JP2595611Y2 - Headlight lens - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a headlight for a vehicle, and more particularly to a means for preventing light from leaking from a leg provided on a lens of the headlight.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 shows an example of the structure of a conventional headlamp lens 90 of this type.
0 is a light source 11 reflected by the reflecting mirror 10 and converted into a parallel light beam.
The lens surface 91 is provided with a lens cut for giving appropriate light distribution characteristics to light from the lens, and a leg 92 provided for attaching the headlight lens 90 to the housing 12 is formed in a substantially box shape. In order to diffuse the direct light from the light source 11 or to avoid seeing through the headlamp, the leg 92 extends along the direction in which the headlamp lens 90 is removed during molding. Normally, the streak knurls 92a are provided on the inner surface side.

In recent years, a parabolic column or a free-form surface has been adopted as the reflector 10, and a reflector whose light distribution characteristics can be set by the reflector 10 itself may be employed. Is omitted from the lens surface 91, and the lens surface 91 may be almost transparent.

[0004]

However, in the conventional headlamp lens 90 described above, the headlamp employing the headlamp lens 90 is installed so as to be located above the bumper 20, for example. In such a case, the gap generated between the headlight and the bumper 20 is illuminated by the direct light from the light source 11 leaking from the streak knurl 92a, so that the inside of the vehicle body can be observed. As a result, there is a problem that the appearance is impaired, and it is troublesome to apply a coating for the purpose of shading to the portion of the leg portion 92, and in addition, when the lens surface 91 is almost transparent, the coating is directly performed. Another problem arises, such as impairing the aesthetics when viewed and not illuminated, and solving this problem has been an issue.

[0005]

According to the present invention, as a specific means for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems, there is provided a headlight lens provided with a leg for attachment to a housing. At least one outer surface of the headlight lens is characterized by being subjected to a recursive total reflection cut substantially orthogonal to the irradiation direction so as to totally reflect the direct light from the light source of the headlight. By providing this, light leakage from the legs is prevented and the problem is solved.

[0006]

Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. For easy understanding, the same parts as those in the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals and described. FIG.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a headlamp lens according to the present invention, and the headlamp lens 1 is formed in a substantially box shape by a lens surface 2 and a leg 3 in a conventional example. It is similar to that of

However, in the present invention, at least the side of the leg 3 where light leakage is not desired to occur, for example, the inner side of the lower side 3u is not provided with the striped knurl described in the conventional example. It is assumed that a recursive total reflection cut 4 is applied to the outer surface side, and the total reflection cut 4
Thus, the lower side 3u does not cause light leakage.

The total reflection cut 4 will be described in more detail below. The total reflection cut 4 is determined by the difference in refractive index between the member on which the headlight lens 1 is formed and the atmosphere at the boundary surface. It is formed by utilizing the total internal reflection that occurs, and therefore, it is necessary to provide the light from the light source 11 on the outer surface side of the leg portion 3 where the light is shifted from the high refractive index side to the low refractive index side. Becomes

Further, the total reflection cut 4 performs total internal reflection on the two reflection surfaces to return light substantially to the direction of the light source 11 as shown in FIG. Does not cause light leakage from the light source, and as a specific example, the cross section is formed in the shape of a right-angle prism having an apex angle of 90 °,
At the same time, as shown in FIG. 3, the cross section of the right-angle prism is perpendicular to the target irradiation direction Z of the headlamp lens 1. Therefore, if the side to be applied is the upper and lower sides in the state of mounting the headlight lens 1, the side is provided in a right and left direction, and if the left and right sides are provided, the side is provided in a straight line along the vertical direction.

With the above construction, the direct light from the light source 11 reaching the side of the headlamp lens 1 where the total reflection cut 4 is made, for example, the lower side 3u,
u enters the transparent member such as the resin on which the resin is formed, reaches the total reflection cut 4, and the total reflection cut 4 causes two total reflections, so that the total amount returns to the light source 11 direction. No light leakage from 3u will occur,
Even when a gap is formed between the bumper 20 and the like, the gap is not illuminated.
Is not seen through from the lens surface 2.

The appearance of the headlight lens 1 when the total reflection cut 4 is performed will be described below.
The total reflection cut 4 is a part of the member on which the headlight lens 1 is formed and is formed in the same body, so that a strong sense of unity is obtained. Even when the part on which the reflection cut 4 is applied is viewed, the viewer does not feel any discomfort, for example, when painting is performed to prevent light leakage. In addition, in forming the front-extinguishing lens 1, the front-extinguishing lens 1 can be formed at the same time as the molding of the front-extinguishing lens 1. By providing the total reflection cut 4, no additional process is required.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In the previous embodiment, the total reflection cut 4 was described as being provided in a straight line. When the width is extremely large, the light from the light source 11 is incident on the total reflection cut 4 at an oblique angle at the left and right ends, so that total reflection cannot be expected and light leakage occurs.

In order to solve this problem, in this embodiment, the total reflection cut 5 is formed in an arc shape centering on the light source 11. Thus, the total reflection cut 5 does not lose the total reflection characteristic at right and left ends of the headlamp lens 1 at right and left directions, so that light leakage from the leg 3 is more reliably prevented. Will do.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, at least one outer surface of the leg portion has regressive total reflection that is substantially orthogonal to the irradiation direction so as to totally reflect the direct light from the headlight light source. By using a headlight lens that has been cut, light leakage from the legs is prevented, and even when there is a gap with, for example, a bumper, this gap is illuminated and the inside of the vehicle body is illuminated. It is possible to prevent the bumper, which is visually observed or painted in the color of the vehicle body, from being seen through the front extinguishing lens to prevent the lens surface from being colored and see-through, thereby greatly improving the aesthetic appearance at the time of lighting. Is played.

In addition, the above-mentioned structure can be implemented without any additional members other than the member on which the headlight lens is formed and without any additional steps. Even at the time of lighting, without impairing the appearance,
Further, the present invention can be implemented without generating any additional cost, and the implementation is extremely easy without increasing the cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a headlight lens according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a main part of the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the present invention in a main part.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Headlight lens 2 ... Lens surface 3 ... Leg 3u ... Lower side 4, 5 ... Total reflection cut 10 ... Light source 20 ... Bumper

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F21M 3/02 F21M 3/12

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A headlight lens provided with a leg for attachment to a housing, wherein at least one outer surface of the leg is irradiated such that direct light from a light source of the headlight is totally reflected. A headlight lens that has a regression total reflection cut substantially perpendicular to a direction.