JP2014026829A - Vehicular lighting fixture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular lighting fixture including a long light guide member, in which locally bright light emission in a longitudinal end portion of the light guide member is suppressed.SOLUTION: An extension formed with a groove 6b is arranged in a lamp chamber defined by a housing and a translucent cover. At least a part of a long light guide member 7 is arranged in the groove 6b. Part of light emitted from an LED, at least a part of which is covered by the extension, and incident on a first end portion of the light guide member 7 is reflected toward the outside of a vehicle by a plurality of steps 7s formed on a surface 7b of the light guide member 7 facing the inside of the vehicle. A second end portion 7j of the light guide member is arranged at a position visible from the outside of the vehicle. An inclined end surface 7k for reflecting light downward is formed on the second end portion 7j. A black coating 6k is applied to a position in the groove 6b facing the inclined end face 7k.

Description

  The present invention relates to a lamp mounted on a vehicle.

  A configuration in which a light source and a long light guide member are arranged in a lamp chamber of a vehicle headlamp is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The light from the light source incident from one longitudinal end of the light guide member is guided to the region where the reflection surface is formed while being totally reflected inside the light guide member, and is reflected by the reflection surface to guide the light. The light is emitted to the outside of the member. The emitted light is used as a light source such as a clearance lamp or a daytime running lamp, which is used to inform the vehicle ahead or a pedestrian of the presence of the vehicle.

JP 2012-64500 A

  Part of the light traveling inside the light guide member while repeating internal reflection reaches the other end in the longitudinal direction of the light guide member without being reflected by the reflection surface, and is formed at the other end. Reflected by the end face. Although the light guide member is required to emit light uniformly from the viewpoint of glare suppression and appearance improvement, the light that is not controlled by the reflection surface is concentrated and reflected on the end surface. A phenomenon occurs in which the spot emits bright light locally.

  Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide the technique which suppresses the phenomenon in which the longitudinal direction edge part of the said light guide member light-emits locally brightly in a vehicle lamp provided with an elongate light guide member.

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention is a lamp mounted on a vehicle,
A housing,
A translucent cover mounted on the housing and defining a lamp chamber;
An extension disposed in the lamp chamber and having a groove formed therein;
A light emitting diode that is at least partially covered by the extension;
An elongated light guide member at least partially disposed in the groove,
A part of the light incident on the first end portion of the light guide member from the light emitting diode is reflected toward the vehicle outer side by a plurality of steps formed on a surface of the light guide member facing the vehicle inner side,
The second end of the light guide member is disposed at a position that is visible from the outside of the vehicle,
An inclined end face that reflects light downward is formed at the second end,
A portion facing the end face in the groove portion is black.

  According to such a configuration, the light that has reached the second end without being subjected to reflection by the step is actively reflected downward by the inclined end surface, and the lower surface of the light guide member that does not face the outside of the vehicle It can be made to emit more. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a phenomenon in which the light is concentrated on the second end portion and reflected to the outside of the vehicle so that the portion is visually recognized brightly. Moreover, since the light reflected by the inclined end surface is suppressed as much as possible by the black portion, the possibility that the reflected light is visually recognized outside the vehicle can be suppressed as much as possible.

  The entire groove may be black. In this case, even if light is emitted in an unintended direction at a location where the cross-sectional shape of the light guide member is not uniform, it is possible to suppress such light from being reflected to the outside of the vehicle as much as possible. Can do.

  It is good also as a structure further provided with the translucent member arrange | positioned in the said lamp chamber and in which the several step was formed in the position through which the light radiate | emitted from the said light guide member passes at least. In this case, the light emitted from the light guide member is diffused by the step of the light transmissive member. Therefore, even if there is some light emission unevenness (brightness nonuniformity) in the light guide member, the nonuniformity is suppressed by the diffusion effect, so the light guide member emits light with high uniformity from the outside. Is visually recognized.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows typically the structure of the headlamp which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows the extension, light guide member, translucent member, and translucent cover which comprise some said headlamps. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance which looked at the said translucent member and the light guide member from the outer side. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance which looked at the said translucent member and the light guide member from the inner side. It is a perspective view which shows the state which mounted | wore the said light guide member with the said extension. It is a figure for demonstrating the light guide in the longitudinal direction edge part of the said light guide member.

  The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing used in the following description, the scale is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size.

  FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a vehicle headlamp 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A headlamp 1 as a lamp of the present invention is installed at a right front end portion of a vehicle, and a translucent cover 3 is attached to a front portion of a lamp housing 2 as a casing of the present invention to form a lamp chamber 4. Yes.

  A headlamp unit 5 is accommodated in the lamp chamber 4. The headlamp unit 5 reflects the light emitted from the light source 5 a by the reflector 5 b and forms a predetermined light distribution pattern in front of the vehicle through the translucent cover 2. Since the headlamp unit 5 has a known configuration, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  An extension 6 is disposed in front of the headlamp unit 5 in the lamp chamber 4. The extension 6 is a member for covering various internal parts (not shown) in the lamp chamber 4 from the front and improving the appearance. An opening 6a is formed in the extension 6, and the light reflected by the reflector 5b is irradiated forward through the opening 6a.

  A groove 6b is formed in a region of the extension 6 located above the opening 6a. A light guide member 7 which will be described in detail later is disposed in the groove 6b. Further, a translucent member 8 to be described in detail later is attached to the extension 6 so as to cover the groove 6b and the light guide member 7 from the front.

  An LED (light emitting diode) 9 is provided behind the extension 6 as a light source for causing the light guide member 7 to emit light.

  FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the translucent cover 2, the extension 6, the light guide member 7, and the translucent member 8. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the light guide member 7 and the translucent member 8 as viewed from the outside. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing the light guide member 7 and the translucent member 8 as viewed from the inside.

  The extension 6 has a shape that is largely curved in accordance with the shape of the lamp chamber 4 that is defined by the housing 2 and the translucent cover 3. The groove 6b extends along the curved shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the light guide member 7 has an elongated appearance extending along the shape of the groove 6b, and the extension is arranged so that at least a part of the light guide member 7 is disposed in the groove 6b. 6 is attached. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing this state.

  The light guide member 7 has a transparent main body made of a resin such as polymethyl methacrylate or polycarbonate. The outer surface 7a of the main body portion facing the vehicle outer side when mounted on the extension 6 is a smooth surface. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, attachment pieces 7 c, 7 d, and 7 e protrude from the inner side surface 7 b of the main body portion facing the vehicle inner side when the extension 6 is attached.

  On the other hand, attachment holes 6c, 6d, and 6e are formed in part of the upper edge of the groove 6b in the extension 6. By engaging the mounting pieces 7c, 7d, and 7e of the light guide member 7 with the mounting holes 6c, 6d, and 6e, the light guide member 7 is mounted in the groove 6b.

  In the extension 6, an LED housing portion 6 f is formed in a region facing the longitudinal end portion 7 f of the light guide member 7 attached to the groove portion 6 b. At least a part of the LED 9 is covered with the LED housing 6f.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the translucent member 8 has an elongated appearance extending along the shape of the light guide member 7, and the extension 6 covers the light guide member 7 from the front. Installed.

  The translucent member 8 has a transparent main body made of a resin such as polymethyl methacrylate or polycarbonate. As shown in FIG. 4, mounting pieces 8 g, 8 h, and 8 i protrude from the inner side surface 8 b of the main body portion facing the vehicle inner side when mounted on the extension 6.

  On the other hand, an attachment hole 6g is formed in a part of the upper end edge of the groove 6b in the extension 6, and attachment holes 6h and 6i are formed in a part of the lower end edge. The translucent member 8 is attached to the extension 6 by engaging the mounting pieces 8g, 8h, 8i of the translucent member 8 with the mounting holes 6g, 6h, 6i, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the light emitted from the LED 9 is incident on one longitudinal end 7f of the light guide member 7 as the first end of the present invention. The incident light travels while being totally reflected inside the light guide member 7.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a large number of minute steps 7 s are formed on the inner surface 7 b of the light guide member 7 and are arranged along the direction in which the light guide member 7 extends. Each step 7 s has an inclined surface, and alternately forms ridge lines and valley lines extending in a direction intersecting with the extending direction of the light guide member 7.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a path along which the light incident on the light guide member 7 travels, and shows an enlarged longitudinal end 7j opposite to the end 7f where the light from the LED 9 enters. Yes. 6A shows a case where the light guide member 7 is viewed from above, and FIG. 6B shows a case where the light guide member 7 is viewed from the front (vehicle outer side).

  A part of the light that enters the end portion 7f of the light guide member 7 from the LED 9 and travels inside the light guide member 7 is formed on the inner side surface 7b of the light guide member 7 as shown in FIG. In step 7s, the light is reflected toward the outside of the vehicle and emitted from the outer surface 7a of the light guide member 7. Since step 7s is formed over almost the front surface of the inner side surface 7b of the light guide member 7, it is visually recognized from the outside of the vehicle as if the light guide member 7 emits light uniformly.

  However, the light traveling inside the light guide member 7 includes light that reaches the opposite end 7j without being subjected to the reflection control in step 7s. When such light concentrates on the end portion 7j, a phenomenon occurs in which the portion emits light brightly locally.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6B, an inclined end surface 7k that reflects light downward is applied to the longitudinal end portion 7j of the light guide member 7 as the second end portion of the present invention. Is formed. Further, the portion of the extension 6 facing the inclined end surface 7k in the groove 6b is black by applying black coating 6k.

  Therefore, the light that has reached the end portion 7j without being subjected to the reflection in step 7s can be actively reflected downward by the inclined end surface 7k and emitted from the lower surface 7m of the light guide member 7 that does not face the outside of the vehicle. it can. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a phenomenon in which the light is concentrated on the end portion 7j and reflected on the outside of the vehicle, so that the portion is visually recognized brightly. Moreover, since the light reflected by the inclined end surface 7k is suppressed as much as possible by the black paint 6k, the possibility that the reflected light is visually recognized outside the vehicle can be suppressed as much as possible.

  Since it is possible to suppress a phenomenon in which the end 7j on the side where the light from the LED 9 is incident and the end 7j on the opposite side in the longitudinal direction emit light locally, it is not necessary to take measures such as covering the part with a part of the extension 6 It becomes. In the present embodiment, the end portion 7j of the light guide member provided with the inclined end portion 7k is disposed at a position that is visible from the outside of the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost of components and improve the layout flexibility of the light guide member (light emitting portion).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of minute steps 8 s are formed on the inner surface 8 b of the translucent member 8 at least at a position where the light emitted from the light guide member 7 passes and the translucent member 8 extends. Arranged along the direction. Each step 8s has a shape that constitutes a cylindrical lens. The boundary line between the steps 8 s extends in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the translucent member 8 extends.

  The light emitted from the outer surface 7 a of the light guide member 7 is emitted from the outer surface 8 a of the translucent member 8 while being diffused by the step 8 s formed on the inner surface 8 b of the translucent member 8. Even if slight light emission unevenness (brightness non-uniformity) exists in the light guide member 7, the non-uniformity is suppressed by the diffusion effect of step 8s, so that the light guide member 7 is highly uniform from the outside. It is visually recognized as emitting light.

  In the above description, the headlamp 1 provided at the right front end of the vehicle has been illustrated. Although illustration is omitted, a headlamp 1 having a right / left target configuration is also provided at the left front end of the vehicle.

  The above embodiment is for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and it is obvious that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

  The vehicular lamp of the present invention is not limited to the use of a headlamp. As long as a long light guide member is provided, it can be applied to any lamp such as a marker lamp.

  The black coating 6k may be applied not only to the portion facing the inclined end surface 7k of the light guide member 7, but also to the entire inner side of the groove 6b. As described above, the mounting pieces 7 b, 7 c, and 7 e are provided on the inner surface 7 b of the light guide member 7. In such places where the cross-sectional shape is not uniform, light may be emitted in an unintended direction. By applying the black paint 6k to the entire inside of the groove 6b, it is possible to suppress as much as possible that such light is reflected to the outside of the vehicle.

  The portion of the light guide member 7 that faces the inclined end surface 7k does not necessarily have to be black by applying the black paint 6k. For example, it is good also as a structure by which the base material inside the groove part 6b containing the said part is exhibiting black. In addition, in the above description, the expression “black” includes a color that can be regarded as substantially black, such as gunmetal (black iron color), as long as reflection of light reflected by the inclined end surface 7k can be suppressed. .

  The translucent member 8 may be omitted as necessary.

  1: headlamp, 2: lamp housing, 3: translucent cover, 4: lamp chamber, 6: extension, 6b: groove, 6k: black coating, 7: light guide member, 7a: outer surface of light guide member, 7b: inner side surface of light guide member, 7f, 7j: longitudinal end of light guide member, 7k: inclined end surface, 7s: step, 8: translucent member, 8s: step, 9: LED

Claims (3)

A lamp mounted on a vehicle,
A housing,
A translucent cover mounted on the housing and defining a lamp chamber;
An extension disposed in the lamp chamber and having a groove formed therein;
A light emitting diode that is at least partially covered by the extension;
An elongated light guide member at least partially disposed in the groove,
A part of the light incident on the first end portion of the light guide member from the light emitting diode is reflected toward the vehicle outer side by a plurality of steps formed on a surface of the light guide member facing the vehicle inner side,
The second end of the light guide member is disposed at a position that is visible from the outside of the vehicle,
An inclined end face that reflects light downward is formed at the second end,
The vehicle lamp, wherein a portion of the groove portion facing the end face is black.   The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the entire inside of the groove portion is black.   The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, further comprising a translucent member disposed in the lamp chamber and having a plurality of steps formed at a position where at least light emitted from the light guide member passes.

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