JP2002100212A - Automobile lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve cost reduction and appearance improvement simultaneously. SOLUTION: To an annular groove 6 formed on the outer rim of the front end of a lamp housing 2, a projection 8 formed on the back of an outer lens 3 is adhered by an adhesive means 9. A corner part, formed with the outside of the projection 8 and the back of the outer lens 3, is shaped into an arch- shaped curved surface 13 where the incident light L from front direction is totally reflected (reflected light L1) toward the projection 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automotive lamp applied as, for example, an automobile headlamp.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows an example of a conventional automobile lamp. The vehicle lamp 100 includes a lamp housing 2, an outer lens 3 joined to a front surface of the lamp housing 2, and a bulb 5 mounted in a lamp room 4 including the lamp housing 2 and the outer lens 3. It is schematically configured.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of a joint portion between the lamp housing 2 and the outer lens 3. An annular groove 6 is formed in the outer peripheral edge of the front end of the lamp housing 2. A ring-shaped protrusion 8 is formed on the back surface of the outer lens 3, and the protrusion 8 is bonded to the inside of the annular groove 6 by bonding means 9 such as hot melt.

[0004]

In the above-described vehicle lamp 100, a portion near the outer periphery of the outer lens 3, particularly, a portion located outside the projection 8 is a lens dummy portion 10 which does not contribute to illumination. In the above-mentioned conventional structure, if muddy water or the like is applied to the back side of the lens dummy portion 10, foreign matter such as mud is seen by the incident light L from the front portion, and the appearance is deteriorated.

Therefore, conventionally, a coating portion 12 is provided on the back surface of the lens dummy portion 10 so that the back side is not visible. However, in this case, the cost is increased due to the necessity of a coating process, and the coating portion 12 is Since it can be visually recognized as a different color portion from the front, there is a problem that the appearance is rather deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and can be formed in a forming step without increasing the number of steps which causes an increase in cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automotive lamp that can be made invisible from the front, thereby simultaneously reducing costs and improving appearance.

[0007]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lamp housing, and an outer lens joined to a front surface of the lamp housing.
The lamp housing is provided with a bulb mounted in a lamp chamber formed of an outer lens, and a protrusion formed on the back surface of the outer lens is bonded to an annular groove formed on an outer peripheral edge of a front end of the lamp housing by bonding means. A lamp for an automobile, comprising a curved surface, a tapered surface, or the like, in which incident light from the front is totally reflected in the direction of the protrusion, at a corner formed by the outside of the protrusion and the back surface of the outer lens. It is characterized by being formed by a reflection surface.

For this reason, in the first aspect of the present invention, the reflecting surface is formed as a curved surface or a tapered surface at the same time as the outer lens is formed in the outer lens forming step. By this reflecting surface, the incident light from the front surface of the outer lens is totally reflected in the direction of the protruding portion, so that even if foreign matter such as mud on the back surface of the lens dummy portion adheres, it can be prevented from being seen, and the appearance is improved.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 4 and 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1, an automotive lamp 1 according to a first embodiment comprises a lamp housing 2, an outer lens 3 joined to the front surface of the lamp housing 2, and these lamp housing 2 and outer lens 3. And a bulb 5 mounted in the light room 4.

FIG. 2 shows a structure of a joint portion between the lamp housing 2 and the outer lens 3. An annular groove 6 is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the front end of the lamp housing 2. A ring-shaped protrusion 8 is formed on the back surface of the outer lens 3, and the protrusion 8 is bonded to the inside of the annular groove 6 by bonding means 9 such as hot melt.

Further, a corner formed by the outside of the projection 8 and the back of the outer lens 3 is formed by a reflection surface such as a curved surface or a tapered surface which totally reflects incident light from the front in the direction of the projection 8. Have been.

In the first embodiment, an arc-shaped curved surface 13 as a reflection surface is formed on a corner formed by the outside of the projecting portion 8 and the back surface of the outer lens 3, that is, on the back side of the lens dummy portion 10. I have. This arc-shaped curved surface 13 is an arc surface having a radius R centered on a certain point P.

With this configuration, when the incident light L enters the lens dummy portion 10 from the front of the outer lens 3, the reflected light L 1 contrasting with an arbitrary normal 16 on the arcuate curved surface 13 is projected in the direction of the protrusion 8 ( The light is totally reflected toward the inside of the lamp housing 2). Therefore, the lens dummy section 10
Even if foreign matter such as mud adheres to the back side of the outer lens 3, it is no longer visible from the front surface of the outer lens 3, and a good-looking automotive lamp 1 is obtained.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which an arc-shaped curved surface 13 is used as a reflecting surface formed at a corner formed by the outside of the projection 8 and the back surface of the outer lens 3. Formed on the tapered surface 18. Also in this configuration, when the incident light L enters the lens dummy portion 10, the light is totally reflected by the tapered surface 18 and the reflected light L1 is totally reflected toward the protruding portion 8 (inward of the lamp housing 2). Even if foreign matter such as mud adheres to the back side of the lens dummy portion 10, it is not visible from the front surface of the outer lens 3.

Since the arcuate curved surface 13 and the tapered surface 18 as the reflecting surface are molded simultaneously with the molding of the outer lens 3 in the molding step of the outer lens 3, the arcuate curved surface 13 or the tapered surface 18 is formed. The provided outer lens 3 can be molded in a molding step without increasing the number of steps that causes an increase in cost.

In the above-described embodiment, only the hot melt is used as the bonding means 9. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the outer lens 3 and the lamp housing 2 may be bonded by ultrasonic vibration welding. It goes without saying that the present invention is similarly applied to a joined automobile lamp.

[0018]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the corner formed between the outside of the protrusion and the back surface of the outer lens is formed so that the incident light from the front is directed toward the protrusion. Since it is formed by a reflective surface consisting of a curved surface, a tapered surface, etc., it can be molded in the molding process without increasing the number of steps that would increase the cost, and foreign substances adhering to the back surface of the lens dummy part can be formed on the outer lens front surface. Thus, it is possible to provide an automotive lamp that can be made invisible from the outside, thereby simultaneously reducing the cost and improving the appearance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall vertical side view of an automotive lamp according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the vehicle lamp according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a vehicle lamp according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an overall longitudinal side view of a conventional automotive lamp.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of a conventional automotive lamp.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automotive lamp 2 Lamp housing 3 Outer lens 4 Light room 5 Bulb 6 Annular groove part 8 Projection part 9 Adhesion means 13 Arc-shaped curved surface (reflection surface) 18 Tapered surface (reflection surface) L Incident light L1 Reflected light

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Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A lamp housing comprising: a lamp housing; an outer lens joined to a front surface of the lamp housing; and a bulb mounted in a lamp chamber including the lamp housing and the outer lens. An automotive lamp in which a protrusion formed on the back surface of the outer lens is bonded to a formed annular groove by bonding means, wherein a corner formed by the outside of the protrusion and the back surface of the outer lens is formed by An automotive lamp characterized in that it is formed by a reflective surface such as a curved surface or a tapered surface, which totally reflects incident light from the projection in the direction of the protruding portion.