JP3927891B2 - Vehicle lighting - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Technical field to which the invention belongs]
The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp such as a stop lamp, and more particularly, to a configuration of a vehicular lamp that employs an LED lamp as a light source instead of an incandescent lamp that has been conventionally used.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a vehicular lamp using a conventional LED lamp as a light source, when a large amount of light cannot be obtained per LED lamp, a large number of LED lamps are arranged on a substrate in a matrix to form a pseudo surface light source Thus, a vehicular lamp was constructed.
[0003]
Even if one LED lamp is used, a considerable amount of light can be obtained. If one LED lamp is intended to form a vehicular lamp by obtaining a relatively wide light emitting area, In front of the LED lamp installed with the optical axis substantially coincident with the irradiation direction, a first reflecting surface that converts the traveling direction of light by approximately 90 ° is provided, and in addition, in the direction of reflected light from the first reflecting surface, A configuration is adopted in which a light emitting area is increased by providing a second reflecting surface that again converts the traveling direction of light into the irradiation direction of the vehicular lamp. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-216817 A (paragraphs “0006” to “0017”, FIGS. 1 to 3)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional configuration, for example, when trying to obtain a light-emitting surface having a rectangular shape, depending on the position of the second reflection surface, as shown in FIG. Therefore, a relay reflecting surface for correcting the direction of the reflected light has to be provided in the middle, which causes a problem that the configuration of the vehicular lamp is complicated.
[0006]
In recent years, it is possible to produce LED lamps with a large amount of light per unit. However, with only one light source as in the conventional configuration described above, for example, compared to a display such as a stop lamp. For applications that require brightness, there are many cases where the amount of light is insufficient, and the degree of freedom of the shape of the vehicle lamp and the degree of freedom of setting the light distribution characteristics are also limited. There are also problems that are inferior in versatility.
[0007]
In order to solve the above problems, for example, a plurality of LED lamps with high power consumption may be employed as the light source. However, each LED lamp has a radiation fin for radiating heat generated during lighting. In this case, in order to effectively operate all the radiating fins, there is a high possibility that the shape of the vehicular lamp is complicated, which is difficult to realize.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a vehicular lamp that employs a plurality of LED lamps as light sources as specific means for solving the above-described conventional problems. The LED lamp includes an irradiation direction and an optical axis of the vehicular lamp. And a lateral light source unit that is installed with the illumination direction of the vehicular lamp and the optical axis being substantially orthogonal to each other, provided in the forward light source unit. A first lens unit that forms an appropriate light distribution characteristic by light from the forward light source unit is provided, and the lateral light source unit reflects light from the lateral light source unit in the irradiation direction of the vehicular lamp. And a second lens portion that forms an appropriate light distribution characteristic by the light from the reflecting surface, and the forward light source portion and the lateral light source portion are near the center of the back surface of the vehicular lamp. Electrical and mechanical connections are made to the fins provided on the It is solves the problem by providing a vehicular lamp according to claim.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Below, this invention is demonstrated in detail based on embodiment shown in a figure. 1 to 3 show a vehicular lamp 1 according to the present invention. The vehicular lamp 1 employs an LED lamp 2 as a light source in the same manner as in the conventional example. The LED lamp 2 may be a light emitting color that matches the purpose of use of the vehicular lamp 1, such as a red light emitting light, an amber light emitting light, or a white light emitting light. In this case, it becomes easy to freely set the emission color using a lens or the like.
[0010]
Here, in the present invention, the LED lamp 2 is provided with the forward light source unit 21 installed with the optical axis X substantially parallel to the irradiation direction Z of the vehicular lamp 1, and the optical axis Y with the irradiation direction Z. The lateral light source unit 22 is installed approximately perpendicularly to the light source unit 22. In this embodiment, the forward light source unit 21 has the LED lamp 2 that makes the optical axis X coincide with the irradiation direction Z. The horizontal light source unit 22 is an example of five LED lamps 2 that make the optical axis Y orthogonal to the irradiation direction Z. However, the present invention is directed to the forward light source unit 21, the horizontal light source unit 22, The number of each is not limited.
[0011]
With the above configuration, the LED lamp 2 that is the forward light source unit 21 emits light toward the irradiation direction Z at a projection angle α set to the LED lamp 2, for example, 60 °. The lateral light source unit 22 emits light having a similar projection angle α in a direction perpendicular to the irradiation direction Z. In this embodiment, the five lateral light source sections 22 are set to be radially spaced at the center in the irradiation direction Z, that is, 360 ° is divided into five equal portions of 72 °.
[0012]
For example, the first lens unit 4 having the front light source unit 21 as a substantially focal position is appropriately distanced from the front light source unit 21 by the lens holder 3 with respect to the front light source unit 21. The light from the forward light source unit 21 is projected in the irradiation direction Z as a substantially parallel light beam. In addition, each of the lateral light source sections 22 has, for example, a rotating paraboloid having an axis W passing through the lateral light source section 22 and parallel to the irradiation direction Z, and having the lateral light source section 22 as a focal point. The reflecting surface 5 is provided.
[0013]
By doing so, the traveling direction of the light is converted by the reflecting surface 5 so that the light emitted from the lateral light source unit 22 becomes a parallel light beam traveling substantially parallel to the irradiation direction Z. Further, a second lens portion 6 having an appropriate convex lens shape or the like is provided in front of the irradiation direction Z. For example, the vehicular lamp 1 is adapted to the intended use such as for a stop lamp and a tail lamp. The light distribution characteristic is formed in total with the light from the first lens unit 4.
[0014]
As described above, when the vehicular lamp 1 is viewed from the irradiation direction side that is the front, as shown in the front view of FIG. The shape is determined by the lens portion 4 and the second lens portion 6 located in the shape of a petal at the periphery of the first lens portion 4, and a novel appearance as this type of vehicle lamp 1 Is obtained. If the horizontal light source portion 22 is provided so as to divide the entire circumference into 60 ° at 60 °, the second lens portion 6 has a six-petal petal shape as shown in FIG. 4 as another embodiment. In this way, the design of the vehicular lamp 1 can be freely changed.
[0015]
Here, what is indicated by reference numeral 7 in FIG. 3 is a fin portion, and this fin portion 7 is formed in a pentagonal column shape when the lateral light source portion 22 is provided with the circumference divided into five equal parts, for example. The LED lamps 2 used as the forward light source unit 21 and the horizontal light source unit 22 are formed in an appropriate shape to come into close contact with each other.
[0016]
The fin portion 7 is provided for the purpose of heat dissipation of the LED lamp 2. In recent years, it is possible to form the LED lamp 2 that emits high-luminance light that can withstand power consumption of about 1 watt. As a result, heat generation during lighting increases, and unlike the case of using an incandescent lamp, a heat dissipating means is required for the LED lamp 2.
[0017]
Accordingly, the fin portion 7 is formed of a member having excellent thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, and has a wide contact area with the atmosphere, and all the LED lamps 2 that are in close contact with the fin portion 7 are in contact with each other. The heat generated is efficiently dissipated into the atmosphere, and the LED lamp 2 is prevented from excessively rising in temperature due to lighting and being damaged.
[0018]
Further, since the fin portion 7 is in close contact with all the LED lamps 2 used in the vehicular lamp 1 as described above, it is relatively easy to make electrical connection using this. Therefore, it is preferable that the fin portion 7 also serves as a power feeding portion for the LED lamp 2.
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
With the above configuration, in the vehicular lamp 1 according to the present invention, for example, the number of LED lamps 2 constituting the lateral light source unit 22 is set with a high degree of freedom. Increases the degree of freedom in setting the brightness of the hour. Therefore, the vehicular lamp 1 can be used for a lamp that is lit continuously for a long time with a relatively low brightness, such as a tail lamp, and can be compared with a stop lamp, a turn signal lamp, or the like. In particular, it is possible to cope with a lamp that is lit for a relatively short time with high brightness, and an excellent effect of improving the versatility of this type of lamp is achieved.
[0020]
Moreover, in this invention, since it was set as the novel structure which provides the front light source part 21 and the horizontal light source part 22 in the vehicle lamp 1, the design as the vehicle lamp 1 can also form a completely new shape, and vehicle As a product that can provide a new appearance, it also has an excellent effect on improving the merchantability. In addition, all the LED lamps can be brought into close contact with the fin portion by the above configuration, and an effective heat dissipating means is provided for recent vehicle lamps using a plurality of high power consumption LED lamps as light sources. It is possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vehicular lamp according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the same embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing another embodiment of the vehicular lamp according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle lamp 2 ... LED lamp 21 ...... Forward light source part 22 ... Lateral light source part 3 ... Lens holder 4 ... First lens part 5 ... Reflective surface 6 ... Second lens part 7 …… Fin part

Claims (1)

A vehicular lamp that employs a plurality of LED lamps as a light source. The LED lamp includes a forward light source unit that is installed such that an irradiation direction and an optical axis of the vehicular lamp substantially coincide with each other, and the vehicular lamp. And a lateral light source unit that is installed with the optical axis substantially orthogonal to each other, and a first light distribution characteristic is formed in the forward light source unit by light from the forward light source unit. A lens portion is provided, and the lateral light source portion has a reflecting surface for reflecting light from the lateral light source portion in the irradiation direction of the vehicular lamp and a second light distribution characteristic formed by the light from the reflecting surface. A lens portion, and the forward light source portion and the lateral light source portion are electrically and mechanically connected to a fin portion provided in the vicinity of the center of the rear surface of the vehicular lamp. A vehicular lamp characterized by the above.

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