JP2024067225A - Vehicle lighting fixtures - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a vehicle lamp having multiple types of light sources while preventing melting damage and suppressing increases in costs. [Solution] A vehicle lamp 1 is a vehicle lamp having an outer lens, a headlamp, a first optical component group having at least one of a LiDAR and an infrared sensor, and a second optical component group having at least one of a DRL, a TSL, and a road surface drawing device, the outer lens having a first region where a photochromic layer is provided and a second region where a photochromic layer is not provided, the first optical component group is disposed in a position overlapping with the first region in a front view of the vehicle lamp, and the second optical component group is disposed in a position overlapping with the second region in a front view of the vehicle lamp. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

This disclosure relates to vehicle lighting.

Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle lamp having a light source that is turned on during the day, such as a DRL (Daytime Running Lamp).

JP 2015-133170 A

However, when sunlight enters the interior of a vehicle lamp, the sunlight is concentrated on the components inside the lamp chamber, which can cause them to melt.

Therefore, the present disclosure aims to provide a vehicle lamp having multiple types of optical components that are less susceptible to melting damage.

A vehicle lamp according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes:
The outer lens and
A first optical component group including at least one of a headlamp, a LiDAR, and an infrared sensor;
a second optical component group including at least one of a DRL, a turn signal lamp, and a road marking device;
the outer lens has a first region in which a photochromic layer is provided and a second region in which a photochromic layer is not provided,
the first optical component group is disposed at a position overlapping the first region in a front view of the vehicle lamp,
The second optical component group is disposed at a position overlapping with the second region in a front view of the vehicle lamp.

As a result of the above, it is possible to provide a vehicle lamp having multiple types of light sources while preventing melting damage and suppressing increases in costs.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the first region taken along line AA' in FIG. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between wavelength and irradiance of an LED light source used in a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a front view of the vehicle lamp according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure]
Specific examples of vehicle lamps according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

Note that U, D, F, B, R, and L shown in FIG. 1 indicate directions in the vehicle lamp 1, where U is up, D is down, F is forward, B is backward, R is right, and L is left.

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a vehicle lamp 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In this embodiment, the lamp is a vehicle lamp 1 mounted on a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle lamp 1 has an outer lens 2, a housing 3, a first optical component group 12, a second optical component group 22, and an extension 30. The outer lens 2 and the housing 3 form a lamp chamber 4. The lamp chamber 4 is divided into a first lamp chamber 5 and a second lamp chamber 6 by the extension 30. The first optical component group 12 is provided inside the first lamp chamber 5, and the second optical component group 22 is provided inside the second lamp chamber 6.

The first optical component group 12 has at least one of a headlamp 13, a LiDAR 14 (Light Detection and Ranging), and an infrared sensor. The first optical component group 12 is a group to which optical components that are not used during the day or that do not emit or detect visible light belong. Note that the term "optical components" is a concept that includes light-emitting components that emit light including visible light, infrared light, and ultraviolet light, and various sensor components that detect light including visible light, infrared light, and ultraviolet light. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the first optical component group 12 has a headlamp 13 and a LiDAR 14.

The illustrated headlamp 13 has an inner lens 13a, a reflector 13b, a light source 13c that emits visible light, and a bracket 13d. The headlamp 13 is configured to reflect light emitted from the light source 13c by the reflector 13b and irradiate it to the outside of the vehicle lamp 1 through the inner lens 13a. The headlamp 13 is fixed to the housing 3 by a bracket 13d. The headlamp 13 is configured to be able to irradiate both a low beam light distribution pattern and a high beam light distribution pattern. Note that multiple headlamps 13 may be provided, and the low beam light distribution pattern and the high beam light distribution pattern may be irradiated by multiple separate headlamps.

The LiDAR 14 can obtain distance information to an object based on the time from when infrared light is emitted to when the returning infrared light reflected by the object is detected. In addition, by changing the direction of infrared light emission and accumulating the direction in which the returning infrared light is obtained in association with distance information, information related to the shape of the object can be obtained. In other words, the LiDAR sensor 16 is a device that uses infrared light to obtain information about an area that includes at least the area in front of the vehicle.

The second optical component group 22 has at least one of a DRL, a turn signal lamp, and a road surface drawing device. The second optical component group 22 is a group to which optical components used during the day and at night belong. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the second optical component group 22 has a DRL 23. A road surface drawing device is a device that is used during the day and at night to project an image onto the road surface around the vehicle and communicate with other traffic vehicles in the vicinity.

The illustrated DRL 23 is a lamp that is turned on during the day and at night to allow drivers of other vehicles and pedestrians to more clearly see the presence of the vehicle. The DRL has an inner lens 23a, a reflector 23b, a light source 23c that emits visible light, and a bracket 23d. The DRL 23 is configured so that light emitted from the light source 23c can be reflected by the reflector 23b and irradiated to the outside of the vehicle lamp 1 through the inner lens 23a.

The outer lens 2 has a first region 11 and a second region 21. In the illustrated example, when the outer lens 2 is divided into three parts in the vertical direction in a front view of the vehicle lamp 1, the first region 11 is provided in the upper and middle regions, and the second region 21 is provided in the lower region.
The outer lens 2 may be formed by two-color molding. As shown in Fig. 2, the first region 11 is composed of a hard coat layer 11a, a photochromic layer 11b, and a transparent member 11c made of PC, PMMA, or the like. The transparent member 11c, the photochromic layer 11b, and the hard coat layer 11a are layered in this order from the lamp chamber toward the outside.
The photochromic layer 11b is normally a transparent layer, but when exposed to light of a specific wavelength contained in sunlight, it develops a color and is unable to transmit visible light. In this embodiment, the photochromic layer 11b has a photochromic compound that develops a color in response to light of a specific wavelength. For example, a compound such as that described in U.S. Patent No. 7,166,357 is used as the photochromic compound. In this embodiment, the photochromic layer 11b is transparent at night and transmits visible light, and develops a color during the day and does not transmit visible light.
The second region 21 is composed of a hard coat layer and a transparent material layer made of PC, PMMA, etc. The second region 21 does not develop color even when exposed to sunlight.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the wavelength and irradiance of the LED used in the light source 13c of the headlamp 13 and the light source 23c of the DRL 23 in this disclosure. The photochromic compound in this embodiment desirably develops color in response to ultraviolet light, and more desirably develops color in response to light with a wavelength of 380 to 410 nm, which corresponds to the region indicated by the dashed line in Figure 4. It is also desirable that the photochromic compound does not develop color in response to light emitted from the first optical component group 12. It is also desirable that the photochromic compound blocks visible light with a wavelength of 420 to 830 nm when developing color.

Next, an embodiment of the headlamp 13 according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a front view of the vehicle lamp according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. In the vehicle lamp 1 shown in Fig. 4, the first region 11 is a portion of range A, and the second region 21 is a portion of range B.
In the example shown in FIG. 4, an infrared sensor 15 is provided in the first lamp chamber 5, and a turn signal lamp is provided in the second lamp chamber 6.

In this embodiment, the first region 11 has a photochromic layer 11b, and therefore develops a color when exposed to ultraviolet light contained in sunlight during the daytime, for example. The color developed is determined by the compound contained in the photochromic layer 11b. For example, it is desirable for the color developed to match the color of the vehicle body.
4, the first optical component group 12 is disposed at a position overlapping with the first region 11 in a front view of the vehicle lamp 1. The second optical component group 22 is disposed at a position overlapping with the second region 21 in a front view of the vehicle lamp 1.
When the first region 11 develops color, the first optical component group 12 arranged at a position overlapping the first region 11 cannot be seen from outside the vehicle lamp 1. Therefore, even if the headlamp 13 is turned on in a state in which the first region 11 develops color, the light emitted from the headlamp 13 cannot be seen from outside the vehicle lamp 1.

As mentioned above, the photochromic layer 11b is a layer that develops a color when exposed to light of a specific wavelength, making it impossible for visible light to pass through. Therefore, infrared light (infrared rays), which has a longer wavelength than visible light, and ultraviolet light (ultraviolet rays), which has a shorter wavelength than visible light, can pass through. In other words, even if an infrared sensor that uses infrared rays or a LiDAR that uses infrared rays, etc., is positioned in a position that overlaps with the first region 11, there will be no problems in use due to the coloring of the first region 11.

On the other hand, in the first region 11, when it is not exposed to ultraviolet light, for example at night, the photochromic layer 11b does not develop color. When the first region 11 does not develop color, the photochromic layer 11b is normally a transparent layer as described above, and therefore is capable of transmitting visible light when it is not exposed to ultraviolet light, for example at night. Therefore, the headlamp 13, which is positioned so as to overlap the first region 11, can emit light outside the vehicle lamp 1 at night.

Since the second region 21 does not have a photochromic layer 11b, the second region 21 will not discolor even if it is exposed to light such as ultraviolet light during the day. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a second optical component group 22 is disposed at a position overlapping with the second region 21. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a DRL 23 and a TSL 24 are provided as the second optical component group 22. The DRL 23 and the TSL 24 emit visible light and are optical components that are used even during the day. Therefore, a photochromic layer is not provided in the second region 21.

However, conventionally, the outer lenses of vehicle lamps are made of transparent materials, so there is a risk that sunlight will be concentrated on the components inside the lamp chamber, causing them to melt.

The above issues have been resolved by using a photochromic layer. However, providing a photochromic layer on the entire surface of the outer lens requires a large amount of photochromic compound, which increases costs.

In addition, in recent vehicle lamps, there is a demand to place multiple light sources with different functions, such as a DRL and a headlight, inside the vehicle lamp. In this case, if the entire surface of the outer lens is made of a photochromic layer as mentioned above, it would block the light emitted from the DRL, making it impossible to realize such a lamp.

Therefore, the inventors considered dividing the optical components arranged in the vehicle lamp 1 into a first optical component group 12 whose use is hindered by the coloring due to the photochromic layer 11b and a second optical component group 22 whose use is not hindered by the coloring due to the photochromic layer 11b. Specifically, the inventors considered arranging the second optical component group 22 whose use is not hindered by the coloring due to the photochromic layer 11b in a position overlapping with the outer lens 2 having the photochromic layer 11b, and arranging the first optical component group 12 whose use is hindered by the coloring due to the photochromic layer 11b in a position overlapping with the outer lens not having a photochromic layer.
This allows all of the optical components arranged in the lamp chamber 4 to be used without any problems, while protecting the first optical component group 12 from ultraviolet rays during the day. In addition, since the photochromic layer 11b is partially provided, it is possible to suppress an increase in costs. This provides a vehicle lamp 1 having multiple types of optical components that prevents melting damage and suppresses an increase in costs.
Furthermore, when the vehicle lamp 1 is viewed in the daytime, the outer lens 2 has a mixture of colored and transparent parts, giving a novel impression.

In the above-described embodiment, the first region 11 may be configured to have a larger area than the second region 21. This makes it possible to provide a novel exterior design not found in conventional vehicle lamps 1 while suppressing melting damage caused by sunlight.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the second region 21 may be located below the first region 11 when the vehicle lamp 1 is attached to the vehicle. This allows fewer parts to be exposed to sunlight even if sunlight enters through the second region 21. This prevents melting of the internal parts of the vehicle lamp 1. In addition, if the outer lens 2 is shaped to slope backward from the bottom to the top, sunlight is less likely to enter the vehicle lamp 1.

In the above-described embodiment, at least a part of the outer periphery of the second region 21 may overlap at least a part of the outer periphery of the vehicle lamp 1. As a result, the second region 21 is located at the end of the vehicle lamp 1. By having the second region 21 located at the end of the vehicle lamp 1, even if sunlight enters through the second region 21, fewer components are exposed to the sunlight.
Furthermore, at least a part of the outer periphery of the first region 11 may overlap at least a part of the outer periphery of the vehicle lamp 1. This makes it possible to prevent melting damage due to sunlight and to provide a vehicle lamp 1 with a high design quality.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described so far, the aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the first optical component group 12 and the second optical component group 22 may be stored in separate vehicle lamps 1A and 1B. In addition, in the above description, a vehicle lamp 1 in which the first lamp chamber 5 and the second lamp chamber 6 are separated by an extension 30 has been described, but the vehicle lamp does not have to have an extension that separates the first lamp chamber 5 and the second lamp chamber 6.

Although the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited by the description of the present embodiment. The present embodiment is merely an example, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications of the embodiment are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims. The technical scope of the present disclosure should be determined based on the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

Reference Signs List 1 Vehicle lamp 1A Vehicle lamp 1B Vehicle lamp 2 Outer lens 3 Housing 4 Lamp chamber 5 First lamp chamber 6 Second lamp chamber 11 First region 11a Hard coat layer 11b Photochromic layer 11c Transparent member 12 First optical component group 13 Headlamp 13a Inner lens 13b Reflector 13c Light source 13d Bracket 14 LiDAR
15 Infrared sensor 21 Second region 22 Second optical component group 23a Inner lens 23b Reflector 23c Light source 23d Bracket 30 Extension

Claims (6)

An outer lens,
A first optical component group including at least one of a headlamp, a LiDAR, and an infrared sensor;
A second optical component group having at least one of a DRL, a turn signal lamp, and a road surface drawing device,
the outer lens has a first region in which a photochromic layer is provided and a second region in which a photochromic layer is not provided,
the first optical component group is disposed at a position overlapping the first region in a front view of the vehicle lamp,
the second optical component group is disposed at a position overlapping the second region in a front view of the vehicle lamp;
Vehicle lighting fixtures. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the first region is larger in area than the second region. a housing that constitutes a lamp chamber together with the outer lens;
3. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the lamp chamber is divided by an extension into a first lamp chamber in which the first optical component group is arranged and a second lamp chamber in which the second optical component group is arranged. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first region has a photochromic compound that changes color when exposed to ultraviolet light. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second region is located below the first region when the vehicle lamp is attached to the vehicle. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 , wherein at least a part of an outer periphery of the second region overlaps with at least a part of an outer periphery of the vehicular lamp.

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