JP6247078B2 - Vehicle lighting - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp provided with a light guide.

  Conventionally, as a vehicular lamp provided with a light guide, as described in, for example, “Patent Document 1”, emitted light from a light source is directed to a light guide that extends in a direction intersecting the front-rear direction of the lamp. There is known one configured to be incident from one end face thereof.

  This vehicular lamp is configured to emit light from a light source incident on a light guide toward the front from the peripheral surface while guiding light toward the other end surface.

JP 2012-256448 A

  In such a vehicular lamp, in order to cause the light guide to emit light with a wide width, it is necessary to increase its outer diameter.

  However, since the light guide used in the conventional vehicle lamp is configured as a solid light guide, increasing the outer diameter increases the weight and volume of the light guide. For this reason, there is a problem that the material cost of the light guide increases, and the manufacturing time for the molding takes a long time.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in a vehicular lamp provided with a light guide, the light guide is reduced in material cost and manufacturing time. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular lamp that can realize wide light emission of a body.

  In the present invention, the object is achieved by devising the shape of the light guide.

That is, the vehicular lamp according to the present invention is
A light guide disposed so as to extend in a required direction intersecting with the front-rear direction of the lamp, and a light source disposed so that light enters the light guide from one end surface in the required direction. In a vehicular lamp configured to emit light from the light source that is incident on a light body and guided through the light guide to the front from a peripheral surface portion of the light guide,
The light guide includes a cylindrical region extending in the required direction;
A plurality of reflective elements are formed on the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical region to internally reflect the light guided through the cylindrical region toward the front,
The light guide extends in a curved shape so as to wrap around from the other end surface in the required direction toward the one end surface ,
The light guide has an end on the one end surface side that is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a part of the light emitted from the light source does not enter the cylindrical region from the one end surface. It is comprised so that it may advance in inner peripheral side space , It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The type of the “light source” is not particularly limited, and for example, a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode or a laser diode, a light source bulb, or the like can be employed.

  The specific direction is not particularly limited as long as the “required direction” is a direction intersecting the lamp front-rear direction.

  The “light guide” includes a cylindrical region extending in a required direction, and if a plurality of reflective elements are formed on the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface thereof, the light guide is formed in a cylindrical shape over the entire length in the required direction. It is not necessarily required to be formed, and the “light guide” may be arranged so as to extend linearly in a required direction or may be arranged so as to extend in a curved manner.

  As long as the “cylindrical region” is formed in a cylindrical shape, the specific cross-sectional shape thereof is not particularly limited, and for example, a circular shape, an elliptical shape, a rectangular shape, and other polygonal shapes can be adopted. .

  The “plurality of reflective elements” may be formed over the entire length of the cylindrical region, or may be formed in a part thereof.

  As shown in the above configuration, the vehicular lamp according to the present invention causes light emitted from the light source to be incident from one end surface of the light guide disposed so as to extend in a required direction intersecting the front-rear direction of the lamp. However, the light guide has a cylindrical region extending in a required direction, and light guided through the cylindrical region is transmitted to the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface thereof. Since a plurality of reflecting elements that reflect the inner surface toward the front are formed, the following effects can be obtained.

  That is, the light that has entered the light guide from one end face is guided toward the other end face, but the light that has reached the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical region in the middle of the light guide The reflection element formed on the front wall portion reflects the inner surface toward the front and reaches the front wall portion of the outer peripheral surface. At this time, if the incident angle when the internally reflected light reaches the front wall portion of the outer peripheral surface is less than the critical angle, the light is emitted forward from the front wall portion, and the incident angle exceeds the critical angle. Then, the light is totally reflected by the front wall portion and further guided.

  Further, in the light guide of the present invention, when the end portion on one end surface side is formed in a cylindrical shape, a part of the emitted light from the light source does not enter the cylindrical region from the one end surface. Will advance through the inner space. Then, when the light that has traveled through the inner peripheral space reaches the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical region, the light enters the cylindrical region from the inner peripheral surface and is guided toward the other end surface of the light guide. Become. At this time, when the light incident on the cylindrical region from the inner peripheral surface reaches the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface in the middle of light guiding, the light is internally reflected toward the front by the reflecting element formed on the front wall portion. Thus, a part of the light is emitted forward from the front wall portion of the outer peripheral surface, and the remaining light is continuously guided.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, since the light guide has a hollow cylindrical region, even if the outer diameter of the light guide is increased in order to cause the light guide to emit light with a wide width, the conventional solid guide is provided. The weight and volume of the light guide can be reduced compared to the light body. Therefore, the material cost of the light guide can be reduced accordingly. Moreover, since the light guide can be thinned, the manufacturing time for the molding can be shortened.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in the vehicular lamp provided with the light guide, it is possible to realize wide light emission of the light guide after reducing the material cost and the manufacturing time of the light guide. it can.

  At that time, the light emitted from the light guide is light that has been internally reflected toward the front by the reflecting element formed on the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical region. can do. Thus, uniform light emission of the light guide can be realized.

  In the above configuration, if the light guide is configured by assembling a front side member and a rear side member that are divided into two back and forth along the required direction, the light guide is formed long. Even in such a case, the molding can be easily performed.

  In the above configuration, if the cylindrical region is formed so as to gradually become thinner from one end surface to the other end surface in the required direction, most of the emitted light from the light source can be guided to the inside of the cylindrical region, And the light guide efficiency inside a cylindrical area | region can be improved.

  In the above configuration, if the colored member extending in the required direction is disposed in at least a part of the inner circumferential space of the cylindrical region, the following operational effects can be obtained.

  That is, when the light source is not turned on, the colored member can be seen through the cylindrical region of the light guide through a long and narrow shape, so that the design of the lamp can be improved. In this case, the “colored member” may be formed of a transparent member or an opaque member.

Plan sectional drawing which shows the vehicle lamp which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention II-II sectional view of FIG. Detailed view of part III in Fig. 1 The front view which shows the main components of the said vehicle lamp The same figure as FIG. 1 which shows the 1st modification of the said embodiment. The same figure as FIG. 1 which shows the 2nd modification of the said embodiment. The same figure as FIG. 1 which shows the 3rd modification of the said embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view showing a vehicular lamp 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. Further, FIG. 4A is a front view showing main components of the vehicular lamp 10.

  As shown in these drawings, a vehicular lamp 10 according to the present embodiment is a tail lamp provided at a right rear end portion of a vehicle, and a lamp body 12 and a through hole attached to a front end opening portion of the lamp body 12 are illustrated. The light guide 20 is disposed in the lamp chamber formed by the light-transmitting cover 14 so as to extend in the vehicle width direction when viewed from the front of the lamp, and the light guide 20 is located outside the vehicle width direction. The light source 30 is arranged so that light enters from the right end surface 20a.

  As for the vehicular lamp 10, in FIG. 1, the direction indicated by X is “front” (“rear” for vehicles), and the direction indicated by Y is “right direction” orthogonal to “front”.

  The light guide 20 is a transparent synthetic resin molded product made of an acrylic resin or the like, and is a long cylindrical member extending in a curved shape so as to wrap around from the left end surface 20b toward the right end surface 20a. It is configured as. In other words, the required direction in which the light guide 20 extends is set in a direction that turns back toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. And as for this light guide 20, the full length of the required direction is comprised as a cylindrical area | region.

  The light source 30 is a red light emitting diode, and is disposed in the vicinity of the right end surface 20a of the light guide 20 so that the light emitting surface 30a faces the right end surface 20a. The light source 30 is supported by a light source support member 32. The light source support member 32 is supported by the lamp body 12.

  The light guide 20 is configured by assembling a front side member 20F and a rear side member 20R which are divided into two equal parts in the front and rear direction along a required direction. At this time, this assembly is performed by bonding the front side member 20F and the rear side member 20R.

  As for this light guide 20, the cross-sectional shape along the plane orthogonal to a required direction is set to the annular | circular shape. However, the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface 20c of the light guide 20 has a plurality of reflection elements 20s for internally reflecting light from the light source 30 incident from the right end surface 20a of the light guide 20 toward the front. Is formed so as to protrude into the inner circumferential space C of the light guide 20.

  The plurality of reflecting elements 20s are continuously formed at equal intervals in the required direction within a range excluding both ends of the light guide 20 in the required direction. At this time, each of the reflecting elements 20s has a wedge-shaped horizontal cross section and is formed to extend in the vertical direction along the peripheral surface of the inner peripheral surface 20c.

  The light guide 20 is supported by light guide support members 22 and 24 at both left and right ends thereof. At this time, the light guide support member 22 that supports the right end portion of the light guide 20 is supported by the light source support member 32, and the light guide support member 24 that supports the left end portion of the light guide 20 is a lamp body. 12 is supported.

  FIG. 4B is a front view showing the main components of the vehicular lamp 10 with the light source 30 turned on.

  As shown in the figure, the light guide 20 emits light from the light source 30 incident on the light guide 20 forward from the front wall portion of the outer peripheral surface 20d in the middle of the light guide, It emits light over a substantially entire length.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment is demonstrated.

  In the vehicular lamp 10 according to the present embodiment, light from the light source 30 incident on the inside of the light guide 20 from the right end surface 20a of the light guide 20 is totally reflected by the inner peripheral surface 20c and the outer peripheral surface 20d. The light is guided in the direction of the left end surface 20b while repeating internal reflection by the light, and a part of light reaches each reflective element 20s in the middle of the light guide, and is internally reflected toward the front by the reflective element 20s. . Then, the light internally reflected by each of the reflecting elements 20s reaches the front wall portion of the outer peripheral surface 20d of the light guide 20, and at that time, when the inner surface reflected light reaches the front wall portion of the outer peripheral surface 20d. If the incident angle is less than the critical angle, the light is emitted forward from the front wall. If the incident angle exceeds the critical angle, the light is totally reflected by the front wall and further guided. It becomes.

  In addition, a part of the light emitted from the light source 30 does not enter the light guide 20 from the right end surface 20a of the light guide 20, but travels through the inner circumferential space C thereof. When the light traveling in the inner peripheral space C reaches the inner peripheral surface 20c of the light guide 20, it enters the light guide 20 from the inner peripheral surface 20c and is directed toward the left end surface 20b of the light guide 20. It will be guided. At this time, the light incident on the light guide 20 from the inner peripheral surface 20c reaches the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface 20c in the middle of the light guide. Then, a part of the light that has been internally reflected by each of these reflecting elements 20s and reached the front wall portion of the outer peripheral surface 20d is emitted forward, and the remaining light continues to be guided.

  In that case, in this embodiment, since the light guide 20 is configured as a hollow cylindrical region over its entire length, the outer diameter of the light guide 20 is increased in order to cause the light guide 20 to emit light with a wide width. Even so, the weight and volume of the light guide 20 can be reduced as compared with a conventional solid light guide. Therefore, the material cost of the light guide 20 can be suppressed by that much. Moreover, since the light guide 20 can be thinned, the manufacturing time for the shaping | molding can be shortened.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the vehicular lamp 10 including the light guide 20, wide light emission of the light guide 20 is achieved after reducing the material cost of the light guide 20 and the manufacturing time. Can be realized.

  At this time, the light emitted from the light guide 20 is light that is internally reflected toward the front by the reflecting element 20s formed on the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface 20c, and is thus controlled light. be able to. Thereby, uniform light emission of the light guide 20 can be realized.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the light guide 20 is configured by assembling the front side member 20F and the rear side member 20R which are divided into two front and rear along the required direction, so that the light guide 20 is long. Despite being configured as a tubular member of the scale, the molding can be easily performed.

In the said embodiment, although demonstrated as what the assembly | attachment of the front side member 20F and the back side member 20R was performed by adhesion | attachment, assembly | attachment is performed by methods other than that (for example, welding, fitting, etc.). A configuration is also possible.
In the above embodiment, the light guide 20 having an annular cross-sectional shape has been described as being configured by the front side member 20F and the rear side member 20R which are divided into two equal parts in the front and rear. It is also possible to adopt a configuration other than (for example, a configuration in which a light guide having a rectangular cross-sectional shape is divided into two in the front-rear direction at a position near the front surface thereof). In the said embodiment, although demonstrated as what was arrange | positioned so that the light guide 20 might be extended in a horizontal direction, it can also be set as the structure arrange | positioned so that it may extend in an up-down direction or diagonally.

  In the above-described embodiment, the light emitting diode is used as the light source 30, but a configuration using other types of light sources is also possible.

  In the above embodiment, the light from the light source 30 has been described as being configured to enter the light guide 20 from the right end surface 20a. However, from the left end surface 20b or from the right end surface 20a and the left end. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which light from the light source 30 (or another light source) is incident on the light guide 20 from both the surfaces 20b.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the vehicular lamp 10 is a tail lamp provided at the right rear end of the vehicle has been described. However, the same configuration as that of the above embodiment is adopted regardless of the location and function provided in the vehicle. By doing so, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the above-described embodiment.

  Next, a modification of the above embodiment will be described.

  First, a first modification of the above embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the vehicular lamp 110 according to this modification.

  As shown in the figure, the vehicular lamp 110 according to the present modification also has the same basic configuration as that of the above embodiment, but the configuration of the light guide 120 is partially the same as that of the above embodiment. Is different.

  That is, the light guide 120 of the present modification is also configured by assembling the front side member 120F and the rear side member 120R, and the entire length in the required direction is configured as a cylindrical region.

  However, the light guide 120 is formed so as to gradually become thinner from the right end surface 120a toward the left end surface 120b in the required direction. At this time, the diameter of the outer peripheral surface 120d of the light guide 120 is constant, and the diameter of the inner peripheral surface 120c is formed so as to gradually increase from the right end surface 120a toward the left end surface 120b. A plurality of reflective elements 120s similar to those in the above embodiment are formed on the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface 120c of the light guide 120.

  By adopting the configuration of this modification, the end on the right end surface 120a side of the light guide 120 can be formed thick, so that most of the light emitted from the light source 30 is guided in a cylindrical shape. The light can be guided to the inside of the light body 120 and the light guide efficiency inside the light guide 120 can be increased.

  Next, a second modification of the above embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a vehicular lamp 210 according to this modification.

  As shown in the figure, the basic configuration of the vehicular lamp 210 according to this modification is the same as that of the first modification, but in the inner circumferential space C of the light guide 120 in the required direction. It is partially different from the case of the first modified example in that the extending colored member 240 is arranged.

  The colored member 240 is configured as a colored (eg, blue) opaque rod-shaped member, and is inserted into the inner circumferential space C from the left end surface 120 b of the light guide 120. At this time, the colored member 240 is configured as a tapered rod-shaped member, and is formed so that the tip thereof extends to the vicinity of the right end surface 120 a of the light guide 120. That is, the colored member 240 has a shape in which the diameter increases from the vicinity of the right end surface 120a of the light guide 120 toward the required direction. The colored member 240 is supported by the light guide support member 24 and the lamp body 12 at the base end portion 240a.

  By adopting the configuration of this modified example, when the light source 30 is not lit, the colored member 240 is seen through the light guide 120 through the light guide 120, so that the light guide 120 has the same color as the colored member 240. It appears to be colored, and this can enhance the design of the lamp.

  Instead of the colored member 240 of this modification, it is also possible to use a colored member made of a rod-like member other than blue or a colored member made of a transparent rod-like member, and a plurality of colored members are discretely arranged. A configuration is also possible.

  In the vehicular lamp 10 according to the above-described embodiment, a colored member (for example, a constant outer diameter dimension in a required direction) is provided in the inner circumferential space C of the light guide 20 in the inner circumferential space C. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which an extended colored member) is additionally arranged.

  Next, a third modification of the above embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a vehicular lamp 310 according to this modification.

  As shown in the figure, the basic configuration of the vehicular lamp 310 according to this modification is the same as that of the above embodiment, but the configuration of the light guide 320 is partially different from that of the above embodiment. Yes.

  That is, the light guide 320 of the present modification is configured by assembling the front side member 320F and the rear side member 320R, but both end portions 326A and 326B in the required direction are configured by solid, A portion between them is configured as a hollow cylindrical region 328.

  By adopting the configuration of this modification, more light from the light source 30 can be incident on the light guide 320 from its right end surface 320a and guided into the cylindrical region 328, and The light guiding efficiency inside the cylindrical region 328 can be increased.

  In addition, instead of the light guide 320 of this modification, only the end 326A on the right end face 320a side is solid, and the end 326B on the left end face 320b side is configured as a part of the cylindrical region 328. In this case, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the present modification.

  The numerical values shown as specifications in the embodiment and the modifications thereof are merely examples, and it is needless to say that these may be set to different values as appropriate.

  The invention of the present application is not limited to the configuration described in the above-described embodiment and its modifications, and a configuration with various other changes can be adopted.

10, 110, 210, 310 Vehicle lamp 12 Lamp body 14 Translucent cover 20, 120, 320 Light guide 20F, 120F, 320F Front side member 20R, 120R, 320R Rear side member 20a, 120a, 320a Right end surface 20b, 120b, 320b Left end surface 20c, 120c Inner peripheral surface 20d, 120d Outer peripheral surface 20s, 120s Reflective element 22, 24 Light guide support member 30 Light source 30a Light emitting surface 32 Light source support member 240 Colored member 240a Base end portion 326A, 326B End portion 328 Cylindrical region C Inner circumference

Claims (4)

A light guide disposed so as to extend in a required direction intersecting with the front-rear direction of the lamp, and a light source disposed so that light enters the light guide from one end surface in the required direction. In a vehicular lamp configured to emit light from the light source that is incident on a light body and guided through the light guide to the front from a peripheral surface portion of the light guide,
The light guide includes a cylindrical region extending in the required direction;
A plurality of reflective elements are formed on the front wall portion of the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical region to internally reflect the light guided through the cylindrical region toward the front,
The light guide extends in a curved shape so as to wrap around from the other end surface in the required direction toward the one end surface ,
The light guide has an end on the one end surface side that is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a part of the light emitted from the light source does not enter the cylindrical region from the one end surface. A vehicular lamp characterized by being configured to travel in an inner circumferential space .   The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the light guide is configured by assembling a front side member and a rear side member that are divided into two in the front-rear direction along the required direction.   The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical region is formed so as to gradually become thinner from the one end surface to the other end surface with respect to the required direction.   The vehicular lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a colored member extending in the required direction is disposed in at least a part of the inner circumferential space of the cylindrical region.

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