JP5650065B2 - traffic lights - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic light.

  In recent years, in order to obtain advantages such as low power consumption, long life, and high visibility in traffic lights, those using light emitting diodes instead of conventional light bulbs have been used. In these light emitting diode type traffic lights, a large number of light emitting diodes are arranged in a plane on the light emitting surface of the traffic light. In such a light emitting diode type traffic light, the total number of light emitting diodes can be reduced if the light emission luminance per element of the light emitting diode is improved, but if the number of light emitting diodes is reduced, the graininess when viewing the light emitting surface is observed. Is expected to increase.

  On the other hand, it is considered that planar light emission with no sense of incongruity can be obtained even with a small number of light emitting diodes by diffusing light rays from the light emitting diodes in a planar manner using a light guide plate.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a traffic sign with a traffic sign display, in which a white light emitting LED is arranged on the light incident end face of the light guide plate, and the display attached to the light exit surface of the light guide plate is surface-emitted. Is described.

Japanese Patent No. 3103972

  As described above, since the power consumption of a light emitting diode type traffic light is lower than that of a traffic light using a conventional light bulb, the amount of heat generated is small. In addition, when the light guide plate is used, the light emitting diode as a heat generation source is disposed outside the light emitting surface, so that the temperature rise on the light emitting surface remains extremely low.

  When such a traffic light is installed in a cold region, snow and ice attached to the light emitting surface remain in the winter without melting, and the light emitting surface becomes invisible. In the meantime, providing a heat source such as a heater to melt ice and snow not only increases the cost of the traffic light but also detracts from the advantage of low power consumption, which is an opportunity to adopt a light emitting diode.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this situation, The subject which it is going to solve is ensuring the visibility of the light emission surface of winter in the traffic signal using a light emitting diode and a light-guide plate.

In order to solve the above problems, a traffic light according to the present invention includes a light guide plate that changes the direction of light incident from an end surface and emits light from the front surface, and a plurality of light emitting diodes that are arranged to face the end surface of the light guide plate. a transparent cover having a light emitting surface, wherein disposed on the front side of the light guide plate Rutotomoni, in contact with the rear surface of said cover at said light emitting surface, is emitted from the light emitting diode and thermally connected to with the light emitting diode comprising a lighting device having a heat transfer member transferring heat to the heating zone at least a portion of a region of the light emitting surface.

  According to the present invention, the visibility of the light emitting surface in winter can be ensured in a traffic light using a light emitting diode and a light guide plate.

It is a front perspective view of the traffic light concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a rear exploded perspective view of a traffic light. It is a front perspective view of a lamp. It is a disassembled perspective view of a lamp. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the traffic signal by the VV line of FIG. It is a back surface perspective view of a heat-transfer member. It is a back perspective view which shows the modification of a heat-transfer member. It is a back perspective view which shows the modification of a heat-transfer member. It is a front perspective view which shows the modification of the traffic signal which suppressed the reflected light by strong external lights, such as a western day. It is a figure which shows the various shapes of a heat-transfer part. It is a figure which shows the various shapes of a heat-transfer part. It is a figure which shows the various shapes of a heat-transfer part.

  FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a traffic light 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated traffic signal 1 is a general vertical traffic signal that emits three colors of red, yellow, and green. Three light emitting surfaces 12 are visible from an opening 11 provided on the front surface of the case 10. In the present specification, the “light emitting surface” refers to a surface on which the light emission of the traffic light 1 is visually recognized. In the illustrated traffic light 1, the light emitting surface 12 arranged on the upper side is arranged in red and in the center. The light emitting surface 12 emits yellow light, and the light emitting surface 12 disposed below emits green light. Further, a ridge 13 is provided from the upper part of each light emitting surface 12 to both side parts.

  In the present embodiment, a three-lamp type vertical traffic signal is shown as the traffic signal 1, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of light emitting surfaces 12 and the color development thereof are arbitrary, and a plurality of light emitting surfaces 12 are also provided. May be a horizontal traffic light arranged in the horizontal direction. The illustrated light emitting surface 12 is circular, but is not limited to this, and may have another shape, for example, a square shape.

  FIG. 2 is an exploded rear perspective view of the traffic light 1. The case 10 includes a front case 10F and a rear case 10R, and accommodates the number of lamps 2 corresponding to the number of light emitting surfaces 12 therein. The number of the lamps 2 is three in this embodiment. Although the material of case 10 is not specifically limited, In this embodiment, it is manufactured with the metal, for example, a steel plate. The flange 13 is attached to the front case 10F by an appropriate method such as welding or screwing. The front case 10F is appropriately provided with a lamp fixture 14 for fixing the lamp 2. In this embodiment, since the lamp 2 is fixed to the front case 10F by screwing, the lamp fixing part 14 is a female screw. The rear case 10 </ b> R is provided with a wiring hole 15 for drawing out an electrical wiring extending from the lamp 2 to the outside of the case 10.

  In the present specification, the “lamp” refers to a unit of light emitting device provided corresponding to one light emitting surface 12 (see FIG. 1). Therefore, the traffic light 1 having a plurality of light emitting surfaces 12 has the number of lamps 2 corresponding to the light emitting surfaces 12.

  FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the lamp 2. In the present embodiment, all the lamps 2 have the same structure except that the colored light of the light emitting diodes are different and the number and arrangement density of the light emitting diodes are changed according to the luminance of the light emitting diodes with different colored colors. Therefore, here, the lamp 2 that emits green light disposed on the lower side of FIG. 2 is shown as a representative.

  In the present embodiment, the lamp 2 has a structure in which various members are accommodated in a housing 28 having a substantially hexagonal outer shape as illustrated. A transparent cover 21 is visible on the front side of the lamp 2, and the cover 21 is fixed to the housing 28 with screws 210. Further, the light emitting surface 12 protrudes from the front surface of the cover 21 so as to be convex toward the front surface, and a gasket 20 is provided so as to surround the outer periphery of the light emitting surface 12. A housing attachment portion 280 is provided at an appropriate position on the outer periphery of the housing 28 so that the housing 28 can be attached to the front case 10F. In this embodiment, the housing attachment portion 280 is a protrusion having a hole for screwing.

  FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the lamp device 2 and shows the same lamp device 2 as shown in FIG. In the lamp 2, the gasket 20, the cover 21, the heat transfer member 22, the spacer 23, the optical sheet group 24, the light guide plate 25, and the reflection sheet 26 are arranged in this order from the front, and are accommodated in the housing 28 together with the heat insulating member 27. It has a structure. In the figure, illustration of electrical wiring and electronic parts is omitted.

  The gasket 20 is disposed around the light emitting surface 12 of the cover 21 and is sandwiched between the cover 21 and the front case 10F (see FIG. 2), thereby sealing the gap between the front case 10F and the cover 21 in a liquid-tight manner. To do. The material and arrangement method of the gasket 20 are not particularly limited, but in the present embodiment, the gasket 20 is a black rubber ring. As the gasket 20, an annular sealing material such as a general O-ring may be used, or an appropriate sealing material such as a caulking material is applied to the periphery of the opening 21 of the cover 21 or the front case 10F shown in FIG. The gasket 20 may be used. The reason why the gasket 20 of the present embodiment is black is that it has excellent weather resistance and can prevent light from leaking to the front surface of the cover 21, but the color is not particularly limited.

  The cover 21 is a transparent plate-like member that protects the internal structure of the lamp 2 from the external environment, and may be made of glass or synthetic resin. As will be described later, in order to transmit the heat transmitted to the back surface of the cover 21 to the front surface, a material having good thermal conductivity of the cover 21 is preferable. On the other hand, when the thickness of the cover 21 increases, the thickness of the cover 21 increases. Thermal resistance increases. Therefore, it is preferable to select an appropriate material for the cover 21 in consideration of the thermal resistance in the thickness direction when the cover 21 is strong enough to secure the strength. In the present embodiment, the cover 21 is made of polycarbonate, which is a synthetic resin, and the thickness of the light emitting surface 12 is 2 mm. In addition, on the front surface of the cover 21, the light emitting surface 12 that is a portion exposed from the opening 11 (see FIG. 2) of the front case 10 </ b> F has a convex shape on the front side. This is a structure for preventing a step between the front surface of the front case 10F and the light emitting surface 12, as will be described later.

  The heat transfer member 22 is a material excellent in conductivity, for example, a metal member such as aluminum, and is disposed on the back side of the cover 21. The heat transfer member 22 has a polygonal shape, here, a hexagonal outer shape, and each side thereof is a mounting portion 220 that is bent to the back side. A plurality of light emitting diodes are provided on the inner surface of the mounting portion 220. Moreover, the area | region which overlaps with the light emission surface 12 of the heat-transfer member 22 becomes a honeycomb mesh provided with several opening like illustration, and radiate | emitted from the light-guide plate 25 provided in the back side of the heat-transfer member 22. It is designed to transmit light. The honeycomb mesh is in thermal contact with the back surface of the cover 21 when the lamp 2 is assembled, and heat generated when the light emitting diode emits light is transmitted from the mounting portion 220 to the honeycomb mesh and further transmitted to the back surface of the cover 21. Thereby, the cover 21 is warmed using the heat generated from the light emitting diodes, and especially in winter, the snow and ice adhering to the front surface of the light emitting surface 12 is melted or prevented from adhering to ensure the visibility of the light emitting surface 12. .

  Hereinafter, in this specification, a main region where heat generated during light emission of the light emitting diode is transmitted to the heat transfer member 22 is referred to as a heating region, and other regions are referred to as non-heating regions. The heating region is a region that covers at least a part of the light emitting surface 12, and the entire surface of the light emitting surface 12 may be a heating region. In the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, the honeycomb mesh of the heat transfer member 22 is vertically divided, and heat from the placement portion 220 is not easily transmitted to the upper honeycomb mesh, and is not loaded on the lower honeycomb mesh. Heat from the placement unit 220 is easily transmitted. The details of this structure will be described later. Therefore, in this example, the heating region is the lower half of the light emitting surface 12. The portion of the heat transfer member 22 in the heating region, in this example, the lower half of the honeycomb mesh is a heat transfer portion 221 that transfers heat to the cover 21. In other words, the heat transfer section 221 is thermally connected to the light emitting diode in the heating area, which is at least a part of the light emitting surface 12, and provided with a plurality of openings that transmit the light emitted from the light guide plate 25. Part. In the present embodiment, the heat transfer section 221 is thermally connected to the cover 21 by contacting the back surface of the cover 21. Here, the cover 21 has a thin flat plate shape, and heat conduction in the in-plane direction does not occur much compared to the thickness direction. Accordingly, the cover 21 is warmed in the heating region, but is not warmed in the non-heating region. Therefore, it can also be said that the non-heated region is a region where the amount of heat transfer from the light emitting diode is smaller than that of the heated region.

  Here, the structure in which the heat from the light emitting diode is configured integrally with the mounting portion 220 and the cover 21 is heated using the heat transfer member 22 having the heat transfer portion 221 that contacts the back surface of the heating region of the cover 21. However, the structure for heating the cover 21 may not be limited to such a structure. That is, the heat transfer is arranged in a state of being thermally connected to both the light emitting diode and the cover 21, and transfers heat generated from the light emitting diode to the heating region of the cover 21, that is, at least a partial region of the light emitting surface 12. Any structure may be used. For example, a honeycomb mesh or metal wire embedded in the cover 21 in advance by insert molding or the like is used as the heat transfer section 221, and the mounting section 220 and the heat transfer section 221 are heated when the lamp 2 is assembled. You may make it contact. Alternatively, a pattern having a plurality of openings that transmit light is formed by printing or the like on the back surface of the heating region of the cover 21 using a material having high thermal conductivity, such as a conductive paste, and the heat transfer unit 221 is formed. You may make it make the thermal part 221 and the mounting part 220 contact thermally. Further, the cover 21 itself may be omitted, and the heat transfer member 22 may be directly exposed to melt the adhering ice / snow. However, the cover 21 is provided from the viewpoint of ease of falling off of the ice / snow and durability. It can be said that it is preferable.

  In the present embodiment, the heat transfer member 22 has a polygonal shape as shown in the figure. However, if the shape of the heat transfer member 22 is a polygon, the mounting portion 220 provided on the side of the heat transfer member 22 has a polygonal shape. Because it is a flat surface, it is easy to mount the light emitting diode. The polygon is not limited to a hexagon as in the example shown here, and may be another shape such as a heptagon or an octagon. There is no particular upper limit to the number of sides of the polygon, but the dodecagonal position is the practical upper limit in order to enjoy the advantage that the mounting portion 220 is flat. Of course, the heat transfer member 22 may be circular instead of polygonal. In that case, the mounting portion 220 is a curved surface. In addition, since the shape of the entire lamp 2 is adapted to the shape of the heat transfer member 22, when the shape of the heat transfer member 22 is a shape other than a hexagon, the shape of the entire lamp 2 is also changed to that. May be combined.

  The spacer 23 is provided between the heat transfer member 22 and the light guide plate 25, in this embodiment, in front of the optical sheet group 24, and is provided to thermally isolate the heat transfer member 22 and the light guide plate 25 from each other. Yes, made of low thermal conductivity material such as synthetic resin. The back surface of the spacer 23 may be a reflective surface that reflects light. In this case, light emitted from the portion other than the portion corresponding to the light emitting surface 12 of the light guide plate 25 is reflected and incident on the light guide plate 25 again, so that the light use efficiency can be increased. The spacer 23 is not an essential member and may be omitted as long as the heat transfer member 22 and the light guide plate 25 are thermally isolated. For example, if the optical sheet group 24 has sufficient heat insulation, the spacer 23 is unnecessary. Of course, the heat transfer member 22 and the light guide plate 25 may be thermally isolated by a method other than the spacer 23 and the spacer 23 may be provided. In this case, if the spacer 23 has a reflective surface on the back surface, the effect of improving the light utilization efficiency can be obtained. Or you may provide the simple reflection sheet which does not have a function as a spacer in the position of the spacer 23. FIG.

  The optical sheet group 24 is a member for controlling the state of light rays from the light guide plate 25, and appropriately selects and uses a diffusion sheet, a prism sheet, and the like as necessary. Of course, it may be omitted if unnecessary.

  The light guide plate 25 is an optical member that changes the direction of light incident from the outer peripheral end surface, which is a side surface, and emits light almost uniformly from the front surface, and has a transparent synthetic resin plate shape. In this embodiment, it is a hexagonal plate made of acrylic resin. On the back surface of the light guide plate 25, an appropriate light reflection structure is provided for changing the reflection direction of the light beam that repeats total reflection inside the light guide plate 25 to the direction toward the front surface. In this example, the reflective ink is printed on the back surface of the light guide plate 25 in an appropriate pattern as the light reflecting structure. Instead, a three-dimensional structure such as a groove or dimple may be provided. Further, the front surface of the light guide plate 25 may be a flat surface, or an appropriate structure for controlling the direction of light emitted from the light guide plate 25 may be provided. In the present embodiment, the front surface of the light guide plate 25 is a flat surface.

  The reflection sheet 26 is a member that increases the light utilization efficiency by reflecting the light emitted to the back side of the light guide plate 25 and introducing it again into the light guide plate 25. The reflection sheet 26 has a mirror surface or a white reflection surface on the front surface. In the present embodiment, the reflection sheet 26 is a white sheet made of polyethylene terephthalate resin. The reflection sheet 26 is not essential, and so-called pseudo light that external light that has entered the lamp 2, for example, western rays of light is reflected inside the lamp 2 and the lamp 2 appears to be lit. If lighting is a problem, this may be omitted. Alternatively, instead of the reflection sheet 26, an absorption sheet having an absorption surface that absorbs light without reflecting it may be disposed instead. The reflectance of visible light on the reflecting surface and the absorbing surface is not particularly limited and may be set appropriately. In this specification, for convenience, a surface that reflects 90% or more of incident light is defined as a reflecting surface and an incident surface. A surface that absorbs 50% or more of light is defined as an absorption surface.

  The heat insulating member 27 is disposed on the inner surface along the outer periphery of the housing 28 to thermally insulate the cover 21 and the heat transfer member 22 from the housing 28 so that the heat of the heat transfer member 22 is transmitted to the housing 28 and is not dissipated. It is a member for making. Although the material of the heat insulation member 27 will not be specifically limited if it has heat insulation, CR rubber sponge, a polystyrene foam resin, etc. are used suitably. A notch 270 that accommodates a heat transfer protrusion 283 of the housing 28 described later is provided at the lower end of the heat insulating member 27.

  The structure and shape of the heat insulating member 27 are not limited to those shown here. For example, the heat insulating member 27 may be divided into a plurality of members instead of a single member, or an amorphous heat insulating material (for example, glass wool) may be packed between the heat transfer member 22 and the housing 28. . Alternatively, the heat insulating member 27 may be omitted, and the heat transfer member 22 may be supported so as not to be in direct contact with the housing 28 and separated by a space.

  The housing 28 is a container that accommodates the gasket 20, the cover 21, the heat transfer member 22, the spacer 23, the optical sheet group 24, the light guide plate 25, the reflection sheet 26, and the heat insulating member 27 described above. The material of the housing 28 is not particularly limited, and is formed of a synthetic resin such as polycarbonate or ABS resin, or a metal such as a steel plate. However, in consideration of the heat insulation of the lamp unit 2 behind the signal lamp, it is more preferable that the lamp unit 2 is made of a material having low thermal conductivity such as synthetic resin. The housing mounting portion 280 described above is provided on the peripheral edge on the front surface side where the housing 28 is open. A mounting boss 281 is provided at an appropriate position on the inner surface of the housing 28 so as to protrude forward, and receives a screw for fixing the cover 21. Furthermore, the hole 282 provided in the back surface is for drawing in the electrical wiring from the outside of the housing 28.

  Furthermore, a heat transfer protrusion 283 that protrudes to the inner surface side of the housing 28 is provided at the lowermost edge of the housing 28. The heat transfer protrusion 283 is a lower heat transfer structure that contacts the heat transfer member 22 and thermally contacts the heat transfer member 22 and the housing 28 at this portion. In FIG. 4, the heat transfer protrusion 283 is shown as a portion from which a part of the housing 28 protrudes. However, when the housing 28 is formed of a material having low heat conductivity such as synthetic resin, the heat transfer protrusion 283 is formed. The heat conductivity of the lower heat transfer structure may be increased by providing a metal member in the portion that is provided.

  FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the traffic light 1 taken along the line V-V in FIG. In the figure, the rear case 10R is not shown.

  The housing 28 is fixed by attaching the housing attachment portion 280 to the back surface of the front case 10F with screws 284. At this time, the lamp 20 is attached to the front case 10F in a liquid-tight manner by sandwiching and compressing the gasket 20 between the cover 21 and the front case 10F. The light emitting surface 12 of the cover 21 is convex on the front side and protrudes into the opening 11 of the front case 10F. As a result, the front surface of the front case 10F and the light emitting surface 12 are a continuous flat surface, and no step is formed between them. In addition, this structure is for preventing the falling off of the snow and ice adhering to the light emitting surface 12 by being caught on the surface irregularities when the surface of the light emitting surface 12 slides down due to gravity and falls off. Is. Therefore, the expression “a step is not formed” here means that a step that prevents the ice and snow from dropping, which is the purpose, is not formed. Specifically, the difference in position between the front surface of the front case 10F and the light emitting surface 12 in the front-rear direction is appropriate if it is 1 mm or less, and more preferably 0.5 mm or less. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, if the inclination of the light emitting surface 12 and the front surface of the front case 10 </ b> F are also equal, it is preferable not to prevent the ice and snow attached to the light emitting surface 12 from falling off. This condition only needs to be satisfied at the outer peripheral edge of the light emitting surface 12, and the inclination of the front surface of the front case 12F at a position away from the light emitting surface 12 does not matter. Further, the expression “equal inclination” also means that there is no difference in inclination enough to prevent ice and snow from dropping for a purpose, and specifically, the front surface of the light emitting surface 12 and the front case 10F. The difference in inclination is preferably 10 degrees or less, more preferably 5 degrees or less.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the back surface of the light emitting surface 12 of the cover 21 has a concave shape on the front side. Although this structure is not essential, if the cover 21 is thick on the light emitting surface 12, heat transmitted to the back surface of the light emitting surface 12 by the heat transfer member 22 becomes difficult to be transmitted to the front surface. There is an effect that the thickness of 21 is reduced and the heat conduction performance in the thickness direction is improved. In addition, this structure brings about reduction of the material used for the cover 21 and suppression of the deformation | transformation at the time of shaping | molding incidentally.

  The heat transfer member 22 is provided with a mounting portion 220 around it, and a light emitting diode substrate 222 mounted with the light emitting diode 223 is attached to the inner surface thereof. The material of the light-emitting diode substrate 222 is not particularly limited, but a material having excellent thermal conductivity is preferable, and in this embodiment, an aluminum substrate having an insulating coating on the surface is used. Here, the light-emitting diode 223 is a so-called light-emitting diode package mounted on the light-emitting diode substrate 222, but instead, a light-emitting diode element may be directly formed on the light-emitting diode substrate 222. It is preferable to apply thermal conductive grease between the light emitting diode substrate 222 and the mounting portion 220 so as to reduce the thermal resistance therebetween. The light emitting diode substrate 222 may be omitted, and the light emitting diode 223 may be directly disposed on the inner surface of the mounting portion 220.

  Further, the portion of the heat transfer member 22 corresponding to the light emitting surface 12 has a convex shape corresponding to the concave shape of the cover 21, and the heat transfer portion 221 comes into contact with the back surface of the cover 21. It is preferable that the heat transfer section 221 and the back surface of the cover 21 are bonded and thermally connected by an appropriate method such as use of an adhesive or heat fusion so that an air layer is not formed therebetween. Moreover, it is also preferable to apply thermal conductive grease between the heat transfer part 221 and the back surface of the cover 21 to reduce the thermal resistance between them. Furthermore, the back surface of the heat transfer part 221 or the heat transfer member 22 may be a reflective surface. This is because the honeycomb mesh of the heat transfer section 221 blocks the light emitted forward from the light guide plate 25, so that the light use efficiency decreases when the heat transfer section 221 absorbs the light beam, but the heat transfer section 221 hits the heat transfer section 221. The reflected light beam is reflected back to the light guide plate 25 side, reflected again by the light reflecting structure on the back surface of the light guide plate 25 or the reflection sheet 26, and taken out in front of the lamp 2 to suppress a decrease in the light utilization efficiency. Because.

  The mounting portion 220 located below the heat transfer member 22 extends further rearward and then is bent to form a conversion circuit board mounting portion 224. The conversion circuit board 225 is attached to the conversion circuit board attachment portion 224. The conversion circuit board 225 is a board on which a conversion circuit for converting an alternating current sent from an external control panel to a traffic light into a direct current suitable for lighting the light emitting diode 223 is mounted. The shape of the conversion circuit board 225 itself may be any shape as long as the conversion circuit can be mounted. In this embodiment, the conversion circuit substrate 225 is attached so as to be in thermal contact with the heat transfer member 22. This is because although the conversion circuit is also a heat generation source, the heat is transmitted to the heat transfer member 22 although it does not reach the light emitting diode 223. Further, the conversion circuit board 225 is attached to the lower part of the heat transfer member 22 because the conversion circuit is located closer to a heat transfer part 221 provided at the lower part of the light emitting surface 12 and a heat transfer protrusion 283 which is a lower heat transfer structure to be described later. This is for arranging the substrate 225. The conversion circuit board mounting portion 224 and the conversion circuit board 225 are arranged so as to have a gap from them so as not to be in thermal contact with the housing 28 and the light guide plate 25.

  As shown in the upper part of the drawing, a heat insulating member 27 is sandwiched between the mounting portion 220 of the heat transfer member 22 and the housing 28. On the other hand, in the portion of the lower heat transfer structure shown in the lower part of the figure, the mounting portion 220 and the heat transfer protrusion 283 of the housing 28 are in direct contact, and the heat of the heat transfer member 22 is transferred to the lower portion of the housing 28. It is like that. This is a structure for slightly heating the front case 10F below the lamp 2 by transferring a part of the heat of the light emitting diode 223 and the conversion circuit to the front case 10F through the lower heat transfer structure. is there. As a result, the formation of icicles due to re-freezing of the water that has melted at the light emitting surface 12 of the lamp 2 and has flowed down to the lower portion of the front case 10F is suppressed. Note that the lower heat transfer structure including the heat transfer protrusion 283 is not essential, and may be omitted if the formation of ice pillars is not a problem. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the traffic light 1 in which a plurality of lamps 2 are arranged vertically, the lamp 2 arranged at the lowermost side only needs to have a lower heat transfer structure. In the lamp 2, the lower heat transfer structure may be omitted. Furthermore, the specific structure of the lower heat transfer structure may be any structure that transfers heat from the heat transfer member 22 to the lower portion of the housing 28. For example, instead of the heat transfer protrusion 283, a plate You may make it contact both by elastic metal members, such as a spring.

  On the back side of the heat transfer member 22, an optical sheet group 24, a light guide plate 25, and a reflection sheet 26 are arranged in this order in a state of being thermally isolated by the spacer 23.

  FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the heat transfer member 22. As shown in the figure, a portion corresponding to the heating region of the heat transfer member 22 is formed in a honeycomb mesh shape to form a heat transfer portion 221. The heat transfer unit 221 is continuous with the mounting unit 220 on which the light emitting diode substrate 222 on which the light emitting diode 223 is mounted, and is connected to a peripheral unit 226 located on the outer periphery of the light emitting surface 12 at a number of locations. The heat flowing in through these many locations is transmitted to the entire heat transfer section 221. Since the heat transfer section 221 and the back surface of the cover 21 are in thermal contact, heat from the heat transfer member 22 is directly transferred to the light emitting surface 12 of the cover 21 in the heating region.

  On the other hand, a portion corresponding to the non-heated region of the heat transfer member 22 is also a non-heat transfer portion 228 having a honeycomb mesh shape. In the non-heat transfer section 228, a part of the light beam is blocked by the heat transfer section 221 in the heating area. Therefore, the light amount in the heating area and the non-heating area is also blocked in the non-heating area. It is provided in order to eliminate the difference in luminance due to the difference between the two. That is, the non-heat transfer portion 228 is a light suppression structure that suppresses the amount of light emitted from the light emitting surface.

  However, if the structure of the non-heat transfer section 228 is the same as that of the heat transfer section 221, the heat from the light emitting diode 223 is also transferred to the back surface of the cover 21 in the non-heat transfer section 228. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the heat transfer part 221 and the non-heat transfer part 228 are not connected by a structure such as a beam, but are provided with a gap between them, and a small number of the non-heat transfer part 228 and the peripheral part 226 are provided. Are connected by the beam 227 (four in the illustrated case, the one on the front side (left side in the figure) is hidden and cannot be seen), and the cross-sectional area of the portion connected to the peripheral portion 226 is small and mounted. The structure is such that heat from the placement unit 220 is less likely to be transmitted than the heat transfer unit 221. For this reason, the temperature of the non-heat transfer portion 228 hardly increases, and most of the heat from the light emitting diode 223 is transferred to the heat transfer portion 221 through the peripheral portion 226. Therefore, in the non-heated region, the heat from the heat transfer member 22 flows only slightly due to heat conduction in the surface of the cover 21 from the heated region or the region outside the light emitting surface 12 of the cover 21. That is, in the non-heated region, heat from the heat transfer member 22 is not directly transferred to the light emitting surface 12 of the cover 21.

  In the present embodiment, the heating region has a shape that covers not the entire surface of the light emitting surface 12 but a part thereof, in this case, the lower side. To explain this, in a particularly cold region where the temperature is much lower than 0 degrees Celsius, the total amount of heat generated by the light emitting diode 223 is insufficient, so the entire surface of the light emitting surface 12 has the melting point of water. There are cases where the temperature cannot be raised to 0 degrees Celsius or higher. In this case, the ice / snow adhering to the front surface of the light emitting surface 12 cannot be melted, and the ice / snow adheres to the front surface of the light emitting surface 12 so that the emitted light cannot be visually recognized. Therefore, by setting the heating region as a partial region of the light emitting surface 12, the heat from the light emitting diode 223 is concentrated in the heating region, and by heating a part of the cover 21 above the melting point of water, Melts and removes ice and snow. Thereby, the light emitting surface 12 can be visually recognized at least in the heating region, and a situation where the entire surface of the light emitting surface 12 is covered with ice and snow and cannot be visually recognized is avoided. As is clear from the above explanation, depending on the installation environment of the traffic light 1, the cold is not so severe, and the total heat generation amount of the light emitting diode 223 may raise the entire surface of the light emitting surface 12 to the melting point of water. . In this case, the heating region may be the entire surface of the light emitting surface 12.

  In the present embodiment, the heating region is a region below the light emitting surface 12. The shape of the heating region is intended to easily remove ice and snow attached to the surface of the light emitting surface 12. In other words, the ice and snow adhering to the front surface of the light emitting surface 12 melts in the heating region in contact with the light emitting surface 12, so that the surface of the light emitting surface 12 slides down due to gravity and falls off. At this time, if there is a non-heated region further below the heating region, and if ice and snow are firmly attached to the front surface of the light emitting surface 12, the ice and snow attached in the heating region is supported by the ice and snow below and slides down. It is considered that ice and snow attached to the surface of the light emitting surface 12 cannot be dropped after all. Therefore, there should be no non-heated area further below the heated area. That is, the heating area is the lower part of the light emitting surface 12, which means that there is no non-heating area vertically above the heating area and no non-heating area vertically below the heating area. Means.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the heating region has a semicircular shape, but the shape is not particularly limited as long as the heating region is a lower portion of the light emitting surface 12. The position of the boundary line between the heating area and the non-heating area may be appropriately selected according to the installation environment of the traffic light 1, and the direction of the boundary line may not necessarily be in the horizontal direction. Further, the shape of the heating region is not limited to that shown here, and may be other shapes. For example, the outer periphery of the light emitting surface 12 may be a ring-shaped shape or may be a strip shape extending in the vertical direction.

  In addition, in this embodiment, although the light emitting diode 223 was provided in the perimeter of the heat-transfer member 22, ie, all the sides of the polygonal heat-transfer member 22, it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, when the heat transfer member 22 is an even square, the light emitting diode 223 may be provided on one side of the opposing sides of the heat transfer member 22 and the light emitting diode 223 may not be provided on the other side. FIG. 7 shows an example in which the heat transfer member 22 is a regular hexagon, and the light emitting diodes 223 are provided on the lower three sides in the drawing. At this time, by setting the inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion 220 on the side where no light emitting diode is provided as the reflecting surface 229, the light emitting diode 223 on one side is incident on the light guide plate 25 and is opposed to the other side. The light rays emitted toward the light source are reflected by the reflecting surface 229 and enter the light guide plate 25 again, so that uniform light emission can be obtained efficiently with fewer light emitting diodes 223. In this example, the reflection surface 229 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion 220, but may be provided directly on the end surface of the light guide plate 25. Moreover, the reflective surface 229 may be created by performing an appropriate surface treatment on the mounting portion 220 or may be created by using an appropriate reflective sheet.

  Further, in this case, it is preferable that the side where the light emitting diode 223 is provided be in the heating region, that is, in the vicinity of the heat transfer section 221 as shown in FIG. Thereby, the heat from the light emitting diode 223 can be efficiently transmitted to the heat transfer section 221. Quantitatively, the light-emitting diode 223 is provided so as to face the end face in a part of the periphery of the light guide plate 25, and the total amount of heat generated by the light-emitting diode 223 at the position facing the heating region is the non-heating region. In other words, it is larger than the total amount of heat generated by the light-emitting diode 223 at the position facing the surface. Whether the arbitrary light emitting diode 223 faces the heating region or the non-heating region depends on whether the center of the heat transfer member 22 is viewed from the light emitting diode 223 or the heat transfer portion 221 or the non-heat transfer portion 228. Judgment may be made depending on which of these is visible. Furthermore, it can be said that the reflective surface 229 is preferably provided at a position facing a part of the periphery where the light emitting diode 223 is provided.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although the light suppression structure mentioned above was set to the non-heat-transfer part 228 provided in the heat-transfer member 22, a light suppression structure is not limited to this. For example, the heat transfer member 22 may have a shape having a simple opening in the non-heated region as shown in FIG. In this case, as the light suppression structure, referring to FIG. 4, the heat transfer portion 221 and the portion corresponding to the non-heated region of the cover 21 that is a member disposed on the front surface of the light guide plate 25 or the front side of the light guide plate 25 are provided. A similar light shielding pattern may be printed, or a single color coated so as to have a light transmittance comparable to that of the heat transfer portion 221 may be used. Alternatively, an appropriate sheet, that is, a sheet having a color or pattern that suppresses light transmittance in the non-heated region may be disposed at a position on the front side of the light guide plate 25. For example, it may be added as a part of the optical sheet group 24. Alternatively, the light reflection structure pattern on the back surface of the light guide plate 25 is different between the heating region and the non-heating region, and the amount of light emitted from the front surface of the light guide plate 25 in the non-heating region is smaller than the light amount in the heating region. Thus, a light suppression structure may be used. Furthermore, when the difference in the amount of light between the heated region and the non-heated region is not a practical problem, the light suppression structure itself may be omitted.

  Subsequently, a modification of the traffic light 1 will be shown. In the traffic light 1 shown in FIG. 1, the light emitting surface 12 is a flat surface. In this case, depending on the installation environment, when strong external light, for example, the western sun hits the light emitting surface 12, depending on the direction in which the traffic light 1 is observed, there is a situation where the light emission color of the light emitting surface 12 cannot be visually recognized due to the reflection. there is a possibility. FIG. 9 is a front perspective view showing a modified example of the traffic light 1 in which reflected light due to strong external light such as a western sun is suppressed. As illustrated, in the present modification, the front surface of the case 10 of the traffic light 1 and the light emitting surfaces 12 are curved. More specifically, the front surface of the case 10 and each light emitting surface 12 are curved surfaces that are linear in the vertical direction and curved in the horizontal direction. Here, since the front surface of the case 10 and each light emitting surface 12 are curved surfaces that are convex to the front side with respect to the horizontal direction, the traffic light 1 has a kamaboko shape whose entire surface is convex. In FIG. 8, a crosshair is put on each light emitting surface 12 to clearly show how it bends. However, this is for ease of understanding, and such a crosshair does not actually exist.

  As described above, when the light emitting surface 12 is a curved surface, even when strong external light hits the light emitting surface 12, the external light is not reflected in a specific direction. Light is suppressed and the emission color of the light emitting surface 12 is visible. On the other hand, in consideration of the ice and snow adhering to the light emitting surface 12 in winter, the ice and snow adhering to the light emitting surface 12 falls in the vertical direction when falling off. Therefore, if the light emitting surface 12 is bent in the vertical direction, Will be prevented from falling off. Therefore, in the present modification, the light emitting surface 12 is a curved surface that is linear in the vertical direction and curved in the horizontal direction, does not prevent the falling of ice and snow, and suppresses reflected light due to strong external light such as the western sun. To do.

  Incidentally, in the embodiment described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the shape of the heat transfer section 221 is a honeycomb mesh in which a number of regular hexagonal holes are closely arranged, but is not necessarily limited thereto. It is not a thing. In other words, any structure may be used as long as it conducts heat to the entire surface of the heat transfer section 221 and transmits light through a plurality of openings. However, in such a structure, it is preferable from the viewpoint of light utilization efficiency to increase the ratio of the area occupied by the opening as much as possible, while the cross-sectional area of each part constituting the heat transfer section 221 is as large as possible and from the heat source. The distance is preferably as small as possible from the viewpoint of thermal conductivity. From such a point of view, the honeycomb mesh shape that minimizes the material used with respect to the area occupied by the opening is the optimal solution. However, as long as there is no practical problem, for example, a large number of round holes as shown in FIG. The shape may be a densely arranged punching mesh shape, a lattice shape as shown in FIG. 10B, or a shape having a large number of slits as shown in FIG. 10C.

  The specific configuration shown in the embodiment described above is an exemplification, and those skilled in the art may make various modifications. For example, the shape and dimensional ratio of each member, the arrangement density and the number of light emitting diodes, and the like may be appropriately changed according to the performance / use and installation environment required for the traffic light.

  In addition, in one viewpoint of embodiment of this invention demonstrated above, a heating area | region is a partial area | region of a light emission surface. In this way, even in cold regions with severe conditions, ice and snow can be melted at least in the heating region, and the visibility of the light emitting surface can be ensured.

  In another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the heat transfer structure includes a heat transfer unit having a plurality of openings that transmit light emitted from the light guide plate, and the heat transfer unit on which a light-emitting diode is mounted. And a thermally connected mounting portion. Thereby, while transferring the heat from a light emitting diode to a heat-transfer part, a light ray can be permeate | transmitted to the front side in a heat-transfer part.

  Moreover, in another viewpoint of embodiment of this invention, a heat-transfer structure is a polygonal heat-transfer member, and a mounting part is a flat plate-shaped part extended back from the side of the said heat-transfer member. Thereby, a heat-transfer structure can be comprised by an integral member.

  Moreover, in another viewpoint of embodiment of this invention, it has the light suppression structure which suppresses the light quantity emitted from the said light emission surface in this non-heating area | region which is areas other than the heating area | region of a light emission surface. Thereby, the difference of the light amount in a heating area | region and a non-heating area | region can be compensated.

  Further, according to another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the light suppression structure is provided in the heat transfer structure, and is provided with a plurality of openings that transmit light emitted from the light guide plate, and is mounted in comparison with the heat transfer unit. It is a non-heat-transfer part where heat from the placement part is difficult to be transmitted, or is printing or painting applied to the surface of the light guide plate or a member arranged on the front side of the light guide plate, or arranged on the front side of the light guide plate Or a light reflecting structure formed on the back surface of the light guide plate. Thereby, the difference of the light amount in a heating area | region and a non-heating area | region can be compensated.

  In another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the light emitting diode is provided to face the end surface of the light guide plate in a part of the periphery of the light guide plate, and the amount of heat generated by the light emitting diode at the position facing the heating region. Is greater than the total amount of heat generated by the light emitting diodes at the position facing the non-heated region. Thereby, uniform light emission can be obtained efficiently with fewer light emitting diodes.

  Moreover, in another viewpoint of embodiment of this invention, the back surface of a heat-transfer structure is a reflective surface. Thereby, the utilization efficiency of a light ray increases.

  In another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the heat transfer structure and the light guide plate are separated by a space or a heat insulating material. Thereby, the heat of the heat transfer structure does not escape to the light guide plate side.

  In another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the lamp includes a housing, and a heat transfer structure and a heat insulating member disposed between the housing and preventing heat transfer from the heat transfer structure to the housing. Prepare. Thereby, the heat of the heat transfer structure does not escape to the housing side.

  Moreover, in another viewpoint of embodiment of this invention, it has the lower heat-transfer structure which transfers the heat of a heat-transfer structure to a housing in the lower part of a lamp. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of an icicle can be suppressed.

  In another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the lamp includes a conversion circuit board having a conversion circuit that converts an alternating current into a direct current, and the conversion circuit board is thermally provided at a lower portion of the heat transfer structure. It arrange | positions so that it may touch. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of an ice column can be suppressed further.

  In another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the traffic light is disposed on the front side of the case that houses the lamp and has an opening that exposes the light emitting surface on the front side, and the heat transfer structure, and the heat transfer area is configured to transmit the light transmission surface. A transparent cover thermally connected to the thermal structure, wherein the light emitting surface of the cover is convex forward, and at the outer periphery of the light emitting surface, between the light emitting surface and the front surface of the case No step is formed on the surface. Thereby, falling off of the ice and snow adhering to the light emitting surface is not prevented.

  Moreover, in another viewpoint of embodiment of this invention, the back surface of the light emission surface of a cover is concave shape. This reduces the thickness of the cover on the light emitting surface.

  Moreover, in another viewpoint of embodiment of this invention, the inclination of the said light emission surface and the front surface of a case is equal in the outer periphery of a light emission surface. Thereby, falling off of the ice and snow adhering to the light emitting surface is not prevented.

  In another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the front surface of the light emitting surface is a curved surface that is linear in the vertical direction and curved in the horizontal direction. In this way, it is possible to suppress the reflected light caused by strong external light such as the western sun without preventing the fall of ice and snow.

  1 traffic light, 2 lamps, 10 case, 10F front case, 10R rear case, 11 opening, 12 light emitting surface, 13 mm, 14 lamp fixing part, 15 wiring hole, 20 gasket, 21 cover, 22 heat transfer member, 23 Spacer, 24 Optical sheet group, 25 Light guide plate, 26 Reflective sheet, 27 Heat insulation member, 28 Housing, 210 Screw, 220 Placement part, 221 Heat transfer part, 222 Light emitting diode substrate, 223 Light emitting diode, 224 Conversion circuit board mounting part 225 Conversion circuit board, 226 peripheral part, 227 beam, 228 non-heat transfer part, 229 reflective surface, 270 notch, 280 housing attachment part, 281 attachment boss, 282 hole, 283 heat transfer protrusion, 284 screw.

Claims (16)

A light guide plate that changes the direction of light incident from the end face and emits light from the front face;
A plurality of light emitting diodes arranged facing the end face of the light guide plate;
A transparent cover having a light emitting surface;
Is disposed in front of the light guide plate Rutotomoni, in contact with the rear surface of said cover at said light emitting surface, the light emitting diode and thermally connected to the heat emitted from the light emitting diode of at least a portion of said light emitting surface A heat transfer member that transmits to the heating area,
A traffic light comprising a lamp having   The traffic light according to claim 1, wherein the heating area is a partial area of the light emitting surface. The heat transfer member includes a heat transfer portion having a plurality of openings that transmit light emitted from the light guide plate, and a placement portion on which the light emitting diode is placed and thermally connected to the heat transfer portion. The traffic light according to claim 1 or 2. The heat transfer member is a polygonal shape, traffic according to claim 3 the placement section is a flat plate-like portion extending rearward from the side of the heat transfer member.   5. The traffic light according to claim 1, further comprising a light suppression structure that suppresses an amount of light emitted from the light emitting surface in a non-heated region other than the heating region of the light emitting surface. The light suppression structure is provided in the heat transfer member, and is provided with a plurality of openings that transmit light beams emitted from the light guide plate, and heat from the placement unit is less likely to be transmitted than the heat transfer unit. It is a heat transfer part, is a printing or coating applied to the surface of the light guide plate or a member arranged on the front side of the light guide plate, is a sheet arranged on the front side of the light guide plate, or The traffic light according to claim 5, wherein the traffic light is a light reflecting structure formed on a back surface of the light guide plate.   The light emitting diode is provided to face the end face of the light guide plate in a part of the periphery of the light guide plate, and the total amount of heat generated by the light emitting diode at the position facing the heating region faces the non-heating region. The traffic light according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the traffic light is larger than the total amount of heat generated by the light emitting diodes at a position. The traffic light according to claim 1, wherein a back surface of the heat transfer member is a reflective surface. The traffic light according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the heat transfer member and the light guide plate are separated by a space or a heat insulating material. The lamp is
A housing;
A heat insulating member disposed between the heat transfer member and the housing to prevent heat transfer from the heat transfer member to the housing;
A traffic light according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The traffic light according to claim 10, further comprising a lower heat transfer structure that transfers heat of the heat transfer member to the housing at a lower portion of the lamp. The lamp is
A conversion circuit board having a conversion circuit for converting alternating current into direct current;
The traffic light according to claim 11, wherein the conversion circuit board is disposed so as to be in thermal contact with a lower portion of the heat transfer member . Housing the lamp device, comprising a cases having an opening for exposing the light emitting surface on the front,
The light emitting surface of the cover is convex forward,
The traffic light according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein no step is formed between the light emitting surface and the front surface of the case at an outer peripheral edge of the light emitting surface.   The traffic light according to claim 13, wherein a rear surface of the light emitting surface of the cover has a concave shape.   The traffic light according to claim 13 or 14, wherein an inclination of the light emitting surface and the front surface of the case is equal at an outer peripheral edge of the light emitting surface.   The traffic light according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein a front surface of the light emitting surface is a curved surface that is linear in a vertical direction and curved in a horizontal direction.

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