JP2009067098A - Lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting system allowing obtaining of lighting light with little luminance unevenness by a simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: A LED substrate 26 is fixed to a switch body 21, and thereby a light source unit 25 is held in a switch mechanism 20 and an optical axis O of each LED 27 is directed to a reflecting surface 3a in a state of each LED 27 projected from an upper side of the switch body 21. Each LED 27 therefore is made an invisible state when directly facing an outer lens 15. Namely, each LED 27 is disposed at a position where each LED 27 is hidden by the switch mechanism 20 disposed around the outer lens 15 (and a frame body 11) to be invisible. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an illumination device using a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode as a light source.

  Conventionally, vehicle interior lights (illumination devices) such as room lamps and map lamps are attached to the interior ceiling of a vehicle such as a passenger car. In general, this type of lighting device directly or indirectly guides light from a light source such as a bulb bulb to an outer lens, and emits light on the outer surface of the outer lens in a planar shape, thereby obtaining desired illumination light. Get.

Incidentally, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have the advantage of low power consumption and long life compared to tube bulbs and the like. Thus, in recent years, with the increase in output of LEDs, it is expected that light emitting elements such as LEDs are applied as light sources of various relatively small illumination devices. As an illumination device using an LED as a light source, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which an LED on which a plurality of LEDs are mounted is disposed to face a lamp cover (outer lens).
Utility Model Registration No. 3129847

  However, since a light emitting element such as an LED is a point light source having a light emitting portion smaller than that of a light source such as a bulb bulb, the LED is directly connected to the outer lens as in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above. When facing each other, the brightness of the region corresponding to the LED on the light emitting surface of the outer lens may be locally increased (so-called glare is generated), and the design as an illumination device may be impaired.

  If a light guide plate or the like is interposed between the LED and the outer lens to cope with this and disperse the light emitted from the LED, the structure may be complicated and the weight may be increased.

  An object of this invention is to provide the illuminating device which can obtain illumination light with few brightness irregularities by simple structure.

  The present invention includes an outer lens that is held by a frame and whose outer surface forms a light emitting surface, a reflecting member that has a reflecting surface facing the inner surface of the outer lens, a light source unit that mounts the light emitting element, and an emission from the light emitting element. And an air layer that guides the light reflected by the reflecting surface to the outer lens, and the light source unit is disposed at a position where the light emitting element is hidden by the frame when the outer lens is viewed directly. It is provided.

  According to the illumination device of the present invention, it is possible to obtain illumination light with less luminance unevenness with a simple configuration.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings relate to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of the room lamp, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the room lamp, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part along the line AA in FIG. 4 to 7 are main part cross-sectional views showing each modification of the room lamp along the line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship between the switch mechanism and the light source unit in FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a modified example of the room lamp along the line BB in FIG. 1, and FIG. 10 (a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the outer lens. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing an inner surface side of an outer lens.

  1 to 3, reference numeral 1 is a room lamp attached to the interior ceiling of the vehicle. The room lamp 1 has a flat, substantially box-shaped housing 2 whose bottom surface is open. For example, the housing 2 is formed of a resin molded product in which a back plate 3 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view and side walls 4 protruding downward from each side of the back plate 3 are integrally formed by injection molding. ing.

  More specifically, the housing 2 is molded from a highly reflective resin material such as a highly reflective polycarbonate. Thereby, the back plate 3 functions as a reflecting member, and the inner surface (lower surface) of the back plate 3 is set as the reflecting surface 3a. The housing 2 may be a molded product using a metal material such as aluminum instead of the highly reflective resin material. Alternatively, the housing 2 may be molded with a resin material other than the highly reflective resin material, and a sheet with high reflectivity may be attached to the inner surface of the back plate 3. Furthermore, instead of a sheet having a high reflectivity, the inner surface of the back plate 3 may be subjected to, for example, white or milky white coating or vapor deposition.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the back plate 3 is curved so as to gently change the position of the reflecting surface 3a downward from one side to the other side in the lateral direction. . Further, in order to efficiently scatter the reflected light, the reflective surface 3a is subjected to fine uneven processing.

  Further, a step portion 4 a for fitting with an outer cover 10 that closes the opening of the housing 2 is formed at the lower end of each side wall 4 constituting the housing 2.

  The outer cover 10 includes a frame body 11 that fits into the stepped portion 4 a and an outer lens 15 that fits into the frame body 11, and a main part is configured.

  The frame 11 is made of, for example, a resin molded product having a light shielding property. This frame 11 has a frame portion 11a located closer to one side in the short side direction of the four side frame portions that define the outer lens fitting portion 12, and is formed wider than the other frame portions. Thus, the frame 11 holds the outer lens 15 at a position that is biased toward the other side in the short direction with respect to the center of the room lamp 1. In addition, a long hole 13 for inserting a switch operation portion 23 of the switch mechanism 20 described later is opened along the outer lens fitting portion 12 in the frame portion 11a formed to be wide.

  The outer lens 15 is made of a resin molded product having translucency, for example. The outer lens 15 has a spherical shape that gently protrudes downward, and the outer surface (lower surface) side of the outer lens 15 is set as a light emitting surface 15a.

  On the other hand, in the housing 2, the inner surface side of the outer lens 15 is opposed to the reflecting surface 3a, and an air layer 18 is formed between the outer lens 15 and the reflecting surface 3a. Here, in order to give the outer lens 15 a light diffusing function, for example, a diffusion sheet 16 having fine irregularities is attached to the back surface of the outer lens 15 (see FIG. 3).

  The switch mechanism 20 includes, for example, a switch body 21 having a substantially rectangular tube shape. A long hole 22 is opened on the lower surface of the switch body 21, and a switch operation portion 23 projects from the long hole 22. In the present embodiment, an “ON” position P1 for always lighting the room lamp 1 and a “DOOR” position P2 for lighting the room lamp 1 according to the open / closed state of the door of the vehicle are disposed on the long hole 22. In addition, an “OFF” position P3 for always turning off the room lamp 1 is set, and the switch operation unit 23 is configured by a slide type operation unit capable of selecting any one of these positions P1 to P3. ing.

  The switch mechanism 20 is held by the outer cover 10 by fixing the lower surface of the switch body 21 from the inner surface side to the frame portion 11a in a state where the long holes 13 and 22 are positioned with respect to each other. At that time, the switch operating portion 23 is exposed to the outside of the outer cover 10 by being inserted into the long hole 13.

  Further, when held by the outer cover 10, the switch mechanism 20 is positioned at a position where the switch body 21 faces the side wall 4 on one side in the short direction in the housing 2 at a predetermined distance. The switch body 21 holds the light source unit 25 in a gap formed between the side wall 4 and the switch body 21.

  The light source unit 25 includes, for example, an LED substrate 26 as an element substrate having a substantially rectangular shape on a plane. On one surface of the LED substrate 26, a light source mounting area 26a for mounting a light emitting diode (LED) 27 as a light emitting element and a terminal area 26b for electrically connecting to the switch mechanism 20 are set. Has been. Here, it is preferable that the LED board 26 is comprised with material with high heat conductivity, such as aluminum, for example.

  A plurality of (for example, three) LEDs 27 are mounted on the light source mounting area 26a by soldering or the like. In the present embodiment, each LED 27 is composed of, for example, a surface-mounted white LED that obtains white light by applying a yellow phosphor (for example, a YAG phosphor) to the surface of an element having a blue light emitting unit. ing. Further, a single convex lens 27a is fixed on the emission surface of each LED 27. Due to the action of this single convex lens 27a, the light emitted from each LED 27 has, for example, a diffusion angle of 0 ° axis (optical axis O). On the other hand, the light is adjusted to a light beam having a relatively high directivity having a narrow angle of about 15 ° to 20 °.

  On the other hand, the terminal area 26b is provided with a plurality of terminals 28 that are electrically connected to the respective LEDs 27 via wirings or the like (not shown). The terminal region 26b is fixed to a surface on the switch body 21 that faces the side wall 4 on one side in the short side direction of the housing 2, whereby each terminal 28 is connected to the switch mechanism 20. On the other hand, it is directly electrically connected without interposing a bus bar or the like.

  Further, since the terminal region 26b is fixed to the switch body 21, the light source unit 25 is held by the switch mechanism 20 with each LED 27 protruding from above the switch body 21, and the optical axis O of each LED 27 is Directed to the reflecting surface 3a. That is, the optical axis O of each LED 27 is set in a substantially horizontal direction from one side in the lateral direction to the other side in the housing 2 and directed to the reflecting surface 3a that curves downward in the housing 2. .

  Moreover, in the housing | casing 2, when each LED27 is arrange | positioned above the switch main body 21, it will be in the state which cannot be visually recognized when seeing the outer lens 15 directly. That is, each LED 27 is arranged at a position where it is hidden by the switch mechanism 20 (and the frame body 11) arranged around the outer lens 15 and cannot be seen.

  In such a configuration, when the switch operating unit 23 is operated to the “ON” position P1 or the “DOOR” position P2, power is supplied from the switch mechanism 20 to the light source unit 25 and each LED 27 is turned on, FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, most of the emitted light from each LED 27 is reflected by the reflecting surface 3a and then guided to the outer lens 15 through the air layer 18. That is, in the present embodiment, the diffusion angle of the emitted light is set to a narrow angle by the action of the one-convex lens 27a fixed to the emission surface of the LED 27, and the switch body 21 and the frame portion 11a are disposed below the LED 27. Therefore, most of the light emitted from the LED 27 is incident directly on the outer lens 15 through the reflection on the reflecting surface 3a without being directly incident.

  Each LED 27 emits light from a position hidden behind the switch body 21 and the frame portion 11a in the vicinity of the reflective surface 3a, and the emitted light is incident on the outer lens 15 indirectly through reflection by the reflective surface 3a. Problems such as a partial increase in luminance on the surface 15a can be accurately prevented with a simple configuration. That is, by effectively using the switch mechanism 20 (and the frame portion 11a formed wide by disposing the switch mechanism 20), the LED 27 is hidden from view within the housing 2 through the outer lens 15. With a simple configuration, the occurrence of glare or the like on the light emitting surface 15a can be accurately suppressed.

  In this case, the light emitted from each LED 27 is diffused by the fine unevenness formed on the reflecting surface 3a or the diffusion sheet 16 attached to the outer lens 15, thereby emitting the light emitting surface 15a with more uniform illuminance. Can be made.

  Further, the reflection surface 3a is formed in a curved shape, and the distance between the reflection surface 3a and the outer lens 15 is set to be narrower as the distance from each LED 27 is reduced. Can efficiently enter the outer lens 15, and the light emitting surface 15a can emit light with more uniform illuminance.

  Further, by configuring the LED substrate 26 with a material having high thermal conductivity, the heat dissipation characteristics of the light source unit 25 can be improved, and the luminous efficiency of each LED 27 can be maintained at a high level.

  Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, in the room lamp 1, the reflecting member 5 that forms the reflecting surface 3 a can be configured by a member different from the housing 2. If comprised in this way, the shape etc. of the reflective surface 3a can be easily changed according to the specification etc. of the light source unit 25, without changing the housing | casing 2 significantly.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, in the room lamp 1, the light source unit 25 can be fixed on the upper surface of the switch body 21. In this case, the optical axis O of each LED 27 is directed upward. However, by providing a separate reflecting member 6 in a region facing each LED 27, the optical axis O can be directed indirectly with respect to the reflecting surface 3a. It becomes possible. Although not shown, in such a configuration, the terminal region is set on a surface on the LED substrate 26 different from the light source mounting region. If comprised in this way, each LED27 can be arrange | positioned in the position which cannot be visually recognized more with respect to the visual field in the housing | casing 2 through the outer lens 15. FIG.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to form an inclined surface on the upper part of the switch body 21 and fix the light source unit 25 on the inclined surface. If comprised in this way, according to the angle of an inclined surface, the optical axis O of each LED27 can be directed to the reflective surface 3a by arbitrary angles, and tuning of an orientation characteristic etc. can be implement | achieved easily.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in the room lamp 1, the LED substrate 26 is made of a metal material such as aluminum having high thermal conductivity, and is bent in multiple stages along the switch body 21 of the switch mechanism 20. It is also possible to form. If comprised in this way, the thermal radiation function by LED board 26 can be improved significantly, without expanding the installation space of LED board 26 in case 2 excessively.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 10A, in the room lamp 1, instead of the configuration in which the diffusion sheet 16 or the like is adhered to the outer lens 15, for example, the outer resin is replaced with a transparent resin material containing the diffusion material 15 b. The lens 15 may be molded. Further, for example, as shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C, a prismatic pattern 19 a, a columnar pattern 19 b, and the like can be formed on the inner surface of the outer lens 15.

  Here, in the above-described embodiment, each configuration in the case where the light source unit is arranged on one side portion of the casing 2 in the short side direction has been described. For example, as illustrated in FIG. It is also possible to dispose the light source unit 30 on the side in the longitudinal direction of the housing 2 that is not disposed. In this case, if the reflecting member 31 having the reflecting surface 31a having a predetermined shape corresponding to the arrangement of the light source unit 30 is disposed in the housing 2, the light emitting surface 15a can emit light with high uniformity.

  By the way, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the example which comprised the light source unit using several LED27 with the same luminescent color was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to this, For example, several luminescent color differs It is also possible to configure a light source unit by mixing various types of LEDs (for example, LEDs that emit light of R, G, and B emission colors). If comprised in this way, the luminescent color on the light emission surface 15a can be set arbitrarily, and a color rendering property can be improved.

  The application of the present invention is not limited to room lamps, and can be applied to various lighting devices.

The exploded perspective view which shows the principal part of a room lamp Top view of room lamp Sectional drawing of the principal part which follows the AA line of FIG. Sectional drawing of the principal part which shows the modification of a room lamp along the AA line of FIG. Sectional drawing of the principal part which shows the modification of a room lamp along the AA line of FIG. Sectional drawing of the principal part which shows the modification of a room lamp along the AA line of FIG. Sectional drawing of the principal part which shows the modification of a room lamp along the AA line of FIG. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship between the switch mechanism of FIG. 7 and the light source unit. Sectional drawing of the principal part which shows the modification of a room lamp along the BB line of FIG. (A) is an expanded sectional view which shows the modification of an outer lens, (b), (c) is a top view which expands and shows the inner surface side of an outer lens

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Room lamp, 2 ... Housing | casing, 3 ... Back plate (reflective member), 3a ... Reflective surface, 4 ... Side wall, 4a ... Step part, 5 ... Reflective member, 6 ... Reflective member, 10 ... Outer cover, 11 ... Frame Body, 11a ... Frame portion (structure) 12 ... Outer lens fitting portion, 13 ... Elongated hole, 15 ... Outer lens, 15a ... Light emitting surface, 15b ... Diffusion material, 16 ... Diffusion sheet, 18 ... Air layer, 19a ... Pattern, 19b ... Pattern, 20 ... Switch mechanism (structure), 21 ... Switch body, 22 ... Long hole, 23 ... Switch operation unit, 25 ... Light source unit, 26 ... LED substrate, 26a ... Light source mounting area, 26b ... Terminal Region 27: Light emitting diode (light emitting element) 27a ... Single convex lens 28 ... Terminal 30 ... Light source unit 31 ... Reflecting member 31a ... Reflecting surface O ... Optical axis

Claims (6)

An outer lens whose outer surface constitutes a light emitting surface;
A reflective member having a reflective surface facing the inner surface of the outer lens;
A light source unit mounted with a light emitting element;
An air layer that guides the light emitted from the light emitting element and reflected by the reflecting surface to the outer lens,
The lighting device, wherein the light source unit is disposed at a position where the light emitting element is hidden by a structure around the outer lens when the outer lens is viewed from the front.   The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein an optical axis of the light emitting element is set so as to be directed to the reflecting surface. A switch mechanism disposed adjacent to the outer lens;
The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light source unit is held by the switch mechanism at a position hidden by the switch mechanism. The light source unit has an element substrate with high thermal conductivity on which the light emitting element is mounted,
The lighting device according to claim 3, wherein the element substrate is bent along the switch mechanism.   The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the light source unit includes a plurality of the light emitting elements having different emission colors.   6. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the reflecting surface is set such that a distance from the outer lens is reduced as the reflecting surface is separated from the light emitting element. 7.

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