JP2003323805A - Signal lamp device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the appearance of a signal lamp device for a vehicle by forming a light distribution by arranging spherical surfaces in such a manner that an appearance with no selection excepting a lattice design and old-fashioned can be freely changed. <P>SOLUTION: The signal lamp device 1 for a vehicle is equipped with a reflection mirror 2 obtained by assuming parabola for focusing of a light source 3 within the range forming the reflection mirror 2 of the signal lamp device 1 for a vehicle, providing a polygonal side inscribed or circumscribed at a proper position with each parabola, forming a standard reflection surface 21 having a suitable center angle in a form of a cylindrical surface, a conical surface or a combination thereof causing the axis and outer surface to run parallel with the side and substantially consist with the side, respectively, about every side, and combining the standard reflection surfaces 21 in a circumferential direction, whereby the appearance with no room for selection excepting a lattice design and old-fashioned can be freely changed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp, and more particularly to a signal lamp such as a taillight and a stoplight, which is unprecedented for a driver of a following vehicle or a pedestrian. The present invention relates to a configuration of a vehicular lamp that can provide a different appearance when turned on and off.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 8 and 9 show an example of the structure of a conventional vehicle lamp of this type. First, in a vehicle lamp 90 shown in FIG. A reflecting mirror 92, which is an object surface, is provided to make parallel rays incident on the lens 93. The lens 93 is provided with a fish-eye lens-shaped lens cut 93a, and the lens cut 93a diffuses light in the vertical and horizontal directions to obtain a desired light distribution characteristic. Although not shown, a Fresnel lens instead of the reflecting mirror 92 is replaced by a light source 91 and a lens 93.
There is also something set between and.

Further, in the vehicular lamp 80 shown in FIG. 9, in the vehicular lamp 90 described above, the lens 9 is used.
Since the lens cut 93a is provided on the three surfaces, the transparency is lost, and in order to improve the flat appearance both when the light is turned on and when the light is turned off, a reflection with a light source 81 as a focus, for example, a paraboloid of revolution is used. The mirror 82 is provided with a fish-eye lens-shaped convex spherical surface 82a,
The reflecting mirror 82 itself forms a light distribution characteristic,
As a result, the lens 83 becomes transparent and a transparent feeling,
A three-dimensional effect is produced.

[0004]

However, in any of the vehicle lamps 90 and 80 described above, for example, when the driver of the following vehicle looks at the lens cut 93a, or
The lattice pattern formed by the convex spherical surface 82a is recognized, and although the depth and transparency are slightly different, the basic design is the same and is already obsolete.
For example, it was insufficient in terms of rendering the individuality of the vehicle.

[0005]

As a concrete means for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention envisages a parabola whose light source is a focal point in the range where the reflecting mirror of the vehicular signal lamp is formed. In addition to setting a polygonal side that is inscribed or circumscribed at an appropriate position, a cylindrical surface, a conical surface, or a combination of them that makes the outer surface approximately coincident with the side and the axis, or a combination thereof To solve the problem by providing a vehicular signal lamp characterized in that a reflecting surface is formed on each side and a reflecting mirror is formed by combining the reference reflecting surfaces in the circumferential direction. is there.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. 1 and 2 show the principle of construction of the reflecting mirror 2 used in the vehicular signal lamp 1 according to the present invention. First, for example, assuming a suitable plane P such as a vertical plane including the light source 3, A parabola H having the light source 3 as the focal point on the plane P and the central axis X as the irradiation direction is assumed. At this time, the focal length and the like are set so that the parabola H has an appropriate size as the reflecting mirror 2 of the vehicular signal lamp 1. Further, the assumed parabola H may be a half part from the central axis X.

Subsequently, the parabola H assumed as described above is divided into arbitrary sections, for example, by a plurality of lines V orthogonal to the central axis X, and the intersections of the parabola H and the line V are sequentially connected by straight lines. . By doing so, a polygonal shape having a plurality of sides S inscribed in the parabola H can be obtained. In the description, an example of forming a polygonal shape inscribed in the parabola H to obtain the side S has been described, but this may be an inscribed polygonal shape.

In the present invention, the reference reflecting surface 21 is set for each of the sides S obtained as described above. Here, an example of forming the reference reflecting surface 21 as a cylindrical surface will be described. In the present invention, the axis Y is set so as to be parallel to the side S on the plane P. Therefore, the distance between the side S and the axis Y becomes the approximate radius r of the cylindrical surface, that is, The outer surface of the cylindrical surface is at a position that substantially coincides with the side S.

By thus forming the reference reflecting surface 21 as a cylindrical surface whose axis Y is parallel to the side S, when the reference reflecting surface 21 exists in the vertical direction of the light source 3, the light source 3 changes from the reference reflecting surface 21 to the reference reflecting surface 21. The reached light is basically reflected in a direction substantially parallel to the central axis X, but has a relatively narrow irradiation angle in the vertical direction and a relatively wide irradiation angle in the horizontal direction. Will have.

Here, the irradiation angle generated in the vertical direction is determined by the angle seen from the light source 3 in the axis Y direction of the cylindrical surface, and the irradiation angle generated in the horizontal direction is the value of the radius r of the cylindrical surface and the central axis X. Therefore, it is determined by the correlation with the angle of the cylindrical surface in the radial direction, that is, the value of the central angle γ.

Further, in the present invention, the radius r and the center of the above description are set so that the irradiation angle corresponding to the irradiation angle required for the vehicular signal lamp 1 can be obtained for each of the reference reflecting surfaces 21. Defines the angle γ and therefore
Basically, a relatively wide central angle α is given to a portion with a large radius r, and a relatively narrow central angle α is given to a portion with a small radius r.

The reference reflecting surfaces 21 having the axial length and the central angle α set as described above are, as a basic configuration shape of the vehicular signal lamp 1 of the present invention, a circumference. A suitable number is installed in each direction so that each of them is formed into a ring shape, thereby forming an integral reflecting mirror 2.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the reflecting mirror 2 formed as described above. The first stage on the inner side of the reflecting mirror 2 is unfolded at 45 ° for convenience. This first step is formed by the reference reflection surface 21a of the surface, and the reference reflection surface 21b of the inner second step is developed at 30 ° to form the second step with a total of 12 surfaces. In the 3rd stage, it is developed at 22.5 ° and formed by 16 reference reflecting surfaces 21c, and in the 4th stage, it is developed at 18 ° and formed by 20 reference reflecting surfaces 21d. The reflecting mirror 2 is formed as.

In this embodiment, the first stage and the second stage
The reference reflecting surface 21e formed as a smaller area between each of the second, third and third steps, and the fourth and fourth steps.
A ring-shaped product is sandwiched between the appropriate numbers to create a design accent. In the vehicle signal lamp 1 that employs the reflecting mirror 2 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2, since the light distribution characteristic can be obtained only by the reflecting mirror 2 as will be described later, a lens that covers the reflecting mirror 2 Therefore, the shape and pattern of the reflecting mirror 2 can be directly recognized by the viewer as the design of the vehicular signal lamp 1 when it is not lit.

FIG. 4 shows the principle of forming the light distribution characteristic D in the reflecting mirror 2 by taking the first-stage reference reflecting surface 21a as an example. One reference reflecting surface 21a is the light source 3 as described above. When it is directly below or just above, a beam that is wide in the horizontal direction and narrow in the vertical direction is emitted toward the irradiation direction.

Here, in the present invention, the reference reflecting surface 21 is used.
Since a is expanded in the circumferential direction, for example, the light source 3
On the other hand, the reference reflecting surfaces 21a existing on the left and right in the horizontal direction radiate a beam Bv which is wide in the vertical direction and narrow in the horizontal direction, and the reference reflecting surfaces 21a which are present in the vertical directions are wide beam Bh in the horizontal direction and narrow beam Bh in the vertical direction. The beam shape with respect to the road surface changes depending on the position where the reference reflection surface 21a is arranged, such as radiating light, and the total irradiation light from the reference reflection surface 21a is evenly distributed in the vertical and horizontal directions. Further, the reflected light from the other reference reflecting surfaces 21 (b to d) such as the second and third steps is also added, and the required light distribution characteristic D is satisfied.

Corresponding to the developed position of the reference reflecting surface 21a, for example, those arranged vertically in the light source 3 have a small radius r of the cylinder, and those arranged horizontally are the radius r. It is possible to obtain a wider irradiation width in the horizontal direction and a narrower width in the vertical direction, which are preferable as the light distribution characteristics of the vehicular signal lamp 1 of this type, by increasing the value of.

Therefore, in the vehicular signal lamp 1 according to the present invention, basically, the lens (not shown) for covering the irradiation direction side of the reflecting mirror 2 is a plain shape without lens cutting or the like. It is supposed to be. In addition, it is naturally possible to provide appropriate line markings or changes in wall thickness from a decorative point of view.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a lighting state of the vehicular signal lamp 1 according to the present invention. As is apparent from the above description, the reference reflecting surface 21 (a ...
The portion e) reflects light, and in this embodiment, the concentric pattern is recognized more strongly than when it is not lit (see FIG. 3). Further, according to the present invention, various patterns can be freely realized by a method of developing the reference reflecting surface 21, such as a spiral shape.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In the previous embodiment, the reference reflecting surface 21 was described as being formed as a part of a cylindrical surface, but the present invention is not limited to this. If the surface shape reflects light from the light source 3 with a wide diffusion angle in one direction and a narrow diffusion angle in a direction orthogonal to this direction, or a surface shape that does not give a diffusion angle so much. It is also a good shape.

The figure shows an example in which a conical surface (or a part thereof) is adopted as the reference reflecting surface 22 instead of the cylindrical surface. By doing so, for example, the reference reflecting surface 2
Even if 2 is formed as a rectangle, the diffusion angle varies depending on the distance from the center line X, and one reference reflection surface 22
Even inside, the brightness can be different depending on the position. Alternatively, the reference reflecting surface 2 can be formed by using a conical surface.
It is possible to form 2 as a shape other than a rectangle,
As shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to have a more innovative design.

In the above description, the case where both the cylindrical surface and the conical surface are formed as convex surfaces has been explained, but from the optical effect, even if they are concave surfaces having the same radius r, they are equivalent. It is also possible to implement the configuration described above with a convex surface. Further, even if the optical action is the same, it is visually different, and therefore, by mixing the convex surface and the concave surface, it is possible to produce novelty in terms of design.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, a parabola having a light source as a focal point is assumed in the reflection mirror forming range of a vehicular signal lamp, and a polygonal shape is inscribed or circumscribed at an appropriate position with respect to the parabola. While setting the sides of, a cylindrical surface, a conical surface, or a combination thereof, whose axis is parallel to the side and whose outer surfaces are substantially coincident with each other, a reference reflection surface having an appropriate central angle is formed for each side. By using a vehicular signal lamp equipped with a reflecting mirror formed by combining reference reflecting surfaces in the circumferential direction, conventionally, by forming the light distribution characteristics by a line of spherical surfaces, it is possible to select other than the lattice design. As it has no room to change the appearance of being obsolete, it has an extremely excellent effect on improving the aesthetics of this type of vehicular signal lamp.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a side view of a procedure for forming a reflecting mirror in a vehicular signal lamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing from the front a procedure for forming a reflecting mirror in the vehicular signal lamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an embodiment of a vehicular signal lamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of formation of a light distribution characteristic in the vehicular signal lamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state in which the vehicular signal lamp according to the present invention is lit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the vehicular signal lamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a state during lighting according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing another conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Vehicle signal light 2 ... Reflector 21 (a to e), 22 ... Reference reflecting surface 3 ... Light source

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A parabola having a light source as a focal point is assumed in the formation range of a reflecting mirror of a vehicular signal lamp, and a polygonal side that is inscribed or circumscribed at an appropriate position with respect to the parabola is set and the side A cylindrical reflecting surface, a conical surface, or a combination of these, whose axes are parallel and whose outer surfaces are substantially coincident with each other, is formed on each side with a reference reflecting surface having an appropriate central angle, and the reference reflecting surfaces are combined in the circumferential direction. A vehicular signal lamp including a reflector formed as described above. 2. The vehicular signal lamp according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical surface and the conical surface are convex surfaces, concave surfaces, or a combination thereof.