JP4345016B2 - Light emitting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a light emitting device using a light emitting diode or the like.

In recent years, some vehicle lamps have been proposed that use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) instead of light bulbs such as bulbs with caps and wedge base bulbs as light sources (see, for example, Patent Document 1). More specifically, the LED arrangement structure includes a metal substrate (bus bar) that forms a conductive path in the lamp body, a plurality of LEDs are arranged at predetermined positions, and each lead terminal is placed on the substrate. The structure is connected by laser welding.
JP 2000-222915 A

  By the way, although the arrangement of the LEDs may differ depending on the vehicle type, there is a problem that the conventional arrangement described above cannot easily deal with the rearrangement, for example, it is necessary to prepare a suitable bus bar each time the arrangement changes. It was.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a light-emitting device that can easily cope with a change in the arrangement of light-emitting elements and has excellent assembly workability. To do.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 comprises a resin socket, a pair of connection terminals attached to the socket, and a pair of lead terminals spanned between the connection terminals. A plurality of light emitting element units each having a light emitting element mounted on a base member on which a power supply wire is routed along a preset path, thereby emitting light to be supplied to each light emitting element. The connection terminal is provided with a wire connection portion having a pressure contact groove that can be contacted with the core wire by cutting into the coating of the wire, and an external connection portion for connection to an external circuit. It is characterized by including.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a heat radiating portion for the light emitting element is formed in the external connection portion of the connection terminal.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, when the light emitting element unit is attached to the base member, the heat radiating portion protrudes toward the back side of the base member. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, in the external connection portion, a slit is cut from a lower end edge of the heat sink, and the portion sandwiched between the slit and a side edge of the external connection portion Further, the terminal fitting connected to the external circuit can be fitted.

<Invention of Claim 1>
In the invention of claim 1, the light emitting element unit is configured by mounting the light emitting element together with the connection terminal in the socket. When this light emitting element unit is mounted on the base member, the electric wire arranged in the base member is pushed into the press contact groove, and is connected to the electric wire connecting portion.

According to invention of Claim 1, since it arrange | positions using an electric wire, it can respond easily also to the change of arrangement | positioning of a light emitting element. Moreover, since the light emitting element is unitized by being previously attached to the socket together with the connection terminal, it is excellent in handleability and workability to the base member. In addition to the connection to the light emitting element, the connection terminal includes those that integrate three functions such as connection to an electric wire, and connection to an external circuit with an external connection part. It can also contribute to the reduction of points.
<Invention of Claim 2>
According to the invention of claim 2, since the connection terminal also has a heat dissipation function in addition to the function of claim 1, further reduction in the number of parts can be expected.
<Invention of Claim 3>
According to invention of Claim 3, since a thermal radiation part protrudes in the back surface side of a base member, the heat | fever which generate | occur | produced in the light emitting element and was transmitted to the thermal radiation part can be effectively discharge | released to the external environment of a light-emitting device. it can.
<Invention of Claim 4>
According to the invention of claim 4, since the connection with the external circuit is directly connected to the terminal fitting without using the connector, the structure of the connection portion can be simplified. In addition, the width of the heat sink is not reduced in conformity with the terminal fitting on the external circuit side, but can be connected by providing a slit, so that a heat radiation area is secured and excellent heat dissipation is maintained.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the light emitting device of this embodiment, a light emitting diode (light emitting element, hereinafter referred to as LED1) is connected to a tail / stop lamp that also functions as a vehicle width lamp and is lit in conjunction with a brake operation, among light sources of a vehicle lamp, for example, a rear combination lamp. )) Is used as an example.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a base member formed of a synthetic resin material, and only a part thereof is shown in FIG. On the upper surface of the base member 2, mounting portions 3 for the respective LEDs 1 are formed at a plurality of locations. In the figure, the front side and the back side are arranged in rows, and the rows are arranged so that the corresponding mounting portions 3 are slightly shifted in the arrangement direction (see FIG. 3).

  Each mounting portion 3 is formed of an outer frame 4 and an inner frame 5 which are both formed in a square shape and are erected on the surface side of the base member 2. In the outer frame 4, a relief recess 6 is formed in a wall surface facing each other in the arrangement direction of the mounting portions 3 so as to avoid interference during the assembly operation of the light emitting element unit described later. In addition, two wire insertion grooves 7 are arranged on each wall surface of the outer frame 4 facing the direction orthogonal to the wall surface provided with the relief recess 6, and each is formed by cutting vertically from the upper end. On the other hand, the wire insertion grooves 7 are also formed in the inner frame 5 so as to correspond on the same line as the wire insertion grooves 7 on the outer frame 4 side. Further, a positioning recess 8 is provided over the entire height range at the center of the wall surface of the inner frame 5 where the wire insertion groove 7 is provided.

  In the base member 2, a slit-shaped through hole 11 passes through a portion between the inner frame 5 and the wall surface where the escape recess 6 of the outer frame 4 is provided. When the light emitting element unit U is assembled, the through hole 11 penetrates the connection plate 10 of the connection terminal 8 and protrudes to the back surface side (downward in the drawing) of the base member 2.

  The LED 1 is a form in which a light emitting portion 13 is provided to protrude from the upper surface of a block-shaped main body portion 12, and a pair of left and right plate-like lead terminals 14 protrude downward from the lower surface of the main body portion 12. The protruding end of is bent at a right angle toward the outside. Further, in order to determine which of the lead terminals 14 is the negative side or the positive side, as shown in FIG. 3, the corner portion corresponding to the negative side is chamfered in the main body portion 12 and a discrimination mark 15 is provided. Is formed.

  The connection terminal 16 is formed by bending a conductive metal plate into a predetermined shape by pressing, and is attached to the socket 17 while being connected to the LED 1. That is, the light emitting element units U <b> 1 and U <b> 2 for each LED 1 are attached to the base member 2.

  First, the socket 17 will be described. The socket 17 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material, and a support column 18 having a substantially H shape is disposed at the center. The support column 18 is fitted into the positioning recess 8 of the inner frame 5 in the mounting portion 3 and positioned in the width direction. Moreover, the support | pillar 18 is formed so that a pair of protrusion 19 may protrude upwards, and it is formed so that the main-body part 12 of LED1 can be clamped from the front-back direction. The sockets 17 are each provided with a projecting surface 20 for projecting the connection terminals 16 with the support column 18 as a boundary. The connecting portion 18A of the support column 18 is formed one step higher than the both mounting surfaces 20, and the space below the connecting portion 18A of the support column 18 is viewed from the insertion slit 21 vacated at the stepped portion. The insertion slit 21 allows the protruding piece 22 of the connection terminal 16 to be inserted into the press-fitting manner when the connection terminal 16 is set in the socket 17. Further, support pieces 23 are suspended downward at both ends in the width direction of both mounting surfaces 20, and are fitted between the inner frame 5 and the outer frame 4, and together with the above-described support column 18, the socket 17, and thus the light emitting element. The entire units U1 and U2 are supported in the mounting portion 3. A projecting portion 24 for welding to the connection terminal 16 is formed in the shape of a hook in the center of the outer surface of both support pieces 23.

  Two types of light emitting element units are set, one shown in FIG. 5 (input end unit U2) and one shown in FIG. 4 (output end unit U1 and intermediate unit U2). The difference between the two is that the connection terminal 10 (external connection part) with an external circuit that also serves as a heat sink in the connection terminal connected to the positive lead terminal of the LED 1 (the side that is diagonally upper right in FIGS. 4 and 5) It is the presence or absence.

  That is, each connection terminal 16 has a rectangular receiving surface 25 that is welded to the lead terminal 14 of the LED 1 and is mounted on the mounting surface 20 of the socket 17. The above-mentioned protruding piece 22 is formed to protrude horizontally at the center of one edge of the receiving surface 25. In addition, a wire connecting piece 26 (wire connecting portion) is bent downward from both sides of the receiving surface 25 adjacent to the side where the protruding piece 22 is provided. A pressure contact groove 27 is formed from the lower end edge of both the wire connection pieces 26. When the light emitting element units U1 and U2 are incorporated in the mounting portion 3, each pressure contact groove 27 faces the corresponding wire insertion groove 7 on the same line. It is formed like this. A sharp blade is formed at the opening edge of each pressure contact groove 27, and the wire W coating is cut in accordance with the operation of incorporating the light emitting element units U 1 and U 2 into the mounting portion 3, and can be brought into contact with the core wire of the wire W. ing. Further, the connection plate 10 is bent downward on the side of the receiving surface 25 opposite to where the protruding piece 22 is provided. However, regarding the connection terminal 16 connected to the positive lead terminal 14 of the LED 1, only the input terminal unit U2 is the same as the negative terminal, but is used in the output terminal unit U1 and the intermediate unit U2. The connecting plate 10 (negative electrode side) is left with only the upper structure (a through hole 28 and a press-fitting piece 29 described later), and the lower structure (the structure for connecting the heat radiating part and the external circuit) is cut off. Yes.

  When the connecting terminal 16 is set in the socket 17 with the projecting piece 22 inserted into the insertion slit 21, the receiving surface 25 is sandwiched between the electric wire connecting pieces 26 in close contact with each other, and the connecting plate 10 is in a state of being in close contact with both support pieces 23.

  The connection plate 10 has a circular through hole 28 passing through at a height position close to the receiving surface 25. When the connection terminal 16 is set in the socket 17, the through hole 28 is aligned with the convex portion 24 (having a larger diameter than the through hole 28), and a part of the convex portion 24 melted by means such as ultrasonic welding is provided. By forming the anchor through the through hole 28, the connection terminal 16 is prevented from being mechanically detached from the socket 17 together with welding. In addition, a pair of press-fitting pieces 29 are formed in a protruding manner on both side edges near the receiving surface 25 of the connection plate 10. As described above, the connecting plate 10 is inserted into the through hole 11 on the base member 2 side when the light emitting element units U1 and U2 are mounted on the mounting portion 3. The light emitting element units U <b> 1 and U <b> 2 are prevented from coming out of the base member 2 by biting into the opening edge of the through hole 11. Further, a slit 30 is formed in the lower end edge of the connection plate 10 along the height direction at a position slightly shifted from the center to one side. Thus, one side (left side in FIG. 1) of the connection terminal 16 across the slit 30 is a tab portion 32 connected to a faston type female terminal fitting 31 connected to an external circuit.

  By the way, the connecting plate 10 is set to have a length that projects downward from the base member 2. This is because when the LED 1 is energized, heat is generated exclusively on the negative electrode side, so that a heat dissipation effect can be expected by connecting the connecting plate 10 to the lead terminal 14 on the negative electrode side. On the other hand, among the connection terminals 16, those connected to the lead terminal 14 on the positive electrode side of the LED 1 do not have to consider heat dissipation, and only the mounting function with respect to the base member 2 and the socket 17 may be performed. A hole 28 and a press-fitting piece 29 are provided, and a portion below the hole 28 is cut off. For the output end unit U1 and each intermediate unit U1, all combinations of connection terminals 16 connected to both lead terminals 14 of the LED 1 are made common. That is, in this embodiment, all the light emitting element units except the input end unit U2 have a common structure. Only the input terminal unit has the same connection terminal 16 connected to the positive electrode side of the lead terminal 14 as that of the negative electrode side, and the tab portion 32 can be connected to an external circuit.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated concretely. First, the assembly procedure will be described. In the base member 2, two electric wires W are bridged between the mounting portions 3 corresponding to the front and rear (in FIG. 1, corresponding to the diagonally right side and the diagonally left side). At this time, each electric wire W is inserted deeply into the electric wire insertion groove 7 of the inner and outer frames.

  On the other hand, in order to form the light emitting element units U1 and U2, first, the receiving surface 25 of the connection terminal 16 is placed on the both placement surfaces 20 of the socket 17, and the through hole 28 is adapted to the convex portion 24 on the socket 17 side. Let me. In this state, the convex portion 24 is melted and protrudes outside from the through hole 28 by a welding method such as ultrasonic welding. As a result, the connection terminal 16 is welded to the socket 17 with mechanical retention. Next, both lead terminals 14 of the LED 1 are placed on the receiving surfaces 25 of the both connection terminals 16 so as to be welded. In this case, the lead terminal 14 corresponding to the negative electrode side of the LED 1 is connected to the connection terminal 16 on the side having the tab portion 32. As described above, the main body 12 of the LED 1 has the mark 15 indicating the negative electrode side. Since it is provided, there is no possibility that the positive and negative electrodes are mistaken. Thus, although the light emitting element units U1 and U2 are configured, the connection terminal 16 connected to the positive lead terminal 14 of the LED 1 is also provided with the tab portion 32 only for those used as the input end unit U2. Assembled.

  The light emitting element units U1 and U2 are mounted on the mounting portions 3 in which the electric wires W are previously routed. In this case, since the connecting plate 10 of each light emitting element unit U1, U2 is inserted into the through hole 11 of the mounting portion 3, the light emitting element units U1, U2 are positioned by the mounting guide of the connecting plate 10. Installation is done. Further, with the mounting of the light emitting element units U1 and U2, the pressure contact grooves 27 of the both wire connecting pieces 26 come into contact with the wire W core wire while cutting the wire W coating between the inner frame 5 and the outer frame 4. Thus, when the light emitting element knit is accommodated in the mounting portion 3 in a normal state, the press-fitting piece 29 of the connection plate 10 bites into the opening edge of the through hole 11, so that the light emitting element units U 1 and U 2 are removed into the mounting portion 3. Stopped.

  Thus, when each light emitting element unit U1, U2 is assembled on the base member 2, the female terminal fitting 31 connected to the external circuit is connected to each tab portion 32 of the output end unit and the input end unit.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the LEDs 1 are connected using the electric wires W, routing with a high degree of freedom is possible. Moreover, since each LED1 is made into the light emitting element unit U1 and U2 previously integrated with the socket 17 and the connection terminal 16 before assembling to the mounting part 3, it is excellent in handling property and assembling workability. Furthermore, since the output end unit U1 and the remaining intermediate unit U1 except for the input end unit U2 are all shared units, the types of components can be kept to a minimum. Further, since the connection terminal 16 has three functions such as a connection function with the LED 1, a heat dissipation function, and a connection function with an external circuit, it contributes to a reduction in the number of parts. Furthermore, since the connection plate 10 is directly connected to the external circuit side by the female terminal fitting 31 without using a connector, the structure of the connection portion can be simplified. Further, in order to enable connection of the female terminal fitting 31, the tab portion 32 is formed simply by cutting the slit 30 in the connection plate 10. As a result, the connecting plate 10 can have a uniform width up to the lower end, and thus the connecting plate 10 exhibits a heat dissipation function over the entire height range up to the lower end, so that excellent heat dissipation is ensured. Is obtained.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.

  (1) In this embodiment, the connection terminal 16 is welded to the socket 17, but other fixing means may be used. For example, you may make it fix using a separate clip.

  (2) In the present embodiment, the connection plate 10 also has a heat dissipation function. However, a member dedicated to heat dissipation may be used separately from the connection terminal 16 for the heat dissipation function.

The perspective view which shows the state which attaches a light emitting element unit to a base member. A perspective view showing a connection state with an external circuit Top view of light emitting device Disassembled perspective view of light emitting element unit constituting output / intermediate unit An exploded perspective view of the light emitting element unit constituting the input end unit Sectional drawing which shows mounting state of light emitting element unit Side view of light emitting device

Explanation of symbols

1 ... LED (light emitting element)
16 ... Connection terminal 17 ... Socket 26 ... Wire connection piece (wire connection part)
30 ... Slit 32 ... Tab (external connection)
U1, U2 ... Light emitting element unit

Claims (4)

A plurality of light emitting element units each including a resin socket, a pair of connection terminals mounted on the socket, and a light emitting element including a pair of lead terminals bridged between the connection terminals are set in advance. A light-emitting device in which power is supplied to each of the light-emitting elements by being attached to a base member in which a power supply wire is routed along a path,
The connection terminal is configured to include a wire connection portion having a pressure contact groove that can be cut into the sheath of the wire and brought into contact with the core wire, and an external connection portion for connection to an external circuit. A light emitting device characterized by comprising: The light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a heat radiating portion for the light emitting element is formed in an external connection portion of the connection terminal. The light emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the heat radiating portion protrudes toward a back surface side of the base member when the light emitting element unit is attached to the base member. The external connection portion has a slit cut from the lower edge of the heat sink, and a terminal fitting connected to the external circuit can be fitted into a portion sandwiched between the slit and the side edge of the external connection portion. The light emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the light emitting device is provided.

Images