JP2015022981A - Light guide member for vehicle, and lighting fixture for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem in a conventional lighting fixture for a vehicle that a slide metal mold may be used, as metal mold is complicated.SOLUTION: A light guide member has one incident surface 50, four emission surfaces 51, and a light guide portion 52. The light guide portion 52 is composed of a stem 53 provided with the incident surface 50, and four branch portions 54 respectively provided with the emission surfaces 51. The branch portions 54 are branched from the stem 53 along an advancing direction of the light incident from the incident surface 50. As a result, a metal mold can be simplified, and it becomes unnecessary to use a slide metal mold.

Description

  The present invention relates to a light guide member for a vehicle including one incident surface and a plurality of emission surfaces. The present invention also relates to a vehicular lamp that uses a vehicular light guide member having one incident surface and a plurality of emission surfaces.

  Conventionally, a vehicle light guide member and a vehicle lamp using the vehicle light guide member (hereinafter simply referred to as “vehicle lamp”) are known (for example, Patent Document 1). A conventional vehicular lamp includes a first light guide, and a plurality of second light guides extending from the first light guide in a direction perpendicular to the light guide direction of the first light guide. , And an inner surface reflection portion is formed at a location facing the second light guide in the outer surface of the first light guide. Light from the LED enters the first light guide from the light incident end of the first light guide, and the incident light is guided through the first light guide, and a plurality of second light guides are formed by the inner surface reflection portion. The incident light enters the body, and the incident light is guided through the second light guide body and is emitted outward from the plurality of second light guide bodies. Thus, a plurality of bodies can be made to emit light with one or a few LEDs.

JP 2012-190761 A

  However, in the conventional vehicular lamp, the plurality of second light guides are formed to extend from the first light guide in a direction orthogonal to the light guide direction of the first light guide. In order to guide the light in the body into the second light guide body, it is necessary to provide an internal reflection part in the first light guide body. As a result, the mold becomes complicated, and a slide mold may be used.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that the conventional vehicular lamp has a complicated mold and may use a slide mold.

  The present invention (the invention according to claim 1) includes a single incident surface on which light is incident, a plurality of emission surfaces from which light is emitted, and a light guide portion between the incident surface and the emission surface. The light guide portion is composed of a trunk portion provided with an incident surface and a plurality of branch portions each provided with an exit surface, and the branch portion is a traveling direction of light incident from the incident surface. It is branched from the trunk along the line.

  In this invention (the invention according to claim 2), the branch portion is provided between the branch portion branched from the trunk portion, the emission portion provided with the emission surface, and the branch portion and the emission portion. And a curved portion.

  The present invention (the invention according to claim 3) is characterized in that the branch portion is branched from the trunk portion at an angle in the range of about 30 ° to about 50 °.

  The present invention (the invention according to claim 4) is a lamp housing and a lamp lens that define a lamp chamber, a light source disposed in the lamp chamber, and the vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3. And a light guide member.

  In the vehicle light guide member and the vehicle lamp according to the present invention, since the branch portion is branched from the trunk portion along the traveling direction of the light incident from the incident surface, the light in the trunk portion is provided without providing an inner surface reflection portion or the like. Can be guided into the branches. This simplifies the mold and does not use a slide mold.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a vehicle light guide member and a vehicle lamp according to the present invention. 2 is a front view (IIA view in FIG. 1) and a rear view (IIB view in FIG. 1) showing the light guide member for a vehicle. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an optical path in the light guide member for a vehicle. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view (an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion IV in FIG. 2) showing the vehicle light guide member. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the constituent parts of the branch part and the trunk part.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment (example) of a light guide member for a vehicle according to the present invention and an example of an embodiment (example) of a vehicle lamp according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this embodiment. In FIG. 4, the hatching of the vehicle light guide member is omitted.

(Description of Configuration of Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the configuration of the vehicle light guide member in this embodiment and the configuration of the vehicle lamp in this embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, the code | symbol 1 is a vehicle lamp in this embodiment. The vehicle lamp 1 is an automotive lamp such as a tail lamp, a clearance lamp, a position lamp, a turn signal lamp, a stop lamp, a tail / stop lamp, and an indoor lamp.

(Description of vehicle lamp 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle lamp 1 includes a lamp housing 2, a lamp lens 3, one light source 4, and one light guide member (vehicle light guide member) 5.

  The lamp housing 2 and the lamp lens (for example, a transparent outer lens, etc.) 3 are sealed with a sealing material at the entire periphery, thereby defining the lamp chamber 6 in a watertight manner. The light source 4 and the light guide member 5 are disposed in the lamp chamber 6. Note that an inner panel (inner housing) (not shown) may be disposed in the lamp chamber 6 to cover and hide the light source 4.

  The light source 4 and the light guide member 5 are attached to the lamp housing 2 by appropriate means such as a bracket. The light source 4 is composed of a semiconductor light source or a bulb light source. The light source 4 emits light to the light guide member 5 side (see solid line arrow in FIG. 1).

(Description of the light guide member 5)
The light guide member 5 guides light from the light source 4. In this example, the light guide member 5 is made of a transparent resin material such as PC (polycarbonate) or PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate, methacrylic resin). The light guide member 5 is formed by molding.

  The light guide member 5 includes one incident surface 50 on which light is incident, a plurality of light exit surfaces 51 in this example that emit light, and a guide between the incident surface 50 and the exit surface 51. And an optical part 52.

  The light guide part 52 is composed of a trunk part 53 provided with the incident surface 50 and a plurality of branch parts 54 in this example each provided with the emission surface 51. The trunk portion 53 and the branch portion 54 have a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section.

  The incident surface 50 is provided on one end surface of the trunk portion 53 (an end surface facing the light source 4). As a result, the incident surface 50 is a circular plane (or a circular curved surface). The emission surface 51 is provided on one side surface of the branch portion 54 (a side surface facing the lamp lens 3). As a result, the emission surface 51 is a rectangular curved surface.

  On the other side surface of the branch portion 54 (side surface opposite to the emission surface 51), a reflecting surface element group (prism element group) 55 that reflects the light guided into the branch portion 54 toward the emission surface 51 side. Is provided. By adjusting the angle of the reflection surface of the reflection surface element group 55, the direction in which light is emitted from the emission surface 51 to the outside can be adjusted.

  The said output surface 51 comprises the design part 56 (part of the range enclosed with the broken line in FIG. 3). A portion other than the design portion 56 of the light guide member 5 may be covered with the light source 4 by the inner panel.

  The branch portion 54 is branched from the trunk portion 53 along the traveling direction of light incident from the incident surface 50. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the branch portion 54 is integrally formed of a branch portion 540, an emission portion 541, and a curved portion 542.

  The branched portion 540 has a linear cylindrical shape, and is branched from the trunk 53 at an angle θ (an angle in a range of about 30 ° to about 50 °). The emission part 541 has a linear cylindrical shape, the emission surface 51 is provided on one side surface, and the reflective surface element group 55 is provided on the other side surface. The curved portion 542 has an arcuate cylindrical shape, and is provided integrally between the branch portion 540 and the emission portion 541.

(Description of the operation of the embodiment)
The vehicle light guide member (light guide member 5) in this embodiment and the vehicle lamp 1 in this embodiment are configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described below.

  The light source 4 is turned on. Then, the light emitted from the light source 4 enters the trunk portion 53 of the light guide portion 52 of the light guide member 5 from the incident surface 50 of the light guide member 5 as indicated by solid line arrows in FIGS. . The light that has entered the trunk 53 of the light guide 52 is guided to the opposite side of the entrance surface 50 through the trunk 53. The light guided through the trunk 53 is guided from the trunk 53 into the four branches 54.

  The light guided into the branch portion 54 is guided from the branch portion 540 of the branch portion 54 into the emission portion 541 through the curved portion 542. The light guided into the emission part 541 is reflected by the reflection surface element group 55 toward the emission surface 51 and emitted from the emission surface 51 to the outside. As a result, four light lines are obtained.

(Explanation of effect of embodiment)
The vehicle light guide member (light guide member 5) in this embodiment and the vehicle lamp 1 in this embodiment are configured and operated as described above, and the effects thereof will be described below.

  In the vehicle light guide member (light guide member 5) in this embodiment and the vehicle lamp 1 in this embodiment, the branch portion 54 is branched from the trunk portion 53 along the traveling direction of the light incident from the incident surface 50. Therefore, the light in the trunk portion 53 can be guided into the branch portion 54 without providing an inner surface reflection portion or the like. This simplifies the mold and does not use a slide mold.

  In the vehicle light guide member (light guide member 5) in this embodiment and the vehicle lamp 1 in this embodiment, the branch portion 54 is configured integrally from a branch portion 540, an emission portion 541, and a curved portion 542. Has been. For this reason, the light guided from the trunk portion 53 into the branch portion 54 can be efficiently guided from the branch portion 540 of the branch portion 54 through the curved portion 542 to the emission portion 541 with little light loss. As a result, light can be efficiently emitted from the emission surface 51 of the emission part 541 of the branch part 54.

  In the vehicle light guide member (light guide member 5) in this embodiment and the vehicle lamp 1 in this embodiment, the branch portion 540 branches from the trunk 53 at an angle θ (an angle in the range of about 30 ° to about 50 °). Has been. For this reason, light can be efficiently guided from the trunk portion 53 to the branch portion 54 with little light loss. In addition, the durability of the portion of the mold located in the acute space between the trunk portion 53 and the branch portion 54 is improved.

(Description of example other than embodiment)
In this embodiment, the trunk portion 53 and the branch portion 54 form a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section. However, in the present invention, the trunk portion and the branch portion may have a columnar shape such as a cross-sectional triangle, a cross-sectional quadrangle, or a cross-sectional polygon.

  Further, in this embodiment, the branch portion 54 is configured integrally from a branch portion 540, an emission portion 541, and a curved portion 542. However, in the present invention, the branch portion may be only the exit portion, the branch portion and the exit portion, or the curved portion and the exit portion.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the branched portion 540 is branched from the trunk 53 at an angle θ (an angle in the range of about 30 ° to about 50 °). However, in the present invention, the branch portion 540 may be branched from the trunk 53 at an angle of about 30 ° or less, or an angle of about 50 ° or more.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the reflecting surface element group 55 is provided on the branch portion 54. However, in the present invention, it is not necessary to provide the reflecting surface element group at the branch portion. In this case, the entire side surface of the branch portion is the emission surface.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, one light source 4 is used. However, in the present invention, a plurality of light sources may be used. In this case, the trunk portion is suitable for a columnar shape such as a rectangular shape, an elliptical shape, and an elliptical shape, and the incident surface has a rectangular shape, an oval shape, an elliptical shape, or the like.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, it consists of four branch portions 54, that is, four exit surfaces 51. However, in the present invention, there may be two, two, three, three, five or more, five or more branches, that is, exit surfaces.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the emission surface 51 is rectangular, and a light line is obtained. However, according to the present invention, the light exit surface may be one or a plurality of triangles, squares, polygons, etc., and light spots or continuous light spots may be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle lamp 2 Lamp housing 3 Lamp lens 4 Light source 5 Light guide member 50 Incidence surface 51 Output surface 52 Light guide part 53 Stem part 54 Branch part 540 Branch part 541 Output part 542 Curved part 55 Reflective surface element group 56 Design part 6 Lamp Room

Claims (4)

One incident surface on which light is incident;
A plurality of emission surfaces for emitting light;
A light guide between the entrance surface and the exit surface;
With
The light guide portion is composed of a trunk portion provided with the incident surface, and a plurality of branch portions provided with the exit surface, respectively.
The branch portion is branched from the trunk portion along the traveling direction of light incident from the incident surface.
The light guide member for vehicles characterized by the above-mentioned. The branch portion includes a branch portion branched from the trunk portion, an exit portion provided with the exit surface, and a curved portion provided between the branch portion and the exit portion. ing,
The light guide member for a vehicle according to claim 1. The branch is branched from the trunk at an angle in the range of about 30 ° to about 50 °;
The light guide member for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the light guide member is for a vehicle. A lamp housing and a lamp lens that partition the lamp chamber;
The light source disposed in the lamp chamber and the vehicle light guide member according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Comprising
A vehicular lamp characterized by the above.

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