JP6245903B2 - Vehicle lighting - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp, and more particularly to a vehicular lamp using an optical element array such as a MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems) mirror array.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a light distribution variable light including a light source, a MEMS mirror array that controls light distribution by reflecting light from the light source, and a condenser lens. This light distribution variable light forms a desired light distribution pattern by controlling on / off of each of the plurality of micromirrors provided in the MEMS mirror array.

JP 2011-81975 A

  In a conventional vehicular lamp having a MEMS mirror array, the micromirror array is irradiated with light of substantially uniform brightness, the on-state micromirror reflects light toward the front of the lamp, and the off-state micromirror emits light. Is reflected toward the light absorbing material to form a desired light distribution pattern in front of the lamp. According to this technique, the degree of freedom in forming the light distribution pattern can be increased, but there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of improving the light utilization rate in the vehicular lamp.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve the light utilization rate in a vehicular lamp using an optical element array.

  In order to solve the above problems, a vehicular lamp according to an aspect of the present invention includes a light source, a first state in which light from the light source is emitted in a first emission direction, and light from the light source in a first emission direction. An optical element array in which a plurality of optical elements that can be switched individually between different second emission directions are arranged, and a predetermined light distribution pattern is formed from the light from the optical elements in the first state In order to do so, a first optical member that projects forward of the lamp and a second optical member that irradiates around the lamp in order to make the light from the optical element in the second state visible from the outside of the lamp.

  The second optical member may be configured to attenuate the light from the optical element in the second state and irradiate around the lamp.

  The second optical member may be configured to reflect light from the outside and to transmit light from the optical element in the second state.

  The light projected from the first optical member may form a high beam light distribution pattern.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the improvement of a light utilization factor can be aimed at in the vehicle lamp using an optical element array.

It is a vertical sectional view showing a schematic structure of a vehicular lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the light distribution pattern which the vehicle lamp which concerns on this embodiment forms. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the light distribution pattern which the vehicle lamp which concerns on this embodiment forms. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the light distribution pattern which the vehicle lamp which concerns on this embodiment forms. FIGS. 5A to 5C are schematic front views of the designable member and the projection lens.

  Hereinafter, a vehicular lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted as appropriate. The embodiments do not limit the invention but are exemplifications, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention.

  FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a schematic structure of a vehicular lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicular lamp 1 according to the present embodiment is a vehicular headlamp device having a pair of headlamp units arranged on the left and right sides in front of the vehicle. Since the pair of headlamp units have substantially the same configuration except that they have a symmetrical structure, FIG. 1 shows the structure of one headlamp unit as the vehicular lamp 1.

  The vehicular lamp 1 includes a lamp body 2 having an opening on the front side of the vehicle, and a translucent cover 4 attached so as to cover the opening of the lamp body 2. The translucent cover 4 is made of translucent resin or glass. In the lamp chamber 3 formed by the lamp body 2 and the translucent cover 4, a light source 10, a reflector 20, an optical element array 30, a designable member 40, and a projection lens 50 are accommodated. Each part is attached to the lamp body 2 by a support mechanism (not shown).

  The light source 10 of this embodiment may be an LED, a semiconductor laser, a bulb, or the like. The light source 10 irradiates light toward the reflector 20. The reflector 20 has a curved reflecting surface 20a. The reflector 20 reflects light from the light source 10 toward the optical element array 30.

  The optical element array 30 is a MEMS mirror array in which a plurality of micromirrors are arranged in an array. Since the MEMS mirror array is publicly known, the detailed description of the structure is omitted in this specification.

  In the present embodiment, each micromirror of the optical element array 30 changes its inclination angle to reflect the light from the reflector 20 in front of the lamp (hereinafter referred to as “on state”), and from the reflector 20. It is possible to individually switch between a state in which light is reflected obliquely upward (hereinafter referred to as an “off state”). The light reflection direction is different between the on state and the off state of the micromirror. For example, in FIG. 1, the micromirror 30a is in an on state, and the micromirror 30b is in an off state. The light reflected in front of the lamp by the micromirror 30a in the on state enters the projection lens 50 disposed on the front side of the lamp of the optical element array 30. On the other hand, the light reflected obliquely upward of the lamp by the micromirror 30b in the off state is incident on the designable member 40 disposed obliquely above the lamp of the optical element array 30. The control unit 300 switches the inclination angle of each micromirror.

  The projection lens 50 is composed of, for example, a free-form surface lens having a front surface and a rear surface having a free-form surface, and a light source image formed on a rear focal plane including the rear focus of the projection lens 50 is used as a reverse image. Project onto the front virtual vertical screen. The projection lens 50 is disposed so that its rear focal point is located on the optical axis of the vehicular lamp 1 and in the vicinity of the light emitting surface of the optical element array 30 (that is, the reflecting surface of the MEMS mirror array). Therefore, the projection lens 50 projects the light from the micromirrors in the ON state of the optical element array 30 in front of the lamp in order to form a predetermined light distribution pattern. In the present embodiment, the light projected from the projection lens 50 can form various high beam light distribution patterns. The projected high beam light distribution pattern will be described later.

  The designable member 40 irradiates the periphery of the lamp with light from the micromirror in the off state of the optical element array 30 so that the light can be visually recognized from the outside of the lamp. In the present embodiment, the designable member 40 is disposed above the projection lens 50 such that the exit surface 40a faces the light transmitting cover 4 and the entrance surface 40b faces the optical element array 30. .

  The controller 300 executes the adjustment of the emission intensity of the light source 10 and the control of the tilt angle of each micromirror of the optical element array 30. The control unit 300 is realized by an element and a circuit including a CPU and a memory of a computer as a hardware configuration, and is realized by a computer program and the like as a software configuration. The control unit 300 is provided outside the lamp chamber 3 in FIG. 1, but may be provided inside the lamp chamber 3. The control unit 300 receives signals from the image processing device 310 connected to the imaging device 312, a light switch (not shown), and the like. Then, the control unit 300 transmits various control signals to the light source 10 and the optical element array 30 according to the received signal.

  Then, the formation method of the light distribution pattern by the vehicle lamp 1, and the shape of the formed light distribution pattern are demonstrated. 2 to 4 are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of a light distribution pattern formed by the vehicular lamp according to the present embodiment. 2 to 4 show a light distribution pattern formed on a virtual vertical screen arranged at a predetermined position in front of the lamp, for example, at a position 25 m ahead of the lamp.

  When the micromirror located in the substantially elliptical region on the optical element array 30 is turned on, and the micromirror located outside the substantially elliptical region is turned off, the light reflected by the on-state micromirror Is irradiated forward of the lamp through the projection lens 50. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, a substantially elliptical high beam light distribution pattern PH is formed.

  The vehicular lamp 1 can form a light distribution pattern having a desired shape by turning on a part of the micromirrors located in the substantially elliptical region and turning off the remaining part. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a so-called left-side high light distribution pattern PHL having a light irradiation region above the horizontal line H and on the left side and a light shielding region on the right side can be formed. In addition to the left-side high light distribution pattern PHL, the right-side high light distribution pattern and a light-shielding region at the center above the horizontal line H, and light irradiation regions on both sides in the horizontal direction of the light-shielding region. A so-called split light distribution pattern or the like can also be formed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicular lamp 1 can form a light shielding region S in a region overlapping with other vehicles and pedestrians in the high beam light distribution pattern PH. Thereby, coexistence with the reduction of a possibility of giving a glare to another vehicle or a pedestrian, and the improvement of a driver's visibility can be aimed at. FIG. 4 illustrates a high beam light distribution pattern PH in which a light shielding region S is formed at a position overlapping with the oncoming vehicle. The light shielding region S can be formed as follows, for example.

  That is, the image processing apparatus 310 acquires image data captured by the imaging apparatus 312 such as a camera and performs image processing. As a result, the image processing apparatus 310 identifies vehicles and pedestrians included in the image data and detects these positions. Since a technique for identifying a vehicle or a pedestrian and a technique for detecting a position are well known, description thereof will be omitted. The detected vehicle and pedestrian position information is sent to the control unit 300. The control unit 300 controls the optical element array 30 using the position information of the vehicle or pedestrian so as to form the light shielding region S at the position where the vehicle or pedestrian is present in the high beam light distribution pattern PH. The control unit 300 turns off the micromirrors located outside the substantially elliptical region on the optical element array 30 and the micromirrors corresponding to the light shielding region S among the micromirrors located within the substantially elliptical region, Other micromirrors located in the substantially elliptical region are turned on. Thereby, the light shielding region S is formed in the high beam light distribution pattern PH.

  The light distribution pattern as described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 is formed by the light reflected by the micromirror controlled to the on state of the optical element array 30, and the light reflected by the micromirror controlled to the off state is It is not irradiated in front of the lamp. Conventionally, the light reflected by such an off-state micromirror has been absorbed by a light absorbing material arranged in the reflection direction and has not been effectively used. Therefore, the vehicular lamp using the conventional MEMS mirror array has room for improvement from the viewpoint of improving the light utilization rate.

  Therefore, the light source 10 according to the present embodiment is configured such that light from the micromirror in the OFF state of the optical element array 30 is incident on the designable member 40 and is irradiated from the designable member 40 around the lamp. Thereby, since the mode that the designable member 40 is light-emitted from the lamp exterior can be visually recognized, the designability of the vehicle lamp 1 can be improved. Thus, according to the light source 10 which concerns on this embodiment, since the light which is not utilized for irradiation of a light distribution pattern can be utilized for improving the designability, a light utilization factor can be improved.

  When irradiating the light distribution pattern for high beam, the light source 10 emits light with very high intensity. Therefore, it is preferable that the designable member 40 is configured to attenuate and irradiate the incident light so that the designable member 40 is not dazzled when viewed from the outside. As such a designable member 40, for example, a translucent processed part can be used. A step for diffusing light may be formed in the translucent processed part. Or the designable member 40 may be comprised so that the light from the micromirror in an OFF state may be transmitted while reflecting the light from the lamp exterior. As such a designable member 40, for example, a half-deposited part can be used. A step for diffusing light may be formed in the half-deposited processed component.

  5A to 5C are schematic front views of the designable member 40 and the projection lens 50. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the designable member 40 can take various shapes and arrangements. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5A, the designable member 40 is an arc-shaped member provided above the projection lens 50, and can present a design in which the upper part of the projection lens 50 emits light. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5B, the designable member 40 is a substantially rectangular member surrounding the projection lens 50, and can present a design in which the periphery of the projection lens 50 emits light in a rectangular shape. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5C, the designable member 40 is an annular member surrounding the projection lens 50, and can present a design in which the periphery of the projection lens 50 emits light in a ring shape. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, as the design member 40, a light guide that emits from the exit surface along the extending direction while guiding light incident from one end inside is used. May be.

  The present invention has been described above based on the embodiment. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are exemplifications, and that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the MEMS mirror array including a plurality of micromirrors is exemplified as the optical element array. However, the optical element array is not limited to the MEMS mirror array. There may be.

  In the above-described embodiment, the projection lens 50 is exemplified as the optical member that projects the reflected light from the optical element array in front of the lamp, but the projection lens 50 may be a reflector, for example.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle lamp, 4 Translucent cover, 10 Light source, 20 Reflector, 30 Optical element array, 30a, 30b Micromirror, 40 Designable member, 50 Projection lens, 300 Control part.

Claims (4)

A light source;
A plurality of states capable of individually switching between a first state in which light from the light source is emitted in a first emission direction and a second state in which light from the light source is emitted in a second emission direction different from the first emission direction. An optical element array in which the optical elements are arranged;
A first optical member that projects light from the optical element in the first state to the front of the lamp in order to form a predetermined light distribution pattern;
A second optical member for irradiating around the lamp in order to make the light from the optical element in the second state visible from outside the lamp;
Equipped with a,
The first optical member is formed to collect light from the optical element in a first state;
The vehicular lamp, wherein the second optical member is formed so as to diffuse light from the optical element in the second state .   2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the second optical member is configured to attenuate light from the optical element in a second state and irradiate around the lamp. 3.   3. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the second optical member is configured to reflect light from the outside and to transmit light from the optical element in the second state. 4. .   4. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the light projected from the first optical member forms a high beam light distribution pattern. 5.

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