JP2023019563A - Lamp unit for vehicle and lighting fixture for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a lamp unit capable of making a pedestrian or the like walking around the vehicle aware of an approaching vehicle; and to provide a lighting fixture for the vehicle having the lamp unit.SOLUTION: A lamp unit 12 is loaded on a vehicle headlight 1, and illuminates a second region A2 including a range nearer to a car body than a first region A1 which is an illumination range of the headlight 1, with a prescribed projection pattern 31 such as a striped projection pattern. In this case, the second region A2 is included in a range invisible from a driver 52 due to a bonnet or the like.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp unit that makes pedestrians aware of an approaching vehicle and a vehicle lamp equipped with the lamp unit.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a technique of notifying a pedestrian or the like of a driving state of a vehicle in a vehicle lamp. For example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a vehicle headlamp capable of detecting switching from on to off of the brake and drawing a start notification display on the road surface based on the detection result.

JP 2020-55519 A

By the way, in the vehicle headlamp, a uniform orientation pattern without streaks and unevenness is generated regardless of low beam or high beam, in order to prevent driver's annoyance. However, when a uniform orientation pattern is generated, it may be difficult for nearby pedestrians and bicycles (hereinafter referred to as pedestrians) to notice approaching vehicles, especially in bright environments such as urban areas and well-lit intersections. For this reason, there has been a demand to make pedestrians and the like who pass around the vehicle aware of the approach of the vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a lamp unit and a vehicular lamp equipped with the lamp unit that can make pedestrians or the like traveling around the vehicle aware of the approach of the vehicle.

In order to solve the above problems, a lamp unit of the present disclosure is a lamp unit that is arranged in a vehicle lamp as a second lighting means, the vehicle lamp illuminating a predetermined first area around the vehicle. The lamp unit illuminates a second area including a range closer to the vehicle body than the first area with a predetermined projection pattern.

Further, a vehicle lamp according to the present disclosure is equipped with the above lamp unit.

According to the lamp unit and the vehicle lamp equipped with the lamp unit of the present disclosure, the vicinity of the vehicle body is illuminated with a predetermined projection pattern rather than the lighting range of the vehicle lamp by the lamp unit. It is possible to make nearby pedestrians or the like aware of the approach of the vehicle and call their attention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a usage state of a lamp unit showing an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a range of a first area that is an illumination range of a headlamp and a second area that is an illumination range of a lamp unit; It is a front view which shows arrangement|positioning of the lamp unit in a headlamp. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the headlamp taken along line AA in the case of using a rotary shade; FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the headlamp taken along the line AA in the case of using the surface shape; It is a schematic diagram at the time of using (a) MEMS and (b) rotating reflector which shows the structure of a headlamp. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing variations of projection patterns;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present disclosure is embodied in a vehicle headlamp will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The headlamp 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an HL (headlamp) unit 11 (see FIG. 3) as first lighting means for illuminating a predetermined first area A1 in front of the vehicle, and an HL (headlamp) unit 11 (see FIG. 3) near the vehicle body rather than the first area A1. A lamp unit 12 (see FIG. 3) is provided as a second illumination means for illuminating a second area A2 including the range of with a predetermined projection pattern 31 . An example of the predetermined projection pattern 31 is, for example, a striped projection pattern 31 composed of bright portions 32 and dark portions 33 . Hereinafter, the image projected onto the road surface by the HL unit 11 will be referred to as S1, and the image projected onto the road surface by the lamp unit 12 will be referred to as S2.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first area A1 is a normal illumination range in which the headlamp 1 illuminates with low beam or high beam. In addition, the second area A2 is included in the area A3 that is invisible to the driver 52 and is blocked by the vehicle body such as the bonnet and cannot be seen by the driver 52. indicates the area up to At this time, the first and second areas A1 and A2 include not only the road surface but also the air area. It should be noted that the "region A3 invisible to the driver 52" here does not include blind spots due to obstacles such as pillars.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lamp unit 12 is preferably arranged on the center side in the vehicle width direction of the headlamp 1 . By arranging them in this way, it is possible to easily form (synthesize) one projection pattern 31 using the left and right lamp units 12R and 12L. Although the lamp unit 12 is mounted on the headlight 1 in this embodiment, it is also possible to mount the lamp unit 12 on a taillight or fog lamp instead of the headlight 1 or together with the headlight 1. .

As shown in FIG. 4A, the headlamp 1 includes a lamp body 17 attached to the vehicle body and a translucent cover 16 made of a transparent resin material. A lamp chamber 18 is formed inside both the lamp body 17 and the translucent cover 16 .

The HL unit 11 and the road drawing lamp unit 12 are arranged in the lamp chamber 18 . The HL unit 11 includes a light source 111 such as an LED, a circuit board 112 on which the light source 111 is mounted, a reflector 113 that reflects the light L1 from the light source 111 toward a projection lens 114, and projects the reflected light L1 to the outside of the headlamp 1. It has a projection lens 114 that The lamp unit 12 also includes a light source 121 such as an LED, a circuit board 122 on which the light source 121 is mounted, a reflector 123 that reflects the light L2 from the light source 121 toward a projection lens 124, A projection lens 124 is provided for projecting onto the . The HL unit 11 and the lamp unit 12 are each tiltably supported by the lamp body 17 via an aiming mechanism (not shown). In the example of FIG. 4, the parabolic reflectors 113 and 123 and the projection lens 114 are employed to project the lights L1 and L2, but it is also possible to employ a projector.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the light source 111 of the HL unit 11 is used as the light source 121 of the lamp unit 12, and L1 as the reflected light L2 from the reflector 113 is directed toward the projection lens 124 to illuminate the second area A2. It is also possible to At this time, a part of the reflector 113 may be extended toward the front of the headlamp 1, and the light L2 may be reflected by the reflecting surface of the extension region 113a.

The lamp unit 12 has a configuration for forming a predetermined projection pattern 31 . For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a rotating shade 13 having a plurality of shielding walls 13a is placed on the optical path of light L2, the shielding walls 13a form a dark portion 33, and the light L2 passing through the gaps between the shielding walls 13a By forming the bright portion 32, a striped projection pattern 31 can be formed.

5 and 6 show modifications of the configuration for forming the projection pattern 31. FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, the reflecting surface of the extension region 113a of the reflector 113 has a predetermined surface shape 113b that forms a predetermined projection pattern 31. In the example of FIG. At this time, it is also possible to change the projection pattern 31 by changing the surface shape 113b. Also, in this example, the light L2 is projected onto the second area A2 using the projection lens 114 . Part of the light that has passed through the projection lens 114 is projected onto the first area A1 and the second area A2, and the light L2 is projected onto the second area A2.

In the example of FIG. 6( a ), MEMS 14 (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) formed by arranging LEDs in a plurality of rows is adopted as the light source 111 of the HL unit 11 , and some of the LEDs 14 a are used as the light source 121 of the lamp unit 12 . assigning. A striped projection pattern 31 can be formed by extinguishing the LEDs 14a every predetermined number to form a dark portion 33 .

In the example of FIG. 6B, the light L1 of the light source 111 of the HL unit 11 is reflected by the rotating reflector 153 to scan the front of the vehicle 51, and a part of the scanning light L1 is converted to the light L2 and projected onto the projection lens of the lamp unit 12. 124. By turning ON/OFF the light source 111 at a predetermined timing while the scanning light L2 is incident on the projection lens 124, the striped projection pattern 31 can be formed. In the example of FIG. 6 as well, the projection lens 114 can be used to project the light L2 onto the second area A2.

FIG. 7 shows a variation of the striped projection pattern 31. FIG. In the examples of FIGS. 7A and 7B, the left and right lamp units 12R and 12L form one projected pattern 31. FIG. On the other hand, in the examples of FIGS. 7(c) and 7(d), the left and right lamp units 12R and 12L each form the projection pattern 31 one by one.

In addition, in the examples of FIGS. 7A and 7C, a horizontally striped projected pattern 31a that is perpendicular to the traveling direction (advance) of the vehicle 51 is formed. On the other hand, in the examples of FIGS. 7B and 7D, a vertical striped projection pattern 31b is formed along the traveling direction of the vehicle 51. In FIG. In the examples of FIGS. 7A to 7D, the bright portion 32 and the dark portion 33 are provided with uniform thickness. Alternatively, the thicknesses d1 and d2 of the bright portion 32 and the dark portion 33 may be made thicker or thinner in some places to provide uneven thicknesses.

The projection pattern 31 can preferably be configured not only in a striped pattern, but also by light with unevenness and light and shade. Also, the projected pattern 31 may be colored white when the vehicle is going straight, amber when turning, and red when in an emergency. At this time, the projected pattern 31 formed in red may be blinked to attract the attention of the pedestrian 53 and the like. In addition, in the case of a self-driving car, the color of the projection pattern may be a blue-green lighting that indicates that the car is self-driving. It is also possible to illuminate the second area A2 with an illuminance higher than that of the first area A1, for example, with an illuminance of 1000 lux or more.

The projection pattern 31 may be always the same fixed pattern or may be a variable pattern. In addition, since the image S2 is projected in an area that cannot be visually recognized by the driver 52, there is no problem even if it is always projected or projected based on a predetermined condition.

As an example of projecting according to a predetermined condition, the headlamp 1 is provided with a control unit (not shown) that controls the turning on and off of the lamp unit 12, and the lamp unit 12 is turned on at the same time as the HL unit 11 is turned on. , the lamp unit 12 can be turned on by an operation by the driver 52 .

In addition, when the lamp unit 12 is mounted on the taillight or fog lamp together with the headlight 1, a traveling direction determination section for determining the traveling direction of the vehicle 51 is provided in the control section, and the lamp is determined based on the traveling direction of the vehicle 51. It is also possible to switch between lighting and extinguishing of the unit 12 . The travel direction determination unit can be configured to determine the travel direction of the vehicle 51 by, for example, a gear, a vehicle speed sensor, or the like. For example, when the traveling direction of the vehicle 51 is changed from forward to backward, the control unit can control the lamp unit 12 of the headlight 1 to be turned off and the lamp unit 12 of the taillight to be turned on.

Therefore, according to the headlamp 1 of this embodiment, the lamp unit 12 is used to illuminate the second area A2 which is out of sight of the driver 52 and visible from the pedestrians 53 and the like. Even when entering a bright intersection, pedestrians 53 and the like around the vehicle can clearly see the approach of the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately call attention to the pedestrian 53 or the like who moves unsteadily while being absorbed in the conversation or the like.

It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is also possible to change the shape and configuration of each part as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. For example, it is possible to suitably employ not only the projection pattern 31 to call attention, but also the projection of letters and images of hospitality.

1 headlight 11 HL unit 12 lamp unit 13 rotating shade (a: shielding wall)
14 MEMS (a: LED)
15 rotating reflector 16 translucent cover 17 lamp body 18 lamp chamber 31 projection pattern (a: horizontal stripes, b: vertical stripes)
32 Bright area 33 Dark area 51 Vehicle 52 Driver 53 Pedestrian 111 Light source 112 Circuit board 113 Reflector (a: extended area, b: surface shape)
114 Projection lens 121 Light source 122 Circuit board 123 Reflector 124 Projection lens d1 Thickness of bright area d2 Thickness of dark area A1 First area A2 Second area A3 Area not visible to driver S1 Image projected on road surface by HL unit S2 Image projected onto road surface by lamp unit

Claims (7)

A lamp unit arranged as a second lighting means in a vehicle lamp,
The vehicle lamp includes a first illumination means for illuminating a predetermined first area around the vehicle,
A lamp unit for a vehicle, wherein the lamp unit illuminates a second area including a range closer to the vehicle body than the first area with a predetermined projection pattern. The vehicle lamp unit according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle lamp is a headlamp. 3. The vehicle lamp unit according to claim 2, wherein the lamp unit is arranged on the center side in the vehicle width direction of the headlamp. 4. The vehicle lamp unit according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of lamp units arranged in the plurality of headlights project one projection pattern. said first lighting means comprises a light source;
The vehicle lamp unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the lamp unit illuminates the second area using light from the light source. The vehicle lamp unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the projection pattern includes a striped projection pattern in which dark portions and bright portions appear in stripes. A vehicle lamp equipped with the vehicle lamp unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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