JP6227695B2 - Headlight - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a headlight for mounting on a head to illuminate the front.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses a hat-mounted light emitting device. The hat-mounted light emitting device is worn on the user's head during nighttime or dark activities, and illuminates the front of the user. This document proposes a configuration in which a plurality of (for example, three) lights are juxtaposed along the left-right direction on the front surface of the light-emitting tool body.

Special table 2011-510185 gazette

Such a headlight (cap-attached light emitting device) may require a wide illumination width in the left-right direction.
In the configuration of Patent Document 1, although three lights are provided on the front surface of the main body, since each light faces forward, it is not possible to earn a large illumination range in one predetermined direction (left and right direction). . It is possible to increase the number of lights placed on the front of the main unit, but there is a limit to the number of lights that can be mounted on the headlight mounted on the head, so install a large number of lights. I can't.

In addition, it is conceivable to increase the amount of light emitted from each light, but in this case, the power consumption of the headlight increases and the battery may be consumed more.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a headlight that can illuminate a wide area along a predetermined direction without increasing the power consumption.

The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above object is a three-lamp headlight that is mounted on a user's head and illuminates the front of the head. On the other hand, a mounting part that is covered from above, a first light source having a light source and arranged in this order along the left-right direction, and a holder attached to the front surface of the mounting part, A holder that collectively supports the first, second, and third lights, and the optical axis of the light source of the first light is directed forward with respect to the optical axis of the light source of the second light. according, are inclined so away in a direction along the lateral direction, the optical axis of the light source of the third light, with respect to the optical axis of the light source of the second light, toward the front, the right and left direction Inclining away from each other in the direction along which the first and second levers Angle between the optical axes of bets light source, and the second and third angle formed optical axes of the light source of the light, respectively 17 ° to 20 °, to provide a headlight.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the first light and / or the third light is provided so as to be rotatable around a predetermined rotation axis with respect to the second light. The headlight according to claim 1 .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a headlight that can illuminate a wide area along a predetermined direction without increasing power consumption.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a headlight according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a helmet. FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration example of a light unit included in the headlight. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration example of the light unit. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram seen from above of FIG. 3 and the like showing the illumination state of the illumination target from the left light, the middle light, and the right light. FIGS. 6A to 6C are front views showing the illumination states of the illumination target from the left light, the middle light, and the right light. FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a light unit according to a modification of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a headlight 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a helmet 2.
The headlight 1 is, for example, a three-lamp type headlight having three lights. The headlight 1 is mounted on a helmet 2 that is mounted on the worker's (user's) head, and illuminates the illumination object 3 in front of the worker's head, for example, during track maintenance at night. By using the headlight 1, the front of the worker is brightly illuminated, and the worker can obtain a hands-free state, whereby the worker can perform the track maintenance work well. Hereinafter, the front of the worker's head is referred to as “front”, and the rear of the worker's head is described as “rear”. Further, the description will be made assuming that the left side of the worker is “left” and the right side of the worker is “right”.

The headlight 1 includes a head belt (mounting portion) 4 that is wound around the helmet 2 and mounted on the helmet 2, a support base (mounting portion) 5 that is attached to the middle portion of the head belt 4, and a support base 5 includes a light unit 6 that is detachably attached to the battery 5 and a battery box (not shown) attached to the head belt 4. The headlight 1 is attached to the helmet 2 in such a posture that the light unit 6 and the support base 5 are positioned forward and the battery box (not shown) is positioned rearward. The light unit 6 to the support base 5 is attached via a fastener such as a bolt (not shown). Further, the light unit 6 is mounted on the support base 5 so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis A1 (see FIG. 4) along the left-right direction. As a result, the posture of the light unit 6 with respect to the support base 5 can be changed (tilted). The support base 5 has a plate shape along the peripheral surface of the head belt 4 and is formed using, for example, a resin material.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration example of the light unit 6 included in the headlight 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration example of the light unit 6.
The light unit 6 includes a left light (first light) 7L, a middle light (second light) 7C, and a right light (third light) 7R, and a holder 8 that holds these three lights 7L, 7C, and 7R. Including. While being held by the holder 8, the three lights 7L, 7C, 7R are arranged in the left-right direction (a direction along a predetermined direction). The three lights 7L, 7C, and 7R are lights for illuminating the front of the worker's head.

  The left light 7L includes a left LED 9L as a light source. The middle light 7C includes a middle LED 9C as a light source. The right light 7R includes a right LED 9R as a light source. In this embodiment, the configurations of the left light 7L and the right light 7R have the same specifications (size and shape). Further, the configuration of the middle light 7C is the same as that of the left light 7L and the right light, except that the configuration for operating the light unit 6 (operation switch 23 (see FIG. 4) and switching mechanism 24 (see FIG. 4)) It has the same specifications as 7R.

  2 and 3 show a state in which the middle LED 9C is horizontal, that is, a state in which the middle light 7C is in a horizontal posture (that is, a state in which the operator raises his head and faces the horizontal front) (described later). The same applies to FIG. 4). Hereinafter, the configuration of each part of the light unit 6 will be described by taking this state as an example. The upper and lower directions in the state in which the middle light 7C is in the horizontal posture will be described as “upper” and “lower”, respectively. FIG. 2 shows a view of the light unit 6 as viewed from the upper front side, and FIG. 3 shows a state of the light unit 6 as viewed from the upper left side.

  In this embodiment, the left light 7L and the right light 7R are each in a horizontal posture while the middle light 7C is in a horizontal posture. Also, in this state, the vertical height of the left light 7L and the right light 7R when viewed from the front is aligned with the middle light 7C. That is, the LEDs 9L, 9C, and 9R have the same vertical height (the LEDs 9L, 9C, and 9R are aligned in a straight line when viewed from the front).

Further, when viewed from above, the left light 7L is inclined forward to the left with respect to the middle light 7C. The right light 7R is inclined forward to the right with respect to the middle light 7C. This is one of the features of the present invention.
The holder 8 includes a holding plate 10 that supports the three lights 7L, 7C, and 7R from below, and a connection member 11 that connects the holding plate 10 and the support base 5.

  The holding plate 10 has a substantially arc shape when viewed from above so as to follow the outer periphery of the helmet 2. On the upper surface of the holding plate 10, three recesses 12L, 12C, and 12R for placing the three lights 7L, 7C, and 7R are formed. The bottom surface of each recess 12L, 12C, 12R is a cylindrical surface along the outer peripheral surface of the corresponding light 7L, 7C, 7R. A pair of front and rear bolt insertion holes 13 for inserting bolts 31 and 32 (see FIG. 4) is formed at the bottom of each of the recesses 12L, 12C, and 12R. The three lights 7L, 7C, and 7R having the outer peripheral cylindrical shape are fitted into the cylindrical recesses 12L, 12C, and 12R, thereby positioning the lights 7L, 7C, and 7R in the corresponding recesses 12L, 12C, and 12R. be able to. In the example of FIG. 3 and the like, the holding plate 10 is formed using a resin material such as ABS resin. The holding plate 10 may be formed using a metal material such as aluminum.

  The connecting member 11 has a block shape. The connection member 11 is attached to the support base 5 so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis A1 (see FIG. 4). The connection member 11 is provided at a support surface 14 that supports the central portion in the left-right direction of the holding plate 10 from below, a bolt insertion hole 15 through which the bolt 31 is inserted, and a rear portion of the connection member 11. 5 includes a ratchet portion 16 for engaging with an engagement protrusion (not shown) provided on the front surface of 5 to change the posture with respect to the support base 5 stepwise. In the example of FIG. 3 and the like, the connecting member 11 is formed using a resin material such as ABS resin.

In the example of FIG. 3, the holding plate 10 and the connecting member 11 are configured using different members, but the holding plate 10 and the connecting member 11 may be provided integrally.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line IV-IV in FIG. Hereinafter, the middle light 7C will be described with reference to FIG. Further, as described above, the configuration of the middle light 7C is the same as that of the left light 7L and the right light 7R except that the configuration for operating the light unit 6 (operation switch 23 and switching mechanism 24) is included. Since it has the original, the description of the left light 7L and the right light 7R is omitted.

The middle light 7 </ b> C includes a cylindrical housing 17, an LED 18 (in this case, a middle LED 9 </ b> C), a lens 19, a spacer 20, a heat sink 21, a substrate 22, an operation switch 23 and a switching mechanism 24. . When the middle light 7C is in a horizontal posture, the central axis of the housing 17 is horizontal.
The front of the housing 17 is open. The housing 17 includes a cylinder 25, a ring-shaped member 26 attached to the front end portion of the cylinder 25, and a rear lid 27 attached to the rear end portion of the cylinder 25 and covering the rear end portion of the cylinder 25. The ring-shaped member 26 is coupled to the front end portion of the cylinder 25 by screw fitting. The ring-shaped member 26 interferes with the lens 19 in the coupled state to the cylinder 25 and prevents the lens 19 from jumping forward from the front opening. The rear lid 27 is coupled to the rear end portion of the cylinder 25 by screw fitting.

The LED 18 is a dome-shaped LED package in which an LED chip is arranged at substantially the center of a hemispherical dome-shaped transparent resin. A heat sink 21 is disposed in contact with the rear surface of the LED 18. An annular spacer 20 is disposed in contact with the front surface of the LED 18 so as to surround the periphery of the dome portion of the LED 18.
The lens 19 is substantially hemispherical. The lens 19 is disposed with the plane side facing forward and the spherical surface facing rearward. A concave portion 28 is defined by a hemispherical surface at the rear end portion of the lens 19, and the concave portion 28 surrounds the dome portion of the LED 18 with a gap. The lens 19 converges the light emitted from the LED 18 and gives the light a strong directivity in the front. The brightness of the LED 18 (that is, each LED 9L, 9C, 9R) is, for example, 200 lm.

The substrate 22 is supplied with power from a battery in a battery box (not shown) via a wiring 33 (not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3). The substrate 22 can turn on / off each LED 9L, 9C, 9R by controlling power feeding to each light 7L, 7C, 7R.
Unlike the left light 7L and the right light 7R, the middle light 7C includes an operation switch 23 and a switching mechanism 24. The operation switch 23 is disposed at the upper end of the cylinder 25. The switching mechanism 24 is connected to the operation switch 23 and is mounted on the substrate 22.

  When the operation switch 23 is pressed while the LEDs 18 of all the lights 7L, 7C, and 7R are turned off, only the LED 18 (that is, the middle LED 9C) of the middle light 7C is turned on. Thereafter, when the operation switch 23 is pressed, the LEDs 18 of all the lights 7L, 7C, 7R (that is, the left LED 9L, the middle LED 9C, and the right LED 9R) are turned on. Thereafter, when the operation switch 23 is pressed again, the LEDs 18 of all the lights 7L, 7C, 7R (that is, the left LED 9L, the middle LED 9C, and the right LED 9R) are turned off.

  A pair of front and rear screw holes 30 are formed at the lower end of the cylinder 25. A bolt 31 is screwed to the front screw hole 30 through the bolt insertion hole 13. A bolt 32 is screwed into the rear screw hole 30 via the bolt insertion hole 13 and the bolt insertion hole 15. By fastening these bolts 31, 32, the holding plate 10 and the lights 7L, 7C, 7R are coupled. Further, the fastening between the holding plate 10 and the connecting member 11 is also achieved by fastening the bolt 32.

The bolts 32 are screwed into the screw holes 30 on the rear side of the left light 7L and the right light 7R only through the bolt insertion holes 13 and not through the bolt insertion holes 15 of the connection member 11.
In this embodiment, each of the lights 7L, 7C, 7R is screwed to the holding plate 10 at two places in the front and rear. In addition, the lights 7L, 7C, and 7R are fitted in the recesses 12L, 12C, and 12R having the cylindrical surface, so that each of the lights 7L, 7C, and 7R in the attached state to the holding plate 10 is illustrated in FIG. -It does not rotate around a predetermined rotation axis along the vertical direction of FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a view seen from above of FIG. 3 and the like showing the illumination state of the illumination target 3 from the left light 7L, the middle light 7C, and the right light 7R. As shown in FIG. 5, the left light 7L is higher than the middle light 7C in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 (the optical axis AL of the left LED 9L (hereinafter referred to as “left optical axis AL”) and the optical axis of the middle LED 9C. AC (the direction perpendicular to the first virtual plane including the medium optical axis AC) (the direction passing through the left and right LEDs 9L, 9R and the second virtual plane including the medium optical axis AC) As seen from the top, it leans to the left as it goes forward. Specifically, the left optical axis AL is inclined leftward (inclined in a direction away from the intermediate optical axis AC) with respect to the intermediate optical axis AC as it goes forward. When viewed from above, the inclination angle θ1 between the left optical axis AL and the middle optical axis AC is 17 ° to 25 °, more preferably about 20 °.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the right light 7 </ b> R is higher than the middle light 7 </ b> C in FIGS. 2 to 4 (the optical axis AR of the right LED 9 </ b> R (hereinafter referred to as “right optical axis AR”) and the middle optical axis. As seen from the first imaginary plane including AC and in a direction perpendicular to the first imaginary plane, the posture is inclined to the right as it goes forward. Specifically, the right optical axis AR is inclined rightward (inclined in a direction away from the intermediate optical axis AC) with respect to the intermediate optical axis AC as it goes forward. When viewed from above, the inclination angle θ2 between the right optical axis AR and the middle optical axis AC is 17 ° to 25 °, more preferably about 20 °.

Note that, as described above, the left light 7L and the right light 7R are in a horizontal posture in a state where the middle light 7C is in a horizontal posture. Therefore, when viewed from the left and right directions, the left optical axis AL, The optical axis AC and the right optical axis AR are along the same direction.
As shown in FIG. 5, a case will be described in which a headlight 1 is used to irradiate an illumination target 3 that is a predetermined distance L ahead. The distance L is 2 m, for example.

6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating light irradiation regions in the illumination target 3. In FIGS. 6A to 6C, irradiation regions RL, RC, and RR having a luminance of a predetermined value or more (for example, about 100 lux or more) are shown by circles. In this case, in the illumination target 3, the entire irradiation width (illumination width) W of light in the left-right direction reaches 2 m.
As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, in the illumination target 3 that is 2 m away from the front, three substantially circular irradiation areas RL, RC, and RR (each of which is approximately 70 cm in diameter, for example) by light from the lights 7L, 7C, and 7R. Circles) are lined up in the horizontal direction. The brightness of each irradiation region RL, RC, and RR is about 100 lux at the periphery and about 300 lux at the center. As a result, the headlight 1 can be illuminated with a more sufficient luminance in the “region of 2 m long 2 m ahead”.

  When the headlight 1 is used in nighttime track maintenance work, the worker turns on only the middle light 7C (medium LED 9C) during the track maintenance work. After the track maintenance work is completed, all the lights 7L, 7C, 7R (LEDs 9L, 9C are included) for work completion confirmation (including confirmation of track maintenance work and confirmation that jigs etc. are not forgotten). , 9R) is lit. The operator confirms the completion of the work while irradiating the “2 m long area 2 m ahead” with the light from the headlight 1. Thereby, work completion confirmation can be performed satisfactorily.

FIG. 6A shows an example in which the inclination angle θ1 and the inclination angle θ2 are each set to about 20 °. In this example, adjacent irradiation regions (irradiation regions RL and RC and irradiation regions RC and RR) slightly overlap each other.
FIG. 6B shows an example in which the inclination angle θ1 and the inclination angle θ2 are each set to about 17 °. In this example, adjacent irradiation regions (irradiation regions RL and RC and irradiation regions RC and RR) overlap with each other with a constant area (a larger area than FIG. 6A).

FIG. 6C shows an example in which the inclination angle θ1 and the inclination angle θ2 are each set to about 25 °. In this example, adjacent irradiation regions (irradiation regions RL and RC and irradiation regions RC and RR) are slightly separated in the left-right direction.
As a result of tests by the inventors of the present application, it is most preferable that the inclination angle θ1 and the inclination angle θ2 are each set to about 20 °. If each of the inclination angle θ1 and the inclination angle θ2 is less than 17 °, the entire irradiation width W cannot be secured to 2 m. In addition, when each of the inclination angle θ1 and the inclination angle θ2 exceeds 25 °, the irradiation regions RL, RC, and RR are separated too much, and a region where light is not irradiated within the entire irradiation width W is generated.

  By the way, if the lights 7L, 7C, and 7R are arranged so that the optical axes AL, AC, and AR are parallel to each other when viewed from above in FIGS. 2 to 4, most of the three irradiation areas overlap. As a whole, one substantially circular irradiation area is formed. In this case, by increasing the brightness of each LED 9L, 9C, 9R and enlarging the diameter of the irradiation region, the lateral width of the substantially circular irradiation region can be increased to 2 m. However, in this case, the diameter of the substantially circular irradiation area becomes too large, and light is also applied to areas that do not need to be illuminated (areas above and below the irradiation areas RL, RC, RR in FIG. 6). Irradiate. Therefore, there is a possibility that power consumption increases and battery consumption increases.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the left light axis 7L and the right light axis 7R have the left optical axis AL and the right optical axis AR, respectively, as viewed from above in FIGS. It is provided to incline in a direction away from AC. Thereby, irradiation area | region RL, RC, RR by the light from LED9L, 9C, 9R in the illumination object 3 is located in a line with the left-right direction. Therefore, it is possible to provide a headlight that can illuminate a wide range of the illumination target 3 along the left-right direction without increasing the power consumption.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can also be implemented with another form.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the left light 7L and / or the right light 7R can rotate about a rotation axis (rotation axis) A2 along the vertical direction of FIGS. It may be provided. That is, the inclination angle θ1 and / or the inclination angle θ2 may be provided to be changeable. In this case, the left light 7L may be provided such that the posture can be changed between a tilt posture in which the tilt angle θ1 is 17 ° to 25 ° and a parallel posture in which the tilt angle θ1 is approximately 0 °. Further, the right light 7R may be provided so that its posture can be changed between a tilt posture in which the tilt angle θ2 is 17 ° to 25 ° and a parallel posture in which the tilt angle θ2 is approximately 0 °. The posture of the left light 7L and / or the right light 7R may be changed manually by the operator.

  Moreover, in above-mentioned embodiment, LED9L, 9C, 9R does not need to be located in a straight line by front view. The left LED 9L and the right LED 9R may be disposed above the middle LED 9C, or may be disposed below the middle LED 9C. Further, the middle optical axis AC and / or the right optical axis AR may be inclined with respect to the middle optical axis AC when viewed from the left-right direction.

An incandescent lamp may be adopted as the light source instead of the LED.
Further, the shape and size of the left light 7L and the right light 7R may be configured to be different from those of the middle light 7C.
Moreover, although the number of lights 7L, 7C, and 7R included in the light unit 6 has been described as three, the number of lights may be two or four or more. In this case, at least a pair of lights adjacent to each other among the plurality of lights is viewed from a direction orthogonal to the first virtual plane including the optical axes of the pair of light sources, and the optical axes of the pair of light sources are directed forward. May be provided so as to be separated from each other.

The number of light sources included in each of the lights 7L, 7C, and 7R is usually one, but may be two or more.
The lights 7L, 7C, and 7R may be equipped with a zoom function for enlarging / reducing the irradiation areas RL, RC, and RR. This zoom function may be provided for each of the lights 7L, 7C, and 7R.

Further, the plurality of lights 7L, 7C, and 7R may be arranged along other directions (for example, the upper and lower sides shown in FIGS. 2 to 4) instead of the left-right direction.
Further, the headlight 1 has been described as being used at night track maintenance work, but is not limited to track maintenance work and may be used for other work such as night work. The headlight 1 can also be used for fishing and mountain climbing. In this case, the headlight 1 can be attached to a hat worn by the user or directly to the user's head.

In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.

1: Headlight 3: Illumination target
4: Head belt (mounting part)
5: Support base (mounting part)
7L: Left light (first light)
7C: Medium light (second light)
7R: Right light (third light)
8: Holder 9L: Left LED (light source of the first light)
9C: Medium LED (light source of second light)
9R: Right LED (light source of third light)
AL: Left optical axis (optical axis of left LED)
AC: Middle optical axis (optical axis of middle LED)
AR: Right optical axis (optical axis of right LED)
A2 : Axis of rotation A3: Axis of rotation

Claims (2)

A three-lamp headlight that is mounted on the user's head and illuminates the front of the head,
A mounting part that is applied to the head from above;
First, second and third lights each having a light source and arranged in this order along the left-right direction;
A holder attached to the front surface of the mounting portion, including a holder that collectively supports the first, second, and third lights;
The optical axis of the light source of the first light is inclined so as to be separated in the direction along the left-right direction toward the front with respect to the optical axis of the light source of the second light,
The optical axis of the light source of the third light is inclined so as to be separated in the direction along the left-right direction toward the front with respect to the optical axis of the light source of the second light,
A headlight in which an angle formed by optical axes of light sources of the first and second lights and an angle formed by optical axes of light sources of the second and third lights are 17 ° to 20 °, respectively.   2. The headlight according to claim 1, wherein the first light and / or the third light is provided to be rotatable about a predetermined rotation axis with respect to the second light.

Images