JP2001034206A - Traffic sign - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traffic sign which is inexpensive and has good visibility. SOLUTION: The traffic sign 10 has a character 'STOP' and is formed by aminating and arranging a sheet 11 having this character, a plate 12 made of a transparent synthetic resin adhered with the sheet 11, a light transmission plate 13 made of a transparent synthetic resin and a reflection plate 14 in this order. A light transmission tube 1 is embedded and integrated in the peripheral edge of the light transmission plate 13. Light is introduced from a light source unit 15 into the light transmission tube 1 and this light is introduced into the light transmission plate 13 from the side peripheral surface of the light transmission tube 1 and transmits the plate 12 and the sheet 1. This light transmission tube is produced by a three-color extrusion molding method.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a road sign for displaying the operation and guidance of a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly to a road sign,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a road sign using a linear illuminant that has excellent environmental resistance and can be driven with low power consumption.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Road signs used for guidance of automobiles and the like are designed to display, for example, a pause, parking prohibition, a destination of a road, and the like with characters and symbols. , Besides simple things painted in various colors,
For example, there is known a device that uses a retroreflective sheet to reflect incident light in the original direction to improve visibility at night or the like.

Further, among such road signs, there are also used road signs in which light-emitting diodes are arranged or arranged, for example, in letters, numbers, or borders.

[0004] However, in many cases using such a light emitting diode, the distance between the diodes is usually too large and visibility is poor.

[0005] In addition, the point light emitting type such as the light emitting diode requires a large number of light emitting diodes to display outlines such as characters and borders. Power is required. In addition, when the number of light emitting diodes used increases, the luminance of the diodes is likely to vary, and when viewed as a whole, there is a possibility that the variation portions are conspicuous in the point light emission state and the visibility may be reduced.

[0006]

To overcome such problems, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-148114 discloses a method of forming characters, numerals, symbols, patterns, and the like or shapes such as outlines thereof. A road sign for displaying the operation and guidance of a vehicle such as an automobile with the light emitting means, comprising a transparent core material and a clad material having a smaller refractive index than the core material, and serving as the light emitting means. And a light source disposed in a waterproof state at at least one end in the length direction of the light transmission tube, and a power supply for lighting the light source, and emits light incident from the light source from the light transmission tube. There has been proposed a vehicle that emits light or lights up a single or a plurality of lines to indicate the operation / guidance of a vehicle by performing the operation.

The present invention provides such a road sign at a lower cost.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A road sign according to the present invention comprises a light emitter having a light transmission tube, the light transmission tube extending between the tubular cladding and a core along the length of the tubular cladding. A road that is a light transmission tube in which a band-like reflection layer is formed, and light passing through the core is reflected and scattered by the reflection layer and emitted from the outer peripheral surface of the tubular cladding side opposite to the side where the reflection layer is formed. In the sign, the light transmission tube uses a three-color extruder, and a core material, a clad material, and a reflection material are introduced into the three-color extruder, and the core material is formed into a cylindrical shape, and the reflection material is formed into the cylindrical core material. The optical transmission tube is characterized by being simultaneously extruded into a strip shape on the outer peripheral surface and a clad material into a tube shape covering the core material and the reflecting material.

The light transmission tube used for such a road sign is manufactured at high productivity by a three-color extruder and is inexpensive. In the present invention, characters include Japanese characters such as kanji, hiragana, and katakana, as well as foreign characters and numbers such as the alphabet. The symbols include various patterns, lines indicating roads, and the like, in addition to the symbols defined by the Road Traffic Law.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the light transmission tube is disposed along the edge of the road sign body. In this case, the light transmission tube may be arranged on the end face of the road sign body.

[0011] In another example of the road sign of the present invention,
A light transmission tube is arranged to illuminate the entire back surface of the road sign body.

In the road sign of the present invention, the sign or character portion is a light-transmitting portion or a non-light-transmitting portion, and the other portion is a non-light-transmitting portion or a light-transmitting portion. A sheet may be employed, and the luminous body may be arranged on the back side of the sheet. Instead of this sheet, a sheet in which a symbol or character portion and other portions are formed of light-transmitting portions having different colors may be used.

[0013] The luminous body may include a light guide plate, a light transmission tube disposed on an end face of the light guide plate, and a reflection layer provided on a back surface of the light guide plate.

Further, an optical transmission tube may be arranged along the back side of the sheet. In this case, the light transmission tube may be embedded in the transparent resin material.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a road sign according to the embodiment, FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.
FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of FIG. 2A, and FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 are cross-sectional views of road signs according to different embodiments.

The road sign 10 has the characters "stop", a sheet 11 having the characters, and a transparent synthetic resin plate 12 to which the sheets are adhered.
And a light guide plate 13 made of a transparent synthetic resin and a reflection plate 14 are stacked in this order. The light transmission tube 1 is buried and integrated with the periphery of the light guide plate 13. The light guide plate 13 can be manufactured by, for example, forming the light transmission tube 1 in a mold and injecting a resin or molding.

A light source unit 1 is provided in the light transmission tube 1.
5, light is introduced into the light guide plate 13 from the side peripheral surface of the light transmission tube 1. The interface between the light guide plate 13 and the reflection plate 14 is rough, and the light in the light guide plate 13 is irregularly reflected and passes through the plate 12 and the sheet 11.

The sheet 11 is made of a translucent synthetic resin sheet in which the letters "stop" and other parts are different in color, and the letters "stop" are colored differently from the surroundings by light from behind. Is emitted and is visually recognized.

The light transmission tube 1 has a band-shaped reflective layer 4 extending in the longitudinal direction of the tube between a core 2 and a tubular cladding 3 covering the core. The reflection layer 4 may be formed in a state in which the reflection layer 4 slightly penetrates into the core 3 from the surface of the core 3.

The reflection layer 4 is disposed on the outer end face side of the road sign 10 in the light transmission tube 1. In this embodiment, the reflection layer 4 has a width that is about half the circumference of the core 2 of the light transmission tube 1, and is configured so that light hardly leaks from the end face of the light guide plate 13.

As the material (core material) constituting the core 2, a transparent material having a higher refractive index than the material (cladding material) constituting the tubular clad 3 is used. Is appropriately selected and used depending on the purpose.

Specific examples of the core material include polystyrene,
Styrene / methyl methacrylate copolymer, (meth) acrylic resin, polymethylpentene, allyl glycol carbonate resin, spirane resin, amorphous polyolefin, polycarbonate, polyamide, polyarylate, polysulfone, polyallylsulfone, polyethersulfone, polyether Imide, polyimide, diallyl phthalate, fluororesin, polyester carbonate,
Transparent materials such as a norbornene-based resin (ARTON), an alicyclic acrylic resin (Optrez), a silicone resin, an acrylic rubber, and a silicone rubber can be used. .).

On the other hand, the cladding material can be selected from transparent materials having a low refractive index, and examples thereof include organic materials such as plastics and elastomers.

Specific examples of the cladding material include polyethylene, polypropylene, polymethyl methacrylate, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyethylene. -Polyvinyl alcohol copolymer, fluororesin, silicone resin, natural rubber, polyisoprene rubber, polybutadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene copolymer, butyl rubber,
Halogenated butyl rubber, chloroprene rubber, acrylic rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer (EPD
M), acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer, fluorine rubber, silicone rubber and the like.

Among the above core materials and clad materials, polystyrene, polycarbonate, styrene- (meth) acryl copolymer ( MS polymer) and the like, and the clad material is (meth)
Acrylic polymers are preferred.

The reflection layer contains a white pigment and a scattering material (meta).
It is preferable to use an acrylic polymer.

Examples of the white pigment and the scattering material include organic polymer particles such as silicone resin particles and polystyrene resin particles, metal oxide particles such as Al ₂ O ₃ , TiO ₂ and SiO ₂ , and sulfate particles such as BaSO _4. And carbonate particles such as CaCO ₃ , and one of these can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

In consideration of the reflection efficiency and the co-extrusion processability, the average particle size of the particles of the white pigment and the scattering material is preferably about 0.1 to 200 μm, particularly preferably about 0.5 to 50 μm. The content in the reflective layer constituting material (reflective material) is about 0.5 to 20% by weight, particularly 1 to 10% by weight.
It is preferred that it is about.

Although the thickness of the reflective layer 4 is not particularly limited,
The thickness is preferably 0 to 200 μm, particularly preferably 50 to 100 μm. If the thickness is too small, the reflected light decreases and the luminance decreases.If the thickness is too large, the reflected light increases and the luminance increases. In some places, the brightness may be disadvantageously reduced.

The diameter of the core 2 is not particularly limited, but is usually about 2 to 30 mm, especially about 5 to 15 mm.
The wall thickness of the tubular cladding 3 is usually about 0.05 to 4 mm, especially about 0.2 to 2 mm.

In this light transmission tube, a reflective protective layer may be formed on the outer surface of the tubular cladding 3 so as to cover the peripheral surface that does not emit light (the peripheral surface facing the end surface of the light guide plate 13). In the case of an optical transmission tube having such a reflective protective layer formed thereon, if the reflective layer 4 has a defect such as a pinhole,
Light that leaks to the back side of the reflective layer 4 through this defective portion or light that leaks from the side of the reflective layer 4 is reflected by the reflective protective layer to reduce light loss, and the opposite side of the reflective layer 4 Can be further increased.

It is preferable that the entire portion of the light transmission tube connected to the light source unit 15 drawn from the light guide plate be covered with the reflective protective layer.

As a constituent material of the reflective protective layer, a material which does not transmit the light leaked from the reflective layer 4 to the outside, does not absorb the light, and reflects the light efficiently is preferable. And a metal foil or metal sheet of silver, aluminum, or the like, or a coating film in which the above-described scattering particles that scatter light are dispersed.

To manufacture this light transmission tube, for example, a three-color extruder having three screw portions is used, and a core material, a clad material, and a reflecting material containing a white pigment or a scattering material are introduced into the extruder. The core material may be extruded into a cylindrical shape, the reflective material may be extruded into a plurality of strips on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar core material, and the clad material may be extruded into a tube shape covering the core material and the reflective material.

According to this method, three types of materials having different refractive indices and physical properties can be simultaneously extruded, and a laminated structure having three types of functions can be formed at a time.
Moreover, since the respective materials are laminated in a softened state, an optical transmission tube having excellent adhesion between the respective layers can be efficiently manufactured.

When a reflective protective layer is formed, a metal foil or a metal sheet may be adhered after the extrusion molding, or a coating material in which scattering particles are dispersed may be applied. It is also possible to form a hydrophilic protective layer.

The light transmission tube may be manufactured by a method other than the above.

In the above embodiment, the light transmission tube 1 is integrated into the light guide plate 13 so as to be buried, but the light transmission tube 1 is fastened to the end face of the light guide plate 13A as in a road sign 10A in FIG. It may be attached by the member 16 or the like. The fastening member 16 may be a protective cover that covers the light transmission tube 1. The inner surface of the protective cover may be made reflective.

In the present invention, the plate 12 may be omitted and the sheet 11 may be directly laminated on the light guide plate 13A as shown in FIG.

In the present invention, the road sign 1 shown in FIGS.
As in 0B and 10C, the light transmission tubes 1 may be arranged in the light guide plates 13B and 13C in a zigzag or spiral shape over the entire surface of the light guide plates 13B and 13C. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4B, which is an enlarged view of FIG. 4A, it is preferable that the reflection layer 4 of the light transmission tube 1 be disposed behind the road sign 10B. The width of the reflective layer 4 is preferably 5 to 40% of the peripheral length of the core 2, particularly preferably 10 to 30%. As in the case of the road sign 10C in FIG. 5, the plate 12 may be omitted and the sheet 11 may be directly laminated on the light guide plate 13C.

In the above-described embodiment, the sheet 11 is used in which both the character portion and the portion other than the character are translucent, but only one of them may be translucent.

For example, only the character portion may be translucent, and the other ground portions may be non-translucent. When only the character portion is made translucent, the light transmission tube 1 may be arranged only on the back side of the character portion.

Although the road sign has only characters in the above embodiment, it may have a sign or a border.

In the present invention, the light source unit 15 may be arranged underground or on the ground. Further, the light source light may be supplied to a plurality of road signs from a common light source unit via a light transmission tube. The power source of the light source may be a commercial power source or a solar cell.

[0045]

The road sign of the present invention uses a light transmission tube capable of emitting light in a linear manner, and is excellent in visibility, and only the light source needs to be installed in a watertight manner, and the light transmission tube itself is waterproof. The installation cost is low because the property is unnecessary.
In addition, even if the optical transmission tube is cut, there is no risk of electric leakage at all and the safety is excellent. The light transmission tube used in the present invention is inexpensive and can reduce the cost of road signs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

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

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a road sign according to another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a road sign according to still another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a road sign according to another different embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical transmission tube 2 Core 3 Tubular cladding 4 Reflective layer 10, 10A, 10B, 10C Road sign 11 Sheet 12 Plate 13, 13A, 13B, 13C Light guide plate 14 Reflector 15 Light source unit 16 Fastening member

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) G02B 6/00366 G08G 1/095 L G08G 1/095 G09F 13/18 D G09F 13/18 G02B 6/00 Z F term (Reference) 2D064 AA11 AA22 BA01 CA03 CA04 CA05 DA06 EA02 EA03 EB22 EB35 EB37 GA01 GA03 HA14 2H038 AA41 AA54 BA42 2H050 AA15 AA16 AD00 5C096 AA21 BA02 BC12 CA13 CA22 CA32 CD06 CD24 CD28 CD43 CD53 GG02 FB0311

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A luminous body having a light transmission tube,
The light transmission tube forms a strip-like reflective layer between the tubular clad and the core along the longitudinal direction of the tubular clad, and reflects and scatters light passing through the core with the reflective layer to form the reflective layer. In a road sign that is an optical transmission tube that is made to emit from the outer peripheral surface of the tubular cladding side opposite to the layer forming side, the optical transmission tube uses a three-color extruder to form a core material, a cladding material, and a reflecting material. The core material was introduced into the three-color extruder, and the core material was simultaneously extruded into a cylindrical shape, the reflective material was extruded into a strip shape on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical core material, and the clad material was extruded simultaneously into a tube shape covering the core material and the reflective material. A road sign characterized by an optical transmission tube. 2. The road sign according to claim 1, wherein the light transmission tube is disposed along an edge of the road sign body. 3. The road sign according to claim 2, wherein the light transmission tube is disposed on an end face of the road sign main body. 4. The road sign according to claim 1, wherein the light transmission tube is arranged so as to irradiate the entire back surface of the road sign main body with light. 5. The sheet according to claim 1, wherein a symbol or character portion is a light-transmitting portion, and the other portion is a non-light-transmitting portion, and the sheet is arranged so as to shine light on the back side of the sheet. A road sign, comprising: 6. A sheet according to claim 1, wherein the symbol or character portion is a non-light-transmitting portion, and the other portion is a light-transmitting portion, and the sheet is arranged so as to shine light on the back side of the sheet. A road sign, comprising: 7. The light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a symbol or character portion and another portion are light-transmitting portions of different colors, and the light-emitting portion is arranged to shine light on the back side of the sheet. A road sign characterized by having a body. 8. The light-emitting body according to claim 5, wherein the light-emitting body includes a light guide plate, a light transmission tube disposed on an end face of the light guide plate, and a reflection member provided on a back surface of the light guide plate. A road sign characterized by having a layer. 9. The road sign according to claim 5, wherein an optical transmission tube is arranged along a back side of the sheet. 10. The road sign according to claim 9, wherein the light transmission tube is embedded in a transparent resin material.