JP2002251907A - Lighting fixture for vehicle using led as light source - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enlarge the luminescent area of an LED, reduce cost, and enhance lighting quality. SOLUTION: This lighting fixture for a vehicle is equipped with a reflector 2 for emitting light to the front of the lighting fixture, an LED 1 installed on the outside of the reflector 2, and a light guide member 5 having a light incoming part 3 introducing light of the LED and a light outgoing part 4 extended from the light incoming part 3 into the reflector 2 and emitting most of the introduced light toward the reflector 2. Since the light outgoing part 4 is moved to the front in the light guide member 5, the reflector 2 having a focal point increased by the moved distance can be used, and since most of the light emitted from the LED is emitted toward the reflector 2, the utilization efficiency of the reflector 2 can be enhanced, and thereby, the luminescent area per LED 1 is enlarged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is applied to, for example, a signal light of a vehicle, a high mount stop lamp, and the like.
The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp using an LED (light emitting diode) as a light source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 9 shows a vehicular lamp 100 disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-123610. In the vehicle lighting device 100, a number of small boxes 51 with the opened front faced in the same direction are arranged in a stepwise shape along the curved surface of the outer lens 50 inside the outer lens 50, and inside each small box 51. The LED 1 is arranged, and a Fresnel lens 52 as an inner lens is arranged in front of the LED 1 of each small box 51.

According to the vehicle lamp 100,
The light emitted from the LED 1 of each small box 51 is condensed by the Fresnel lens 52 and then emitted to the outside through the outer lens 50.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, LEDs
1 has a high directivity and a small light-emitting area. Therefore, when used as a light source of the vehicle lamp 100, a large number of Ls are used.
There is a problem that the ED1 is required, which leads to an increase in cost.

Therefore, in order to enlarge the light emitting area of the LED 1, as shown in FIG.
However, due to the high directivity of the LED 1, the reflector 53 to be combined has a small focal length, and a large light emitting area cannot be obtained as shown by the emitted light pattern A.

That is, the LED 1 and the reflector 53
As shown in FIG. 11, the vehicle lighting device 101 according to the combination of FIG. 11 does not cause the entire surface of the outer lens 50 to emit light, despite the fact that many reflectors 53 are arranged adjacent to each other (FIG. 11A). Since only the opposing portion of the reflector 53 (the hatched portion a in FIG. 11B) emits light, there is a problem that not only the cost is increased but also the illumination quality is reduced.

In FIGS. 10 and 11, reference numeral 54 denotes a housing, and reference numeral 55 denotes a circuit board.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular lamp using an LED as a light source, which can increase the light emitting area of the LED, thereby reducing the cost and improving the illumination quality. I do.

[0009]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reflector for emitting light forward of a lamp, and an LED provided outside the reflector.
And a light guide member having an incident portion for introducing the light of the LED, and an emitting portion extending from the incident portion into the reflector and emitting most of the introduced light toward the reflector. It is characterized by the following.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the LE
D light is introduced into the light guide member from the incident portion,
Most of the light is emitted from the emission part in the reflector direction, and then reflected by the reflector and emitted to the front of the lamp. As described above, since the light-emitting member is moved forward by the light guide member, it is possible to use a reflector having a longer focal length, and emit most of the light of the LED from the light-emitting portion toward the reflector. As a result, the utilization efficiency of the reflector can be improved, and the light emitting area per LED can be increased.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicular lamp using the LED according to the first aspect as a light source, wherein the incident portion is formed at least on one side of the light guide member. The light-emitting portion is formed of a concave portion into which the light-emitting portion is fitted, and the emission portion is formed on the other side of the light guide member so as to face the concave portion, and is formed of a convex portion protruding into the reflector having a reflective concave surface at the tip. It is characterized by being performed.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the LE
The light of D is introduced into the light guide member from the concave portion, is reflected by the reflective concave surface, is emitted in a reflector direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the convex portion, is reflected by the reflector, and is emitted forward of the lamp. For this reason, the light emission pattern of the lamp can be controlled by appropriately changing the shape of the reflective concave surface of the convex portion and / or the concave portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicular lamp using the LED according to the second aspect as a light source, wherein the light guide member is formed of a plate. On one side surface, the incident portion and at least one reflecting portion for reflecting light for guiding the main body of the plate-like body to the other side surface of the plate-like body are formed, and at least one reflecting portion is formed. On the other side, the emission section is formed corresponding to the incidence section and the reflection section, and the reflector is provided for each emission section, and the LED is provided for each incidence section. Features.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the LE
The light of D is introduced into the plate-like body from the incident part, and directly reaches the emission part and is emitted, and the light is guided through the body of the plate-like body and reaches the emission part via the reflection part. And is separated into indirect light emitted. For this reason, the reflector does not include the LED, but functions as a light source.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle lamp using the LED according to the first aspect as a light source, wherein the LE is provided.
D is provided in plurality for the reflector,
The light guide member is formed of a plurality of rods having one end gathered, and the incident portion is configured by a tip of each rod that penetrates the reflector and faces each of the LEDs. And the emission unit is configured by the assembly portion located in the reflector.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the lights of the plurality of LEDs are introduced from the respective incident portions facing each other and are guided by the respective rods, and are emitted from the common emission portion of the respective rods. The light arrives at a certain gathering portion, and is emitted from the gathering portion toward the reflector. As a result, it is possible to increase the light emitting area of the LED and improve the luminance per reflector.

The invention described in claim 5 is the first invention.
5. A vehicular lamp using an LED as a light source according to any one of Claims 4 to 5, wherein the emission section is provided at a focal point of the reflector.

Therefore, in the invention according to claim 5, the LE
Since the light of D is emitted in the direction of the reflector from the emission portion at the focal position, the efficiency of use of the reflector can be increased, and the light emitting area per LED can be increased.

[0019]

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

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle lamp 10 as a first embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle lamp 10 includes a reflector 2 for emitting light to the front of the lamp, and the reflector 2.
LED1, an incident portion 3 for introducing the light of the LED1, an emission portion 4 extending from the incident portion 3 into the reflector 2 and emitting most of the introduced light in the direction of the reflector 2. And a light guide member 5 having the same. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 55 denotes a circuit board.

In this embodiment, the incident portion is formed of the concave portion 3 formed at one side of the light guide member 5 and into which the light emitting portion 1a of the LED 1 is fitted, and the light emitting portion is opposed to the concave portion 3. The light guide member 5 includes a convex portion 4 formed on the other side and protruding into the reflector 2 having a reflective concave surface 4a at the tip. The reflection concave surface 4a is formed as a peripheral surface of a concave portion having, for example, an inverted conical shape or an inverted pyramid shape.

In this configuration, the light of the LED 1 is
From the light emitting member 4 in the direction of the reflector 2 and the reflector 2
And is emitted forward of the lamp. As described above, since the light-emitting member 4 is moved forward by the light guide member 5, the reflector 2 having a longer focal length can be used by that amount, and most of the light of the LED 1 is transmitted from the light-emitting member 4 to the reflector. Since the light is emitted in two directions, the efficiency of use of the reflector 2 can be increased, whereby
The light emitting area per unit can be increased.

Specifically, the light of the LED 1 is introduced into the light guide member 5 from the concave portion 3, is reflected by the reflective concave surface 4 a, and is emitted in the direction of the reflector 2 substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the convex portion 4. The light is reflected by the rear reflector 2 and is emitted forward of the lamp. For this reason, the light emission pattern B of the lamp 10 is
It can be controlled by appropriately changing the shape of the reflection concave surface 4a and / or the concave portion 3 of FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2A, the reflection concave surface 4a is formed deep and the light emitting portion 1a of the LED 1 is formed.
When the bottom surface of the concave portion 3 facing the surface is formed as a flat surface 3a, an emission pattern B1 composed of emission light in three directions, that is, a vertical direction and both side directions is obtained in cross section, but FIG.
As shown in FIG.
The bottom surface of the concave portion 3 facing the light emitting portion 1a of the ED 1 is formed as a convex curved surface 3
When formed in b, an emission pattern B2 composed of emission lights in two directions in both sides in cross section is obtained.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the vehicular lamp 10 has an outer lens 50 by appropriately designing the shape of the reflecting concave surface 4a and / or the concave portion 3 of the light guide member 5 in accordance with the shape of the reflector 2. Of the LED 1 can be obtained.
In addition to an increase in the light emitting area per unit, it is possible to improve the illumination quality. The hatched portion in FIG. 3A indicates a light emitting portion.

FIG. 4 shows a vehicle lamp 20 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the vehicle lighting device 20, the light guide member is formed of the plate-shaped body 6, and the concave portion 3 forming the incident portion and the main body of the plate-shaped body 6 are guided on one side surface of the plate-shaped body 6. And at least one reflection portion 7 for reflecting the light L to the other side surface of the plate-shaped body 6, and the other side surface of the plate-shaped body 6 emits light corresponding to the concave portion 3 and the reflection portion 7, respectively. A convex portion 4 is formed, and a reflector 2 is provided for each convex portion 4, and an LED 1 is provided for each concave portion 3.

In this embodiment, the plate 6 is formed in a strip shape, and the concave portions 3 and the reflecting portions 7 are alternately positioned at the same interval in the center of the plate 6 along its length direction. It is formed so that. The reflecting portion 7 is formed as a conical concave portion, and is preferably formed by forming an aluminum deposition film on the surface. Further, the reflector 2, the concave portion 3, and the convex portion 4 are formed in the same manner as in the above-described first embodiment, and the LED 1, the reflector 2, the plate-like body 6, and the circuit board 55 are formed in the first embodiment. They are combined in the same manner as in the embodiment, and are incorporated in a housing 54 whose opening is covered with an outer lens 50.

In this configuration, the light of the LED 1 is introduced into the plate-shaped body 6 from the concave portion 3, and directly reaches the projected portion 4 and is emitted therefrom. Then, the light is separated into indirect light that reaches the convex portion 4 via the reflecting portion 7 and is emitted. For this reason, the reflection unit 7 does not include the LED, but functions as a light source unit.

For this reason, in the vehicular lamp 20, since the entire surface of the outer lens 50 can be a light emitting portion (hatched portion in FIG. 4A), a wider light emitting area can be secured with a small number of LEDs 1. The cost can be reduced by reducing the number of LEDs 1 installed.

FIG. 5 shows a vehicular lamp 21 as a modification of the second embodiment. The vehicular lamp 21 includes the reflecting portion 7.
This is different from the second embodiment in that the LED 1 and the circuit board 55 are not required to be installed at the location where the reflector 7 is installed.
a can be provided, so that the light source unit can be installed at a place where interference with other members 56 (shown by oblique lines) occurs in a normal housing.

FIG. 6 shows a vehicular lamp 22 as another modification of the second embodiment. The vehicular lamp 22 is a lamp having a wraparound portion 22a, which is formed by bending a plate-like body 6 as a light guide member in accordance with the overall shape of the lamp, and is installed as a light source other than the wraparound portion 22a. LED
The light of No. 1 is guided by the main body of the plate-shaped body 6 to the wraparound portion 22a, emitted from the convex portion 4 through the light source portion including the reflecting portion, into the reflector 2, and emitted forward of the lamp by the reflector 2. It is configured.

In the present embodiment, the reflecting portion as the light source is formed as a reflecting portion 7a formed as a conical concave portion in the inclined main body of the plate-shaped body 6, and as a flat surface at the end of the main body of the plate-shaped body 6. And a reflecting portion 7b. Reflectors 7a, 7
b is preferably formed by forming an aluminum vapor-deposited film on the surface.

As described above, the vehicular lamp 22 not only can guide the light of the LED 1 to a desired place via the plate-shaped body 6 according to the shape of the lamp, but also can reduce the installation space of the light source. Since the light source section composed of the reflection section can be installed in the wraparound section 22a that cannot be secured, the degree of freedom of the lamp shape can be increased.

Further, the vehicle lamps 10, 20, 21, and 22 emit the light of the LED 1 from the emission portion (convex portion 4) at the focal position toward the reflector 2, so that the reflector 2 can be used. Can increase efficiency,
Thereby, the light emission area per LED1 can be increased.

FIG. 7 shows a vehicle lamp 30 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle lighting device 30 includes an LED.
1 is provided for the reflector 2, the light guide member is formed of a plurality of rods 8 having one end side gathered 8 b, and the incident portion penetrates the reflector 2 and has a plurality of light guide members. The tip 8a of each rod 8 facing each of the LEDs 1
, And the emission section is formed by the collecting portion 8 b located in the reflector 2.

In this embodiment, two LEDs 1 are used and are electrically connected to a circuit board 55 screwed to a leg 9 integrally formed on the back surface of the reflector 2 and installed. . The light guide member is composed of two rods 8 that are bent and extended in a substantially L-shape from the upper part of the collecting part 8b, and the collecting part 8b is arranged at the focal position of the reflector 2 and The tip 8a of each rod 8 is disposed so as to face the LED 1 through the reflector 2.

At this time, the lower end face 8c of the collecting portion 8b is
Depending on the size of the reflection area of the reflector 2 and the desired shape of the emission pattern, the flat surface may be honed or formed as a convex curved surface at the light emission port.

According to this configuration, the light of the two LEDs 1 is introduced from the incident portions (tip portions 8a) facing each other, and is guided by the rods 8 to form an aggregated portion of the rods 8. The light reaches the common emission portion 8b, and is emitted from the emission portion in the direction of the reflector 2.

Therefore, the vehicular lamp 30 can increase the emission area of the LED 1 and improve the luminance per reflector.

FIG. 8 shows a vehicular lamp 31 as a modification of the third embodiment. The vehicular lamp 31 includes an LED 1
Only the number of installed and the structure of the light guide member are different,
Other configurations are the same as those of the vehicle lamp 30.

That is, in this embodiment, the LED 1 is
Four light guide members are provided, and the light guide member is composed of four rods 8 extending obliquely downward from the gathering portion 8b in a radial manner. The gathering portion 8b is arranged at the focal position of the reflector 2, and Each rod-shaped member 8 is installed by penetrating the reflector 2 so as to face the LED 1 with the distal end portion 8a thereof.

At this time, the collecting portion 8b is formed in a disk shape having a conical concave portion in the center, and is formed by forming an aluminum vapor deposition film on the upper surface.

According to this configuration, the lights of the four LEDs 1 are introduced from the respective incident portions (tip portions 8a) facing each other, and are guided by the rods 8 to be shared by the rods 8. The light reaches the gathering portion 8b, which is the emission portion, and is reflected by the aluminum vapor-deposited film of the gathering portion 8b and emitted in the direction of the reflector 2.

For this reason, in the vehicle lamp 31, not only the light emitting area of the LED 1 can be increased, but also the luminance can be further improved by the increase in the number of LEDs 1 installed.

In addition, the vehicular lamps 10, 20, 2
The convex portions 4 and the rods 8 in 1, 2, 30, and 31 do not require a large valve installation hole in the center of the reflector 2 like a conventional light source bulb, and are effective for reflecting most of the reflector 2 for reflection. It can be used as an area and is transparent so that it does not impair the appearance.

[0046]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the light emitting portion is moved forward by the light guide member, it is possible to use a reflector having a large focal length. Since it becomes possible to emit most of the light of the LED from the emission part in the direction of the reflector, it is possible to increase the use efficiency of the reflector, thereby increasing the light emitting area of the LED. The cost can be reduced and the lighting quality can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the light emission pattern is controlled by appropriately changing the shape of the reflection concave surface of the convex portion forming the light emitting portion and / or the concave portion forming the light incident portion. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily design a desired emission pattern according to the shape of the reflector.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the LE
Since the reflecting portion without D can function as the light source portion, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2, L
It is possible to further increase the light emitting area of the ED and further reduce the cost.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the light of the plurality of LEDs is emitted in the direction of the reflector from the collective portion which is a common emitting portion. In addition to this, it is possible to improve the luminance per reflector.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the LE
Since the emission part for emitting the light of D is located at the focal point of the reflector, the use efficiency of the reflector can be increased in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, whereby the LED 1 The light emitting area per unit can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of a vehicle lamp according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams of light emission patterns of the vehicle lamp of FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a light emission pattern of the vehicle lamp of FIG. 1;
(A) is a plan view and (b) is a schematic sectional view.

4 (a) is a partial plan view and FIG. 4 (b) is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a vehicle lamp according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial sectional view of a vehicular lamp as a modification of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a vehicle lamp as another modification of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial sectional view of a vehicle lamp according to a third embodiment of the invention.

8 (a) is a partial plan view, and FIG. 8 (b) is a schematic partial sectional view of a vehicular lamp as a modification of the third embodiment of the present invention.

9 (a) is a partially cutaway plan view of a conventional vehicle lamp, and FIG. 9 (b) is a sectional view taken along line IXb-IXb of FIG. 9 (a).

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a light emission pattern of a vehicle lamp as a comparative example.

11A and 11B are schematic partial sectional views and FIG. 11B is a partial plan view of a vehicle lamp as a comparative example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 LED 1a Light emitting part (of LED) 2 Reflector 3 Concave part (incident part) 4 Convex part (outgoing part) 4a Reflective concave surface 5 Light guide member 6 Plate (light guide member) 7, 7a, 7b Reflector 8 Rod (Light guide member) 8a Tip part (incident part) 8b Assembly part (exit part) 10,20,21,22,30,31 Vehicle lamp

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A reflector for emitting light to the front of a lamp, an LED provided outside the reflector, an incident portion for introducing light of the LED, and a light extending from the incident portion into the reflector. A light guide member having an emission portion for emitting most of the light in the direction of the reflector. 2. The vehicular lamp using the LED as a light source according to claim 1, wherein the incident portion is formed at one side of the light guide member and at least a concave portion into which a light emitting portion of the LED fits. The light emitting portion is formed by a convex portion formed on the other side of the light guide member so as to face the concave portion and protruding into the reflector having a reflective concave surface at the tip.
A vehicle lamp using an ED as a light source. 3. The vehicular lamp using the LED according to claim 2 as a light source, wherein the light guide member is formed of a plate-like body, and one side surface of the plate-like body has the incident part. And at least one reflecting portion for reflecting light that guides the main body of the plate-like body to the other side surface of the plate-like body, and wherein the other side surface of the plate-like body includes the incident portion. And the reflecting portion is formed corresponding to each of the reflecting portions, and the reflector is provided for each of the emitting portions, and the LED is provided for each of the incident portions. Vehicle lighting fixtures. 4. A vehicular lamp using the LED according to claim 1 as a light source, wherein a plurality of the LEDs are provided for the reflector, and the light guide member has one end gathered. A plurality of rods are formed, and the incident part is configured by a tip end of each rod that penetrates the reflector and faces each of the plurality of LEDs, and the emission part is provided inside the reflector. A vehicular lamp using an LED as a light source, wherein the vehicular lamp is constituted by the above-mentioned gathering portion. 5. The LE according to claim 1, wherein
A vehicle lamp using D as a light source, wherein the emission unit is provided at a focal point of the reflector.