JP4533333B2 - Vehicle lighting - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp in which a plurality of lamps having different functions are incorporated in one lamp body, and more particularly to a vehicular lamp having a high light emission efficiency.

  A composite lamp for automobiles in which a plurality of lamps having different functions are incorporated in one lamp body has been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a composite lamp configured using a lamp body in which a turn signal lamp and a clearance lamp are integrally formed. Patent Document 2 proposes a composite lamp in which a tail lamp and a stop lamp are integrally incorporated in one lamp body. In a composite lamp in which a plurality of lamps having different functions are incorporated in one lamp body, the positional relationship for disposing the light source of each lamp with respect to the lamp body and the light emission direction from the light source Because of restrictions, it becomes difficult to emit light from each light source from the front of the lamp with high efficiency, and the light emission efficiency, which is the ratio of the brightness of the emission surface to the luminance of the light source, decreases, and other cars and walking It is difficult to improve the visibility when looking at the lamp from a person. In order to improve the light emission efficiency, a light guide is provided in the lamp chamber, and light emitted from a part of the light sources is emitted from the lamp through the light guide.

In Patent Document 1, a light guide that goes around to the side of the automobile is disposed in the lamp body of the clearance lamp, and part of the light emitted from the light source of the clearance lamp is guided to the light guide. By being configured to emit light from the front part of the body, light emission is performed not only in front of the car but also to the side when the clear lamp lamp emits light, and the area of the light emission surface is increased to increase the light emission efficiency. It has improved. In Patent Document 2, a light guide is provided in front of the tail lamp, light from the light source of the tail lamp is guided from a part of the side part of the light guide, and a light source of the stop lamp is supplied from the other part of the side part. The light from the light source is guided, and each light of these light sources is guided through the inside of the light guide and then emitted from the front surface. The light sources are guided by selectively or collectively emitting light. It enables illumination over the entire front surface of the light body, and functions as a tail lamp and a stop lamp that improve the irradiation efficiency by increasing the area of the light emitting surface.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-40405 JP 2000-251508 A

  In the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in a configuration in which light emitted from a light source is guided to a light guide and emitted from the front portion of the light guide, a flat portion having a large area of the light guide is used for lamp light. It is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the axis, guides the light of the light source with the side surface portion in the plate thickness direction of the light guide as the incident surface, and emits the guided light from the flat portion to form the output surface. It is the composition to do. As described above, this is intended to increase the light emission area of the lamp by emitting light from a large area of the light guide. For this reason, the area of the incident surface that the light guide guides becomes relatively small with respect to the exit surface, and the efficiency of guiding light from the light source incident on the light guide decreases. In addition, since the light guide direction inside the light guide and the emission direction from the light guide are directed in different directions, a part of the guided light is difficult to be emitted from the emission surface. It becomes difficult to improve the light emission efficiency from the surface. On the other hand, since the light guide is extended over a wide area on the front surface of the lamp in order to increase the area of the light exit surface of the light guide, the area of the illumination surface on the front surface of the lamp where the light guide does not exist is reduced. The area of the illumination surface of a lamp having another function that is incorporated in the same lamp body and does not have a light guide as a constituent element is reduced, and the light emission efficiency of the lamp is reduced. For this reason, when a composite type lamp is lit, it becomes difficult to clearly distinguish which of a plurality of lamps having different functions constituting the lamp is lit.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a lamp having different functions, in particular, a composite type lamp in which a lamp using a light guide and a lamp not using a light guide are incorporated in one lamp body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular lamp with improved efficiency and improved visibility of each lamp.

  The present invention includes a lamp body having a front cover as an irradiation surface, a first light source disposed in the lamp body, and a reflector that reflects light emitted from the first light source toward the lamp optical axis direction. And a flat part extending in parallel to the lamp optical axis, a part of the rear part is disposed on the front side of the first light source, and another part of the rear part is behind the reflector. And a second light source disposed opposite to the other part of the back surface of the light guide, and one of the light emitted from the first light source. The light emitted from the light source and the second light source is incident on the back surface of the light guide, and is emitted from the inner surface of the light guide through the front cover.

  According to the vehicular lamp of the present invention, since the light guide has a flat surface portion directed in the lamp optical axis direction, the light incident from the back surface as the incident surface of the light guide travels forward in the light guide. Since the light is emitted from the front surface portion as the light emission surface, almost all of the light incident on the light guide is emitted from the front surface portion, and the light emission efficiency is improved. In addition, since the area occupied by the front portion of the light guide with respect to the area of the front cover as the lamp illumination surface is only occupied by the front portion which is the plate thickness surface of the light guide, it is incorporated in the same lamp body. The illumination area of the lamp having another function can be relatively increased, and the light emission efficiency of the lamp is improved. Furthermore, since the light emission form of the lamp formed by the first light source and the lamp formed by the second light source is clearly different, it can be clearly distinguished which of the two lamps is lit, and both lamps are visually recognized. It is also possible to improve the sex.

  In the present invention, the first light source and the second light source preferably emit light at the same time or at different timings as light sources of a plurality of lamps having different functions. Further, it is preferable that the first light source and the second light source emit light of different colors. By doing so, the visibility of each lamp is further enhanced, and when each lamp is lit independently or simultaneously, the same lamp is lit in a different form, thereby enhancing the aesthetics of the lamp. it can. Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the front portion of the light guide is configured to be extended along the inner surface of the front cover and subjected to a roughening treatment. By doing so, the light guide and the front cover are integrated, and the light guide does not appear to be disposed in the lamp body. In particular, the light emitted from the light guide is not covered by the front cover. It is effective in improving the visibility while improving the appearance at the time of lighting.

  Next, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view in which a part of a first embodiment in which the present invention is configured as a composite lamp CL by integrating a turn signal lamp as a first lamp of a vehicle and a clearance lamp as a second lamp, 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3A and 3B are longitudinal sectional views taken along line BB and CC in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view thereof. In these figures, the lamp body 1 is formed in a flat rectangular tube that is long in the left and right directions and short in the vertical direction with respect to the lamp optical axis Ox. Has been. A back cover 2 is integrally fixed to the opening on the back side of the lamp body 1, but the back cover 2 may be formed integrally with the lamp body 1. In addition, a front cover 3 formed of a transparent resin and having a gently curved shape is attached to the opening on the front side of the lamp body 1 that is slightly inclined upward. A lamp chamber (lamp chamber) is formed inside the lamp body 1. Further, a reflector 4 and a light guide 5 are provided in the lamp body 1. The reflector 4 has a rotating paraboloid about the lamp optical axis Ox as an envelope surface, and a large number of minute convex curved surfaces 4a that are substantially hemispherical on the front surface along the envelope surface. The lamp body 1 is fixed to the lamp body 1 by fixing means such as adhesion or fitting. Like the inner surface of the lamp body 1, the front surface of the reflector 4 is plated with a multilayer structure such as copper or chromium mainly composed of aluminum vapor deposition or nickel so as to be a good light reflecting surface. In addition, a valve insertion hole 41 through which a later-described valve 6 can be inserted is opened at the left and right center position of the reflector 4, and a later-described left and right region of the light guide 5 is ramped at both left and right positions of the valve insertion hole 41. In order to penetrate in the direction of the optical axis Ox, left and right cutouts 42 having a horizontally long slit shape are formed.

  The light guide 5 is formed of a transparent plate made of a transparent resin that transmits light and has a predetermined thickness, and the flat portion 51 that is directed vertically is a height position of the lamp optical axis Ox, that is, the lamp body. 1 extends in the horizontal direction along the lamp optical axis Ox at a substantially central height position in the vertical direction. A front surface portion 52 that serves as a light emitting surface of the light guide 5 is close to the inner surface of the front cover 3, and along the inner surface so as to maintain a certain minute distance from the inner surface of the front cover 3. It is formed on a gently curved surface. On the other hand, the back surface portion 53 serving as a light incident surface of the light guide 5 has a center region 5C in the left-right direction bent in a concave shape toward the front surface, and the left and right regions of the back surface portion sandwiching the center region 5C in the left-right direction. 5L and 5R extend to the back of the reflector 4 through left and right cutouts 42 provided on the back surface of the reflector 4. The rear ends of the left and right regions 5L and 5R are disposed at positions close to the back cover 2, and minute recesses 54 having a planar arc shape are formed at the front ends of the respective regions. ing. Further, these left and right regions 5L and 5R are formed in a step shape in which a plurality of steps 55 are arranged in order to obtain a required reflection characteristic. In addition, it is preferable that the front surface portion 52 as the light emitting surface of the light guide 5 is roughened. In the first embodiment, the surface of the front surface portion 52 is subjected to a so-called embossing process in which fine irregularities are formed. ing.

  Bulb socket mounting holes 21 are opened at positions on the lamp optical axis Ox of the back cover 2, that is, at the center positions of the back cover 2 in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a bulb (incandescent bulb) 6 serving as a first light source is provided. The mounted valve socket 61 is detachable from the outside. The bulb 6 is mounted at a position where the light emission optical axis coincides with the lamp optical axis, and is configured as a light source of a turn signal lamp as a first functional lamp, and is configured to emit amber light when turned on. Has been. Further, at the same height as the bulb socket mounting hole 21, the left and right positions of the inner surface of the back cover 2 sandwiching the bulb socket mounting hole 21 from side to side, in other words, through the bulb 6 and the lamp optical axis Ox. LED unit 71 as a second light source having a discrete configuration LED (light emitting diode) 7 having a hemispherical light emitting portion mounted on a substrate at two left and right positions located on a vertical horizontal line. It is configured as a light source for a clearance lamp as a second functional lamp. Each LED 7 is configured to emit white light, and its light emission optical axis is directed in a direction parallel to the lamp optical axis Ox. These LEDs 7 are disposed close to the back surface portions 53 of the left and right regions 5L and 5R of the light guide 5 and are inserted into recessed portions 54 provided in the respective regions.

  As described above, in the composite lamp CL having the structure in which the turn signal lamp and the clearance lamp are incorporated in one lamp body 1, when both the bulb 6 as the first light source and the LED 7 as the second light source are not lit. Referring to FIG. 1, when the composite lamp CL is viewed from the front, the front portion 52 of the light guide 5 is observed through the transparent front cover 3, but the left and right LEDs 7 and the LED unit 71 are separated by the light guide 5. Since almost the whole is covered, it is not exposed to the outside. In addition, since the bulb 6 is mostly covered with the light guide 5 and includes the central portion, it is hardly exposed to the outside. In the first embodiment, the bulb 6 is configured by an amber-colored bulb. However, even in this case, the color of the bulb 6 is not observed from the outside. Therefore, the amber color of the bulb 6 is not confirmed through the light guide 5. Therefore, when the composite lamp CL is not lit, the transparent light guide 5 is only observed through the transparent front cover 3, and the front portion 52 of the light guide 5 is close to the front cover 3. Since both have an integrated appearance, the composite lamp CL is configured as a lamp having a high-quality appearance.

  On the other hand, when the bulb 6 as the first light source is blinked to blink the turn signal lamp at the time of turning right or left of the automobile, amber color light is emitted from the bulb 6 at the time of lighting. 5 (a) and 5 (b) are a front view schematically showing an illumination state at the time of lighting and a longitudinal sectional view showing a light emitting state, and this longitudinal sectional view is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 3 (a). Equivalent to. Most of the amber light emitted from the bulb 6 is reflected by the reflector 4 and passes through the front cover 3 to be emitted. At this time, since the envelope surface of the reflector 4 is a paraboloid, the amber light reflected by the reflector 4 is basically directed in a direction parallel to the lamp optical axis Ox. The light reflected by the convex curved surface 4a is directed in the direction diffused vertically and horizontally. Further, another part of the amber light emitted from the bulb 6 is guided into the light guide 5 from the back surface 53 of the central region 5C of the light guide 5 and travels linearly in the light guide. Alternatively, the light travels while being reflected from the inner surface and is emitted from the front surface portion 52. As a result, the front cover 3 is illuminated with substantially amber light over the entire surface and satisfies the light distribution characteristics required for the turn signal lamp. The bulb 6 is configured as a light source of a turn signal lamp. Since the bulb 6 is periodically blinked, the front cover 3 is illuminated by the blinking amber color light. Since the front surface portion 52 of the light guide 5 has been subjected to a graining process, the amber color light emitted from the front surface portion 52 is slightly diffused and is naturally integrated with the amber color light reflected by the reflector 4. When the cover 3 is viewed from the front side, the light guide 5 is not particularly noticeable, and illumination with uniform amber light is achieved. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, in order to make the brightness of the amber color light radiate | emitted from the light guide 5 and the amber color light reflected by the reflector 4 more uniform, for example, central region 5C of the light guide 5 A light-impermeable portion for suppressing amber color light emitted from the bulb 6 and incident on the light guide 5, for example, a minute step for diffusing light laterally, etc. Also good.

  On the other hand, when the LED 7 as the second light source emits light in order to turn on the clearance lamp at night, white light is emitted from the left and right LEDs 7. 6 (a) and 6 (b) are a front view schematically showing an illumination state at the time of lighting and a longitudinal sectional view showing a light emitting state, and this longitudinal sectional view is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 3 (b). Equivalent to. The emitted white light is guided to the inside of the light guide 5 from the recessed portion 54 provided in the back surface portion 53 of the left and right regions 5L and 5R of the light guide 5 in which the LED 7 is inserted. The guided white light is internally reflected at a predetermined angle by a plurality of steps 55 of the back surface portion 53, travels to the front surface portion 52, and is emitted from the front surface portion 52 as an emission surface. FIG. 6B shows only some of the light beams. Here, by appropriately designing the angle and size of each step 55 in consideration of the traveling direction of the light incident from the LED 7, the entire front surface portion 52 of the light guide 5 is distributed in a nearly uniform state. Can do. Further, since the front surface portion 52 of the light guide 5 is subjected to a textured process, the white light emitted from the front surface portion 52 is diffused, which is effective in improving the uniformity of brightness at the front surface portion 52. . In the embodiment, two LEDs 7 are arranged at a required interval in the left and right regions of the light guide 5, that is, in the length direction, and white light is guided from each of the LEDs 7 to the light guide 5. Even if the white light emitted from each LED 7 has a strong directivity, it is possible to make the brightness of the illumination on the front surface portion 52 of the light guide 5 uniform in the length direction. As a result, only the belt-like front part 52 directed in the lateral direction of the light guide 5 is illuminated through the front cover 3. At this time, the bulb 6 of the first light source is not lit, and the LED 7 is disposed behind the reflector 4, so that white light from the LED 7 is not reflected on the reflecting surface of the reflector 4. Therefore, the area other than the area where the light guide 5 of the front cover 3 extends is dark and does not affect the strip-like illumination state of the light guide 5 described above. Furthermore, since the front surface portion 52 of the light guide 5 is close along the inner surface of the front cover 3, the light emission from the front surface portion 52 has an appearance as if the front cover 3 itself is emitting light. The aesthetics of the composite lamp CL are improved.

  Further, for the composite lamp CL, when the turn signal lamp blinks while the clearance lamp is lit at night, the illumination state by the bulb 6 is added to the illumination state by the LED 7. That is, at the timing when the bulb 6 is not lit when the turn signal lamp blinks, only the LED 7 emits light as shown in FIG. 6, and only the front surface 52 of the light guide 5 is illuminated with white light. In this state, if the bulb 6 is turned on at this time, the blinking illumination by the amber color light emitted from the bulb 6 as shown in FIG. 5 is applied. Since most of the amber light emitted from the bulb 6 is reflected by the reflector 4, the upper and lower regions of the front surface portion 52 of the light guide 5 are illuminated in amber color in the front cover 3. At this time, a part of the amber color light emitted from the bulb 6 is also guided to the inside of the light guide body 5 from the back surface portion 53 of the light guide body 5 and is emitted from the front surface portion 52. The colored light is mixed with the white light guided from the LED 7 into the light guide 5. Therefore, in the front surface portion 52 of the light guide 5, the luminous intensity is increased more than the upper and lower regions by the addition of the amber color light and the white light, and the saturation of the amber color is lowered to become a color close to white. That is, the illumination state of the front cover 3 is an illumination state in which a band-like region close to white with high luminous intensity exists in the middle of the upper and lower amber-colored regions. Accordingly, such an illumination state and an illumination state in which only the LED 7 emits light appear alternately, and the illumination state of both is remarkably different, so that the turn signal lamp blinks while performing illumination with the clearance lamp. It becomes possible to improve the visibility when doing.

  Thus, in the composite lamp CL of the first embodiment, in a lighting state when the bulb 6 as the first light source is turned on to function as a turn signal lamp, almost the entire surface of the front cover 3 emits light in amber color. Thus, in the illumination state when the LED 7 as the second light source emits light and functions as a clearance lamp, the upper and lower central portions of the front cover 3 emit white light in a belt shape, and the illumination states of both are significantly different. Because it is a form, it is possible to clearly distinguish the lighting and extinguishing states of the two lamps even though they are one composite lamp, and when each lamp is lit and flashes due to the remarkable lighting condition of each lamp It becomes possible to enhance the aesthetics of the composite lamp.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the front surface portion 52 of the light guide 5 that is in an illuminated state when the LED 7 emits light is a band-shaped narrow width area region constituted by the surface of the light guide 5 in the plate thickness direction. Therefore, the area ratio of the exit surface from which the light guided to the back surface 53, which is the entrance surface of the light guide 5 when light is guided, does not become unnecessarily large. Since the emitted light is light in the direction along the lamp optical axis Ox as the light incident from the LED 7, it is easy to increase the brightness per unit area in the front surface portion 52 of the light guide 5. This is advantageous in improving the visibility of the clearance lamp. On the other hand, when compared with the total illumination area of the front cover 3 in this way, the area of the front surface portion 52 of the light guide 5 is small, so that the front surface illuminated by the light reflected by the reflector 4 when the bulb 6 is turned on. The illumination area on the cover 3 can be increased, which is effective for improving the visibility of the turn signal lamp. Therefore, the overall light emission efficiency of the composite lamp CL can be improved when the clearance lamp and the turn signal lamp are individually turned on and flashed, and when both are turned on at the same time, and further, the illumination required for the composite lamp CL. Even when trying to secure the area, the composite lamp CL can be downsized.

  Here, the number of bulbs 6 and LEDs 7 can be set to an appropriate number according to the length and thickness of the light guide, the brightness required at the front surface, and the like. Further, the shape of the front cover 3 and the shape of the light guide 5 are not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment, and can be configured in an arbitrary shape. In particular, the light guide is not limited to a band-like configuration in the horizontal direction (horizontal direction) as in the first embodiment, and in the case of a lamp having a front cover that is elongated in the vertical direction, the light guide is set in the vertical direction. You may comprise so that it may illuminate in the strip | belt-shaped area | region extended and faced up and down. Further, the number of light guides is not limited to one, and two or more plate-like light guides can be arranged in parallel or intersecting with each other. A plurality of light guides are arranged corresponding to the light guides. Further, the LED as the second light source in the embodiment is preferably configured such that the emitted light enters the inside from the back surface portion of the light guide and travels almost straight and is emitted from the front surface portion. The light emission direction does not necessarily have to be a direction parallel to the lamp optical axis as described in the embodiment. For example, the light emission direction of the LED is set so as to have a required angle in the left-right direction with respect to the lamp optical axis. It may be set. Further, the minute convex curved surface 4a of the reflector 4 may be constituted by, for example, a concave curved surface as long as it has a shape that diffuses light vertically and horizontally.

  The present invention can be applied not only to a composite lamp of a turn signal lamp and a clearance lamp but also to a lamp in which other lamps are combined. For example, it can be configured as a lamp in which a tail lamp and a stop lamp are combined.

1 is a front view of a lamp of Example 1. FIG. It is a cross-sectional view which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows the BB line of FIG. 1, and CC line. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a lamp according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is the front view and longitudinal cross-sectional view which show the emission state of the light at the time of lighting of a turn signal lamp. It is the front view and longitudinal cross-sectional view which show the emission state of the light at the time of lighting of a clearance lamp.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lamp body 2 Back cover 3 Front cover 4 Reflector 5 Light guide 51 Flat part 52 Front part (output surface)
53 Back side (incident surface)
54 Recessed part 55 Step 6 Valve 7 LED
Ox lamp optical axis

Claims (4)

  A lamp body having a front cover as an irradiation surface; a first light source disposed in the lamp body; a reflector for reflecting light emitted from the first light source toward a lamp optical axis; The flat surface portion is provided in the lamp body and extends in parallel with the optical axis of the lamp, a part of the back surface part is disposed on the front side of the first light source, and another part of the back surface part is disposed on the reflector. A plate-like light guide extended to the back, and a second light source disposed facing the other part of the back surface of the light guide, and emitted from the first light source. A part of the light and the light emitted from the second light source are respectively incident on the back surface of the light guide, and are emitted from the front surface of the light guide through the front cover. A vehicular lamp characterized by the above.   2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the first light source and the second light source emit light simultaneously or at different timings as light sources of a plurality of lamps having different functions.   The vehicular lamp according to claim 2, wherein the first light source and the second light source emit light of different colors. The vehicular lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a front portion of the light guide is extended along an inner surface of the front cover and is subjected to a roughening treatment.

Images