JP2007083740A - Door mirror with side turn lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly excellent door mirror with a side turn lamp improving a clear feel and a depth feel with simple structure and having improved appearance. <P>SOLUTION: The door mirror 10 with the side turn lamp comprises a window part 11a provided on a door mirror cover 11 of the door mirror for an automobile and formed so as to turn around from a front surface to an outer side face, an outer lens 13 fitted in the window part and formed so as to become gradually thinner toward a tip end of the door mirror, and at least one LED 15b mounted on a substrate on the reverse side of the door mirror cover so as to face an inner end face 13a of the outer lens 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an LED type door mirror with a side turn lamp.

In recent years, as shown in FIG. 4, the side turn lamp 2 is embedded in the door mirror 1 of an automobile, and in the case of a right turn, a left turn, etc., the side turn lamp blinks to improve visibility. Methods for increasing safety have been widely adopted.
In the side turn lamp in such a door mirror with a side turn lamp, an LED is widely used as a light source in general from the viewpoint of installation space.

By the way, also in the side turn lamp attached to such a door mirror, the light distribution characteristic is strictly prescribed | regulated, and in order to satisfy | fill this light distribution characteristic, the side turn lamp 2 is shown in FIG. It is configured.
In FIG. 5, a side turn lamp 2 is a side turn lamp attached to the left door mirror 1, curved along the surface of the front mirror cover 1 a of the door mirror 1, and includes a housing 3, an outer lens 4, and an LED light source. It is composed of five.

  The housing 3 is made of an opaque material and defines an enclosed space in which the LED light source 5 is to be accommodated together with the outer lens 4. The outer lens 4 is disposed along the surface of the mirror cover 1a, and preferably has a lens step portion 4a having a sawtooth cross section on the inner surface.

  The LED light source 5 includes a substrate 5a extending along a sealed space defined by the housing 3 and the outer lens 4, and a plurality of (not shown) mounted outward at appropriate intervals on the substrate 5a. In this case, it is composed of 5 LEDs 5b. These LEDs 5b are mounted on the substrate 5a so as to face each other in a predetermined direction so as to satisfy the light distribution characteristics of the side turn lamp 2 described above.

  According to the side turn lamp 2 having such a configuration, the LED light source 5 is intermittently driven by a drive control unit (not shown) as a side turn lamp or a hazard lamp when the vehicle is turned or in an emergency. Each LED 5b blinks, and amber light or orange light is emitted to the outside with a predetermined light distribution characteristic.

  By the way, since such a side turn lamp 2 is designed with function priority so as to satisfy the light distribution characteristic, the inner LED substrate 5a and the LED 5b can be visually recognized through the outer lens 4 from the outside. For this reason, the appearance appearance is impaired, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of design.

  Further, when the lens step portion 4a is provided on the inner surface of the outer lens 4 in order to diffuse the light projection, the inner LED substrate 5a and the LED 5b are difficult to see, but the lens step portion 4a can be visually recognized. And the appearance will be impaired as described above.

On the other hand, according to the outside mirror device for a vehicle according to Patent Document 1, light emitted from the LED embedded in the vicinity of the front end of the door mirror is light-distributed by a prism provided on the inner surface of the outer lens, and obliquely rearward. It is made to emit toward.
JP 2005-186669 A

By the way, in the outside mirror device for vehicles by patent document 1 mentioned above, since LED as a light source is embedded near the front-end | tip of a door mirror, LED is arrange | positioned on the outer side of an outside mirror provided with a predetermined functional characteristic. As a result, the door mirror as a whole becomes larger and protrudes to the outside.
Further, in the vehicle outside mirror device according to Patent Document 1, a portion of the lamp lens located on the front side of the door mirror that can be visually recognized as a side turn lamp has an LED that functions as a decorative lamp (other lamp) on the inner surface. As in the case of the side turn lamp 2 described above, since the flexible board and the LED are provided in the internal space, the flexible board and the LED are visually recognized and the appearance of the appearance is impaired. End up.

  In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a door mirror with a side turn lamp which has a simple structure and improves a clear feeling and a depth feeling and an appearance appearance.

  According to the present invention, according to the present invention, a window portion formed to wrap around from the front surface to the outer surface provided in the door mirror cover of the door mirror for an automobile, and fitted into the window portion, gradually toward the tip of the door mirror. An outer lens formed to be thin, and at least one LED mounted on the substrate on the back side of the door mirror cover so as to face the inner end surface of the outer lens. This is achieved by a door mirror with a side turn lamp.

  In the door mirror with a side turn lamp according to the present invention, a housing is preferably disposed on the back side of the outer lens with a space therebetween, and a decorative rib is provided on the surface of the housing.

  According to the above configuration, when the LED emits light, the light emitted from the LED enters the inner end surface of the outer lens and repeats total reflection toward the tip that gradually becomes thinner. Then, the light that has reached the vicinity of the tip of the outer lens is emitted from the outer lens to the outside and is irradiated within a predetermined range.

  In this case, the LED light source is arranged on the back side of the cover of the door mirror and cannot be seen from the outside, and the inner surface of the outer lens is not provided with a conventional lens step part, Since the outer lens has a clear feeling and a feeling of depth, the appearance appearance is improved.

  If the housing has a decorative rib on the surface, the decorative rib can be seen from the outside through the outer lens. Design becomes possible.

  In this way, according to the present invention, the outer lens constituting the side turn lamp is formed so as to gradually become thinner from the LED light entrance to the exit. The incident light is efficiently guided to the tip as it repeats total reflection toward the tip.

  Further, since the LED light source is disposed on the back side of the cover of the door mirror that is hidden from the outside of the mirror, it is not necessary to provide a lens step portion on the inner surface of the outer lens so that the LED light source is not visually recognized. Therefore, the clearness and depth of the outer lens are improved, and the appearance of the side turn lamp is improved.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG.1 and FIG.2 has shown the structure of the door mirror with a side turn lamp which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 1, a door mirror 10 with a side turn lamp is configured as a door mirror on the right side (driver's seat side) of an automobile, and a window formed so as to go from the front surface of the door mirror cover 11 to the outer surface as in the conventional case. A side turn lamp 12 embedded in the portion 11a is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the side turn lamp 12 is disposed along the surface of the door mirror cover 11, and has an outer lens 13 fitted in the window portion 11 a and a predetermined interval on the back side of the outer lens 13. And an LED light source 15 disposed to face the inner end surface 13a of the outer lens 13.

  The outer lens 13 is made of a translucent material, for example, a transparent material, and is formed so as to be curved along the surface of the door mirror cover 11, and from the inner end surface 13a toward the outer tip. It is formed so that it gradually becomes thinner.

  Further, the outer lens 13 includes a lens cut portion 13b in the vicinity of the tip thereof. The lens cut portion 13b is formed so as to emit light that has traveled toward the tip in the outer lens 13 to the outside and irradiate it within a predetermined angle θ range so as to have a predetermined light distribution characteristic. Has been.

The housing 14 is made of, for example, an aluminum vapor deposition process so that at least the surface is made of a light-impermeable material and the surface is reflective.
Here, when the housing 14 is combined with the outer lens 13, the base portion is provided with a convex portion 14 a and the tip portion is provided with an engaging portion 14 b so as to define a space having a predetermined interval therebetween. ing. As a result, the convex portion 14 a abuts the inner surface near the base of the outer lens 13, and the engaging portion 14 b engages with the vicinity of the tip of the outer lens 13, whereby the housing 14 is in contact with the outer lens 13. Are fixed in place.

  The LED light source 15 is disposed on the back side of the door mirror cover 11 corresponding to the light incident port of the outer lens 13, that is, the inner end face 13 a of the outer lens 13. Although not shown, the LED light source 15 has, for example, three LEDs 15b mounted on a substrate 15a.

The door mirror 10 with a side turn lamp according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above and operates as follows.
When the vehicle is turned or in an emergency, the LED light source 15 is intermittently driven by a drive control unit (not shown) as a side turn lamp or a hazard lamp, and each LED 15b of the LED light source 15 blinks, and amber light or orange light is externally emitted. Is emitted.

Here, the light L emitted from each LED 15b enters the outer lens 13 from the inner end surface 13a of the outer lens 13, and, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 2, repeats total reflection and travels toward a thinner tip. Will proceed.
At that time, since the outer lens 13 is formed so as to become gradually thinner toward the tip, the light incident from the inner end face 13a is converged toward the tip, and more efficiently. It is guided toward the tip.

  Then, the light L that has reached the vicinity of the tip of the outer lens 13 is emitted to the outside from a lens cut portion 13 b provided near the tip of the outer lens 13. At that time, based on the shape of the lens cut portion 13b, the light L is irradiated within an angle range indicated by θ in FIG. 2 to form a predetermined light distribution characteristic of the side turn lamp.

In this case, since the LED light source is not disposed between the outer lens 13 and the housing 14, the LED light source is not seen through the outer lens 13, and the appearance is improved.
Furthermore, since there is no lens step portion for making the LED light source invisible on the back surface of the outer lens 13, the clearness and depth of the outer lens 13 are improved, and the appearance appearance is further improved.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a door mirror with a side turn lamp according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the door mirror 20 with a side turn lamp has substantially the same configuration as the door mirror 10 with a side turn lamp shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. Omitted.

The door mirror with side turn lamp 20 is different from the door mirror with side turn lamp 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 only in that a decorative rib 21 is provided on the surface of the housing 14. Yes.
The decorative rib 21 has an arbitrary design and can be visually recognized from the outside through the outer lens 13.

  According to the door mirror 20 with a side turn lamp having such a configuration, the door mirror 20 with the side turn lamp shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 operates in substantially the same manner, and the decorative rib 21 is provided on the surface of the housing 14. Therefore, when the outer lens 13 is observed from the outside, the decorative rib 21 is visually recognized through the outer lens 13.

  Therefore, since the outer lens 13 is not provided with a lens step portion on the inner surface, a sense of clearness and a sense of depth are improved, and the decoration rib 21 can be visually recognized through the outer lens 13. The design of the lamp is improved, the degree of freedom in design is increased, and the appearance of the side turn lamp is further improved.

  As described above, it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It is a schematic front view which shows the external appearance of 1st embodiment of the door mirror with a side turn lamp by this invention. It is the AA partial expanded sectional view of the AA line of FIG. 1 which shows the internal structure of the principal part of the door mirror with a side turn lamp by this invention. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the internal structure of the principal part of the door mirror with a side turn lamp by this invention. It is a schematic front view which shows the external appearance of an example of the conventional door mirror with a side turn lamp. It is the AA line partial expanded sectional view of FIG. 4 which shows the internal structure of the principal part of the conventional door mirror with a side turn lamp.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,20 Door mirror with side turn lamp 11 Door mirror cover 11a Window part 12 Side turn lamp 13 Outer lens 13a Inner end surface 13b Lens cut part 14 Housing 14a Convex part 14b Engagement part 15 LED light source 15a Substrate 15b LED
21 decorative ribs

Claims (2)

A window part that is provided in a door mirror cover in a door mirror for an automobile and is formed so as to go from the front surface to the outer surface;
An outer lens that is fitted into the window and formed so as to gradually become thinner toward the tip of the door mirror;
A door mirror with a side turn lamp, comprising: at least one LED mounted on the substrate on the back side of the door mirror cover so as to face the inner end face of the outer lens. A housing is arranged with a space behind the outer lens,
The door mirror with a side turn lamp according to claim 1, wherein a decoration rib is provided on a surface of the housing.

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