesecond reflect surface 12 is arranged on theshade 5. Furthermore, theshade 5 and thesecond reflector 3 can be arranged separately and then integrated by a fixing member. Theshade 5 is arranged between the second focus F2 (i.e. the second focus F2 or its vicinity) of thefirst reflect surface 9 and thesemiconductor light source 4. In the part of the second focus F2 (i.e. the second focus F2 or its vicinity) of thefirst reflect surface 9 in theshade 5, aedge 16 is arranged along the second focus (the second focus line) F2 of thefirst reflect surface 9. - The
shade 5 cuts off a portion of the reflected light 14 emitting from thesemiconductor light source 4 and reflected by thefirst reflect surface 9 and uses the remaining reflected light to form a predetermined distributed light pattern P having cutoff lines CL, such as the distributed light pattern for interleaving, the distributed light pattern for high way, etc (seeFig.4 ). Theedge 16 of theshade 5 forms the cutoff lines CL of the distributed light pattern P and elbow E. Furthermore, thesecond reflect surface 12 reflects the reflected light L4 cut off by theshade 5 acting as a reflected light L9 toward the predetermined direction, i.e. one side of theplanar reflect surface 7, and forms the secondary distributed light pattern (not shown). - The
projection lens 6 is mounted at the edge formed at the semicircle opening of the semicircle at the lower half of thefirst reflector 2 and the edge formed at the semicircle opening of the semicircle at the upper half of thesecond reflector 3. Furthermore, theprojection lens 6 can be mounted directly on thefirst reflector 2 and thesecond reflector 3, as shown in the embodiment, or is mounted by a ring and the like (not shown). Theprojection lens 6 is a non-spheric convex lens. The front side (outer side) of theprojection lens 6 is formed as a non-spheric convex of a big curvature (a small curvature radius), while the other side, i.e. the rear side of the projection lens 6 (the side of the planar reflect surface 7) is formed as a non-spheric convex of a small curvature (a big curvature radius). Because the focal length of theprojection lens 6 becomes smaller by way of this type of theprojection lens 6, the dimension in the direction of the horizontal lens light axis Z1-Z1 of theprojection lens 6 becomes compact. Furthermore, the rear side of theprojection lens 6 can be a non-spheric plane (plane). - The
projection lens 6 comprises lens focus FL1 away from theprojection lens 6 by the front focal length FF and acting as the front focus (the focus at the side of the planar reflect surface 7), back focus (the focus at the outer side) away from theprojection lens 6 by the back focal length, the horizontal lens light axis Z1-Z1 connecting the lens focus FL1 positioned at the front focus to the back focus. The vertical light axis of the Z2-Z2 of thefirst reflect surface 9 intersects the horizontal lens light axis Z1-Z1 of theprojection lens 6 orthogonally. The lens focus FL1 of theprojection lens 6 acts as meridional focus of the focal surface at the side of the space which the object lies in. Furthermore, because the light from thesemiconductor light source 4 does possess much heat, the lens made of resin can be used as theprojection lens 6. In the embodiment mentioned above, theprojection lens 6 employs acryl. Theprojection lens 6 projects the predetermined distributed light pattern P having the cutoff lines CL reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7 and the later-on mentioned secondary distributed light pattern P1, P2, P3, P4, P5 toward the front (seeFig.4 ). Furthermore, the secondary distributed light pattern not shown illuminates from theplanar reflect surface 7 through theprojection lens 6 and is projected toward the front. - The
planar reflect surface 7 is planar board shaped and arranged integratedly between the semicircle opening at the upper half of thesecond reflector 3 and theedge 16 of theshade 5. Furthermore, thesecond reflector 3, theshade 5, and the planar reflect surface 7are arranged separately, and are fixed integratedly by a fixing member. On the surface of theplanar reflect surface 7, aluminum steam plating or silver coating is employed. Theplanar reflect surface 7 is arranged in such a way that it intersects the lens light axis Z1-Z1 at 45 or roughly 45 between theprojection lens 6 and the lens focus FL1 of theprojection lens 6. Theplanar reflect surface 7 reflects the predetermined distributed light pattern P having the cutoff lines CL, the secondary distributed light pattern P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, and the secondary distributed light pattern not shown in the figures toward the side of theprojection lens 6. - As shown in
Fig.5-Fig.7 , the lens focus FL1 of theprojection lens 6 exists as a fictitious lens focus FL2 at the symmetrical position with respect to theplanar reflect surface 7 by way of theplanar reflect surface 7. In other words, the fictitious lens focus FL2 is the image of the lens focus FL1 generated by theplanar reflect surface 7. The fictitious lens focus FL2 is the reflexion symmetric of the lens focal point FL1 with respect to the planar reflect surface's plane. The fictitious lens focus FL2 is positioned at the second focus F2 (i.e. the second focus F2 and its vicinity) of thefirst reflect surface 9. Furthermore, as shown inFig.5-Fig.7 , the horizontal lens light axis Z1-Z1 of theprojection lens 6 exists as a vertical fictitious lens light axis Z3-Z3 intersecting the horizontal lens light axis Z1-Z1 orthogonally by way of theplanar reflect surface 7. In other words, the fictitious lens light axis (Z3-Z3) is the image of the lens light axis (Z1-Z1) generated by theplanar reflect surface 7. The vertical fictitious lens light axis Z3-Z3 is consistent or roughly consistent with the light axis Z2-Z2 of thefirst reflect surface 9. - As a result, as shown in
Fig.5 , when the parallel lights L1 from outside illuminate theprojection lens 6 from outside and go through theprojection lens 6 and emit outwardly from theprojection lens 6, the parallel lights L1 converge at the lens focus FL1 of theprojection lens 6. The converged emitting lights from theprojection lens 6 are reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7, and the reflected lights L2 converge at the fictitious lens focus FL2, i.e. the second focus F2 of thefirst reflect surface 9. Furthermore, as shown inFig.5-Fig.7 , the horizontal lens light axis Z1-Z1 becomes the vertical fictitious lens light axis Z3-Z3, i.e. the light axis Z2-Z2 of thefirst reflect surface 9 by way of theplanar reflect surface 7. - The heat sink member is provided with a plurality of fins arranged integratedly on the back surface (or the rear side or inside) of the planar board in the vertical direction and separated at an appropriate interval. The heat sink member is designed to be arranged vertically, i.e. stand-up. The front side (the face side or the surface) of the planar board of the heat sink member is mounted on the back surface (or the rear side or inside) of the board member of the
second reflector 3. The heat sink member dissipates heat generated in thesemiconductor light source 4 outwardly. - The
light shutout member 8 is arranged integratedly on thefirst reflector 2, and is formed of a lightproof member. Furthermore, thelight shutout member 8 and thefirst reflector 2 can be arranged separately and fixed integratedly by a fixing member. As shown inFig. 1 ,Fig.5-Fig.7 , thelight shutout member 8 is arranged between thesemiconductor light source 4 and theprojection lens 6, that is, thelight shutout member 8 is arranged at the place ranging from one side of theprojection lens 6 to one side of theplanar reflect surface 7, so that it can shut out the straight light L6 from thesemiconductor light source 4, the reflected light L7 from thesecond reflect surface 12, and the later-on mentioned reflected light L8 from the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) from illuminating toward theprojection lens 6, and enables the reflected light L4 from thefirst reflect surface 9, the reflected light L9 from thesecond reflect surface 12, and the reflected light L12, L14, L16 from the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) to illuminate toward theplanar reflect surface 7, and enables the reflected light L10 from theplanar reflect surface 7 to illuminate toward theprojection lens 6 in the range of theprojection lens 6. The one end of thelight shutout member 8 is fixed at the edge of the semicircle opening of thefirst reflector 2 and the heel of the sealed part of the front part of the lower half of thefirst reflector 2, while the other end of thelight shutout member 8 extends to theshade 5 and thesecond reflect surface 12, or extends to the second focus F2 of thefirst reflect surface 9, or extends to one side of theplanar reflect surface 7. Thelight shutout member 8 can be of the planar board shape, or of the flexible board shape, or of other shape. - The
light shutout member 8 is provided with the firstsupplemental reflect surface semiconductor light source 4 toward the predetermined direction. As shown inFig. 1 , the first supplemental reflect surface comprises thefirst part 17, thesecond part 18, thethird part 19, thefourth part 20, and thefifth part 21. On thelight shutout member 8, there is a thoughhole 22 arranged between thefourth part 20 and thefifth part 21. - The
first part 17 of the first supplemental reflect surface is formed with the same ellipse reflect surface as thefirst reflect surface 9, and has a first focus F11 positioned at the first focus F1 and its vicinity of thefirst reflect surface 9 and a second focus F21 positioned above the first focus F11. Furthermore, thesecond part 18 of the first supplemental reflect surface is formed with the same ellipse reflect surface as thefirst reflect surface 9, and has a first focus F12 positioned at the first focus F1 and its vicinity of thefirst reflect surface 9 and a second focus F22 positioned above the second focus F21 of thefirst part 17. Furthermore, thethird part 19 of the first supplemental reflect surface is formed with the same ellipse reflect surface as thefirst reflect surface 9, and has a first focus F13 positioned at the first focus F1 and its vicinity of thefirst reflect surface 9 and a second focus F23 positioned above the second focus F22 of thesecond part 18. Furthermore, thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface is formed with the same ellipse reflect surface as thefirst reflect surface 9, and has a first focus F14 positioned at the first focus F1 and its vicinity of thefirst reflect surface 9 and a second focus F24 positioned above the second focus F22 of thesecond part 18 and the second focus F23 of thethird part 19. Furthermore, thefifth part 21 of the first supplemental reflect surface is formed with the same ellipse reflect surface as thefirst reflect surface 9, and has a first focus F15 positioned at the first focus F1 and its vicinity of thefirst reflect surface 9 and a second focus F25 clamping thelight shutout member 8 and positioned at the front and much above the first focus obliquely. - The
shade 5 is provided with thesecond reflect surface 12 and the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) reflecting the reflected light L4 cut off by theshade 5 and acting as the reflected light L9 toward the predetermined direction. The second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) are positioned in the middle of thereflect surface 12. Theshade 5 is provided with the throughhole 24 positioned between theplanar reflect mirror 7 and thereflect surface 12 and between thereflect surface 12 and the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27). From the bottom to the top, the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) tilt from the front to the rear. - As shown in
Fig.3 , the second supplemental reflect surface comprises a first part 25, asecond part 26, and athird part 27. The first part 25 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23 reflects the reflected light L11 reflected by thefirst part 17 of the first supplemental reflect surface and acting as reflected light L12 toward the predetermined direction, i.e. the one side of theplanar reflect surface 7. Furthermore, thesecond part 26 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23 reflects the reflected light L13 reflected by thesecond part 18 of the first supplemental reflect surface and acting as reflected light L14 toward the predetermined direction, i.e. the one side of theplanar reflect surface 7, and reflects the reflected light L15 reflected by thethird part 19 of the first supplemental reflect surface and acting as reflected light L16 toward the predetermined direction, i.e. the one side of theplanar reflect surface 7. Furthermore, thethird part 27 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23 reflects the reflected light L17 reflected by thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface and acting as reflected light L18 toward the predetermined direction, i.e. through the throughhole 24 toward the one side of theplanar reflect surface 7. The first part 25, thesecond part 26, and thethird part 27 of the second supplemental reflect surface each comprises an ellipse reflect surface or other flexible reflect surface or planar reflect surface. - As a first predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P1, the reflected light L11 from the
first part 17 of the first supplemental reflect surface and the reflected light L12 from the first part 25 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23 are reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7 toward one side of theprojection lens 6, and go through theprojection lens 6 and are projected toward the front. Furthermore, as a second predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P2, the reflected light L13 from thesecond part 18 of the first supplemental reflect surface and the reflected light L14 from thesecond part 26 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23 are reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7 toward one side of theprojection lens 6, and go through theprojection lens 6 and are projected toward the front. Furthermore, as a third predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P3, the reflected light L15 from thethird part 19 of the first supplemental reflect surface and the reflected light L16 from thesecond part 26 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23 are reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7 toward one side of theprojection lens 6, and go through theprojection lens 6 and are projected toward the front. Furthermore, as a fourth predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P4, the reflected light L17 from thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface and the reflected light L18 from thethird part 27 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23 are reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7 toward one side of theprojection lens 6, and go through theprojection lens 6 and are projected toward the front - As a reflected light L20, the light L13 from the
semiconductor light source 4 is reflected through the throughhole 22 by thefifth part 21 of the first supplemental reflect surface toward the predetermined direction, i.e. one side of theprojection lens 6. As a fifth predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P5, the reflected light L20 from thefifth part 21 of the first supplemental reflect surface is reflected through theprojection lens 6 toward the front. - The lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment is structured as mentioned above. The explanation of their functions is now given as follows. - First of all, the illuminant of the
semiconductor light source 4 of the lamp unit forvehicles 1 is lighted and thus emits light. Therefore, as shown inFig.6 , the illuminant of thesemiconductor light source 4 emits light L13, a portion of which is reflected by thefirst reflect surface 9 to form reflected light L4 that then converges at the second focus F2 of thefirst reflect surface 9 and the fictitious lens focus FL2. A portion of the L4 converging at the second focus F2 and the fictitious lens focus FL2 is cut off by theshade 5. The reflected L4 cut off by theshade 5 is reflected by thesecond reflect surface 12 integrated together with theshade 5, and as light L9, is reflected toward the predetermined direction, i.e. one side of theplanar reflect surface 7. The reflected light L9 forms the predetermined secondary distributed light pattern (not shown). On the other hand, the remaining reflected light L4 is used to form the predetermined distributed light pattern P having cutoff line CL. - The reflected light L9 forming the predetermined secondary distributed light pattern and the reflected light L4 forming the predetermined distributed light pattern P having cutoff line CL are reflected by the
planar reflect surface 7 to form light L10, which, as the light from the focus FL1 of theprojection lens 6, is synthesized by theprojection lens 6, and, as the predetermined distributed light pattern, the synthesized light (light L5 projected from the projection lens 6) is projected toward the front of the vehicle and illuminates the road and the like. - Furthermore, as shown in
Fig.1 , a portion of the light L3 from the illuminant of thesemiconductor light source 4 is reflected as reflected light L11 by thefirst part 17 of the first supplemental reflect surface, and then the reflected light L11 is reflected as reflected light L12 by the first part 25 of thesecond reflect surface 12 to form the first predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P1. The reflected light L12 forming the first predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P1 is reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7 and projected by theprojection lens 6 toward the front - Also, as shown in
Fig. 1 , a portion of the light L3 from the illuminant of thesemiconductor light source 4 is reflected as reflected light L13 by thesecond part 18 of the first supplemental reflect surface, and then the reflected light L13 is reflected as reflected light L14 by thesecond part 26 of thesecond reflect surface 12 to form the second predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P2. The reflected light L14 forming the second predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P2 is reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7 and projected by theprojection lens 6 toward the front. - Also, as shown in
Fig. 1 , a portion of the light L3 from the illuminant of thesemiconductor light source 4 is reflected as reflected light L15 by thethird part 19 of the first supplemental reflect surface, and then the reflected light L15 is reflected as reflected light L16 by thesecond part 26 of thesecond reflect surface 12 to form the third predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P3. The reflected light L16 forming the third predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P3 is reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7 and projected by theprojection lens 6 toward the front. - Also, as shown in
Fig. 1 , a portion of the light L3 from the illuminant of thesemiconductor light source 4 is reflected as reflectedlight L 17 by thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface, and then the reflected light L17 is reflected as reflected light L18 by thethird part 27 of thesecond reflect surface 12 to form the fourth predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P4. The reflected light L18 forming the fourth predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P4 is reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7 and is projected by theprojection lens 6 toward the front. - Also, as shown in
Fig. 1 andFig.8 , a portion of the light L3 from the illuminant of thesemiconductor light source 4 goes through the throughhole 22 of thelight shutout member 8 and reflected as reflected light L20 by thefifth part 21 of the first supplemental reflect surface to form the fifth predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P5. The reflected light L20 forming the fifth predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P5 is projected by theprojection lens 6 toward the front. - Therefore, as shown in
Fig.4 , the predetermined distributed light pattern P having cutoff line CL, the first predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P1, the second predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P2, the third predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P3, the fourth predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P4, the fifth predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P5, and the predetermined distributed light pattern not shown are projected by theprojection lens 6 toward the front of the vehicle and illuminate the road and the like. As shown inFig.4 , the first predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P1, the second predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P2, and the third predetermined secondary distributed light pattern P3 form the distributed light pattern of high brightness with the cutoff line CL thereabove in the centre of the predetermined distributed light pattern P. Furthermore, as shown inFig.4 , the fourth secondary distributed light pattern P4 and the fifth secondary distributed light pattern P5 form the distributed light pattern for overhead sign with the cutoff line CL therebelow. - On the other hand, as shown in
Fig.7 , the straight light L6 of the light L3 from the illuminant of thesemiconductor light source 4 directly illuminating toward theprojection lens 6 is shut off by thelight shutout member 8 and thus cannot directly illuminates toward theprojection lens 6. Here, if there is nolight shutout member 8 and thus the straight light L21 (the reflected light marked in dot line) from the illuminant of thesemiconductor light source 4, i.e. the straight light L21 not distributed, illuminates toward theprojection lens 6, there exists the circumstance where the straight light L21 is left out in the oblique front above direction with respect to theprojection lens 6 and becomes glare light. However, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can prevent the glare light by thelight shutout member 8. Furthermore, inFig.7 , although the straight light L21 left out of theprojection lens 6 is marked by a straight line, in fact, it bends when illuminating toward and through theprojection lens 6. Furthermore, there is a portion of the light L3 from the illuminant of thesemiconductor light source 4 not shut out by thelight shutout member 8 and illuminating directly to the planar reflect surface 7 (not shown), which then is reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7 toward the predetermined direction i.e. one side of theprojection lens 6, and, as light distributed, is projected by theprojection lens 6 toward the front. - Also, as shown in
Fig.7 , the reflected light L7 of the light from thesecond reflect surface 12 directly illuminating toward theprojection lens 6 is shut out by thelight shutout member 8 and thus cannot directly illuminates toward theprojection lens 6. Here, if there is nolight shutout member 8 and thus the reflected light L22 (the reflected light marked in dot line) from thesecond reflect surface 12, i.e. the reflected light L22 not distributed, illuminates toward theprojection lens 6, there exists the circumstance where the reflected light L22 is left out in the oblique front above direction with respect to theprojection lens 6 and becomes glare light. However, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can prevent the glare light by thelight shutout member 8. Furthermore, inFig.7 , although the reflected light L22 left out of theprojection lens 6 is marked by a straight line, in fact, it bends when illuminating toward and through theprojection lens 6. - Also, as shown in
Fig.7 , the reflected light L8 of the light from the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23 directly illuminating toward theprojection lens 6 is shut out by thelight shutout member 8 and thus cannot directly illuminates toward theprojection lens 6. Here, if there is nolight shutout member 8 and thus the reflected light L23 (the reflected light marked in dot line) from the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23, i.e. the reflected light L23 not distributed, illuminates toward theprojection lens 6, there exists the circumstance where the reflected light L23 is left out in the oblique front above direction with respect to theprojection lens 6 and becomes glare light. However, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can prevent the glare light by thelight shutout member 8. Furthermore, inFig.7 , although the reflected light L23 left out of theprojection lens 6 is marked by a straight line, in fact, it bends when illuminating toward and through theprojection lens 6. - Here, when the
semiconductor light source 4 generates heat because of the illuminant of thesemiconductor light source 4 being lighted, the heat is transmitted to the heat sink member, by which the heat is dissipated outwardly. Furthermore, the outer light, when illuminating from theprojection lens 6 toward thefirst reflect surface 9, thesecond reflect surface 12, the first supplemental reflect surface 17-21, and the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23, which are at one side of thesemiconductor light source 4, is shut out by thelight shutout member 8, and therefore, the dubitable lighted light resulting from the circumstance where thesemiconductor light source 4 seems to be lighted even though it is not lighted is prevented. - The lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment is structured as mentioned above. The explanation of their functions is now given as follows. - Because the
light shutout member 8 of the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment is provided with thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface reflecting the light L3 from thesemiconductor light source 4 toward theshade 5, and theshade 5 is provided with the throughhole 24 through which the reflected light L17 from thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface illuminates toward one side of theplanar reflect surface 7, the light L3 from thesemiconductor light source 4 can be effectively used by way of thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface of thelight shutout member 8 and the throughhole 24 of theshade 5. Furthermore, because theshade 5 of the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment is provided with thethird part 27 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23 illuminating the reflected light L17 from thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface through the throughhole 24 and reflected by theplanar reflect surface 7, the light L3 from thesemiconductor light source 4 acting as the distributed light pattern P4 for a overhead sign can be effectively used by way of thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface and thethird part 27 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23. Furthermore, because thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface of the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment is formed with an ellipse reflect surface, the distributed light pattern P4 for a overhead sign can be evenly distributed, and therefore, the distributed light pattern P4 for a overhead sign with high vision identifization can be obtained. - Because the
light shutout member 8 of the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment is provided with the first supplemental reflect surface 17-21 of the supplemental reflect surface reflecting the light L3 from thesemiconductor light source 4 toward the predetermined direction, the light L3 from thesemiconductor light source 4 can be effectively used by way of the first supplemental reflect surface 17-21, that is, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can effectively use the light L3 from thesemiconductor light source 4 acting as the secondary distributed light pattern P1-P5 with respect to the predetermined distributed light pattern P by way of the first supplemental reflect surface 17-21. Specifically, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can reflects the reflected light L11, L13, L15, and L17 from thefirst part 17, thesecond part 18, thethird part 19, and thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface acting as the reflected light L12, L14, L16, and L18 toward the predetermined direction. Therefore, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can effectively and reliably use the light L3 from thesemiconductor light source 4. - Furthermore, because, in the lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment, thelight shutout member 8 is arranged between thesemiconductor light source 4 and theprojection lens 6, thelight shutout member 8 can shut out the straight light L6 from thesemiconductor light source 4, the reflected light L7 from thesecond reflect surface 12, and the reflected light L8 from the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) from illuminating toward theprojection lens 6. Therefore, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can prevent the light L21, L22, L23 except the predetermined distributed light pattern P illuminating from theprojection lens 6, i.e. the L21, L22, L23 not distributed, from illuminating from theprojection lens 6, and therefore, the lamp unit for vehicles I in the embodiment is advantageous to safety of the transportation. - Furthermore, in the lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment, theplanar reflect surface 7 is arranged between theprojection lens 6 and its focus FL1 and intersects the lens light axis Z1-Z1 of theprojection lens 6. As a result, in the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment, the lens focus FL1 exists as a fictitious focus FL2 at the symmetric position with respect to theplanar reflect surface 7 by way of theplanar reflect surface 7; the fictitious focus FL2 is positioned at the second focus F2 of thefirst reflect surface 9 of the ellipse reflect surface; and the horizontal light axis Z1-Z1 of theprojection lens 6 exists as a vertical fictitious light axis Z3-Z3 intersecting the horizontal light axis Z1-Z1 orthogonally by way of theplanar reflect surface 7; the vertical fictitious light axis Z3-Z3 is consistent (consistent or roughly consistent) with the light axis Z2-Z2 of thefirst reflect surface 9 of the ellipse reflect surface. Thus, in the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment, theprojection lens 6, and theplanar reflect surface 7 can be arranged in the horizontal direction, and theprojection lens 6, theplanar reflect surface 7, thefirst reflector 2, thesecond reflector 3, thesemiconductor light source 4, and theshade 5 can be arranged in the vertical direction, and therefore, in the lamp unit for vehicles in the embodiment, the depth dimension W in the horizontal direction and the height dimension H in the vertical direction can be reduced, and the demands for reducing the depth dimension W and the height dimension H can be met. Furthermore, the depth dimension W shown inFig.6 is the dimension from the front of theprojection lens 6 to the rear of thesecond reflector 3. If the heat sink member is fixed on the back of thesecond reflector 3, the depth dimension becomes the dimension from the front of theprojection lens 6 to the rear of the heat sink member. - Specifically, because, in the lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment, thelight shutout member 8 shut out the straight light L6 illuminating from thesemiconductor light source 4 toward theprojection lens 6 and not distributed, the height dimension H can be further reduced. In other words, if there is nolight shutout member 8, in order to prevent the straight light L6 not distributed from illuminating from thesemiconductor light source 4 toward theprojection lens 6, it is required sometimes to separate thesemiconductor light source 4 and theprojection lens 6 further apart in the vertical direction (i.e. increase the height dimension). By contrast, because the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment is provided with thelight shutout member 8, the straight light L6 not distributed can be prevented from illuminating from thesemiconductor light source 4 toward theprojection lens 6 by way of thelight shutout member 8, and the height dimension H can be reduced. - Furthermore, in the lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment, by way of thelight shutout member 8 arranged between thesemiconductor light source 4 and theprojection lens 6, the outer light (not shown) can be shut out from illuminating from theprojection lens 6 toward thefirst reflect surface 9, thesecond reflect surface 12, the first supplemental reflect surface 17-21, and the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27), which are at the side of thesemiconductor light source 4. As a result, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can prevent the dubitable lighted light resulting from the circumstance where the outer light is reflected by thefirst reflect surface 9, thesecond reflect surface 12, the first supplemental reflect surface 17-21, and the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) and thus emits outwardly from theprojection lens 6, leading to thesemiconductor light source 4 seeming to be lighted even though it is not lighted. - Furthermore, because, in the lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment, thelight shutout member 8 is arranged in the predetermined range from one side of theprojection lens 6 to one side of theplanar reflect surface 7, the straight light L6 from thesemiconductor light source 4, the reflected light L7 from thesecond reflect surface 12, and the reflected light L8 from the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) can be shut out from illuminating toward theprojection lens 6, and the reflected light L4 from thefirst surface 9, the reflected light L9 from thesecond reflect surface 12, and the reflected light L12, L14, L16 from the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) can illuminate toward theplanar reflect surface 7, and the reflected light L10, L19 from theplanar reflect surface 7 can illuminate toward theprojection lens 6. Therefore, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can effectively use the portion of the straight light L6 from thesemiconductor light source 4, the reflected light L7 from thesecond reflect surface 12, and the reflected light L8 from the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) that are shut out from illuminating toward theprojection lens 6, and becomes a lamp unit for vehicles with high utilization efficiency. Furthermore, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment does not use thelight shutout member 8 to shut out the reflected light L4 from thefirst reflect surface 9, the reflected light L9 from thesecond reflect surface 12, and the reflected light L12, L14, L16 from the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27) from illuminating toward theplanar reflect surface 7 reliably, and does not use thelight shutout member 8 to shut out the reflected light L0, L19 from theplanar reflect surface 7 from illuminating toward theprojection lens 6. Therefore, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment does not lose the distributed light and can reliably use the distributed light. - Furthermore, the lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment is provided with theshade 5 arranged between the second focus F2 of thefirst reflect surface 9 of the ellipse reflect surface and thesemiconductor light source 4 to cut off a portion of the reflected light L4 emitting from thesemiconductor light source 4 and reflected by thefirst reflect surface 9, and use the remaining reflected light L4 to form the predetermined distributed light pattern P having the cutoff line CL. Furthermore, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can reflect the reflected light L4 cut off by theshade 5 as the reflected light L9 toward theplanar reflect surface 7 by way of thesecond reflect surface 12 arranged on theshade 5, and thus the good light utilization efficiency can be obtained. Furthermore, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can reflect the light from thesemiconductor light source 4, which is not shut out by thelight shutout member 8 and illuminates toward the planar reflect surface 7 (not shown), toward the predetermined direction, i.e. one side of theprojection lens 6, which then, as the distributed light, goes through theprojection lens 6 and is projected toward the front. Therefore, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can effectively use the portion of the light from thesemiconductor light source 4 that do not illuminate toward thefirst reflect surface 9 and the first supplemental reflect surface 17-21, and thus the good light utilization efficiency can be obtained. - Furthermore, because in the lamp unit for vehicles I in the embodiment, the first supplemental reflect surfaces 17-21 comprise five reflect surfaces and the second supplemental reflect surfaces 23 (25-27) comprise three reflect surfaces, it is possible to design the five distributed light pattern P1-P2 to be the expected secondary distributed light pattern, for example, the distributed light pattern with high brightness and the distributed light pattern for a overhead sign.
- Furthermore, because, in the lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment, theplanar reflect surface 7 and theshade 5 are structured integratedly, and thesecond reflector 2 and thelight shutout member 8 are structured integratedly, the number of the components can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Furthermore, because, in the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment, theplanar reflect surface 7 for forming the fictitious focus FL2 of theprojection lens 6 and theshade 5 for forming the cutoff line CL of the predetermined distributed light pattern P are structured integratedly, the precision of the predetermined distributed light pattern P having the cutoff line CL can be improved. Furthermore, because, in the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment, thefirst reflector 2 having thefirst reflect surface 9, and thelight shutout member 8 enabling the reflected light L4 from thefirst reflect surface 9 to illuminate toward theplanar reflect surface 7, are structured integratedly, the reflected light L4 from thefirst reflect surface 9 can illuminate reliably toward theplanar reflect surface 7, and the distributed light is not be lost and can be reliably used. - Furthermore, in the lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment, thesemiconductor light source 4 is mounted in therecess 11 of thesecond reflector 3 with the base board 14 of thesemiconductor light source 4 mounted vertically, and the heat sink member is mounted vertically on the back surface of thesecond reflector 3. As a result, because, in the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment, thesemiconductor light source 4 and the heat sink member are arranged before and after each other in the horizontal direction, the heat generated in thesemiconductor light source 4 can be dissipated efficiently by the vertically mounted heat sink member. Furthermore, because, in the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment, thefirst reflector 2, thesecond reflector 3, thesemiconductor light source 4, theshade 5, theprojection lens 6, theplanar reflect surface 7, and the heat sink member are arranged before and after each other in the horizontal direction, the space above the heat sink member is open to the outside, and thus, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can dissipate the heat efficiently toward the outside from the bottom to the top. - Furthermore, because, in the lamp unit for
vehicles 1 in the embodiment, thelight shutout member 8 is provided with the throughhole 22 for the light L3 from thesemiconductor light source 4 to go through, the light L3 from thesemiconductor light source 4 can be effectively used by way of the throughhole 22 of thelight shutout member 8. Furthermore, the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment can effectively use the light L3 from thesemiconductor light source 4 as the secondary distributed light pattern P5 for a overhead sign by way of thefifth part 21 of the first supplemental reflect surface arranged on the surface that the throughhole 22 is on. Furthermore, because, in the lamp unit forvehicles 1 in the embodiment, thefifth part 21 of the first supplemental reflect surface is formed with ellipse reflect surface, the distributed light pattern P5 for a overhead sign can be evenly distributed, and thus the distributed light pattern P5 with good vision identifization can be obtained. - Furthermore, in the embodiment mentioned above, as a lamp unit for vehicles, the head lamp for vehicles is explained in detail. However, in the present invention, as a lamp unit for vehicles, besides the head lamp, the lamp unit for vehicles can also be, for example, the tail lamp, the brake lamp, or the tail-brake lamp of the rear combination lamp, and the like.
- Furthermore, in the embodiment mentioned above, the explanation is made as to the example concerning the
first reflect surface 9, thesecond reflect surface 12, the first supplemental reflect surface 17-21, 19, the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27), 28, 30. However, the present invention also has the ellipse reflect surface (the first reflect surface 9) arranged on the reflector and the supplemental reflect surface arranged on the light shutout member. In other words, in the present invention, thesecond reflect surface 12 and the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27), 28, 30 may not be needed. In this case, because the reflected light from the second reflect surface and the reflected light from second supplemental reflect surface do not occur, the light shutout member does not need to shut out the reflected light from the second reflect surface and the reflected light from second supplemental reflect surface. - Furthermore, in the embodiment mentioned above, the predetermined distributed light pattern P and the secondary distributed light pattern P1-P7 having the cutoff line CL are illuminated. However, in the present invention, as a predetermined distributed light pattern, it can be distributed light pattern not having the cutoff line, such as the distributed light pattern for fog lamp, the distributed light pattern for the wet road, the distributed light pattern for detime lamp, the distributed light pattern for tail lamp, the distributed light pattern for brake lamp, the distributed light pattern for tail-brake lamp, the distributed light pattern for backup lamp, etc.
- Furthermore, in the embodiment mentioned above, the
first reflector 2 and thesecond reflector 3 are formed separately and are fixed integratedly with the heat sink member by a fixing member. However, in the present invention, thefirst reflector 2 and thesecond reflector 3 can be formed integratedly. - Furthermore, in the embodiment mentioned above, the
projection lens 6 and thefirst reflector 2 and thesecond reflector 3 are formed separately and mounted. However, in the present invention, theprojection lens 6 and thefirst reflector 2 and thesecond reflector 3 can be formed integratedly. - Furthermore, in the embodiment mentioned above, the
light shutout member 8 shuts out the straight L6 from thesemiconductor light source 4 illuminating directly toward theprojection lens 6, the reflected light L7 from thereflect surface 12 illuminating directly toward theprojection lens 6, and the reflected light L8 from the second supplemental reflect surface 23 (25-27), 28, 30 illuminating directly toward theprojection lens 6. However, in the present invention, only the straight L6 from thesemiconductor light source 4 illuminating directly toward theprojection lens 6 may be shut out. - Furthermore, in the embodiment mentioned above, the first supplemental reflect surfaces 17-21, 29 each is formed with the same the ellipse reflect surface as the
first reflect surface 9. However, in the present invention, the first supplemental reflect surface can be formed with other flexible surface or planar surface. - Furthermore, in the embodiment mentioned above, the
shade 5 is provided with thethird part 27 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23 for reflecting the reflected light L17 from thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface as distributed light pattern P4 for a overhead sign. However, in the present invention, theshade 5 may not need to be provided with thethird part 27 of the secondsupplemental reflect surface 23, but provided with the throughhole 24 for the light L17 from thefourth part 20 of the first supplemental reflect surface to go through and toward theplanar reflect surface 7.
Claims (3)
- A lamp unit (1) for vehicles of projector type using a semiconductor light source (4) as a light source, comprising,
a reflector having ellipse reflect surface (9),
a semiconductor light source (4) arranged in such a way that its light emitting part is positioned at the first focus (F1) of the ellipse reflect surface (9),
a projection lens (6) with its lens light axis (Z1-Z1) in the horizontal direction for projecting a predetermined distributed light pattern (P) toward a predetermined direction,
a planar reflect surface (7) arranged between the projection lens (6) and its focus (FL1) in such a way that the planar reflect surface (7) intersects the light axis (Z1-Z1) of the projection lens (6) and reflects the predetermined distributed light pattern (P) toward one side of the projection lens (6),
the planar reflect surface (7) generates an imaged axis (Z3-Z3) of the lens light axis (Z1-Z1), said imaged axis (Z3-Z3) intersecting the lens light axis (Z1-Z1) orthogonally, the planar reflect surface (7) generates an imaged focal point (FL2) of the lens focal point (FL1), said imaged focal point (FL2) being the reflexion symmetric of the lens focal point (FL1) with respect to the planar reflect surface's (7) plane;
the ellipse reflector (9) being placed such as:the optical axis (Z2-Z2) of the ellipse reflector (9) is coaxial with said imaged axis (Z3-Z3) of said lens optical axis (Z2-Z2),the second focal point (F2) of said ellipse reflector (9) is positioned at said imaged focal point (FL2) of said lens focal point (FL1),a shade (5) arranged between the second focus (F2) of the ellipse reflect surface (9) and the semiconductor light source (4), for cutting off a portion of the reflected light (L4) emitting from the semiconductor light source (4) and reflected by the ellipse reflect surface (9), and using the remaining reflected light to form a predetermined distributed light pattern (P) having cutoff lines (CL),characterized bya light shutout member (8) arranged between the semiconductor light source (4) and the projection lens (6) for shutting out the straight light (L6) from the semiconductor light source (4) from illuminating toward the projection lens (6),a supplemental reflect surface (17, 18, 19, 20) arranged on the light shutout member (8) for reflecting the light (L3) from the semiconductor light source (4) toward the side of the shade (5),a through hole (24) arranged on the shade (5) for the reflected light (L17) from the supplemental reflect surface (17, 18, 19, 20) illuminating therethrough and toward the planar reflect surface (7). - A lamp unit (1) for vehicles according to claim 1, wherein,
the supplemental reflect surface (17, 18, 19, 20) is the first supplemental reflect surface;
a second supplemental reflect surface (23) is arranged on the shade (5) for enabling the reflected light (L11, L13, L15, L17) from the first supplemental reflect surface (17, 18, 19, 20) to go through the through hole (24) and to be reflected by the planar reflect surface (7). - A lamp unit (1) for vehicles according to claim 2, wherein,
the supplemental reflect surface (17, 18, 19, 20) is formed with an ellipse reflect surface.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP08007952A EP2112430B1 (en) | 2008-04-24 | 2008-04-24 | Lamp unit for vehicles |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP08007952A EP2112430B1 (en) | 2008-04-24 | 2008-04-24 | Lamp unit for vehicles |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP2112430A1 EP2112430A1 (en) | 2009-10-28 |
EP2112430B1 true EP2112430B1 (en) | 2011-06-08 |
Family
ID=39719194
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP08007952A Expired - Fee Related EP2112430B1 (en) | 2008-04-24 | 2008-04-24 | Lamp unit for vehicles |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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EP (1) | EP2112430B1 (en) |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2566878B1 (en) * | 1984-06-27 | 1986-07-18 | Cibie Projecteurs | IMPROVEMENTS ON AUTOMOTIVE PROJECTORS EMITTING A CUTTING BEAM, ESPECIALLY A CROSSING BEAM |
EA009340B1 (en) * | 2003-07-29 | 2007-12-28 | Турхан Алджелик | Headlamp with a continuous long-distance illumination without glaring effects |
FR2899668B1 (en) * | 2006-04-06 | 2009-11-20 | Valeo Vision | LIGHTING MODULE FOR A LIGHT PROJECTOR OF A MOTOR VEHICLE, AND PROJECTOR COMPRISING SUCH A MODULE. |
JP4458067B2 (en) * | 2006-05-17 | 2010-04-28 | 市光工業株式会社 | Vehicle lighting |
-
2008
- 2008-04-24 EP EP08007952A patent/EP2112430B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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EP2112430A1 (en) | 2009-10-28 |
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