JP2000231813A - Head lamp for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sufficiently ensure an irradiation light quantity of a lighting tool and to make a reflection surface brilliant with a small area in a head lamp for a vehicle provided with a transparent lens. SOLUTION: A reflection surface 26a of a reflector 26 is constituted by a main reflection surface 26aA comprising a plurality of reflection elements 26sA sorted through a stepped portion and a sub reflection surface 26aB formed so as to surround the main reflection surface 26aA and having no stepped portion. When a lamp tool is seen from a front direction at the time of non-lighting of the lamp tool, the reflection surface 26a can be seen through a transparent lens 12 as it is. However, at this time, the main reflection surface 26aA is seen to brilliantly shine with a strong impression. In contrast thereto, the sub reflection surface 26aB is seen to shine with a slightly brilliant and tender impression. The reflection surface 26a is seen to be smaller than an actual size and shine by the visual impression. Whereas, a desired light-distribution pattern of the lighting tool is formable utilizing both of the main reflection surface 26aA and the sub reflection surface 26aB regarding a light-distribution of the lighting tool.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle headlamp provided with a transparent lens.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a recent vehicle headlamp, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of reflective elements 102s are formed on a reflective surface 102a of a reflector 102 to provide a light distribution control function. A device has been devised so that the lamp can be made transparent by making the 104 a transparent lens.

When such a lamp configuration is adopted,
Although the reflection surface 102a of the reflector 102 can be seen as it is through the transparent lens 104, the reflection surface 102a looks glittering over the entire surface when viewed from the front of the lamp.

[0004]

However, in many cases, it is preferable to prevent the reflection surface 102a from shining over a large area because of the relationship with vehicle design and the like.

To achieve this, the size of the reflecting surface 102a may be reduced. However, in such a case, a problem arises that the amount of light emitted from the lamp is naturally reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in a vehicular headlamp provided with a transparent lens, a sufficient amount of light is radiated from a lamp, and the reflection surface has a small area. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular headlamp that can be made to look shiny.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the above object is achieved by forming the reflecting surface with a predetermined main reflecting surface and a sub-reflecting surface surrounding the main reflecting surface.

That is, according to the present invention, a light source bulb, a reflector having a reflection surface for reflecting light from the light source bulb forward, and a transparent lens provided in front of the reflector are provided. In the vehicle headlamp comprising: a main reflection surface formed of a plurality of reflection elements divided through the step portion, and a step portion formed so as to surround the main reflection surface. And a sub-reflection surface having no surface.

The "through lens" may be a lens in which a lens element is partially formed as long as at least a portion in front of the reflection surface is formed in a transparent shape.

The above-mentioned "partitioned via a step" means that one reflection element is divided such that a step is formed in at least a part of a boundary line between the reflection element and a reflection element adjacent thereto. Is meant.

The above-mentioned "sub-reflective surface" may be formed so as to surround the main reflective surface over the entire circumference, but is formed so as to partially surround the main reflective surface. May be something.

The “sub-reflective surface” may be a single curved surface as long as it does not have a stepped portion, or may be a structure in which a plurality of curved surfaces are smoothly connected. Is also good.

[0013]

As described above, in the vehicle headlamp according to the present invention, since the lens is constituted by a transparent lens, the reflection surface of the reflector can be directly seen through the transparent lens. However, the reflective surface is a main reflective surface composed of a plurality of reflective elements divided through a step,
Since it is made up of a sub-reflection surface that does not have a step formed to surround this main reflection surface, when the lamp is viewed from the front when the lamp is not lit, the main reflection surface has a glittering and intense impression. While the sub-reflection surface appears to shine with a soft impression with little glitter, while it appears to shine. Thus, the visual impression can make the reflective surface appear to shine smaller than its actual size.

On the other hand, on the lamp light distribution, a required lamp light distribution pattern can be formed with a sufficient irradiation light amount by using both the main reflection surface and the sub reflection surface.

As described above, according to the present invention, in a vehicular headlamp provided with a transparent lens, it is possible to ensure that a sufficient amount of light is radiated from a lamp and that the reflection surface shines with a small area. .

By the way, when the lamp is not lit, the reflecting surface can be made to look shining with a small area. However, when the lamp is lit, the entire reflecting surface appears to shine. Therefore, as described in claim 2, if an extension panel is provided between the transparent lens and the reflector so as to cover the peripheral portion of the reflection surface when the lamp is viewed from the front, the portion covered by the extension panel is: Even when the lamp is turned on, it does not look shining at all, so that the reflecting surface can be made to shine with a small area.

In this case, if the surface shape of the sub-reflection surface is formed such that the reflected light from the sub-reflection surface is deflected and reflected toward the optical axis of the reflector, the amount of the reflected light blocked by the extension panel can be eliminated or Can be reduced,
Thereby, the loss of the irradiation light amount can be eliminated or reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, at least a part of the inner peripheral edge of the extension panel is formed in a prism shape so as to deflect and transmit the reflected light from the sub-reflection surface in a direction away from the optical axis of the reflector. If formed, the reflected light deflected and reflected toward the optical axis in order to avoid blocking by the extension panel can be deflected in a direction close to the optical axis direction when transmitting through a portion formed in a prism shape, Thus, the deflected transmitted light can be effectively used for forming a lamp light distribution pattern.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II.

As shown in these figures, a vehicle headlamp 10 according to the present embodiment is a combination headlamp having a function of a four-lamp headlamp and a function of a front turn signal lamp. The lamp body 14 forms a lamp chamber 16 for a headlamp and a lamp chamber 18 for a front turn signal lamp. The lamp body 14 is formed with a partition wall 14a that partitions the two light chambers 16 and 18.

First, the structure of the vehicle headlamp 10 as a headlamp will be described.

In the lamp room 16, two reflector units 20, 22 are arranged so as to be tiltable in the vertical and horizontal directions, respectively.

The reflector unit 20 is a reflector unit for a so-called type 2 headlamp, and includes a discharge bulb 24 (light source bulb), a reflector 26, and a shade 28.

The discharge bulb 24 is a metal halide bulb, and is fixedly supported by the reflector 26 so that the light emitting portion 24a is located on the optical axis Ax2 of the reflector unit 20.

The reflector 26 has a reflecting surface 26a composed of a circular main reflecting surface 26aA centered on the optical axis Ax2 and a sub-reflecting surface 26aB surrounding the main reflecting surface 26aA in an annular shape.
have. A plurality of reflective elements 2 are provided on the main reflective surface 26aA.
6sA is formed, and a plurality of reflective elements 26sB are formed on the sub-reflective surface 26aB. And the reflection surface 2
The light from the discharge bulb 24 is deflected and reflected forward by 6a to form a light distribution pattern P for a low beam as shown in FIG. 5A. At this time, the basic pattern P (A) constituting the main part of the light distribution pattern P is formed by the main reflection surface 26aA, and the sub reflection surface 26aA is formed.
B forms an additional diffusion pattern P (B) for increasing the brightness of the light distribution pattern P. In addition,
The detailed structures of the main reflection surface 26aA and the sub reflection surface 26aB will be described later.

The shade 28 is provided on the front side of the discharge bulb 24 and cuts the direct light from the discharge bulb 24 toward the front.

On the other hand, the reflector unit 22 is a reflector unit for a so-called type 1 headlamp, and includes a halogen bulb 30, a reflector 32, and a shade 3.
4 is provided.

The halogen bulb 30 is fixedly supported by the reflector 32 such that the filament 30a is located on the optical axis Ax1 of the reflector unit 22.

The reflector 32 has a circular reflecting surface 32a centered on the optical axis Ax1. This reflection surface 32a
Is formed with a plurality of reflective elements 32s divided into vertical stripes on a paraboloid of revolution having the optical axis Ax1 as a central axis,
The light from the halogen bulb 30 is deflected and reflected forward to form an additional light distribution pattern for a high beam. During high beam travel, beam irradiation is performed using a light distribution pattern in which the light distribution pattern P for low beam by the reflector unit 20 and the additional light distribution pattern for high beam by the reflector unit 22 are combined. The outer diameter of the reflecting surface 32a is set to substantially the same value as the outer diameter of the main reflecting surface 26aA of the reflector 26.

The shade 34 is provided on the front side of the halogen bulb 30 and cuts the direct light from the halogen bulb 30 toward the front.

An extension panel 36 is provided in the lamp chamber 16 between the transparent lens 12 and the two reflector units 20 and 22. The extension panel 36 has two openings 36a1, 36a2.
Are formed at predetermined intervals. Opening 36a1
Is formed in a circle around the optical axis Ax1, and the inner diameter is set to a value slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the reflection surface 32a. On the other hand, the opening 36a2 is formed in a circular shape with the optical axis Ax2 as the center, and the inner diameter is determined by the outer diameter of the main reflection surface 26aA and the sub-reflection surface 26aA.
The value is set to a value approximately intermediate with the outer diameter of B.

Next, the structure of the vehicle headlamp 10 as a front turn signal lamp will be described.

A plurality of lens elements 12 divided into vertical stripes are provided at a portion of the transparent lens 12 in front of the lamp chamber 18.
a is formed. An incandescent bulb 38 is inserted on the optical axis Ax3 of the lamp body 14 at a position behind the lamp chamber 18, and the curved surface of the lamp body 14 around the incandescent bulb 38 is divided into horizontal stripes. A plurality of reflective elements 14s are formed. Then, the light from the incandescent bulb 38 is forwardly reflected by the plurality of reflecting elements 14s so as to be vertically diffused, and then transmitted forward by the plurality of lens elements 12a to be diffused left and right. A light distribution pattern for a turn signal lamp is formed.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 2 showing a part of the reflector unit 20 and the extension panel 36 for the type 2 headlamp.

As shown in the drawing, the sub-reflection surface 26aB is formed so as to descend rearward with respect to the main reflection surface 26aA.

The plurality of reflecting elements 26sA constituting the main reflecting surface 26aA are provided with a light distribution pattern P for a low beam.
In order to fulfill the function of forming the basic pattern P (A),
It is formed with a paraboloid of revolution having the optical axis Ax2 as a central axis, and each reflecting element 26sA is divided into relatively fine segments via a step 26b.

On the other hand, since the plurality of reflecting elements 26sB constituting the sub-reflecting surface 26aB only need to form the additional diffusion pattern P (B), a curved surface in which the outer peripheral side of the paraboloid of revolution falls on the optical axis Ax2 side. Is used as a reference plane, and each reflective element 26sB is formed so as to be divided into vertical stripes at a relatively wide pitch and to be smoothly connected in a waveform. Thereby, the reflected light from the sub-reflection surface 26aB becomes horizontal diffused light deflected toward the optical axis Ax2.
For this reason, the opening 36a of the extension panel 36
Although the inner peripheral edge of the sub-reflection surface 26aB is located much closer to the optical axis Ax2 than the outer peripheral edge of the sub-reflection surface 26aB, the reflected light from the sub-reflection surface 26aB is irradiated forward without being blocked by the extension panel 36. You.

As described in detail above, the vehicle headlamp 10 according to the present embodiment has the lens formed of the transparent lens 12, so that the reflectors 26, 32 are reflected through the transparent lens 12. Although the surfaces 26a and 32a can be seen as they are, the reflection surface 26a of the reflector 26 for the type 2 headlamp includes a main reflection surface 26aA including a plurality of reflection elements 26sA divided through a step 26b, and the main reflection surface 26aA. And the sub-reflection surface 26aB having no step formed so as to surround the main reflection surface 26aA when the lamp is viewed from the front when the headlamp is not lit. On the other hand, the sub-reflection surface 26aB appears to shine with a soft impression with little glitter. Therefore, the reflecting surface 26a can be made to look smaller than its actual size by a visual impression.

Further, in this embodiment, an extension panel 36 is provided between the transparent lens 12 and the reflector 26 so as to cover the peripheral portion of the reflection surface 16a when viewed from the front of the lamp. About the half of the outer peripheral side of the sub-reflection surface 26aB, it is possible to make the reflection surface 16a glow with a small area so as not to be visible at all even when the lamp is turned on. it can. At this time, the sub-reflecting surface 26aB transmits the reflected light to the optical axis Ax2 of the reflector 26 so that the reflected light from the sub-reflecting surface 26aB is not blocked by the extension panel 36.
Since the surface shape is set so as to be deflected and reflected more, loss of the irradiation light amount can be eliminated. Thus, on the lamp light distribution, a required low beam light distribution pattern P can be formed with a sufficient irradiation light amount by using both the main reflection surface 26aA and the sub reflection surface 26aB.

Further, in this embodiment, the outer diameter of the main reflecting surface 26aA is set to substantially the same value as the outer diameter of the reflecting surface 32a of the reflector 32 for the type 1 headlamp, and the extension is used. Since the inner diameter of the opening 36a1 of the panel 36 is set to a value slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the reflecting surface 32a, when the headlamp is not turned on, the reflecting surface of the reflector 26 for the type 2 headlamp is turned off. 26a can be made to shine with substantially the same size as the reflection surface 32a of the reflector 32 for the type 1 headlamp.

Further, the vehicle headlamp 10 according to the present embodiment.
The lamp room 18 for the front turn signal lamp is formed adjacent to the lamp room 16 for the headlamp, but the light emission area of the reflection surface 26a of the reflector 26 for the type 2 headlamp when the headlamp is turned on is reduced. Because it ’s small
The following operational effects can be obtained.

That is, when the front turn signal lamp is turned on, the lamp room 18 emits light over the entire area. When the lamp room 18 is close to the reflection surface 26a of the reflector 26 for the type 2 headlamp, generally, The lighting condition of the front turn signal lamp becomes difficult to recognize because the type 2 headlamp is turned on simultaneously.

In this respect, in this embodiment, the reflecting surface 2
Since the light emitting area of the front turn signal lamp 6a is smaller than the actual size of the reflection surface 26a and the light emitting area of the front turn signal lamp is separated from the light emitting area of the type 2 headlamp by that much, the lighting state of the front turn signal lamp is reduced. Can be prevented from being difficult to recognize due to simultaneous lighting of the type 2 headlamp.

Next, a modification of this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, showing a main part of a vehicle headlamp according to this modification.

As shown in the figure, in this modification, an extension panel 40 made of a transparent panel is used instead of the extension panel 36 described above.

On the surface of the extension panel 40, an opening 36a2 of the extension panel 36 is provided.
The light-shielding film 42 is provided at the same position as the (and the opening 36a1) except for a circular portion having the same size. And
The extension panel 40 has a circular opening 40a2 smaller than the opening 36a2 of the extension panel 36. This opening 40a2
Is set to substantially the same value as the outer diameter of the main reflection surface 26aA.

In the extension panel 40, the area near the inner peripheral edge of the opening 40a2 where the light-shielding film 42 is not applied is formed with a tapered back surface.
An annular prism 40b that deflects and transmits light in a direction away from the optical axis Ax2. As described above, the reflected light from the sub-reflection surface 26aB is diffused light deflected toward the optical axis Ax2 in order to avoid blocking by the extension panel 40, and the diffused and polarized light passes through the prism 40b. At this time, the light is deflected in a direction close to the direction of the optical axis Ax2. By employing the configuration of the present modification, as shown in FIG.
The left and right diffusion angles of (B) can be reduced, so that the additional diffusion pattern P (B) can be formed in a portion of the lamp light distribution pattern P where the light distribution visibility can be further improved.

Further, since the prism 40b is formed on the extension panel 40, the inner diameter of the opening 40a2 becomes substantially the same as the outer diameter of the main reflection surface 26aA. Reflective surface 26
a can be made to appear shining with the same size as the main reflection surface 26aA.

In the present embodiment, the case where the light source bulb of the reflector unit 20 for the type 2 headlamp is the discharge bulb 24 has been described. However, when the light source bulb is a halogen bulb or the like, the light source light flux is greatly increased. Therefore, it is more effective to adopt the configuration of the present embodiment in which the amount of irradiation of the type 2 headlamp can be sufficiently ensured, and the reflecting surface 26a can be made to shine with a small area.

In this embodiment, the case of a four-lamp headlamp has been described, but the same operation and effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained in a two-lamp headlamp by adopting the same configuration as that of the present embodiment. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle headlight according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, showing a modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a light distribution pattern showing the operation of the embodiment and the modified example.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 vehicle headlight 12 transparent lens 12a lens element 14 lamp body 14a partition 14s reflective element 16, 18 light room 20, 22 reflector unit 24 discharge bulb (light source bulb) 24a light emitting section 26, 32 reflector 26a, 32a reflective surface 26aA Main reflection surface 26aB Sub reflection surface 26b Step 26sA, 26sB Reflector 28, 34 Shade 30 Halogen bulb 30a Filament 36, 40 Extension panel 36a1, 36a2, 40a2 Opening 38 Incandescent valve 40b Prism 42 Light shielding film Ax1, Ax2, Ax3 Axis P Light distribution pattern for low beam P (A) Basic pattern P (B) Additional diffusion pattern

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vehicular headlamp comprising a light source bulb, a reflector having a reflection surface for reflecting light from the light source bulb forward, and a transparent lens provided in front of the reflector. The reflection surface is composed of a main reflection surface including a plurality of reflection elements divided via a step portion, and a sub reflection surface having no step portion formed so as to surround the main reflection surface. Vehicle headlights. 2. The vehicle headlight according to claim 1, wherein an extension panel is provided between the transparent lens and the reflector so as to cover a peripheral portion of the reflection surface in a lamp front view. light. 3. At least a part of an inner peripheral edge of the extension panel is formed in a prism shape so as to deflect and transmit reflected light from the sub-reflection surface in a direction away from an optical axis of the reflector. The vehicle headlight according to claim 2, wherein