JP2012178322A - Vehicle lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle lamp that improves visibility by adding depth (three-dimensional sense) to light and improves design property of the light by giving varying the light while diffusing a part of the light when the light is refracted.SOLUTION: The vehicle lamp 10 includes a light source 40, a light guide 50 for guiding light of the light source 40, and a reflector 60 arranged on the rear surface of the light guide 50 and reflecting light emitted from the light guide 50. Grooves 51a for reflecting the light of the light source 40 toward a reflector 60 are arranged on a vehicle lamp front surface side of the light guide 50 at fixed distances from the light source 40 to an end of the light guide 50.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp provided in a vehicle such as an automobile.

  Conventionally, for a vehicle lamp that emits light emitted from a light source such as a light-emitting diode to a light guide and emits the light forward from the peripheral surface of the light guide, for example, a vehicle lamp described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. ing. The vehicular lamp includes a light source and a light guide column that emits light emitted from the light source from one end surface and emits the light forward from the peripheral surface. A light guide column is provided on a rear surface portion of the peripheral surface of the light guide column. A plurality of notches extending in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the light guide are formed in a sawtooth shape in the axial direction of the light guide column from the position away from the one end surface by a predetermined distance toward the other end surface of the light guide column. The vehicular lamp configured in this way emits bright light forward from the circumferential surface of the light guide column with a plurality of notches aligning the light reflection direction with light emitted from the light source, so that visibility from pedestrians etc. Is expensive.

JP2011-003281A

  However, the light emitted forward by the vehicle lamp described above has a structure in which light from the light source is reflected only by the light guide in order to emit bright light. It is difficult to give a feeling. Further, since the light emitted from the light guide is visually long and uniform light, it is considered to be light with poor variability, so it is difficult to improve the design.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and improves the visibility by giving the light a sense of depth (three-dimensional effect). The purpose is to improve the design by changing the light by diffusing.

The invention of claim 1 is a vehicular lamp comprising a light source, a light guide that guides light from the light source, and a reflector that is provided on the back surface of the light guide and reflects light emitted from the light guide. It is a technical feature that a groove portion that reflects light from the light source toward the reflector is provided at a certain distance from the light source toward the end portion of the light guide in the front part of the vehicle lamp of the light guide.

  According to the vehicular lamp according to claim 1, the light emitted from the light source is reflected by the reflector by reflecting the light emitted from the light guide and the groove of the light guide so that the light has a sense of depth (three-dimensional effect). In addition, since it is possible to change the light by diffusing a part of the light when reflected, the visibility and the design can be improved.

It is a figure which shows the vehicle lamp concerning this invention. The enlarged view of I in FIG. 1 is shown.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
A vehicle lamp 10 according to the present invention is a side turn lamp attached to side mirrors on both sides of a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, a housing 20 assembled to the side mirror, and a lens 30 covering the housing 20 The light source 40 is disposed in the space between the lens 30 and the housing 20 and emits light when energized. The light guides the light emitted from the light source 40 and emits a part of the guided light from the outer peripheral surface. The light body 50 and the reflector 60 that reflects the light emitted from the light guide 50 are configured.

  The housing 20 is a part that is assembled to the door mirror, and has a shape that is curved in the longitudinal direction following the shape of the door mirror, and the recess 20a can accommodate a light source 40, a light guide 50, and a reflector 60, which will be described later. Is formed. The recess of the housing 20 includes an attachment portion 21 that holds a light source support member 41 that includes the light source 40 and a fixing portion 22 that fixes the light guide 50.

  The attachment portion 21 is a protrusion that holds the light source support member 41 including the light source 40, and the protrusion 21 is provided so as to protrude from the bottom surface of the recess formed in the housing 20. Keep it from moving. Here, the attachment portion 21 has a structure that protrudes from the bottom surface portion of the recess, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a structure in which the light source support member 41 is held by forming a groove portion may be used.

  The fixing portion 22 fixes both ends of the light guide 50 and is formed in the housing 20. The fixing portion 22 is formed so that one end thereof is near the light source and light emitted from the light source 40 can enter the light guide 50.

  The lens 30 protects the light source 40, the light guide 50 and the reflector 60 housed in the recess of the housing 20, and improves the decorativeness of the side turn lamp, and is formed of a translucent thermoplastic resin. And has a curved shape following the shape of the housing 20, and is provided so as to cover the housing 20.

  The light source 40 is a light emitting diode (LED) 40a that is fixed to the housing 20 via a light source support member 41 described later in a space between the lens 30 and the housing 20, and makes light incident on a light guide 50 described later. Prepare for possible. The LED 40a is provided in the vicinity of the end of the light guide 50 in this embodiment, and light is incident on the light guide 50 by emitting light. When the light emitted from the LED 40a is incident on the light guide 50, the light is reflected by a groove portion of the light guide 50 and a reflector 60 described later, and is emitted in the lens direction (front direction of the vehicle lamp). Here, the LED 40a is used as the light source 40 in the present embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a light bulb that emits electricity by enclosing a light emitting element in a glass spherical shell may be used.

  The light source support member 41 includes a thin strip-shaped substrate body 41a, a light source 40 (LED) 40a fixed to one surface (front surface) of the substrate body 41a, and a lead 41b (not shown) for supplying power to the LED 40a. And a connector 40c (not shown) for fixing the lead wire 41b, and the board body 41a is fixed to the mounting portion 21 of the housing 20. Here, when the light source 40 is a light bulb, the light source support member 41 may be a socket capable of fixing the light bulb.

  The light guide 50 guides light emitted from the light source 40 (LED 40a) and emits part of the guided light from the outer peripheral surface, and is from a transparent member (acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, or the like). It extends in the longitudinal direction following the shape of the door mirror, and both ends are fixed to a fixing portion 22 formed in the housing 20. The light guide 50 has a circular cross section, and a groove portion 51a extending in the radially inward direction is provided on the front surface portion 51 on the outer peripheral surface thereof. A plurality of the groove portions 51a are arranged at a predetermined distance from a position away from the LED 40a by a predetermined distance toward the end of the other light guide 50, and light emitted from the LED 40a is directed to a reflector 60 described later. The light guide 50 is provided with a substantially wedge shape so that it can be reflected by the rear surface portion 52. Here, in the light guide 50, the diffuse reflection material 51b is applied or integrally formed on the front surface portion 51 including the groove portion 51a. When light emitted from the light source 40 enters the front surface portion 51, the light guide 50 reflects the light. A part of the light is diffused and reflected toward the rear surface portion 52. The diffuse reflection material 51 b is shorter than the diameter of the light guide 50.

  In addition, the light guide 50 allows the light incident from the rear surface portion 52 of the outer peripheral surface to be emitted from the front surface portion 51 and the rear surface portion 52 by the groove portion 51 a having the light incident from the rear surface portion 52 of the outer peripheral surface in the front surface portion 51. It can be reflected in the direction. Depending on the incident angle of the light incident on the light guide 50 and the material of the light guide, the light incident on the inside of the light guide 50 is emitted from the front part 51 or guided and reflected by the groove 51a again. The light that can be emitted from the rear surface portion 52, the light reflected by the reflector 60 is emitted from the front surface portion 51, and the light that enters the light guide 50 when the vehicle lamp 10 includes a plurality of light sources is used. The light exits from the rear surface portion 52 through the groove portion 51 a of the front surface portion 51. In this embodiment, the light guide 50 will be described with respect to a case where light emitted from the light source 40 enters the light guide 50 from the end of the light guide 50.

  The reflector 60 is for reflecting the light of the light source 40 emitted from the rear surface portion 52 of the light guide 50 in the direction of the lens 30 (front direction of the vehicle lamp), and is a resin material subjected to gloss coating or plating. Or a metal material such as aluminum with a mirror finish. The reflector 60 is attached along the recess of the housing 20. Here, the reflector 60 applies a diffuse reflection material 61 that allows light to be diffusely reflected on a surface that reflects light emitted from the rear surface portion 52 of the light guide 50. When the light of the light source 40 emitted from the rear surface portion 52 of the light guide 50 is incident, the reflector 60 diffuses a part of the light and reflects it in the front direction of the vehicle lamp. In this embodiment, the reflector 60 applies the diffuse reflection material 61 to the light reflecting surface. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reflector 60 has a structure that totally reflects the light of the light source 40 in the front direction of the vehicle lamp. May be.

A procedure for giving a sense of depth (three-dimensional effect) to the light emitted from the light source 40 (LED 40a) included in the vehicular lamp of the present invention will be described below.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the vehicular lamp 10 emits light from the LED 40 a so that light enters the light guide 50. The light incident on the inside of the light guide 50 is reflected almost entirely on the front surface portion 51 of the light guide 50 and reflected on the rear surface portion 52 of the light guide 50 so that the LED 40a side. The light is guided from one end of the light guide 50 to the other light guide 50 end. Here, when the light irradiated on the front surface portion 51 of the light guide 50 is incident on the front surface portion 51, a part of the light is diffused by the diffuse reflection material 51b. reflect.

  The light emitted from the LED 40 a is incident on the groove 51 a included in the front surface 51 when guiding the inside of the light guide 50, so that it is reflected toward the rear surface 52 of the light guide 50 and exits from the rear surface 52. . A part of the light incident on the groove 51 a is diffused by the diffuse reflection material 51 b and reflected by the rear surface 52. Here, the light incident on the groove portion 51a is, for example, once reflected on the rear surface portion 52 near the LED 40a and incident on the groove portion at a predetermined angle. After exiting in the direction of the part, it may enter the light guide 50 again, be reflected by the inside of the front part 51 and the groove part 51a, and exit from the rear part 52.

  The light emitted from the rear surface portion 52 of the light guide 50 travels straight until it is applied to the reflector 60. Here, when the light emitted from the rear surface portion 52 of the light guide 50 is applied to the reflector 60, part of the light is diffused by the diffuse reflection material 61 and reflected in the front direction of the vehicle lamp.

  The light reflected by the reflector 60 is incident on the light guide 50 again, but is transmitted by being emitted from the front portion 51 and irradiated in the front direction of the vehicle lamp.

  As described above, the light emitted from the light emitting LED 40a is reflected by the light guide 50 and the reflector 60 until the light is emitted in the front direction of the vehicle lamp, thereby giving the light a sense of depth (three-dimensional effect). Since it is possible to change the light by diffusing a part of the light when it is reflected, the visibility and design from pedestrians and the like are improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle lamp 20 Housing 30 Lens 40 Light source 50 Light guide 51 Front part 51a Groove part 51b Diffuse reflection material 52 Rear surface part 60 Reflector 61 Diffuse reflection material

Claims (1)

A light source;
A light guide for guiding the light of the light source;
A vehicular lamp provided with a reflector provided on the back surface of the light guide to reflect light emitted from the light guide,
A vehicular lamp front portion of the light guide is provided with a groove for reflecting the light of the light source toward the reflector at regular intervals from the light source toward the end of the light guide. Light fixture.

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