JP2022091007A - Light emitting emblem - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a light emitting emblem capable of being thinned.SOLUTION: A light emitting emblem 1 includes: light emitting elements 10 for emitting light; a circuit board 20 for mounting the light emitting elements 10; an outer lens 30 for guiding light; an ornament unit 40 attached to the outer lens 30 and capable of performing light emitting display by a transmission section for transmitting light; and a housing 50 for holding the outer lens 30 and reflecting light to the outer lens 30 side. Light outgoing from the light emitting element 10 is reflected one or more times between the housing 50 and the circuit board 20 (mounting surface 21) and guided by the outer lens 30 to perform light emitting display by the ornament unit 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a light emitting emblem.

Conventionally, a light emitting emblem that can control the light distribution by changing the irradiation direction according to the angle of the light emitted from the LED and can efficiently use the light from the LED has been proposed (for example, a patent). See Document 1).

This light emitting emblem accommodates an LED as a light source and an inner lens having a primary reflecting surface and a secondary reflecting surface in a space defined by an outer lens having an emblem attached to the surface and a housing, and is formed from the LED. The reflection direction is controlled by the inner lens according to the emission angle of the light, and the reflection direction is controlled so that the light transmitted through the outer lens emits light on the periphery of the emblem.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-141197

However, the light emitting emblem disclosed in Patent Document 1 causes the light emitted from the LED, which is a light source, to be primary and secondary reflected to illuminate the outer lens and the emblem. For this reason, it is necessary to provide an inner lens, and there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the thickness.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a light emitting emblem that can be made thinner.

[1] The present invention comprises a light emitting element that emits light, a substrate on which the light emitting element is mounted, an outer lens that guides the light, and a transmissive portion that is attached to the outer lens and transmits the light. It has an ornament portion that displays light emission and a housing that holds the outer lens and reflects the light toward the outer lens side, and the light emitting element is mounted on the mounting surface of the substrate facing the housing. Provides a luminous emblem.
[2] The substrate and the housing may be white, which highly reflects the light.
[3] Further, the outer lens may be welded to the housing and the periphery thereof with the substrate sandwiched between them.
[4] Further, the ornament portion has a design portion such as characters and symbols whose light emission display is performed by the transmission portion, and the substrate has an opening in a region corresponding to the design portion. good.
[5] Further, the substrate may have a bridge portion without the opening in the region without the design portion.
[6] Further, the substrate may be configured as one substrate having two bridge portions arranged on both sides of the opening.
[7] Further, the housing may have a protrusion protruding toward the light emitting element at a position corresponding to the light emitting element.
[8] Further, the outer lens may contain a diffusing material that diffuses the light.
[9] Further, the substrate is configured such that a circuit element other than the light emitting element is mounted on the mounting surface and the brightness distribution of the light emitting display is adjusted (adjusted) depending on the position where the circuit element is arranged. May be.

According to the light emitting emblem of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the thickness.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a light emitting emblem according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a front view of the light emitting emblem according to the embodiment of the present invention when viewed from the front (front of the vehicle when mounted on the vehicle). FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2A. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 2A showing a cross section including the bridge portion of the substrate, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 2A. It is a sectional view. FIG. 4A is a front view showing the mounting surface of the substrate, and FIG. 4B is a front view showing the back surface of the substrate (the back surface of the mounting surface). FIG. 5A shows an example of a case where the brightness distribution of the light emission display is adjusted (adjusted) by arranging circuit elements other than the light emitting element on the mounting surface of the substrate when the outer peripheral portion is desired to be darkened. It is a front view, and FIG. 5B is a front view of a mounting surface of a substrate. FIG. 6A shows an example in which the brightness distribution of the light emission display is adjusted (adjusted) by arranging circuit elements other than the light emitting element on the mounting surface of the substrate when it is desired to darken the design part which is the logo part. It is a front view of the ornament part shown, and FIG. 6B is a front view of the mounting surface of a substrate.

[Embodiment of the present invention]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a light emitting emblem according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 (a) is a front view when the light emitting emblem according to the embodiment of the present invention is viewed from the front (front of the vehicle when mounted on the vehicle), and FIG. 2 (b) is a view. 2 (a) is a sectional view taken along the line AA.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the light emitting emblem 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a light emitting element 10 that emits light, a substrate 20 on which the light emitting element 10 is mounted, and an outer lens that guides light. It has an ornament portion 40 that is attached to the outer lens 30 and displays light emission by a transmission portion that transmits light, and a housing 50 that holds the outer lens 30 and reflects light toward the outer lens 30 side. The light emitting element 10 is mounted on a mounting surface 21 facing the housing 50 of the substrate 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the light emitting emblem 1 is integrally assembled by superimposing an ornament portion 40, an outer lens 30, a substrate 20 on which a light emitting element 10 and the like are mounted, and a housing 50, and is attached to a vehicle front grill or the like. It will be installed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the light emitting emblem 1 according to the present embodiment, the light emitting element 10 is mounted on the mounting surface 21 of the substrate 20 facing the housing 50, and the light L1 is emitted in the direction of the housing 50. .. The emitted light L1 is reflected once or a plurality of times between the housing 50 and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21) to become light L2, which is guided by the outer lens 30 to display the ornament portion 40 as light emission. As a result, the light emitting emblem 1 does not require an inner lens or the like, and can be made thinner.

(Light emitting element 10)
As the light emitting element 10, various light sources can be used, and in particular, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) as a light emitting element that emits visible light is used. The light emitting element 10 in the present embodiment uses an LED that emits white light having high brightness and excellent design and visibility.

As the light emitting element 10, an LED that emits light of various colors can be used, and an LED that is provided with each of RGB light emitting chips and can emit any visible light color can also be used. As a result, the light emitting emblem 1 can be made to emit light with a desired color.

The light emitting element 10 uses a surface-mounted element for mounting on the mounting surface 21 of the substrate 20, which will be described later. As a result, it can be arranged at an arbitrary position on the mounting surface 21 of the substrate 20, and the luminance distribution can be easily adjusted (adjusted).

(Board 20)
The substrate 20 is formed with a circuit pattern required for an insulating epoxy substrate or the like. The above-mentioned light emitting element 10, a circuit necessary for its control, and the like are arranged and mounted on the substrate 20. The substrate 20 can be fixed to the outer lens 30, the housing 50, and the like.

The substrate 20 is white, which reflects light, at least on the side of the mounting surface 21. The reflectance is preferably, for example, 80% or more. The white color is preferably white from the viewpoint of cost, but it may be white by using a resist or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4A, four light emitting elements 10 (LEDs) are mounted on the mounting surface 21 of the substrate 20 as an example. Further, a plurality of other circuit elements 15 necessary for controlling the LED are also mounted.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the light intensity is made uniform by reflecting the light once or a plurality of times between the housing 50 and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21). As a result, since the ornament unit 40 is light-emitting and displayed by the outer lens 30, it is possible to configure the light-emitting emblem 1 with a small number of light-emitting elements 10 (LEDs).

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the substrate 20 has a plate-like body having a circular outer peripheral portion 25 and an opening 23 at the central portion. The opening 23 is formed, for example, by punching the substrate 20. The opening 23 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B, an opening that allows the light L2 reflected by the housing 50 to be transmitted toward the outer lens 30. Therefore, in the substrate 20, the area corresponding to the design portion 45 for displaying the characters, symbols, etc. of the ornament portion 40 is the opening portion 23.

Further, between the opening 23 and the outer peripheral portion 25, there is a bridge portion 24 that connects the first substrate portion 20a and the second substrate portion 20b of the substrate 20. As a result, the substrate 20 is configured as one substrate in which the first substrate portion 20a and the second substrate portion 20b arranged on both sides of the opening 23 are connected by two bridge portions 24. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the light L2 reflected by the housing 50 cannot be transmitted toward the outer lens 30 at the bridge portion 24 and is shielded from light. Therefore, the bridge portion 24 is formed so as to be located in a region without the design portion 45 in which characters, symbols, and the like are arranged.

On the mounting surface 21, the light emitting element 10 (LED) is arranged on the substrate 20, and the circuit element 15 other than the light emitting element 10 is also mounted. The circuit element 15 can adjust (adjust) the luminance distribution of the light emission display depending on the position where the circuit element 15 is arranged. The adjustment (adjustment) of this luminance distribution will be described later.

(Outer lens 30)
The outer lens 30 is a transparent member that guides light, particularly light L2 reflected by the housing 50, to the ornament portion 40. The outer lens 30 is preferably, for example, an acrylic resin such as Polymethylryl resin or a transparent resin such as a polycarbonate PC (Polycarbonate) resin. In addition, in order to increase the diffusivity of light, a diffusing material such as a filler can be blended in the molten resin at the time of molding.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, in the outer lens 30, the light emitting portions 32a and 32b are formed as convex portions as portions that emit light to the outside from the opening 47 of the ornament portion 40, and the ornament portion as a whole is formed. It is formed in a disk shape accommodated between the 40 and the housing 50.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the portion of the light emitting portion 32a that emits light from the opening 47a of the ornament portion 40 emits light from the design portion 45 of the ornament portion 40 that displays characters, symbols, etc. as a logo portion. Let me. Further, the portion of the light emitting portion 32b that emits light from the opening 47b of the ornament portion 40 causes the outer peripheral portion 46 of the ornament portion 40 to emit light.

The outer lens 30 is welded by sandwiching the substrate 20 between the housing 50 and the peripheral edge portion 51 of the housing 50 and the peripheral portion 35 of the outer lens 30. As a result, the waterproof property is enhanced, and the substrate 20 housed therein can be protected from water droplets and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the outer lens 30 is formed with inclined portions 30a and 30b so that the reflected light from the housing 50 is easily incident. The inclined portions 30a and 30b are arranged so as not to be covered with the substrate 20. As a result, the reflected light from the housing 50 can be incident on the outer lens 30 without being blocked by the substrate 20. Further, the central inclined portion 30a shown in FIG. 2B is arranged between the opening portion 47a of the ornament portion 40 and the substrate 20. The opening 47a has a large area for illuminating the design portion 45, and if there is an inclined surface 30a directly underneath, light unevenness will occur in the characters, but the central inclined portion 30a should be arranged as described above. Therefore, it is possible to suppress and prevent light unevenness in characters.

(Ornament section 40)
The ornament unit 40 is attached to the outer lens 30 and displays light emission by a transmissive unit that transmits light. In the present embodiment, openings 47a and 47b are formed as transmission portions as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The regions other than the openings 47a and 47b are opaque regions 48 through which light does not pass.

The ornament portion 40 can be formed of various resins such as PC (Polycarbonate) and ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) resin. Further, the opaque region other than the above-mentioned openings 47a and 47b is painted, plated or the like. In this embodiment, the outer lens 30 and the ornament portion 40, which is a separate member, are arranged. However, the outer lens 30 can be painted or plated as a non-transmissive region on the surface of the outer lens 30. May have that function.

The design portion 45 of the ornament portion 40 is formed in a shape in which the opening 47a displays characters, symbols, and the like. The opening 47a is provided at a position corresponding to the inside and the center of the substrate 20. A light emitting portion 32a of the outer lens 30 is fitted in the opening 47a, and the light emitting element 10 emits light, so that the design portion 45 of the ornament portion 40 displaying characters, symbols, etc. emits light as a logo portion.

Further, in the present embodiment, an opening 47b is provided so as to surround the design portion 45 of the ornament portion 40. The opening 47b is provided at a position corresponding to the outer side and the peripheral portion of the substrate 20. A light emitting portion 32b of the outer lens 30 is fitted in the opening 47b, and the light emitting element 10 emits light so that the periphery of the design portion 45 emits light in a substantially circular shape.

From the above, the openings 47a and 47b as the transmissive portion of the ornament portion 40 function as a light emitting portion through which the light guided by the outer lens 30 is transmitted and emitted. For example, the display portion of the design portion 45 or the like, which is the logo portion shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, is not painted or plated, and has openings 47a and 47b. In the ornament portion 40, a part of the outer lens 30 is exposed in the openings 47a and 47b, and the light guided by the outer lens 30 emits light in the design portion 45 and its surroundings, thereby displaying light emission as a light emitting emblem 1. Can be done.

(Housing 50)
The housing 50 is, for example, a resin housing that holds the outer lens 30 and reflects light toward the outer lens 30.

As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 50 has a peripheral edge portion 51 that fits and holds the outer lens 30, a reflecting portion 52 that reflects light L1 emitted from the light emitting element 10, and light emitted from the light emitting element 10. It has a protrusion 53, etc. for diffusing and reflecting L1.

The housing 50 is integrally molded with a synthetic resin such as PC (Polycarbonate), ASA (Acrylate Styrene Acrylonitrile), ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), AES (Acrylonitrile Ethylene Styrene) so as to have the above configuration. ..

The housing 50 is white because the light L1 emitted from the light emitting element 10 is highly reflected by the reflecting unit 52. The reflectance is preferably, for example, 80% or more. It is preferable that the white color is the material coloring of the substrate 20 from the viewpoint of cost, but the white color may have a high reflectance by painting or the like.

The housing 50 has a protrusion 53 protruding from the reflecting portion 52 toward the light emitting element 10 at a position corresponding to the light emitting element 10. The protrusion 53 is, for example, a protrusion provided with a conical inclined surface in order to reflect the light L1 emitted from the light emitting element 10 so as to diffuse it to the surroundings. As a result, the light L1 emitted from the light emitting element 10 is reflected so as to be diffused to the surroundings, and the light L2 is reflected once or a plurality of times between the housing 50 and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21). Will be easier.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the housing 50 is formed with inclined surfaces 50a and 50b facing the openings 47a and 47b of the ornament portion 40, respectively. As a result, the housing 50 can positively reflect the light reflected by the inclined surfaces 50a and 50b toward the openings 47a and 47b.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the housing 50 is preferably formed with a support portion 55 for supporting the bridge portion 24 of the substrate 20 described above. The support portion 55 is integrally formed with the housing 50 as a substrate holding mechanism and supports the bridge portion 24. As a result, reinforcement is possible by supporting the bridge portion 24 of the substrate 20, which is thin and easily broken.

(Light emission operation of light emission emblem 1)
The vehicle can control the light emitting operation of the light emitting emblem 1. The light emitting element 10 emits light by, for example, a control signal from the vehicle side. The light emission of the light emitting element 10 can be made to emit light by setting the light intensity, the light emission color, and the like.

The light L1 emitted from the light emitting element 10 is reflected once or a plurality of times between the housing 50 (reflecting portion 52) and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21) to become the light L2, which is guided by the outer lens 30. The ornament unit 40 is made to emit light. The ornament unit 40 can display light emission as a light emitting emblem 1 by causing the light guided by the outer lens 30 to emit light in the design unit 45 and its surroundings.

(Adjustment and adjustment of the brightness distribution of the light emission display)
FIG. 5A shows an example of a case where the brightness distribution of the light emission display is adjusted (adjusted) by arranging circuit elements other than the light emitting element on the mounting surface of the substrate when the outer peripheral portion is desired to be darkened. It is a front view, and FIG. 5B is a front view of a mounting surface of a substrate.

The adjustment (adjustment) of the brightness distribution of the light emission display means control such as making the target portion of the ornament part emit light and adjusting (adjusting) the uniform light emission.

As shown in FIG. 5 (a), when it is desired to darken the outer peripheral portion 49 emitted by the light emitting unit 32b with respect to the design portion 45 emitted by the light emitting unit 32a, as shown in FIG. 5 (b). The circuit element 15 other than the light emitting element 10 is arranged on the outer peripheral portion 21a of the substrate 20. As a result, among the light emitted from the light emitting element 10, the light that reaches the light emitting portion 32b of the outer lens 30 is reduced, and the outer peripheral portion 49 can be darkened.

FIG. 6A shows an example in which the brightness distribution of the light emission display is adjusted (adjusted) by arranging circuit elements other than the light emitting element on the mounting surface of the substrate when it is desired to darken the design part which is the logo part. It is a front view of the ornament part shown, and FIG. 6B is a front view of the mounting surface of a substrate.

As shown in FIG. 6A, when it is desired to darken the design portion 45 emitted by the light emitting portion 32a with respect to the outer peripheral portion 49 emitted by the light emitting portion 32b, as shown in FIG. 6B. The circuit element 15 other than the light emitting element 10 is arranged in the region 21b near the opening 23 of the substrate 20. Of the light emitted from the light emitting element 10, the light that reaches the light emitting portion 32a of the outer lens 30 is reduced, and the design portion 45 can be darkened.

(Effect of Embodiment of the present invention)
With the above configuration, the light emitting emblem 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has the following effects.
(1) The light emitting emblem 1 is attached to a light emitting element 10 that emits light, a substrate 20 on which the light emitting element 10 is mounted, an outer lens 30 that guides light, and an outer lens 30, and transmits light. The light emitting element 10 has a mounting surface facing the housing 50 of the substrate 20 having an ornament portion 40 that displays light emission by the unit and a housing 50 that holds the outer lens 30 and reflects light toward the outer lens 30 side. It is mounted and configured in 21. The light emitted from the light emitting element 10 is reflected once or a plurality of times between the housing 50 and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21) and guided by the outer lens 30 to display the ornament portion 40 as light emission. Since the light emitting emblem 1 according to the present embodiment has a structure in which the optical path length of light is sufficiently taken by utilizing such reflection, the depth width can be reduced, which leads to thinning and weight reduction.
(2) Further, since the light emitted from the light emitting element 10 is reflected once or multiple times between the housing 50 and the substrate 20 (mounting surface 21), the optical path length becomes large and the light is efficiently diffused. This makes it possible to make the ornament unit 40 emit light with uniform light.
(3) The substrate and housing are white, which highly reflects light. As a result, the reflection efficiency of the LED light is high, and the ornament portion 40 can be made to emit light with high brightness. Further, even when the LED light emits light in a color other than white, since the substrate and the housing are white, the reflectance is high and the reflection efficiency is high.
(4) For example, in order to adjust the brightness of the display of the design portion 45 and the outer peripheral portion 49, the arrangement of the circuit elements on the mounting surface 21 of the substrate 20 can be changed and mounted. By simulating and actually measuring the arrangement of the circuit elements and the brightness of the display of the ornament unit 40, it is possible to make the target portion of the ornament unit emit light and to perform uniform light emission adjustment (adjustment). ..

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be carried out within a range that does not deviate from the gist of the invention. Further, the above-described embodiment does not limit the invention according to the claims. It should also be noted that not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention.

1 ... light emitting emblem, 10 ... light emitting element, 15 ... circuit element, 20 ... substrate, 20a ... first board part, 20b ... second board part, 21 ... mounting surface, 21a ... outer peripheral part, 21b ... region, 23 ... opening Part, 24 ... Bridge part, 25 ... Outer peripheral part, 30 ... Outer lens, 30a, 30b ... Inclined surface, 32a ... Light emitting part, 32b ... Light emitting part, 40 ... Ornament part, 45 ... Design part, 46 ... Outer peripheral part, 47 ... opening, 47a ... opening, 47b ... opening, 48 ... opaque region, 49 ... outer peripheral part, 50 ... housing, 50a, 50b ... inclined surface, 51 ... peripheral part, 52 ... reflective part, 53 ... protruding part , L1, L2 ... Light

Claims (9)

A light emitting element that emits light and
The substrate on which the light emitting element is mounted and
The outer lens that guides the light and
An ornament unit that is attached to the outer lens and displays light emission by a transmissive unit that transmits the light.
It has a housing that holds the outer lens and reflects the light toward the outer lens.
The light emitting element is a light emitting emblem mounted on a mounting surface of the substrate facing the housing. The light emitting emblem according to claim 1, wherein the substrate and the housing are white, which highly reflects the light. The light emitting emblem according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer lens is welded to the housing and the periphery thereof with the substrate sandwiched between them. Claims 1 to 3 include the ornament portion having a design portion such as characters and symbols whose light emission display is performed by the transmission portion, and the substrate has an opening in a region corresponding to the design portion. The light emitting emblem according to any one of the above items. The light emitting emblem according to claim 4, wherein the substrate has a bridge portion without the opening in the region without the design portion. The light emitting emblem according to claim 5, wherein the substrate is configured as one substrate having the two bridge portions arranged on both sides of the opening. The light emitting emblem according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the housing has a protrusion protruding toward the light emitting element at a position corresponding to the light emitting element. The light emitting emblem according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the outer lens contains a diffusing material that diffuses the light. The substrate has one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a circuit element other than the light emitting element is mounted on the mounting surface, and the brightness distribution of the light emitting display is adjusted depending on the position where the circuit element is arranged. Luminous emblem described.

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