JP2011071551A - Light emitting diode - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a luminance distribution of a conventional light emitting diode in which luminance is rapidly decreased as an open angle from an optical axis increases, in a light emitting diode formed by arranging a light emitting chip on an optical axis. <P>SOLUTION: A curved-surface part 14aA is formed on the front surface of a sealing member 14, and a cross-sectional shape along a horizontal surface including its optical axis Ax is formed with a corrugated curve formed by arranging a concave curve C1 in the vicinity of the optical axis Ax and convex curves C2 on both its sides. Thus, in the horizontal surface including the optical axis Ax, light advancing in a direction small in a horizontal open angle from the optical axis Ax out of light emitted from a light emitting chip 12 is made to reach a part of the concave curve C1, and emitted forward as light diffusing in a direction separating from the optical axis Ax by its light diffusion action, and light advancing in a direction large in an open angle is made to reach a part of the convex curve C2, and emitted forward as light deflecting closer to the direction of a line L forming an open angle θ by its light convergence action. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a light emitting diode in which a light emitting chip is sealed with a transparent sealing member, and particularly relates to a configuration of the sealing member.

  In recent years, light emitting diodes are increasingly used as light sources for vehicle lamps and the like.

  The light emitting diode includes a light emitting chip arranged on a predetermined optical axis and a transparent sealing member that seals the light emitting chip from the front side in the optical axis direction, as described in, for example, “Patent Document 1”. The front surface of the sealing member has a substantially spherical surface shape.

  Further, “Patent Document 2” describes a light emitting diode in which the use efficiency of light from the light emitting chip is increased by configuring the back surface of the sealing member as a reflective surface.

JP 2001-283616 A JP 2002-94129 A

  Since the conventional light emitting diode has a characteristic that the brightness rapidly decreases as the opening angle from the optical axis increases as the brightness distribution, the front light can be illuminated brightly by the emitted light. There is a problem that the oblique direction cannot be brightly irradiated.

  In particular, when this light emitting diode is used as a light source of a vehicular lamp, there are the following problems.

  That is, many vehicular lamps are configured to form a light distribution pattern having a gentle luminous intensity distribution by controlling light from a light source with a lens disposed in front of the light source. Is used, even if controlled by a lens, the steep luminance distribution of the light-emitting diode cannot be sufficiently relaxed, so that only the front direction of the lamp is irradiated very brightly (so-called point There is a problem that the state of light) cannot be resolved.

  Furthermore, in many vehicular lamps, it is required to increase the size of the lens as much as possible in order to secure the light emitting area. In this case, the light from the light emitting diode is transmitted to the lens periphery. On the other hand, since the incident light is incident at a considerably large incident angle, the lens efficiency is lowered. Considering this point, the light emitted from the lens periphery is considerably darker than the light emitted from the lens central part. There is a problem that.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can improve the luminance distribution of a conventional light emitting diode in which the luminance rapidly decreases as the opening angle from the optical axis increases. An object of the present invention is to provide a light emitting diode.

  The present invention is intended to achieve the above object by devising the surface shape of the sealing member.

That is, the light emitting diode according to the present invention is
In a light emitting diode comprising: a light emitting chip disposed on a predetermined optical axis; and a transparent sealing member that seals the light emitting chip from the front side in the optical axis direction.
A curved surface is formed on the front surface of the sealing member,
A cross-sectional shape of the curved surface portion along the first plane including the optical axis is constituted by a waveform curve in which a concave curve is arranged in the vicinity of the optical axis and convex curves are arranged on both sides of the concave curve. Has been
A cross-sectional shape of the curved surface portion along a second plane that is parallel to the optical axis and orthogonal to the first plane is formed by a convex curve.

  The “front surface of the sealing member” may be configured only by the “curved surface portion”, or may be configured by the “curved surface portion” and other portions.

  The outer shape of the “curved surface portion” is not particularly limited.

  The “first plane” is not limited to a plane at a specific position as long as the plane includes the optical axis.

  As long as the “concave curve” is arranged in a portion including the optical axis, the specific formation range is not particularly limited, and the specific shape and curvature of the “concave curve” are also not limited. It is not particularly limited.

  As long as each “convex curve” is arranged on both sides of the “concave curve”, the specific formation range is not particularly limited, and the specific shape of each “convex curve” is not limited. The curvature and the curvature are not particularly limited. Further, each of these “convex curves” may be a curve smoothly connected to the above “concave curve”, or may be a curve not smoothly connected, and each of these “convex curves” has the same shape. It may or may not be formed.

  As shown in the above configuration, the light emitting diode according to the present invention includes a light emitting chip disposed on a predetermined optical axis, and a transparent sealing member that seals the light emitting chip from the front side in the optical axis direction. However, a curved surface portion is formed on the front surface of the sealing member, and the cross-sectional shape of the curved surface portion along the first plane including the optical axis is a concave curve in the vicinity of the optical axis. In addition, since it is composed of a waveform curve having convex curves arranged on both sides thereof, the following operational effects can be obtained.

  That is, in the first plane, out of the light emitted from the light emitting chip, the light traveling in the direction with a small opening angle with respect to the optical axis reaches the concave curve portion of the curved surface portion of the sealing member. It is emitted forward as light that diffuses in a direction away from the optical axis due to the action. Further, in the first plane, out of the light emitted from the light emitting chip, the light traveling in the direction having a large opening angle with respect to the optical axis reaches the convex curve portion of the curved surface portion of the sealing member, so that the light is converged. As a result of the action, the light is emitted forward as light deflected toward a direction that forms a predetermined opening angle with respect to the optical axis. For this reason, the luminance distribution of the light emitted from the curved surface portion of the sealing member is gradually increased from the direction along the optical axis to the direction forming a predetermined opening angle with respect to the optical axis in the first plane. An increasing luminance distribution or a substantially uniform luminance distribution can be obtained.

  Therefore, by using the light-emitting diode according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the luminance distribution of the conventional light-emitting diode in which the luminance rapidly decreases as the opening angle from the optical axis increases.

  In addition, in the present invention, since the cross-sectional shape of the curved surface portion of the sealing member along the second plane parallel to the optical axis and perpendicular to the first plane is formed by a convex curve, the first In the plane, the luminance distribution gradually increases or substantially uniform from the direction along the optical axis to the direction having a predetermined opening angle with respect to the optical axis. In the plane, it is possible to obtain a luminance distribution in which the luminance increases within a predetermined angle range where the opening angle from the optical axis is small. And by comprising in this way, when a narrow lens is arrange | positioned ahead of a light emitting diode, this lens can be made to shine brightly to the lens peripheral part of the vicinity of the both ends.

  In the above configuration, the outer shape of the curved surface portion of the sealing member is not particularly limited as described above, but the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction is constricted when viewed from the front (that is, viewed from the front in the optical axis direction). If the oval shape is set, the amount of light incident on the curved surface portion of the light emitted from the light emitting chip in the first plane in the direction in which the opening angle with respect to the optical axis is large is small in the opening angle with respect to the optical axis. The amount of light traveling in the direction can be maintained substantially the same as the amount of incident light on the curved surface portion.

  In the above configuration, a deflecting and emitting portion is formed on the outer peripheral side of the curved surface portion on the front surface of the sealing member to deflect and emit light that travels away from the light axis from the light emitting chip toward the optical axis toward the optical axis. With this configuration, the light use efficiency from the light emitting chip can be increased.

  At that time, the curved surface portion of the sealing member is configured with a convex curve in the cross-sectional shape along the second plane, and light emitted from the light emitting chip toward both sides of the convex curve is relatively large. Adopting such a configuration is effective. In addition, when the outer shape of the curved surface portion of the sealing member is set to be an oval shape with a narrowed middle portion in the longitudinal direction when viewed from the front, the emitted light from the light emitting chip toward both sides of the middle portion in the longitudinal direction is considerably large. Since it increases, it is more effective to adopt such a configuration.

  In this case, the specific configuration of the “deflecting and emitting portion” is not particularly limited.

  In the above configuration, the sealing member may of course be composed of a single member, but the sealing member is connected to the sealing member main body for sealing the light emitting chip and the sealing member main body. If the cover member is mounted from the front side in the optical axis direction, the sealing member main body is set as a standard product, and the shape of the cover member is changed as appropriate, thereby distributing the light distribution of the sealing member. Characteristics can be changed. In this case, a specific configuration for “attaching” the cover member to the sealing member main body is not particularly limited, and for example, attachment by engagement connection, press-fitting, adhesion, or the like can be employed.

  The use of the light-emitting diode according to the present invention is not particularly limited, but if this light-emitting diode is incorporated in a vehicle lamp, other drivers, pedestrians, etc. have observed the vehicle lamp in a lit state. Sometimes it is easy to make the entire lamp appear to shine with substantially uniform brightness.

The perspective view which shows the light emitting diode which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. Front view showing the light emitting diode Sectional view along line III-III in Fig. 1 Sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 1 Plan sectional drawing which shows the light emitting diode of the said embodiment supported by the support substrate In the said embodiment, it is a figure which shows the luminance distribution of the light emitting chip in the horizontal surface containing an optical axis, Comprising: The same figure (a) is a luminance distribution by the emitted light from a light emitting chip, The same figure (b) is a sealing member. The figure which shows the luminance distribution by the light which exits from the curved surface part Plan sectional drawing which shows the vehicle lamp with which the light emitting diode which concerns on the said embodiment was integrated as a light source Side sectional view showing the vehicle lamp The perspective view which shows the inner lens of the said embodiment with a single item Xa-Xa sectional view (a) and Xb-Xb sectional view (b) of FIG. The same figure as FIG.10 (b) which shows the effect | action of the said embodiment. The perspective view which shows the light emitting diode which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The front view which shows the light emitting diode which concerns on the said 2nd Embodiment. XIV-XIV cross-sectional view of Figure 12 XV-XV sectional view of Fig. 12 The front view which shows the light emitting diode which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure similar to FIG. 3 which shows the light emitting diode which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a light emitting diode 10 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. 3 and 4 are a sectional view taken along line III-III and a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

  As shown in these drawings, the light emitting diode 10 includes a light emitting chip 12 disposed on a predetermined optical axis Ax, and the light emitting chip 12 on the front side in the optical axis Ax direction (hereinafter simply referred to as “front side”). A transparent sealing member 14 for sealing the light emitting chip 12 and a lead frame 16 for supporting the light emitting chip 12.

  The light emitting chip 12 has a light emitting surface with a size of about 0.3 to 1 mm square, and the light emitting surface is positioned in the front direction (that is, the optical axis Ax) with the light emission center O positioned on the optical axis Ax. It is arranged so as to face in the direction front).

  The sealing member 14 is made of a transparent resin material such as an epoxy resin, has a square outer shape when viewed from the front, and has a depth of about half the length of one side thereof. The sealing member 14 seals the light emitting chip 12 together with a part of the lead frame 16 so as to go around to the rear side.

  The front surface 14a of the sealing member 14 includes a flat surface portion 14aB formed along a vertical surface orthogonal to the optical axis Ax, and a lid-shaped curved surface portion formed so as to protrude forward from the flat surface portion 14aB. 14aA.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cross-sectional shape of the curved surface portion 14aA along the horizontal plane including the optical axis Ax is such that the concave curve C1 is disposed in the vicinity of the optical axis Ax, and the convex curves C2 are formed on the left and right sides of the concave curve C1. It is composed of waveform curves that are arranged.

  This waveform curve has a symmetrical shape with respect to the optical axis Ax. At this time, the concave curve C1 is formed over an angular range of about 15 to 25 ° (for example, about 20 °) with a central angle with respect to the light emission center O of the light emitting chip 12, and each convex curve C2 It is formed in an angle range of about 60 to 70 ° (for example, about 65 °).

  The concave curve C1 is configured by an arc having a relatively large curvature, while each convex curve C2 is configured by a curve in which the curvature gradually changes. Specifically, each of the convex curves C2 has the same curvature as that of the concave curve C1 so that the convex curve C2 is smoothly connected to the concave curve C1, but from the optical axis Ax. The curvature gradually decreases as the opening angle in the left-right direction increases. Each of these curves C2 has a minimum curvature in a direction (direction of a straight line L indicated by a one-dot chain line in the figure) in which the angle θ is slightly smaller than the opening angle of the outer edge (that is, α / 2 + β). At the above opening angle, the curvature is constant. At this time, the value of the opening angle θ is set to a value of about 65 to 75 ° (for example, about 70 °).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the cross-sectional shape of the curved surface portion 14aA along the vertical plane parallel to the optical axis Ax is a convex curve C3. The convex curve C3 is formed by an arc, and the radius thereof is the smallest on the optical axis Ax, gradually increases with increasing distance from the optical axis Ax in the left-right direction, and then gradually decreases again. The center position of the arc constituting the convex curve C3 is located slightly in front of the light emission center O of the light emitting chip 12.

  Since the curved surface portion 14aA has the horizontal cross-sectional shape and the vertical cross-sectional shape configured by the curves as described above, the outer shape thereof is configured by a horizontally long oval shape with a narrowed middle portion in the longitudinal direction when viewed from the front. Yes.

  The lead frame 16 has a shape in which a belt-like metal plate is bent in an inverted U shape and both ends thereof are bent at right angles in a direction away from each other, and the light emitting chip 12 is supported at the stepped flat portion. ing. A mortar-shaped recess 16a is formed at the center of the raised flat surface portion of the lead frame 16, and the light emitting chip 12 is disposed at the center of the bottom surface of the recess 16a. At this time, the lead frame 16 is separated into left and right at the stepped plane portion, and bonding wires (not shown) extending from the light emitting chip 12 mounted on one of the lead frames 16 are connected to the other. The lead frame 16 has its raised flat surface portion sealed together with the light emitting chip 12 by the sealing member 14, and the pair of left and right terminal portions 16 b are exposed from the sealing member 14.

  As shown in a plan view in FIG. 5, the light emitting diode 10 according to the present embodiment is used in a state of being supported by a support substrate 30 at both terminal portions 16 b of the lead frame 16.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the horizontal plane including the optical axis Ax, the light emitted from the light emitting chip 12 toward the direction in which the lateral opening angle from the optical axis Ax is small is a concave curve in the curved surface portion 14aA. Since it reaches the portion C1, it is emitted forward as light that diffuses away from the optical axis Ax due to its light diffusion action. In addition, among the light emitted from the light emitting chip 12, light traveling in a direction with a large opening angle in the left-right direction from the optical axis Ax reaches the portion of the convex curve C2 in the curved surface portion 14aA. The light is emitted forward as light deflected toward the direction of the straight line L that forms an opening angle θ with respect to the axis Ax.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the luminance distribution of the light-emitting chip 12 in the horizontal plane including the optical axis Ax. FIG. 6A shows the luminance distribution due to the light emitted from the light-emitting chip 12, and FIG. These are figures which show the luminance distribution by the light radiate | emitted from curved-surface part 14aA of the sealing member 14 after that.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the luminance distribution due to the light emitted from the light emitting chip 12 has the highest luminance on the optical axis Ax that is the front direction, and the luminance increases as the opening angle from the optical axis Ax increases. It has the characteristic of rapidly decreasing. This is because the light emitting chip 12 is arranged so that the light emitting surface faces the front direction.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, the luminance distribution due to the light emitted from the curved surface portion 14aA of the sealing member 14 has a suspension bridge shape characteristic. That is, this luminance distribution has the highest luminance in the direction of the opening angle slightly smaller than the direction that forms the opening angle θ in the left-right direction from the optical axis Ax, and the luminance decreases as the opening angle becomes smaller. While it becomes a minimum value on Ax, it has a characteristic that the brightness is drastically decreased at an opening angle larger than the direction of the opening angle θ. This is because the cross-sectional shape of the curved surface portion 14aA along the horizontal plane including the optical axis Ax is such that the concave curve C1 is arranged in the vicinity of the optical axis Ax and the convex curves C2 are arranged on both the left and right sides of the concave curve C1. This is because it is composed of waveform curves.

  Thus, in the light emitting diode 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the luminance distribution of the conventional light emitting diode in which the luminance rapidly decreases as the opening angle from the optical axis Ax increases.

  In the light emitting diode 10 according to this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape along the vertical plane parallel to the optical axis Ax of the curved surface portion 14aA of the sealing member 14 is configured by the convex curve C3. The luminance distribution of the light emitting chip 12 by the light emitted from the curved surface portion 14aA of the sealing member 14 in the vertical plane is smaller than the luminance distribution by the light emitted from the light emitting chip 12 in the vertical direction from the optical axis Ax. The luminance distribution is reduced within a predetermined angle range.

  Moreover, the light emitting diode 10 according to the present embodiment has a concave curve C1 that forms a cross-sectional shape along a horizontal plane including the optical axis Ax of the curved surface portion 14aA of the sealing member 14, and convex curves C2 on the left and right sides thereof. Since it forms so that it may connect smoothly, the brightness | luminance distribution by the emitted light from the curved-surface part 14aA of the sealing member 14 shall change a brightness | luminance smoothly.

  7 and 8 are a plan sectional view and a side sectional view showing a vehicular lamp 50 in which the light emitting diode 10 according to the present embodiment is incorporated as a light source.

  As shown in these drawings, the vehicular lamp 50 includes a cylindrical lamp body 32 that fixes a support substrate 30 that fixes and supports the light emitting diode 10 at a peripheral edge thereof, and a front end opening 32a of the lamp body 32. The inner lens 34 is fixed to the lamp body 32, and the outer lens 36 is fixed to the lamp body 32 so as to press the inner lens 34 against the front end opening 32a of the lamp body 32.

  The vehicular lamp 50 has a laterally long rectangular outer shape with a narrow vertical width when the lamp is viewed from the front. Specifically, the lateral width of the vehicular lamp 50 is set to a value about four times the longitudinal width. Therefore, the support substrate 30, the inner lens 34, and the outer lens 36 are formed in a horizontally long rectangular shape having a narrow vertical width, and the lamp body 32 has a horizontally long cross-sectional shape along a vertical plane orthogonal to the optical axis Ax. The cylinder shape is set.

  As shown in FIG. 9 as a single product, the inner lens 34 has a rear surface 34a formed of a cylindrical surface extending in the left-right direction. The convex curve C4 constituting the cross-sectional shape of the cylindrical surface along the vertical plane parallel to the optical axis Ax is an arc, and its curvature gradually increases as the distance from the optical axis Ax increases in the left-right direction. It is set to be smaller. Further, the cross-sectional shape of the cylindrical surface along the horizontal plane is set to a V-shape that gradually displaces forward as it moves away from the optical axis Ax in the left-right direction.

  Further, on the front surface 34b of the inner lens 34, a plurality of prism-like lens elements 34s for deflecting and emitting the light incident on the inner lens 34 from the light emitting diode 10 toward the optical axis Ax in the left-right direction are saw-tooth shaped. The cross-sectional shape is formed in a vertical stripe shape.

  A pair of tabs 34c are formed on the left and right sides of the outer peripheral edge of the inner lens 34, and a pair of tabs 34d are formed on both upper and lower ends. The inner lens 34 is fixed to the lamp body 32 with the tabs 34 c and 34 d positioned in the front end opening 32 a of the lamp body 32.

  The inner lens 34 emits light from the light emitting diode 10 forward as light parallel to the optical axis Ax, and the detailed structure thereof will be described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a plurality of fisheye lens-shaped diffusing lens elements 36s are formed on the inner surface of the outer lens 36, and light incident on the outer lens 36 as parallel light from the inner lens 34 is vertically and The light is emitted forward from the outer lens 36 so as to diffuse in the left-right direction.

  10A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Xa-Xa in FIG. 7, and FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Xb-Xb in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, in the vertical plane including the optical axis Ax, the light emitted from the light emitting chip 12 in the direction within the range of the angle γ1 around the optical axis Ax is the curved surface of the sealing member 14. The light is emitted forward from the portion 14aA. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, in the vertical plane that passes through the light emission center O of the light emitting chip 12 and is inclined in the left-right direction with respect to the optical axis Ax, the angle from the light emitting chip 12 to the optical axis Ax is the center. Light emitted in the direction within the range of γ2 is emitted forward from the curved surface portion 14aA of the sealing member 14. At this time, the curved surface portion 14aA is formed in a lid shape, and has a laterally oblong outer shape with a narrowed middle portion in the longitudinal direction when viewed from the front, so that the angles γ1 and γ2 are substantially the same. Can be set to a value.

  Further, in the vertical plane shown in FIG. 5B, the convex curve C5 constituting the vertical sectional shape of the curved surface portion 14aA of the sealing member 14 is the curved surface portion 14aA in the vertical plane shown in FIG. The convex curve C3 constituting the vertical cross-sectional shape is not only enlarged but also slightly extended in the front-rear direction, so that the refractive power with respect to the light from the light emitting chip 12 is increased. ing. For this reason, in the vertical plane shown in FIG. 5B, the light emitting diode is disposed in spite of the fact that the distance from the light emitting diode 10 to the inner lens 34 is longer than that in the vertical plane shown in FIG. The emitted light from 10 can be incident on the inner lens 34 without waste.

  FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Xb-Xb of FIG. 7 as in FIG. 10B, and the outer shape of the curved surface portion 14aA of the sealing member 14 is constricted in the middle in the longitudinal direction when viewed from the front. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect by being comprised by the horizontally long oval.

  As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 10A, the curved surface portion 14aA of the sealing member 14 extends in the horizontal direction with the vertical width of the cross-sectional shape in the vertical plane shown in FIG. If it has an outer shape of the shape, only light emitted from the light emitting chip 12 in a direction within an angle γ2 ′ (γ2 ′ <γ2) reaches the curved surface portion 14aA ′ indicated by the two-dot chain line. As a result, the luminous flux utilization factor with respect to the light emitted from the light emitting chip 12 is reduced. On the other hand, as in the present embodiment, the outer shape of the curved surface portion 14aA of the sealing member 14 is a horizontally long oval shape with a narrowed middle portion in the longitudinal direction, so that the luminous flux can be used for the light emitted from the light emitting chip 12. The rate can be increased.

  FIG. 11B is also a cross-sectional view taken along the line Xb-Xb of FIG. 7, similar to FIG. 10B, and is a vertical plane parallel to the optical axis Ax of the cylindrical surface constituting the rear surface 34 a of the inner lens 34. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect by the curvature of the convex curve C4 which comprises the cross-sectional shape along along being set so that it may become small gradually as it leaves | separates from the optical axis Ax in the left-right direction.

  If the curvature of the convex curve C4 is constant as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4B, the cross-sectional shape along the vertical surface of the rear surface 34a ′ of the inner lens 34 is the front and back of the convex curve C4. Since it becomes a convex curve stretched in the direction, the curvature increases accordingly. For this reason, the rear surface 34a ′ of the inner lens 34 has an excessively large refractive power, and the light emitted from the inner lens 34 cannot be made parallel to the optical axis Ax. On the other hand, if the curvature of the convex curve C4 is set so as to gradually decrease from the optical axis Ax in the left-right direction as in the present embodiment, the inner curve 34 is independent of the incident position on the inner lens 34. The light emitted from the lens 34 can be made parallel to the optical axis Ax.

  From the above, when the vehicular lamp 50 is observed from the front direction of the lamp with the light emitting diode 10 turned on and the outer lens 36 removed, the inner lens 34 has the entire lens. It will appear to shine with approximately uniform brightness. Therefore, in a state where the outer lens 36 is attached to the outer lens 36, the outer lens 36 is not only observed when viewed from the front direction of the lamp, but also when observed from an oblique direction slightly deviated from the front direction of the lamp in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction. The entire outer lens 36 appears to shine with substantially uniform brightness.

  Moreover, the inner lens 34 is set to have a V-shaped cross-sectional shape along the horizontal plane of the cylindrical surface constituting the rear surface 34a, which gradually displaces toward the front side as it moves away from the optical axis Ax in the left-right direction. The light from the light emitting diode 10 can be largely refracted in the direction closer to the optical axis Ax on the rear surface 34 a of the inner lens 34. As a result, the light emission efficiency of the plurality of prismatic lens elements 34 s formed on the front surface 34 b can be increased in order to make the light emitted from the inner lens 34 parallel to the optical axis Ax.

  The vehicle lamp 50 is configured such that the inner lens 34 converts the light from the light emitting diode 10 into parallel light, and the outer lens 36 diffuses the parallel light in the vertical and horizontal directions. It is also possible to provide such a diffusion function on the front surface of the inner lens 34 to configure the outer lens 36 as a through lens, or to eliminate the outer lens 36.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the light emitting diode 110 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a front view thereof. 14 and 15 are a sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV and a sectional view taken along line XV-XV in FIG.

  As shown in these drawings, the basic configuration of the light emitting diode 110 is the same as that of the light emitting diode 10 according to the first embodiment, but the configuration of the front surface 114a of the sealing member 114 is the same as that of the first embodiment. It is different from the case of form.

  That is, the front surface 114a of the sealing member 114 is composed of a curved surface portion 114aA and a deflection emitting portion 114aB.

  The configuration of the curved surface portion 114aA is exactly the same as the curved surface portion 14aA of the front surface 14a in the sealing member 14 of the first embodiment.

  The deflecting and emitting portion 114aB has such a shape that the flat surface portion 14aB of the front surface 14a of the sealing member 14 of the first embodiment is concentrically divided and protruded stepwise toward the front side in a sawtooth cross section. ing. Each arc-shaped stepped portion 124 that constitutes the deflecting and emitting portion 114aB includes an inner slope portion 124A and an outer slope portion 124B. The inner inclined surface portion 124A is formed of a conical surface that is displaced forwardly outward in the radial direction with respect to the optical axis Ax, and the outer inclined surface portion 124B is slightly formed with a cylindrical surface centered on the optical axis Ax directed forward. It has a conical surface with a narrowed diameter. The deflecting and emitting part 114aB deflects and emits the light from the light emitting chip 12 that has reached the deflecting and emitting part 114aB toward the optical axis Ax at the outer sloped part 124B.

  By adopting a configuration such as the light emitting diode 110 of the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the light emitting diode 10 according to the first embodiment, and then the light from the light emitting chip 12 can be obtained. Use efficiency can be increased.

  In particular, in the light emitting diode 110 of the present embodiment, the curved surface portion 114aA of the front surface 114a of the sealing member 114 has a laterally oblong outer shape with a narrowed middle portion in the longitudinal direction when viewed from the front. Since the amount of light emitted from the light emitting chip 12 toward the light emitting portion 114aB is considerably increased, it is extremely effective to employ such a configuration.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 16 is a front view showing the light emitting diode 210 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in the drawing, the basic structure of the light emitting diode 210 is the same as that of the light emitting diode 10 according to the first embodiment, but the structure of the front surface 214a of the sealing member 214 is the same as that of the first embodiment. It is different from the case of.

  That is, the front surface 214a of the sealing member 214 is composed of a curved surface portion 214aA and a deflecting and emitting portion 214aB.

  The curved surface portion 214aA is configured by rotating a waveform curve that forms a cross-sectional shape along the horizontal plane including the optical axis Ax of the curved surface portion 14aA of the front surface 14a of the sealing member 14 of the first embodiment about the optical axis Ax. It is comprised by the rotating surface formed by making it.

  The deflection output portion 214aB is configured by an arc-shaped staircase portion 224 that is exactly the same as the arc-shaped staircase portion 124 located at the outermost periphery among the plurality of arc-shaped staircase portions 124 that constitute the deflection output portion 114aB of the second embodiment. Has been. The deflecting and emitting part 214aB deflects and emits the light from the light emitting chip 12 that has reached the deflecting and emitting part 214aB toward the optical axis Ax at the outer slope 224b of the arc-shaped stepped part 224. .

  By adopting a configuration like the light emitting diode 210 of the present embodiment, the luminance distribution of the light emitted from the curved surface portion 214aA on the front surface 214a of the sealing member 214 can be changed in any direction around the optical axis Ax. A luminance distribution in which the luminance gradually increases from the direction along the optical axis Ax to the direction that forms a predetermined opening angle with respect to the optical axis Ax can be obtained. And by comprising in this way, even when a large sized lens is arrange | positioned ahead of the light emitting diode 210, this lens can be made to shine brightly to the peripheral part.

  Moreover, the utilization efficiency of the light from the light emitting chip 12 can be improved by adopting a configuration like the light emitting diode 210 of the present embodiment.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 17 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the light emitting diode 310 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, the basic configuration of the light emitting diode 310 is the same as that of the light emitting diode 10 according to the first embodiment, but the configuration of the sealing member 314 is the same as that of the first embodiment. Is different.

  That is, the sealing member 314 includes a sealing member main body 314A that seals the light emitting chip 12, and a cover member 314B that is attached to the sealing member main body 314A from the front side.

  The front surface 314Aa of the sealing member main body 314A is formed along a vertical plane orthogonal to the optical axis Ax, and a dome portion 314Aa1 protruding forward is formed at the center. At that time, the dome portion 314Aa1 is formed of a spherical surface having the light emission center O of the light emitting chip 12 as a center.

  The front surface 314Ba of the cover member 314B is set to have the same shape as the front surface 14a of the sealing member 14 of the first embodiment, while the rear surface 314Bb is a vertical surface orthogonal to the optical axis Ax. The dome-shaped recessed part 314Bb1 is formed in the center part. At this time, the dome-shaped recess 314Bb1 is formed of a spherical surface centered on the light emission center O of the light emitting chip 12, and the radius thereof is set to a value slightly larger than the radius of the dome portion 314Aa1 of the sealing member main body 314A. ing.

  The cover member 314B is formed with elastic leg portions 314Bc extending rearward on each of the four sides. When the cover member 314B is pressed against the sealing member main body 314A from the front side, the tip ends of the elastic leg portions 314Bc come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the sealing member main body 314A and the elastic leg portions 314Bc. , The rear surface 314Bb of the cover member 314B comes into contact with the front surface 314Aa of the sealing member main body 314A, and at this time, the front end portion of each elastic leg 314Bc is engaged with the rear surface of the sealing member main body 314A. ing.

  By adopting a configuration like the light emitting diode 310 of the present embodiment, the sealing member main body 314A is set as a standard product, and the light distribution of the sealing member 314 is changed by appropriately changing the shape of the cover member 314B. Characteristics can be changed. For example, like the cover member 314B of this embodiment, the front surface 314Ba has a shape similar to that of the front surface 14a of the sealing member 14 of the first embodiment, and the sealing of the second embodiment. A member set in the same shape as the front surface 114a in the stop member 114 or a member set in the same shape as the front surface 214a in the sealing member 214 of the third embodiment is prepared, and is properly used depending on the application. It is possible to do so.

  Moreover, since the sealing member 314 of this embodiment is comprised so that mounting | wearing of the cover member 314B with respect to the sealing member main body 314A may be performed by engagement connection, the assembly | attachment can be performed easily.

  In each of the above embodiments, the light emitting chip 22 of the light emitting element 12 has been described as being formed in a square having a size of about 0.3 to 1 mm square, but other sizes and outer shapes (for example, It is also possible to use a horizontally long rectangular shape or the like.

10, 110, 210, 310 Light emitting diode 12 Light emitting chip 14, 114, 214, 314 Sealing member 14a, 114a, 214a, 314Aa Front surface 14aA, 114aA, 214aA Curved portion 14aB Planar portion 16 Lead frame 16a Recessed portion 16b Terminal portion 30 Support Substrate 32 Lamp body 32a Front end opening 34 Inner lens 34a, 314Bb Rear surface 34b, 314Ba Front surface 34c, 34d Tab 34s Prism-shaped lens element 36 Outer lens 36s Diffusing lens element 50 Vehicle lamps 114aB, 214aB Deflection emitting section 124, 224 Arc-shaped staircase Part 124A inner slope part 124B, 224b outer slope part 314A sealing member body 314Aa1 dome part 314B cover member 314Bb1 dome-shaped recess 314Bc elastic leg part Ax Optical axis C1 Concave curve C2, C3, C4, C5 Convex curve O Light emission center

Claims (4)

In a light emitting diode comprising: a light emitting chip disposed on a predetermined optical axis; and a transparent sealing member that seals the light emitting chip from the front side in the optical axis direction.
A curved surface is formed on the front surface of the sealing member,
The cross-sectional shape of the curved surface portion along the first plane including the optical axis is composed of a waveform curve in which concave curves are arranged in the vicinity of the optical axis and convex curves are arranged on both sides of the concave curve. Has been
A light-emitting diode, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the curved surface portion along a second plane parallel to the optical axis and orthogonal to the first plane is formed by a convex curve.   2. The light emitting diode according to claim 1, wherein an outer shape of the curved surface portion is set to an oval shape in which a middle portion in a longitudinal direction is constricted in a front view.   On the outer peripheral side of the curved surface portion on the front surface of the sealing member, a deflecting and emitting portion is formed that deflects and emits light that travels away from the optical axis from the light emitting chip toward the optical axis toward the optical axis. The light emitting diode according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting diode is a light emitting diode.   The said sealing member consists of a sealing member main body which seals the said light emitting chip | tip, and a cover member with which this sealing member main body was mounted | worn from the said optical axis direction front side. The light emitting diode in any one of 1-3.

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