JP2013152876A - Vehicle lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle lamp capable of improving fixing strength of a linear light guide body and having a fixing structure which is free from increase of cost and weight of the lamp.SOLUTION: A vehicle lamp 1 is provided with a light source 71, linear light guide bodies 40, 50 which guide light source light incident from its end part into the body and emit the guided light from its front face to emit light, and a fixing member 30 to which the light guide bodies 40, 50 are installed, and has, further, a projection part formed either in extension parts 44, 54 formed in extension at the back of the light guide bodies 40, 50 or the fixing member 30, and an opening part formed in the other. Since the light guide bodies 40, 50 can be firmly fixed to the fixing member 30, if only the projection part is inserted into the opening part and is thermally caulked, no other fixing components such as a screws are not required, and the number of components and weight of the lamp will not increase. Furthermore, fixing points can be reduced.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp provided with a linear light guide that emits light by guiding light from a light source, and particularly relates to a fixing structure of the light guide.

  As an example of this type of vehicle lamp, as shown in Patent Document 1, a horizontally long (line-shaped) light guide is disposed in a lamp chamber defined by an outer cover and a lamp body, and an end portion thereof. In some cases, the light source light incident from the light source is guided into the body to emit light from the entire light guide to form a clearance lamp or a daytime running lamp light distribution.

JP 2011-198536 A (FIG. 1, FIG. 2 etc.)

  A linear light guide like Patent Document 1 is formed with extending fixing legs extending backward from the light guide in the vicinity of both ends thereof, and the extension is screwed to the light guide fixing member. It is assembled in the lamp chamber by mechanical fastening, or by engaging the projections formed on the extending part with the engaging hole formed on the light guide fixing member.

  However, since the line-shaped light guide is elongated in the lamp chamber, there are problems such as high costs due to an increase in the number of parts and an increase in lamp weight when screws are fastened. There is a problem that wobbling due to insufficient fixing strength is a concern only by fixing two portions of the part.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle having a fixing structure that improves the fixing strength of the line-shaped light guide and does not increase the lamp cost or weight. It is to provide a lighting fixture.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the vehicular lamp according to claim 1, the light source and the light source light incident from the end thereof are guided into the body, and the light is emitted from the front surface to emit light. And a fixing member to which the light guide is attached, and a protruding portion is provided on one of the extension portion and the fixing member that are extended rearward from the light guide. And the other is formed with an opening, and the light guide is fixed to the fixing member by inserting the protrusion into the opening and caulking the protrusion. To do.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicular lamp according to the first aspect, the light guide is formed in a rectangular cross section.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the protrusion formed on the other side is inserted into the opening formed on one of the extension part and the fixing member formed on the light guide, and the protrusion protrudes from the opening. Since it is only necessary to thermally deform the head part and fasten them together (heat caulking), other fixing parts such as screws are not required, and the number of parts and the lamp weight do not increase. Furthermore, since both are firmly fixed when the protrusion is thermally deformed, the number of fixing points can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 2, when the light guide is formed in a circular cross section, the light guide efficiency of the light source light is good due to its shape, but when the extension portion is formed behind the light guide, the light source light is When led to the extension part, the light is refracted and leaks in the extension part. Therefore, when the lamp is viewed from the front, only the extension part shines stronger than the surroundings and “lights on”. On the other hand, when the light guide is formed in a rectangular cross section, the amount of light guided to the extending portion is reduced, the light leakage in the extending portion is less noticeable, the flashing is reduced, and the appearance when the lamp is turned on is improved.

It is a front view of the vehicular lamp which concerns on the 1st and 2nd Example of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view which follows the II-II line | wire of FIG. 1) of the vehicle lamp which concerns on 1st Example, Comprising: It is sectional drawing of the light guide arrange | positioned above the lamp. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view which follows the III-III line of FIG. 1) of the vehicle lamp which concerns on a 1st Example, Comprising: It is sectional drawing of the light guide arrange | positioned under the lamp. It is a top view of the light guide arrange | positioned under the lamp. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view which follows the VV line | wire of FIG. 1) of the vehicle lamp which concerns on a 2nd Example, Comprising: It is sectional drawing of the light guide arrange | positioned above the lamp.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a vehicular lamp according to first and second embodiments of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are longitudinal sectional views of the vehicular lamp according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1 and is a cross-sectional view of a light guide disposed on the upper side of the lamp, and FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a vehicular lamp according to a first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1, and is a cross-sectional view of a light guide disposed below the lamp, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the light guide disposed below the lamp. It is. In FIG. 1, the interior of the lamp chamber S that can be seen through the transparent outer cover 4 is indicated by a solid line, and the LEDs 71 and 71 that are light sources are not visible in the front view of the lamp due to the extension. Therefore, it is indicated by a broken line.

  In these drawings, the vehicular lamp 1 is a headlamp provided on the right side of the vehicle when viewed from the front. Reference symbol S denotes a lamp chamber of the lamp 1 defined by the lamp body 2 and the transparent outer cover 4. The front opening, the outer cover 4 and the lamp chamber S of the lamp body 2 are formed to be curved three-dimensionally so as to go from the vehicle central portion 3A to the vehicle side 3B following the streamline shape of the vehicle body. Yes.

  In the lamp chamber S, a front turn signal lamp A is accommodated on the vehicle central portion 3A side, and a low beam lamp B is accommodated on the vehicle side 3B side. A daytime running lamp (clearance lamp at night) C comprising the bodies 40 and 50 is accommodated. Further, in the lamp chamber S, a decorative board material (hereinafter referred to as an extension) subjected to surface aluminum vapor deposition is disposed in order to conceal the gaps between the lamps A, B, C and the lamp body 2. Such an extension is used as the fixing member 30 in this embodiment. In addition, the lamp body 2 and the outer cover 4 may be used as the fixing member 30, and other fixing members may be separately provided. The fixing member 30 has a protrusion 32 that engages with openings 45 and 55 formed in light guide extension portions 44 and 54 described later for attaching the light guides 40 and 50 to the fixing member 30. Each is formed at a corresponding location. The protrusion 32 is integrally extended from the fixing member 30 made of synthetic resin (for example, polycarbonate).

  The lamp C is composed of horizontally long light guides 40 and 50 made of a transparent synthetic resin (for example, acrylic or polycarbonate) having a cross section (cross section cut perpendicular to the light guide extension direction). ing. The light guide 40 extends along the upper side of the lamp chamber S, and the light guide 50 extends along the lower side of the lamp chamber S.

  The light guide 40 has an end 41 on the side 3B of the light guide 40 and an end 51 of the light guide 50 on the side 3B of the light guide 50 facing the ends and serve as a light source for the light guides 40 and 50. LED unit assemblies 70a and 70b that accommodate the LEDs 71 are disposed, respectively, and the light source light of the LED 71 incident from the light guide end portions 41 and 51 repeats total reflection inside the light guides 40 and 50 while the other. The light is guided toward the end portion. Further, on the rear surfaces 47 and 57 of the light guides 40 and 50, inner surface reflection steps 43 and 53 (not shown) formed by prism-like grooves that reflect light toward the front of the lamp 1 (in the direction of the outer cover 4). Is formed over the entire region along the extending direction of the light guides 40 and 50, and the light guide supplemented by the inner surface reflection steps 43 and 53 is guided toward the front of the lamp 1. By being emitted from the front surfaces 46 and 56, the entire light guides 40 and 50 emit light in a band shape. In place of the internal reflection steps 43 and 53, a reflective film or a dot may be formed on the rear surfaces 47 and 57 of the light guide.

  The light guide 40 disposed on the upper side of the lamp 1 has extension portions 44, 44, 44 for assembling the light guide 40 to the fixing member 30 in the extending direction of the light guide 40. It is formed at approximately three equally spaced locations. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the extending portion 44 is a flat fixing foot that extends from the upper surface 40 a of the light guide 40 to the rear of the light guide 40 (in the direction of the lamp body 2). The light guide body 40 and the light guide body 40 are integrally formed using the same resin. An opening (hole) 45 into which the protruding portion 32 of the fixing member 30 can be inserted is formed in the central portion in plan view of the extending portion 44. Further, the lower surface 44b of the extending portion 44 and the upper surface 40a of the light guide 40 are formed to be on the same plane (on line AA shown in FIG. 2). By making these surfaces 44b and 40a coincide on the same surface and the base portion 44c of the extending portion 44 does not overlap with the front surface 46 (light emitting end surface) of the light guide body 40, the extending portion 44 is in front of the lamp. Since it will not be visible at all, the appearance will not be impaired both when the lamp is not lit and when it is lit.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the light guide 50 disposed below the lamp 1 also has a flat plate-like extension portion 54 for assembling the light guide 50 to the fixing member 30. The light guide 50 is formed so as to connect the central portion of the light guide 50 and the vehicle central portion 3A side end, and the same resin is used from the lower surface 50b of the light guide 50 toward the rear of the light guide 50. It is formed by integral molding with the light guide 50. Openings (holes) 55 and 55 into which the protrusions 32 of the fixing member 30 can be inserted are formed at both ends of the extension portion 54. Also in the extended portion 54, the upper surface 44 a of the extended portion 54 and the lower surface 50 b of the light guide 50 are the same so that the root portion 54 c of the extended portion 54 does not overlap with the front surface 56 (light emitting end surface) of the light guide 50. It is formed so as to be on the surface (on line BB shown in FIG. 3), and is configured so that the appearance at the time of lighting is not impaired when the lamp is not lit.

  In addition, the lower surface 54b (outer surface) of the extended portion 54 of the light guide 50 is subjected to a so-called embossing process in which the surface 54b is roughened at least in a region near the opening 55, and light diffusion characteristics are obtained. Is granted. Since the light guide 50 is disposed at a position slightly looking down from above when viewed from the front of the human eye, the light guide 50 is fixed to the fixed portion (fixing member) by the light guide incident on the extension portion 54 without a wrinkle. Although the image of the projections 32) of 30 is reflected on the extending portion 54 and the appearance is impaired, the reflected light is diffused by embossing, so that the reflection of the fixed portion image can be prevented.

  In the light guide 40 disposed on the upper side, the extended portion 44 is provided from the upper surface 40a of the light guide 40, and in the light guide 50 provided on the lower side, the extended portion 54 is provided from the lower surface 50b of the light guide 50. The extended portions 44 and 54 are formed so as to extend from the central portions of the rear surfaces 47 and 57 of the light guides 40 and 50 to the rear without forming the extended portions 44 and 54. Since the heat caulking part (fixed part) in the extension parts 44 and 54 is in a position that is not visible from the front view of the lamp by being configured to extend backward from any of the lower surfaces, both when not lit and when lit It is preferable from the viewpoint of the appearance of the lamp.

  And the light guides 40 and 50 are assembled | attached to the fixing member 30 as follows as an example. A description will be given using the light guide 50 assembled on the lower side. First, the protrusions 32 and 32 formed on the fixing member 30 are inserted into and engaged with the openings 55 and 55 formed at two places on the extension portion 54. Next, the head of the protrusion 32 protruding from the opening 55 is plastically deformed (heat caulked) using a heat caulking device capable of instantly melting only the target resin portion. Thereby, the light guide 50 and the fixing member 30 are fastened and firmly fastened by the deformed protrusion 32 head. Thereafter, when the fixing member 30 is assembled to the lamp body 2, the light guide 50 is disposed in the lamp chamber S.

  Note that the light guide 50 provided with the opening 55 may be made of a material having a higher heat resistance temperature than the fixing member 30 provided with the protrusion 32 during the heat caulking. Specifically, the light guide 50 may be polycarbonate (heat resistant temperature 120 to 130 ° C.), and the fixing member 30 may be ABS (heat resistant temperature 70 to 100 ° C.). Thereby, at the time of heat caulking, it is possible to melt and caulk only the protrusion 32 without melting the opening 55. In other words, among the light guide and the fixing member, the material on the side forming the opening may be higher than the heat resistant temperature of the material forming the protrusion.

  Further, at the time of the assembly, the light guide 50 is temporarily fixed to the fixing member 30 by engaging the projections 32 and 32 with the openings 55 and 55 formed at two places in the extended portion 54, and then the light guide. If one end of the body 50 is screwed to the LED unit fixed to the lamp body 2 and the protrusion 32 is caulked at the end, the light guide 50 is reliably positioned when caulking. The light body 50 and the fixing member 30 are preferably fastened, which is preferable. For this reason, it is preferable to form at least two openings provided in the extension part or the extension part in the light guide so as to be temporarily fixed.

  According to the present embodiment, the protrusions 32 formed on the fixing member 30 are inserted into the openings 45 and 55 formed in the light guide extension parts 44 and 54, and 32 protrusions protrude from the openings 45 and 55. Since it is fixed only by thermally deforming the parts and caulking both parts, other fixing parts such as screws are not required, and the number of parts of the lamp 1 and the lamp weight do not increase. Furthermore, since both are firmly fixed when the protrusion part 32 is thermally deformed, the fixing location of the light guide 50 and the fixing member 30 can be decreased.

  Further, since the light guides 40 and 50 are formed to have a rectangular cross section, the amount of light guided to the extending portions 44 and 54 is reduced as compared to the case where the light guiding bodies 40 and 50 are formed to have a circular cross section, and the light guide is extended to the extending portions 44 and 54. Since the amount of light leaking is reduced, only the extension portions 44 and 54 are less noticeable as the flashing light shining stronger than the light guide front surfaces 46 and 56 is reduced, so that the appearance when the lamp is turned on is improved.

  FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a vehicular lamp according to a second embodiment of the present application (a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 1), and a cross section of a light guide disposed on the upper side of the lamp. FIG. In the second embodiment, the formation of the projecting portion and the opening is reversed to that of the first embodiment, and other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the light guide 40 disposed on the upper side of the lamp chamber S will be described. The protrusion 42 is formed integrally with the light guide extension 44, and the fixing member 30 side is formed. Opening 35 is formed. And the protrusion part 42 which protrudes from the opening part 35 is heat crimped on the back side of the fixing member 30 so that a fixing part is not visually recognized from lamp front view, and the fixing member 30 is assembled | attached to the lamp body 2 after heat crimping. Even when the configuration of this embodiment is adopted, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle lamp 30 Fixing member 40 Upper light guide 50 Lower light guide 32,42,52 Protrusion part 35,45,55 Opening part 44,54 Extension part 46,56 Light guide front surface 71 LED (light source)
S light room

Claims (2)

A light source;
The light source light incident from the end is guided into the body, and the light guide is emitted from the front surface to emit light by emitting light,
A fixing member to which the light guide is attached,
A protrusion is formed on one of the extension portion and the fixing member that is formed to extend rearward from the light guide, and an opening is formed on the other.
The vehicular lamp, wherein the light guide is fixed to the fixing member by inserting the protrusion into the opening and thermally crimping the protrusion.   The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the light guide has a rectangular cross section.

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