JP2018014279A - Optical lens - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical lens capable of achieving uniform surface light emission and enhancing a lighting feeling.SOLUTION: An optical lens 1 includes: an incident part 2 arranged in a light emission direction front of an LED (light source) 10, and opposing to the LED 10; an emission part 3 having a rectangular emission surface along an optical axis x direction; and a light guide part 4 for guiding the light which has entered from the incident part 2 to the emission part 3. The light guide part 4 includes: a first reflection surface 41 for totally reflecting one part of the light which has entered from the incident part 2 in the optical axis x direction; a second reflection surface 42 for totally reflecting one part of the light in the optical axis x direction to the direction orthogonal to the optical axis x and guiding it to the emission part 3; a pair of third reflection surfaces 43 for totally reflecting the other light in the optical axis x direction to the direction orthogonal to the optical axis x; and a pair of fourth reflection surfaces 44 for totally reflecting the light which is totally reflected at the third reflection surfaces 43 at right angles, and for guiding it to the emission part 3. The shape of the second reflection surface 42, the third reflection surfaces 43 and the fourth reflection surfaces 44 is made to be rectangle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical lens that emits light from the entire emission part by emitting light from the emission part while totally reflecting light incident from a light source.

  For example, LEDs (light emitting diodes) are being used instead of conventional bulbs (light bulbs) as light sources for vehicle signal lights such as tail lamps and stop lamps. This LED has high luminous efficiency and long life and has advantages such as power saving, but emits light with high directivity, and therefore has a problem that the light cannot be used as it is. For this reason, light having a high directivity emitted from an LED is normally incident on an optical lens having high light transmittance, and light is emitted from the emission part in the process of guiding the light in the optical lens, thereby emitting the entire emission part. Has been done.

  Incidentally, with respect to such an optical lens, Patent Document 1 proposes an optical lens shown in FIGS.

  10A and 10B are diagrams showing an optical lens proposed in Patent Document 1, wherein FIG. 10A is a plan view, FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 10A, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the optical path of the optical lens, and the illustrated optical lens 101 is arranged in front of the light emitting direction of the LED 110 as the light source (above FIG. 10C). And is configured as a plate-shaped hexahedron.

  In the central portion of the optical lens 101, five reflecting surfaces 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115 for reflecting light emitted from the LED 110 radially in five directions orthogonal to the optical axis x are formed. . Optical insulating spaces S1 and S2 are formed on the left and right sides of the optical lens 101, respectively, and one of the inner surfaces of the insulating spaces S1 and S2 constitutes reflecting surfaces 116 and 117, respectively.

  Further, the vertical front surface of the optical lens 101 forms a light emitting surface 102 that is elongated in the horizontal direction. Five light emitting surfaces 102A, 102B, 102C, 102D, and 102E are arranged on the light emitting surface 102 in the left-right direction. Yes. The left and right sides of the optical axis 101 on the side opposite to the emission surface 102 of the optical lens 101 (upper side in FIG. 10A) are the reflection surfaces 118, 119 and 120, 121, respectively. Yes.

  In such an optical lens 101, when the LED 110 is activated to emit light, the light enters the optical lens 101 from the incident portion, and is reflected by the reflecting surfaces 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115 as shown in FIG. Reflected light LA, LB, LC, LD, and LE is reflected radially in five directions, respectively. The reflected lights LA and LB are reflected by the reflecting surfaces 116 and 117, respectively, toward the exit surface 102, and the exit surface 102 is reflected. Are emitted as parallel beams LA ′ and LB ′ from the irradiation units 102A and 102B.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the reflected lights LC and LD reflected by the reflecting surfaces 113 and 114 are reflected twice by the reflecting surfaces 118, 119, 120, and 121, respectively, toward the emitting surface 102, and the emitting surface 102 is reflected. Are emitted as parallel light LC ′ and LD ′ from the irradiation sections 102C and 102D. Then, the reflected light LE reflected by the reflecting surface 115 is directed to the emission surface 102 as it is, and is emitted from the irradiation unit 102E at the center of the emission surface 102 as parallel light LE '.

  Therefore, according to the optical lens 101, the light emitted from the LED 110 can be efficiently used and emitted from the elongated rectangular emission surface 102 to emit light from the entire emission surface 102.

JP 2006-339121 A

  However, in the optical lens 101 shown in FIG. 10 proposed in Patent Document 1, when the light reflected by the reflecting surfaces 111 to 115 is emitted from the irradiation portions 102A to 102E of the emitting surface 102, the reflecting surfaces 111 to 115 are reflected. Since the shape is projected as it is as an image onto the irradiation units 102A to 102E, there is a problem that uniform surface light emission is not realized and the lighting feeling is lowered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical lens capable of realizing uniform surface light emission and enhancing lighting feeling.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is arranged in front of the light emission direction of the light source and has an incident portion facing the light source, an emission portion having a rectangular emission surface along the optical axis direction, and the incidence A light guide part that guides light incident from the part to the emission part,
The light guide unit includes a first reflection surface that totally reflects a part of light incident from the incident unit in an optical axis direction, and totally reflects a part of light in the optical axis direction in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis. A second reflecting surface that leads to the emitting portion, a pair of third reflecting surfaces that totally reflect other light in the optical axis direction in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, and a right angle of the light that is totally reflected by the third reflecting surface In an optical lens comprising a pair of fourth reflecting surfaces that are totally reflected and led to the emitting portion,
The second reflecting surface, the third reflecting surface, and the fourth reflecting surface are rectangular in shape.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, an image of light totally reflected by the third reflecting surface is projected on the center in the width direction of the emitting surface of the emitting portion, and the third reflecting is applied to the left and right of the image. An image of light totally reflected by a surface and the fourth reflecting surface is projected.

  According to the present invention, since the shapes of the second reflection surface, the third reflection surface, and the fourth reflection surface that totally reflect the light from the light source and emit the light from the light emitting portion in the optical lens are rectangular, the light emitting portion has the same shape. A plurality of rectangular light images are projected, so that uniform surface emission is realized and the lighting feeling of the optical lens is enhanced.

1 is a perspective view of an optical lens according to the present invention. It is a front view of the optical lens which concerns on this invention. It is a rear view of the optical lens which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the optical lens which concerns on this invention. It is a bottom view of the optical lens which concerns on this invention. It is a right view of the optical lens which concerns on this invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the image of the light totally reflected by the 2nd reflective surface of the optical lens which concerns on this invention, Comprising: (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view. It is a figure which shows the image of the light totally reflected by the 3rd reflective surface and the 4th reflective surface of the optical lens which concerns on this invention, Comprising: (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view. It is a figure which shows the optical lens proposed in patent document 1, Comprising: (a) is a top view, (b) is BB sectional drawing of (a), (c) is CC line of (a). It is sectional drawing. It is a top view which shows the optical path of the optical lens proposed in patent document 1.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 is a perspective view of the optical lens according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the optical lens, FIG. 3 is a rear view of the optical lens, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the optical lens, and FIG. 6 is a right side view of the optical lens, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2, and FIG. 8 is an image of light totally reflected by the second reflecting surface of the optical lens according to the present invention. FIG. 9A is a plan view, FIG. 9B is a front view, and FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an image of light totally reflected by the third reflection surface and the fourth reflection surface of the optical lens. a) is a plan view, and (b) is a front view.

  The optical lens 1 according to the present embodiment is integrally formed of a transparent resin such as acrylic or polycarbonate having a high light transmittance, and is in front of the light emitting direction of the LED 10 that is a light source (upward in FIGS. 1 and 2). Has been placed. The optical lens 1 includes an incident part 2 protruding so as to face the LED 10 and a flat hexagonal columnar main body 1A formed integrally with the upper part of the incident part 2, and the front surface of the main body 1A is A vertical emission part 3 is configured, and the light guide part 4 that guides the light incident from the incident part 2 to the emission part 3 is provided in the main body part 1A. The LED 10 serving as a light source is disposed so as to emit light upward in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the optical lens 1 is formed in a bilaterally symmetrical shape with the optical axis x of the LED 10 as the center. .

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the incident part 2 is formed in a truncated cone shape having the optical axis x as a rotationally symmetric axis, and as shown in FIG. Is formed with a recess 2a that opens toward the LED 10 (downward in FIG. 7). And the convex-shaped (aspherical) 1st entrance surface 21 which bulges toward LED10 side is formed in the bottom part of this recessed part 2a so that it may oppose LED10 by making optical axis x into a rotational symmetry axis. Yes. Here, the first incident surface 21 is disposed so that the LED 10 is positioned at the focal point, and the light emitted from the LED 10 is refracted in the direction along the optical axis x (vertically upward in FIG. 7). The optical lens 1 has a function of being incident.

  Further, the inner peripheral surface of the recess 2a formed at the periphery of the first incident surface 21 constitutes a second incident surface 22, and the second incident surface 22 is erected so as to cover the periphery of the LED 10. It is a conical surface, and has a function of causing the light emitted from the LED 10 toward the side of the first incident surface 21 to enter the optical lens 1.

  The light guide unit 4 includes a first reflection surface 41 that totally reflects light incident from the second incident surface 22 of the incident unit 2 in the optical axis x direction (vertically upward in FIG. 7), and one of the optical axis x directions. A second reflecting surface 42 that totally reflects the light of the portion in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis x (leftward in FIG. 7) toward the emitting portion, and the direction of the other light in the optical axis x direction orthogonal to the optical axis x A pair of third reflecting surfaces 43 that totally reflect in the left-right direction (FIG. 4) and a pair of left and right first rays that totally reflect the light totally reflected by each third reflecting surface 43 toward the emitting portion 3 on the front side. Four reflective surfaces 44 are provided.

  Here, the first reflection surface 41 is formed as an outer peripheral surface of the incident portion 2. And the recessed part 1a is formed in the center part of the hexagonal column-shaped main-body part 1A of the optical lens 1, The said 2nd reflective surface 42 and the 3rd reflective surface 43 are formed adjacent to this recessed part 1a. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the second reflecting surface 42 is formed as an inclined surface inclined at an angle of 45 ° toward the front side with respect to the optical axis x, and a pair of left and right third reflecting surfaces. The surface 43 is formed as a slope inclined in the left-right direction at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the optical axis x. The pair of left and right fourth reflecting surfaces 44 are formed as slopes obtained by cutting the corners on the back side of the main body 1A of the optical lens 1 at an angle of 45 °.

  The emitting portion 3 is configured by a rectangular front surface that is elongated in the lateral direction of the main body portion 1A of the optical lens 1, and the light guiding portion 4 (the first reflecting surface 41, the interior of the optical lens 1 is formed as will be described later. Light is emitted by emitting light guided by the second reflecting surface 42, the third reflecting surface 43, and the fourth reflecting surface 44).

  Thus, in the optical lens 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the shapes of the second reflecting surface 42, the third reflecting surface 43, and the fourth reflecting surface 44 are all rectangular. Has been.

  In the optical lens 1 configured as described above, when the LED 10 is activated and emits light, a part of the light is refracted by the first incident surface 21 in the optical axis x direction as shown in FIG. The light enters the lens 1 and becomes parallel light and travels toward the second reflecting surface 42 and the third emitting surface 43. Further, the other light emitted from the first incident surface 21 to the side is incident on the optical lens 1 from the second incident surface 22 and then totally reflected by the first reflecting surface 41 in the optical axis x direction. The light then travels toward the second reflecting surface 42 and the third reflecting surface 43 as parallel light.

  And the parallel light which goes to the 2nd reflective surface 42 is totally reflected by this 2nd reflective surface 42, as shown in FIG. 7, and goes to the emission part 3 of the front side (refer FIG.7 and FIG.8 (a)). ), By projecting from the emitting unit 3, a rectangular optical image is projected on the center of the emitting unit 3 in the width direction, as shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, the parallel light traveling toward the third reflecting surface 43 is totally reflected by the pair of left and right third reflecting surfaces 43 and travels along the left-right direction orthogonal to the optical axis x. 4 Heads toward the reflective surface 44. And the light which goes to this 4th reflective surface 44 is each totally reflected by each 4th reflective surface 44, goes to the emission part 3 of the front side, and is radiate | emitted from the emission part 3, As shown in FIG.9 (b). Thus, a rectangular optical image is projected on both sides in the width direction of the emitting part 3. Therefore, in the optical lens 1 according to the present embodiment, three rectangular light images having the same shape are continuously projected on the rectangular emission unit 3 that is elongated in the horizontal direction.

  As described above, according to the optical lens 1 according to the present embodiment, the second reflecting surface 42, the third reflecting surface 43, and the fourth reflecting surface 44 that totally reflect the light from the LED 10 and emit the light from the emitting unit 3. Since the rectangular shape is projected onto the light emitting portion 3, a plurality of rectangular light images having the same shape are projected, so that uniform surface emission is realized and the lighting feeling of the optical lens 1 is enhanced. It is done.

  The optical lens according to the present invention is suitable for vehicular lamps, general lighting equipment, game lighting equipment, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical lens 1A Main part of optical lens 1a Concave part of main part 2 Incident part 2a Concave part of incident part 21 1st incident surface 22 2nd incident surface 3 Outgoing part 4 Light guide part 41 1st reflective surface 42 2nd reflective surface 43 Third reflective surface 44 Fourth reflective surface 10 LED (light source)
x Optical axis

Claims (2)

An incident portion disposed in front of the light emission direction of the light source and facing the light source, an emission portion having a rectangular emission surface along the optical axis direction, and a light guide portion that guides light incident from the incident portion to the emission portion And
The light guide unit includes a first reflection surface that totally reflects a part of light incident from the incident unit in an optical axis direction, and totally reflects a part of light in the optical axis direction in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis. A second reflecting surface that leads to the emitting portion, a pair of third reflecting surfaces that totally reflect other light in the optical axis direction in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, and a right angle of the light that is totally reflected by the third reflecting surface In an optical lens comprising a pair of fourth reflecting surfaces that are totally reflected and led to the emitting portion,
An optical lens, wherein the second reflection surface, the third reflection surface, and the fourth reflection surface are rectangular. An image of light totally reflected by the third reflecting surface is projected on the center in the width direction of the emitting surface of the emitting unit, and an image of light totally reflected by the third reflecting surface and the fourth reflecting surface is projected to the left and right of the image. The optical lens according to claim 1, wherein the optical lens is configured as described above.

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