JP2019025964A - Vehicular lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicular lamp capable of reducing cost.SOLUTION: The lamp includes a plurality of light sources 2 connected in series, a lighting circuit 3 for supplying power to the plurality of light sources 2, a control circuit 5 for controlling the lighting state of each of the plurality of light sources 2, and a bypass circuit 4 connected parallel to the plurality of the light sources 2 for switching each of the plurality of light sources 2 to one of a conductive state and a non-conductive state according to the control of the lighting state by the control circuit 5, and a part of the plurality of light sources 2 corresponds to the headlamp for running and the other corresponds to the side irradiation lamp.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, along with an increase in luminous flux of a semiconductor light source such as an LED, there has been proposed one that forms a light distribution of a traveling headlamp by a combined light distribution of a plurality of light sources (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). Such a traveling headlamp illuminates the surroundings without causing glare to other vehicles such as an oncoming vehicle by partially dimming or turning off the light. Also, as one of the headlights for traveling, there is proposed one that changes the light distribution pattern by adjusting the ratio of lighting, dimming, or extinguishing according to the traveling environment such as the vehicle speed or the road shape. (For example, see Patent Documents 2 and 3).

  Also in the side illumination lamp, the light source is changed from a light bulb to a semiconductor light source having a high response speed, thereby providing a dimming function when the light rises or falls.

JP, 2006-197711, A JP 2008-140649 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2017-021970 JP2015-168305A

  However, the conventional techniques as described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are separately used as independent functions even when functioning as a driving headlamp or when functioning as a side illumination lamp. The circuit is configured. Therefore, a control circuit and a lighting circuit corresponding to each function are provided. Accordingly, the lamp structure of the light source is complicated, and the number of circuits for turning on the light source is increased, which increases the cost.

  This indication is made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to reduce cost.

  A vehicular lamp that is one aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicular lamp that is mounted on a vehicle, and includes a plurality of light sources connected in series, a lighting circuit that supplies power to the plurality of light sources, and the plurality of light sources. A control circuit that controls the lighting state of each of the light sources, and is connected in parallel with the plurality of light sources, and each of the plurality of light sources is turned on and off according to the control of the lighting state by the control circuit. A bypass circuit that switches to either one of the plurality of light sources, a part of which corresponds to the headlight for traveling and the other corresponds to the side illumination lamp.

  Further, a lamp switch that turns on at least a part of the plurality of light sources in response to an operation of a driver of the vehicle, and the control circuit includes a vehicle speed of the vehicle, a switch state of the lamp switch, Preferably, the control circuit controls the bypass circuit.

  Further, the traveling headlamp and the side illumination lamp have current values flowing through the plurality of light sources in the same first range, and the plurality of light sources are in a conductive state and a non-conductive state, respectively. It is preferable that the duty ratio for switching to either one is in the same second range.

  By sharing the circuit of the present disclosure, the cost can be reduced.

It is a figure showing an example of circuit composition of vehicular lamp 1 to which this indication is applied. It is a figure which shows an example of a setting table. It is a figure which shows an example of the electric current value according to the function of the vehicle lamp 1, and a duty ratio.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a circuit configuration of a vehicular lamp 1 to which the present disclosure is applied. The vehicular lamp 1 is mounted on a vehicle and includes a light source 2_1 to a light source 2_n, a lighting circuit 3, a bypass circuit 4, and a control circuit 5. When any one of the light sources 2_1 to 2_n is not particularly limited, it is referred to as a light source 2. The plurality of light sources 2 are connected in series. The lighting circuit 3 supplies power to the plurality of light sources 2. The control circuit 5 controls the lighting state of each of the plurality of light sources 2. The bypass circuit 4 is connected in parallel to the plurality of light sources 2 and switches each of the plurality of light sources 2 to one of a conductive state and a non-conductive state according to the control of the lighting state by the control circuit 5. Some of the plurality of light sources 2 correspond to traveling headlamps, and the other corresponds to side illumination lamps. For example, in the example of FIG. 1, the light sources 2_1 to 2_3 correspond to traveling headlamps, and the light sources 2_n-1 to 2_n correspond to side illumination lamps. When the headlight for traveling is provided in a vehicle having the same number of left and right on the front side of the vehicle and the front of the vehicle is symmetrical, it is attached at a symmetrical position with respect to the vehicle center plane. The light beam emitted from the traveling headlamp illuminates the traveling direction of the vehicle. The traveling headlamp may be a variable light distribution type that can automatically adjust the luminous intensity of the irradiation light and the spatial distribution in the direction thereof according to the night traveling state. Further, the side illumination lamps can be provided one by one on both sides of the front surface of the vehicle or on the front part of both sides. The side illumination lamp functions as an auxiliary lamp for illuminating the road ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle.

  The switch state of the lamp switch 11 is input to the control circuit 5 as one piece of vehicle information. The control circuit 5 controls the bypass circuit 4 based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle and the switch state of the lamp switch 11. By controlling the bypass circuit 4, each of the plurality of light sources 2 is set to either a conductive state or a non-conductive state. Specifically, the plurality of light sources 2 may be set by a setting table. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting table. As shown in FIG. 2, in the setting table, the switch state of the lamp switch 11 is, for example, OFF, vehicle width lamp, Lo beam, and Hi beam, and is set according to the operation of the driver of the vehicle. It is. When the type of exterior lamp is a driving headlamp, the switch state is OFF, vehicle width lamp, Lo beam, and Hi beam in the order of prohibition, prohibition, prohibition, and permission. On the other hand, when the exterior lamp is a side illumination lamp, it is prohibited, prohibited, permitted, and permitted in the order of OFF, vehicle width lamp, Lo beam, and Hi beam. However, in order for the exterior lamp to be a side illuminating lamp and the lighting of the light source 2 is permitted, it is further required that the vehicle speed is 40 km / h or less. When the lighting of the light source 2 is prohibited, the bypass circuit 4 sets the light source 2 to a non-conductive state. When the lighting of the light source 2 is permitted, the bypass circuit 4 sets the light source 2 to a conductive state.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a current value and a duty ratio for each function of the vehicular lamp 1. The traveling headlamp has a current of 1.5 (A) and a duty ratio of 100 (%) in both cases of the Lo beam and the Hi beam. The side illumination lamp has a current of 1.0 (A) and a duty ratio of 66.7 (%). The vehicle width lamp has a current of 0.05 (A) and a duty ratio of 3.3 (%). DRL (Daytime Running Lamps) has a current of 0.2 (A) and a duty ratio of 13.3 (%). The direction indicator has a current of 0.4 (A) and a duty ratio of 26.7 (%). Therefore, unlike the other lamps, the traveling headlamp and the side illumination lamp have a high duty ratio, so that fine adjustment is easy. On the other hand, the vehicle width lamp, the DRL, and the direction indicator are difficult to finely adjust because the duty ratio is low. That is, when the plurality of light sources 2 correspond to traveling headlamps or side illumination lamps, the current values flowing through the plurality of light sources 2 are within the same first range, and each of the plurality of light sources 2 is conducted. The duty ratio for switching to one of the state and the non-conduction state is within the same second range.

  Next, the vehicle lamp 1 will be specifically described. The light source 2 emits light when the lighting circuit 3 supplies power. The light emitted from the light source 2 is irradiated to the front and side of the vehicle via an optical member (not shown). Since the plurality of light sources 2 are electrically connected in series, the lighting currents are the same. Each of the plurality of light sources 2 may be individually switched to either on or off. Further, some of the plurality of light sources 2 may be switched to one of lighting and extinguishing all together. The bypass circuit 4 may be connected in parallel with each of the plurality of light sources 2, or may be connected in parallel with some of the plurality of light sources 2. When the bypass circuit 4 becomes conductive, the light source 2 is turned off. On the other hand, when the bypass circuit 4 is turned off, the light source 2 is turned on. Further, the bypass circuit 4 can reduce the light to an arbitrary brightness by performing the PWM drive by appropriately switching between the conductive state and the non-conductive state.

  The lighting circuit 3 converts a vehicle power supply (not shown) into a voltage suitable for lighting the light source 2. The lighting circuit 3 normally supplies a constant current to the light source 2 by performing constant current driving so as to suppress fluctuations in the amount of emitted light. In addition, the lighting circuit 3 supplies electric power so that the corresponding light source 2 operates in principle while the vehicle is in a state where the driving headlamp can be lit. However, when all the light sources 2 are turned off, the lighting circuit 3 may stop a part of the functions and stop the supply of power to the subsequent circuit. The control circuit 5 controls turning on and off of each of the plurality of light sources 2 by controlling the conduction state and the non-conduction state of the bypass circuit 4. The control circuit 5 controls turning on and off of each of the plurality of light sources 2 based on vehicle information such as the switch state of the lamp switch 11, vehicle speed information, and steering angle information, The light source 2 corresponding to each of the side illumination lamps is controlled. The control circuit 5 may acquire vehicle information by communicating with each device in the vehicle.

  Therefore, the bypass circuit 4 switches each of the plurality of light sources 2 to one of conduction and interruption in conjunction with the conduction state and non-conduction state instructions sent from the control circuit 5. The light source 2 is lit only when power is supplied from the lighting circuit 3 and the bypass circuit 4 is shut off. The light emitted from the light source 2 constitutes a light distribution of a traveling headlamp or a side illumination lamp. Therefore, by controlling the lighting states of the plurality of light sources 2, the traveling headlamps corresponding to some of the plurality of light sources 2 function as variable light distributions.

  From the above description, in the present embodiment, the bypass circuit 4 is connected in parallel to the plurality of light sources 2, and the control circuit 5 controls each of the plurality of light sources 2 to be in a conductive state and a non-conductive state according to the control of the lighting state. It switches to either one of the states. Some of the plurality of light sources 2 correspond to traveling headlamps, and the other corresponds to side illumination lamps. Therefore, the lighting circuit 3 and the control circuit 5 are shared by the circuit corresponding to the traveling headlamp and the circuit corresponding to the side illumination lamp. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the lighting circuit 3 and the control circuit 5 in the circuit corresponding to the traveling headlamp and the circuit corresponding to the side illumination lamp, so that the cost can be reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the bypass circuit 4 is configured to switch either the conductive state or the non-conductive state of each of the plurality of light sources 2 based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle and the switch state of the lamp switch 11. It is. According to the law, the side illumination lamp among the plurality of light sources 2 is determined to have a structure that lights only when the passing headlamp or the traveling headlamp is lit. Further, according to the law, the side illumination lamp among the plurality of light sources 2 is determined not to operate in a state where the speed of the automobile is 40 km / h or more. Therefore, what is necessary is just to make the permission conditions which a side irradiation lamp lights up into the state below vehicle speed 40km / h. In this way, control satisfying the regulations can be performed by controlling the plurality of light sources 2 based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle and the switch state of the lamp switch 11.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the traveling headlamp and the side illumination lamp have the same range of current values flowing through the plurality of light sources 2, and each of the plurality of light sources 2 is in a conductive state and a non-conductive state. The duty ratio for switching to either one is close compared to other functions. Therefore, adjustment is not particularly required when the control circuit 5 and the lighting circuit 3 are combined into one because the traveling headlamp and the side illumination lamp have the same power range. In addition, since the power required for a strong light such as a headlight for driving is high, the lighting circuit 3 converts the vehicle power source into a voltage suitable for lighting the light source 2 and normally emits it. Since a device capable of supplying a constant current with high accuracy capable of suppressing fluctuations in the amount of light is required, the circuit cost is high. Therefore, the cost can be greatly reduced by sharing the control circuit 5 and the lighting circuit 3.

  As described above, the vehicular lamp 1 to which the present disclosure is applied has been described based on the embodiment. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and may be modified without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

  For example, as an example of the condition for permitting the lighting of the side illumination lamp, an example in which the determination is made based on the lighting state of the traveling headlamp and the vehicle speed has been described, but the present invention is not particularly limited thereto. For example, it is stipulated that the side illumination lamp has a structure that automatically stops when the direction indicator is released or when the steering angle of the steering device returns to the straight running state, according to the law. It has been. Therefore, permission of the lighting state of the side illumination lamp may be determined based on the steering angle of the steering device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle lamp 2,2_1-2_n Light source 3 Lighting circuit 4 Bypass circuit 5 Control circuit 11 Lamp switch

Claims (3)

A vehicle lamp mounted on a vehicle,
A plurality of light sources connected in series;
A lighting circuit for supplying power to the plurality of light sources;
A control circuit for controlling a lighting state of each of the plurality of light sources;
A bypass circuit connected in parallel with the plurality of light sources and switching each of the plurality of light sources to either one of a conductive state and a non-conductive state in accordance with the control of the lighting state by the control circuit;
With
The plurality of light sources are
Some correspond to driving headlamps, and others correspond to side illumination lamps.
Vehicle lamp. A lamp switch that lights at least some of the plurality of light sources in response to an operation of a driver of the vehicle;
Further comprising
The control circuit includes:
Based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle and the switch state of the lamp switch, the bypass circuit is controlled.
The vehicular lamp according to claim 1. The traveling headlamp and the side illumination lamp are:
The current values flowing through the plurality of light sources are within the same first range, and the duty ratio for switching each of the plurality of light sources to either the conductive state or the non-conductive state is within the same second range. It is in,
The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 or 2.

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