JP5088261B2 - Vehicle lighting - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp used for a headlamp of an automobile, a fog lamp, a rear combination lamp, and the like.

  Conventionally, as a headlight for an automobile, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a light distribution pattern that can be switched between a left traveling light distribution pattern and a right traveling light distribution pattern with one lamp can be switched. It has been known.

This is configured by storing three light source units having different light distribution patterns in one lamp housing, and one of the three light source units is used depending on the vehicle type having different specifications for left-side traveling and right-side traveling. The function of one light source unit is stopped.
JP 2007-35637 A

  In the conventional structure, when the light distribution pattern is switched to the left traveling or the right traveling, one of the three light source units is not used at all, so that an expensive light source unit is wasted and costly. It is undeniable that it will be disadvantageous.

  In addition, since a plurality of light source units are required, the lamp becomes large and restricts the assembly layout to the vehicle body.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicular lamp that can switch the light distribution pattern arbitrarily for left-side traveling and right-side traveling with a single light source unit and that can be miniaturized.

In the vehicular lamp according to the present invention, the light emitted from the light source is irradiated in front of the lamp , the horizontal cut line extending in the substantially horizontal direction on one side of the upper edge, and the horizontal cut line on the other side of the upper edge. A light source unit that forms a passing light distribution pattern having an inclined cut line that rises obliquely upward and has a cut line that is configured to be rotatable about its optical axis or an axis substantially parallel to the optical axis. The light source unit is configured to be switchable, and the light source unit has a back portion on the side of the lamp housing via a support shaft on a substantially central extension of a shade forming a cut line in the light distribution pattern. The optical axis adjusting mechanism is pivotally supported by a bracket, and a unit rotating mechanism is fixed to the bracket. The unit rotating mechanism is connected to the light source unit via the drive transmission mechanism. The light source unit is moved in the forward / reverse direction at substantially the same inclination angle so that the horizontal cut line and the inclined cut line of the light distribution pattern can be reversed left and right symmetrically by this unit rotation mechanism. The main feature is that the rotation is controlled .

  When the light source unit is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise at substantially the same inclination angle about an optical axis or an axis substantially parallel to the optical axis, the light distribution pattern is switched in the left-right direction.

  According to the vehicular lamp of the present invention, the light source unit is rotated forward and backward (clockwise and counterclockwise) about the optical axis or an axis substantially parallel to the optical axis, thereby moving the light source unit forward of the lamp. The light distribution pattern to be irradiated can be switched in the left-right direction.

  For this reason, when the light distribution pattern is a passing light distribution pattern having a cut line having a predetermined shape consisting of a horizontal cut line and an inclined cut line at the upper edge, the left light traveling and the right traveling are controlled by the rotation control of the light source unit. In addition, the light distribution pattern can be arbitrarily switched.

  As described above, according to the vehicular lamp of the present invention, even with one light source unit, the light distribution pattern is switched between the light distribution pattern for the left traveling and the light distribution pattern for the right traveling by the rotation control. Therefore, the cost can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional vehicular lamp, and downsizing can be realized.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail by taking a headlamp as an example of a vehicular lamp.

  1 is a cross-sectional view of a headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial rear view of a bracket in the headlamp, and FIG. 3 is a clockwise rotation state (A) of a light source unit and a light distribution pattern switching. FIG. 4 is a rear view showing a neutral point (B) and a counterclockwise rotation state (C) in the middle, and FIG. 4 is a rotation state of the light source unit shown in (A), (B), and (C) of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the change state of a corresponding light distribution pattern by (A), (B), (C).

  A headlamp 10 according to this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a lamp housing 11, an outer lens 12 that closes a front opening of the lamp housing 11, and a lamp chamber 13 that includes the lamp housing 11 and the outer lens 12. And a light source unit 20 disposed therein.

  The light source unit 20 irradiates the light emitted from the light source 21 to the front of the vehicle (front of the lamp) through the outer lens 12 to form a light distribution pattern P having a predetermined cut line C on the upper edge shown in FIG. It is.

  The light source unit 20 passes through the central portion of the light source unit 20, for example, the substantial center (lens rear focal point F) of the shade 25 forming the cut line C, and rotates about an axis 0 substantially parallel to the optical axis. The light distribution pattern P can be switched.

  Specifically, a plate-like bracket 14 is disposed vertically in the lamp chamber 13, and the light source unit 20 has a back portion extending from the shaft 0 to the bracket 14 via a support shaft 15. It is pivotally supported so that it can rotate. A unit rotation mechanism 16 is fixed to the bracket 14, and the unit rotation mechanism 16 is connected to the light source unit 20 via a drive transmission mechanism 18, and the light source unit 20 is connected to the unit rotation mechanism 16. The rotation is controlled by operation.

  The unit rotation mechanism 16 is a drive that transmits a power of the rotation drive unit 17 to the light source unit 20 and a rotation drive unit 17 such as a motor fixed to the back surface of the bracket 14 at a position lower than the support shaft 15. And a transmission mechanism 18.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the drive transmission mechanism 18 is composed of a transmission gear 18a on the rotation drive unit 17 side and a sector gear 18b meshed with the transmission gear 18a. The sector gear 18b is provided with a pair of left and right arm portions 18c. The arm portion 18c is inserted into an arc-shaped slit 14a formed around the support shaft 15 in the bracket 14 and coupled to the back portion of the light source unit 20, whereby a rotational drive system of the light source unit 20 is configured.

  In the present embodiment, the light source unit 20 uses, for example, a semiconductor light emitting element such as a light emitting diode (LED) as a light source 21, and an optical system component such as a reflector 23 and a condensing lens (convex lens) 24 on a light source support base 22. It consists of projector lamps arranged in a centralized manner.

  The light source support base 22 is composed of a heat sink member having a plurality of cooling fins 22a on the lower side. The light source 21 is disposed on the substantially horizontal upper surface of the light source support 22 so that the light emission center is located on the optical axis of the condenser lens 24. The reflector 23 is provided on the upper surface of the light source support base 22 so as to cover the upper side of the light source 21. The reflector 23 is a spheroid having a substantially light emission center of the light source 21 as a first focus in the vertical cross section shown in FIG. It is a free-form surface based on the surface. The second focal point of the reflector 23 is set in the vicinity of the rear focal point F of the condenser lens 24, and the shade 25 is formed here. Therefore, in this embodiment, the optical axis of the condenser lens 24 is the axis 0. The condenser lens 24 is held by a lens holder 24a. The rear end of the lens holder 24a is coupled to the front edge of the reflector 23, and the light source 21, the light source support base 22, the reflector 23, the condenser lens 24, etc. A projector lamp is configured.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the support shaft 15 and the arm portion 18c of the sector gear 18b are coupled to the back surface of the light source support base 22.

  FIG. 4 shows a light distribution pattern P formed on the virtual screen in front of the vehicle by the irradiation light of the light source unit 20. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4C, the light distribution pattern P includes horizontal cut lines a and a ′ extending in a substantially horizontal direction on one side of the upper edge, and the horizontal cut line on the other side of the upper edge. It is formed as a passing light distribution pattern having a cut line C composed of inclined cut lines b and b 'rising obliquely upward from a and a'. The intersections of the horizontal cut lines a and a ′ and the inclined cut lines b and b ′ are formed so as to be on the VV line slightly below the HH line on the virtual screen. FIG. 4A shows a left-side traveling light distribution pattern PL in which a horizontal cut line a is formed on the right side and an inclined cut line b is formed on the left side. FIG. 4C shows a right traveling light distribution pattern PR in which a horizontal cut line a ′ is formed on the left side and an inclined cut line b ′ is formed on the right side.

  The light source unit 20 is rotated by the unit rotation mechanism 16 so that the horizontal cut lines a, a ′ and the inclined cut lines b, b ′ of the light distribution pattern P can be reversed symmetrically. ), The rotation is controlled in the forward and reverse directions at substantially the same inclination angle θ as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3C, with the neutral point in the middle of switching the light distribution pattern shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3A shows a case where the light source unit 20 is rotated in the clockwise direction (positive direction) at an angle θ when viewed from the back. At this time, the light distribution pattern P is inclined and cut as shown in FIG. The line b is obtained as a left-side traveling light distribution pattern PL that rises to the left. FIG. 3C shows a case where the light source unit 20 is rotated counterclockwise (reverse direction) at an angle θ when viewed from the back. At this time, the light distribution pattern P is inclined as shown in FIG. The cut line b ′ is obtained as a right-hand traveling light distribution pattern PR that rises to the right. When the light source unit 20 is in the neutral position shown in FIG. 3B during the switching of the light distribution pattern, the light distribution pattern P has a substantially V-shaped cut line C as shown in FIG. 4B. This is a left-right symmetric pattern with the VV line as a boundary.

  In the present embodiment, a diffused light source unit 30 that forms a diffused light distribution pattern having a substantially horizontal cut line Co on the upper edge indicated by the symbol Po in FIG. 4 is disposed below the light source unit 20. A passing light distribution pattern in which the light distribution pattern P and the diffused light distribution pattern Po are combined is obtained by the irradiation light of the unit 20 and the irradiation light of the diffusion light source unit 30.

  As in the light source unit 20, the diffused light source unit 30 uses a semiconductor light emitting element as a light source 31, and the light source 31, a reflector 33, a condensing lens 34, and the like are collectively disposed on a light source support base 32 having a heat sink function. The projector lamp is used, and the back surface of the light source support base 32 is brought into contact with the lower extension of the bracket 14 and fastened to the bracket 14.

  An optical axis adjustment mechanism 40 composed of a plurality of pairs of bolts and nuts is provided across the bracket 14 and the back wall of the lamp housing 11, and the optical axis adjustment of the headlamp 10 is performed by the optical axis adjustment mechanism 40. It has come to be.

  According to the headlamp 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the light source unit 20 is moved from the neutral point in the middle of switching the light distribution pattern shown in FIG. The light distribution pattern P formed by the light source unit 20 is changed symmetrically by rotating to the same angle θ in the clockwise direction shown in A) or the counterclockwise direction shown in FIG. Can do. Further, the light source unit 20 can be rotated in a symmetrical manner by causing a drive transmission mechanism (sector gear) to abut on either the left or right end of the arcuate slit 14a.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the light distribution pattern P formed by the light source unit 20 passes a cut line C having a predetermined shape including horizontal cut lines a and a ′ and inclined cut lines b and b ′ on the upper edge. Since the light distribution pattern is used, as described above, when the light source unit 20 is rotated clockwise from the neutral point during the light distribution pattern switching by the angle θ, as shown in FIG. Is obtained when the light source unit 20 is rotated counterclockwise at an angle θ, as shown in FIG. 4C. The right traveling light distribution pattern PR with the inclined cut line b ′ rising to the right is obtained by reversely changing symmetrically with the light pattern PL.

  Therefore, when the headlamp 10 is shared by the left lane traveling vehicle and the right lane traveling vehicle, even with one light source unit 20, the light distribution pattern P is changed by the rotation control of the light distribution pattern P for the left traveling. Since the light can be switched between the PL and the right side light distribution pattern PR, the cost can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional one, and the headlamp 10 can be downsized.

  The light source unit 20 is pivotally supported by the bracket 14 on the lamp housing side via the support shaft 15 on the extension of the axis 0 substantially passing through the center of the shade 25 and extending substantially parallel to the optical axis. Then, the unit rotation mechanism 16 is fixed to the bracket 14, and the rotation control is performed with a simple structure in which the unit rotation mechanism 16 is connected to the light source unit 20 via the drive transmission mechanism 18. Therefore, it can be advantageously obtained in terms of cost without a significant structural change.

  Further, the light source unit 20 is a projector lamp in which a semiconductor light emitting element is used as a light source 21 and optical parts such as a reflector 23 and a condenser lens 24 are collectively arranged on a light source support base 22. Since the light source support base 22 and the bracket 14 are assembled by the support shaft 15 and the unit rotation mechanism 16, and the light source support base 22 itself is used as a rotation support portion of the light source unit 20, the light source unit 20 In this respect, it is not necessary to provide a special rotation support portion, and there is no significant design change.

  Moreover, the heat generated in the semiconductor light emitting element (light source 21) is radiated from the light source support base 22 composed of a heat sink member or the like, and the heat transfer from the light source support base 22 to the bracket 14 side is good. Therefore, the heat dissipation effect of the light source 21 can be enhanced.

  When a plurality of light source units are provided as indicated by reference numerals 20 and 30 as in the present embodiment, the condensing light distribution is variable by configuring the light source unit 20 for forming a cut line to be rotatable. It can be. In addition, when a condensing unit and a diffusing unit are provided as a plurality of light source units, only the condensing unit is made a rotatable unit, so that the cut line can be changed without greatly changing the overall light distribution. Only the unit can be switched, and the unit rotation mechanism can also be reduced in size.

  In the above embodiment, the example of switching the cut line C of the passing light distribution pattern P in the headlamp 10 has been described. However, in addition to this, by the rotation control of the light source unit 20, the hot zone is changed from uniform light distribution. It is also possible to switch and control the light distribution with excellent distant visibility. In addition to the headlamp, the present invention can also be applied to a fog lamp and, in some cases, a rear combination lamp. Furthermore, the left and right light distribution of the light source unit 20 can be switched manually.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. The partial rear view of the bracket in the headlamp shown in FIG. The rear view which shows the clockwise rotation state (A) of a light source unit, the neutral point (B) in the middle of light distribution pattern switching, and a counterclockwise rotation state (C). Explanatory drawing which shows the change state of the light distribution pattern corresponding to the rotation state of the light source unit shown to (A), (B), (C) of FIG. 3 by (A), (B), (C).

Explanation of symbols

10 Headlamp (vehicle lamp)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Lamp housing 14 Bracket 15 Support shaft 16 Unit rotation mechanism 20 Light source unit 21 Light source 22 Light source support base 23 Reflector 24 Condensing lens 25 Shade P Passing light distribution pattern C Cut line a, a 'Horizontal cut line b, b' inclination Cut line 0 Rotation center axis

Claims (2)

A horizontal cut line that radiates the light emitted from the light source in front of the lamp and extends substantially horizontally on one side of the upper edge, and an inclined cut line that rises obliquely upward from the horizontal cut line on the other side of the upper edge A light source unit that forms a passing light distribution pattern having a cut line composed of the optical axis or the optical axis or an axis substantially parallel to the optical axis so that the light distribution pattern can be switched. With the structure
The light source unit is pivotally supported by a bracket provided with an optical axis adjustment mechanism on the lamp housing side via a support shaft on a substantially central extension of a shade whose back portion forms a cut line in the light distribution pattern. A unit rotation mechanism is fixed to the bracket, and the unit rotation mechanism is connected to the light source unit via the drive transmission mechanism, and the horizontal rotation line of the light distribution pattern by the unit rotation mechanism. The vehicle lamp is characterized in that the light source unit is controlled to rotate in the forward and reverse directions at substantially the same inclination angle so that the inclination cut line and the inclination cut line can be reversed symmetrically. The light source unit is composed of a projector lamp in which a semiconductor light emitting element is used as a light source, and optical system parts such as a reflector and a condenser lens are collectively arranged on a light source support base. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the light source support base and a bracket are assembled.

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