JP2000067612A - Vehicle signal lighting fixture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain flexible luminous intensity distribution in the desired direction of the front side of a lighting fixture and improvements of performance and reliability of this kind of signal lighting fixtures by effectively using the inside of side walls conventionally useless areas for light distribution. SOLUTION: In this vehicle signal lighting fixture 1, a plurality of reflecting steps 4b for reflecting the light from a light source 5 are formed on the inside of side walls 2b and 2d of a lighting fixture housing 2. A free-form surface- reflecting mirror 4c coupling the plurality of reflecting steps 4b in a smooth curve is also formed. Thus, flexible light distribution in the desired direction of the front side of the lighting fixture 1 is attained by effectively using the inside of the side walls conventionally useless areas for light distribution. Further, it is agreeable compared with a conventional one when the lighting fixture 1 is watched through a lens during light-out. Rather, visual harmony is produced throughout the reflecting surface in the housing 2 to improve showings.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a signal light for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a signal light for a vehicle intended to emit a signal to a following vehicle, such as a tail / stop lamp and a turn signal lamp. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this kind of vehicle signal lamp 90 is
For example, it is configured as shown in FIGS.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the vehicle signal lamp 90, and FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view of FIG.

In these figures, a vehicle signal light 90 is shown.
As shown in FIG. 6, the lamp housing 91 has a substantially rectangular opening at the front as shown in FIG. 6 because of the relationship with a vehicle body (not shown) and other lamps juxtaposed such as a rear combination lamp. It is formed in a box shape. A lens 92 is provided in the front opening of the housing 91, and a reflecting mirror 93 is integrally formed on the inner surface of the housing 91 by an appropriate means such as an aluminum vapor deposition process.

The inner surface of the lamp housing 91 on which the reflecting mirror 93 is formed has a main reflecting mirror 93a whose surface facing the lens 92 is appropriately subjected to reflection processing, and upper, lower, left and right side walls 91a surrounding the main reflecting mirror 93a. 91b, 91c, 91d
As shown in FIG. 6, the main reflecting mirror 93a has a plurality of cylindrical diffusion steps 93d arranged in a row with respect to a reference surface 93c having a paraboloid of revolution. Light is diffusely reflected in the horizontal direction. The side wall inner surface 93 b is formed by a flat surface or a single curved surface along the outer shape of the housing 91.

On the other hand, a lens 9 facing the main reflecting mirror 93a
2 includes a plurality of convex cylindrical diffusion steps 9 oriented in a direction orthogonal to the diffusion step 93d of the main reflecting mirror 93a.
2a are arranged side by side to diffuse light in the vertical direction. The main reflecting mirror 93a and the lens 92
The shape of the diffusion step 92a may be concave or a combination of concave and convex. Further, a plurality of diffusion steps for diffusing light in the horizontal and vertical directions in the vertical and horizontal directions of the main reflecting mirror 93a. And the front lens 92 may be made transparent. As a result, the front lens 92 gives a sense of transparency to the lens 92 as if only the lens cut for one-way light distribution adjustment or no lens cut was performed, and when the lamp 90 was viewed through the lens 92 when not lit. It produces a high-quality image with a sense of depth, and also has the effect of preventing light loss due to lens cutting even when lit.

[0006]

However, in the case of such a conventional signal light 90 for a vehicle, the inner surface 93b of the side wall other than the main reflecting mirror 93a on the inner surface of the housing 91 is a useless area in light distribution of the lamp. In the case of using the light distribution, the reference surface as a reflection surface is set on a line horizontal to the light source 94, the design cut is performed, and the reflected light is used. Also, as shown in FIG. 8, a band-shaped light-shielding portion 95 is formed in front of the light source 94 on the surface of the lens 92, and the light source 94 is shielded when not lit to improve the appearance and achieve an effect on design. There is a recursive reflective part called a reflex reflector that reflects the light of the headlight of the following vehicle during parking and allows the following vehicle to recognize the existence of the own vehicle. In the case of a formed lamp or the like, FIG.
The light reflected by the side wall inner surface 93b as shown in FIG.
5, the reflected light is not reflected to the front side of the lamp as shown in FIG. 10 except for a portion on a line horizontal to the light source 94, and the inner wall surface 93b does not function as a reflecting surface at all. As a result, there is a problem that efficiency is poor, and solving this point has been an issue.

[0007]

According to the present invention, as a specific means for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems, an inner surface of a substantially box-shaped lamp housing provided with a lens in a front opening is provided with a main reflection opposed to the lens. A signal light for a vehicle, comprising a mirror and a side wall inner surface surrounding the main reflector, and a light source disposed near a focal position of the main reflector in the lamp housing. A plurality of reflection steps for reflecting the light in a predetermined direction on the front side of the lamp, and a free-form surface reflecting mirror formed by connecting the plurality of reflection steps with a smooth curve. The problem is solved by providing.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

1 and 2 show a vehicle signal light 1 according to the present invention.
The lamp housing 2 is formed in a substantially box shape having a substantially rectangular opening in the front, and a lens 3 is provided in an opening on the front surface of the housing 2. A reflecting mirror 4 is integrally formed on the inner surface of the housing 2 by an appropriate means such as an aluminum deposition process.

The inner surface of the housing 2 on which the reflecting mirror 4 is formed is composed of a main reflecting mirror 4a having a surface facing the lens 3 appropriately subjected to reflection processing, and upper, lower, left and right side walls 2a surrounding the main reflecting mirror 4a. , 2b, 2c, and 2d, and the main reflecting mirror 4a is provided with a plurality of convex cylindrical diffusion steps in parallel with the rotating paraboloidal reference surface, as in the conventional example, and is located on the front side of the lamp. The light from the light source 5 is diffusely reflected in the horizontal direction.

Up to this point, the present invention is the same as the conventional example, but in the present invention, a free-form surface reflecting mirror 4c is formed on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls 2b, 2d among the inner surfaces of the upper, lower, left and right side walls 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d. It is characterized by being.

The free-form reflecting mirror 4c is formed by connecting a plurality of reflection steps 4b for reflecting light from the light source 5 in a predetermined direction on the front side of the lamp 1 with a smooth curve, each of which is formed by a smooth curve. The reflection step 4b is formed by connecting a plurality of reflection steps 7, 8 and the like by a smooth curve as shown in FIG.

Here, the free-form surface reflection mirror 4c will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the reflection steps 4b constituting the free-form surface reflection mirror 4c has a plurality of reflection steps 7, 8, etc., which are smooth. The reflection steps 7 and 8 are described with reference to FIG. 4 which is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 which is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY in FIG.

In the reflection step 7, first, as shown in FIG. 4, the points a and c on the left and right sides are formed as a part of a surface for reflecting the light from the light source 5 in a predetermined direction P, and a point between the points a and c is formed. Point a,
Connect with a circle that touches c. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5, the points b and d on both the upper and lower sides are also configured as part of the surface that reflects the light from the light source 5 in the predetermined direction P, and the points b and d are between the points b and d.
Connect with a circle that touches d. Similarly, points a, b, c, d
The reflection step 7 is formed by a surface formed by connecting the points so that the light from the light source 5 is reflected in a predetermined direction P to all the regions surrounded by the light source 5. The reflection step 7 thus formed can reflect light from the light source 5 in a predetermined direction P at any point in the area.

The reflection step 8 is formed in the same manner as the reflection step 7 as an area to be reflected in the predetermined direction Q. These reflection steps 7 and 8
Are connected by a smooth curve to form a reflection step 4b as shown in FIG.

The reflection steps 4b thus formed are connected by a smooth curve as shown in FIG. 4 to form a free-form surface reflection mirror 4c.

As described above, the light from the light source 5 is reflected in a predetermined direction on the inner surfaces 2b and 2d of the left and right side walls of the housing 2, which has been a wasteful area in the light distribution of the substantially box-shaped signal light 1 for vehicles. By forming a plurality of reflection steps 4b to be formed and connecting these with a smooth curve to form a free-form surface reflection mirror 4c, for example, as shown in FIG. Is formed, the light from the light source 5 can be reflected in the direction of the oblique front B 'of the lamp 1 while avoiding the light shielding portion 6, so that the visibility in the oblique direction is further improved, The reliability as a signal lamp of this type is improved.

Further, since it is a free-form surface reflecting mirror, there is no sense of incongruity when looking into the lamp through a lens when the light is not lit, but rather, each reflecting step 4b is formed along the diffusion step of the main reflecting mirror 4a, so that the reflecting surface is formed. Visual harmony is created throughout, and the appearance is further improved.

In the above-described embodiment, the free-form surface reflecting mirrors are formed on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lamp housing. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may be the inner surface of the side wall or any one of them.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of reflection steps for reflecting light from a light source in a predetermined direction on the front side of the lamp are performed on the inner surface of the side wall of the substantially box-shaped housing of the signal lamp for a vehicle. By forming a free-form surface reflecting mirror that connects these multiple reflection steps with a smooth curve, it is possible to effectively use the side wall inner surface, which was previously a wasteful area for light distribution, in the desired direction on the front side of the lamp. The light distribution can be made freely, and this type of signal lamp has an extremely excellent effect on improving performance and reliability. Furthermore, since this reflecting surface is a free-form surface reflecting mirror, even if you look into the lamp through the lens when it is not lit, there is no uncomfortable feeling compared to the past, but rather, the entire reflecting surface in the housing creates visual harmony and appearance. It also has the effect of improving.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vehicular signal lamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating an example in which a light shielding portion is formed on a lens surface according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a main part of a reflection surface of the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line YY of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a horizontal sectional view of the same conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the same conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Signal light for vehicles 2 ... Housing 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d ... Side wall 3 ... Lens 4 ... Reflector 4a ... Main reflector 4b ... Reflection step 4c ... Free-form surface reflector 5 ... … Light source 6… Shading part 7,8… Reflection step

Claims (2)

[Claims] An inner surface of a substantially box-shaped lamp housing having a lens provided at a front opening thereof is constituted by a main reflector facing the lens and an inner surface of a side wall surrounding the main reflector. In a vehicular signal lamp in which a light source is disposed near a focal position of a reflector, a plurality of reflection steps for reflecting light from the light source in a predetermined direction on the front side of the lamp are formed on an inner surface of a side wall of the lamp housing. A signal lamp for vehicles, wherein a free-form surface reflecting mirror is formed by connecting a plurality of reflection steps by a smooth curve. 2. A light-shielding portion is formed on the surface of the lens, and a free-form surface reflecting mirror formed on an inner surface of a side wall of the lamp housing is configured to prevent light from a light source from passing through the light-shielding portion in a predetermined direction on the front side of the lamp. 2. The light is reflected to the light source.
The vehicle signal light according to the above.