JP6303305B2 - Light guide and vehicle lamp using the light guide - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a light guide and a vehicular lamp using the light guide, and particularly uses a point light source such as an LED, converts light from the point light source into linear light, and a ring. The present invention relates to a light guide that emits light in a shape and a vehicular lamp using the light guide.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a light guide that uses a semiconductor light emitting element such as an LED as a point light source and converts light from the point light source into linear light by emitting light in a ring shape is known. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  The light guides described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 include a light guide body formed in a ring shape so as to provide a light emitting surface that is continuous in a ring shape, and a light source is provided in part of the light guide body. The light intake part which takes in the light of the inside of the light guide main body is provided. And, the light from the light source taken into the light guide body from the light intake part is diffusely reflected inside the light guide body and advanced in the extending direction so that the entire light guide body can be seen to emit light. Is.

  Further, the light guide configured in this way is arranged along the outer periphery of the headlight or the like as a means for improving the design of the vehicle, separately from the illumination light from the headlight or the like, for example. Or arranged in a signal lamp and used as a signal by lighting or blinking in a ring shape.

  Therefore, when the light guide is made to emit light, it is necessary to use a single light source so that the light guide has a uniform brightness continuous in a ring shape and can satisfy the required light intensity.

JP 2001-176305 A. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-14122.

  However, since the light guide is formed in an elongated state, the conventional light guide structure leaks to the outside while the light travels, resulting in poor light guide efficiency and uniform brightness. It's hard to be done.

  In addition, since the conventional light guide has a small optical path width, it is necessary to increase the amount of light from the light source in order to improve the visibility and decoration.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a light guide body that can improve light guide efficiency and light leakage to obtain uniform brightness, and can improve visibility and decorativeness, and the light guide body. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular lamp using a light guide.

  The present invention has been proposed to achieve the above object, and the light guide of the present invention takes light from a light source, diffuses and reflects the light inside, and advances in the extending direction. The light guide body, the light reflecting means having a light scattering property formed on the back surface of the light guide body along the extending direction of the light guide body, and outward from the side surface of the light guide body A flange that is projected and formed along the extending direction of the light guide body, and light that is formed at the front end portion of the flange and that travels from the light guide body side to the front end portion of the flange. And a reflection surface that is inverted inward.

  According to this configuration, the light from the light source that has entered the light guide body travels in the extending direction due to light diffusion in the light guide body and light scattered by the light reflecting means, and also travels into the flange. As a result, the inside of the light guide main body and the inside of the flange are in a state where light is emitted at the same time, and can be visually recognized as a light guide having a large optical path width. In addition, when the light from the light source that has advanced into the flange reaches the tip portion that becomes the end of the flange, it is reversed to the inside of the flange by the reflection surface provided at the flange tip portion, and returned to the light guide body side. Thereby, the loss of light leaking outside at the flange tip portion can be reduced, and light can be emitted with uniform luminance.

  Further, it is preferable that the light guide body is formed in a ring shape, and the flange protrudes outward from the peripheral surface of the light guide body and is formed in a ring disk shape.

  According to this configuration, a ring-shaped light guide is obtained.

  Moreover, the structure by which the said flange is formed in the internal peripheral surface and outer peripheral surface of the said light guide main body is preferable.

  According to this structure, the light guide which has a big optical path width is obtained by providing a flange and a reflective surface in the both sides of the inner peripheral surface and outer peripheral surface of a light guide main body.

  Moreover, the structure in which the said reflective surface is formed of the two inclined surfaces which incline substantially 45 degree | times inside with respect to the protrusion direction of the said flange is preferable.

  According to this configuration, the light that has traveled to the front end portion of the flange can be converted into parallel light on the two inclined surfaces and returned to the light guide body side, and light emission can be easily made uniform.

  Moreover, the structure in which the said reflective surface is formed of the reflective prism is preferable.

  According to this configuration, the two reflecting surfaces inclined by the reflecting prism can be easily formed, and the light that has traveled to the tip of the flange can be converted into parallel light and returned to the light guide body side. It becomes easier to make uniform.

  Moreover, the structure which forms a vehicle lamp provided with the illumination unit which has a light emitting element and the said light guide is preferable.

  According to this configuration, a vehicular lamp having a good appearance can be provided by the illumination unit in which the light guide uniformly emits light when the light emitting element is turned on.

  According to the present invention, since the entire light guide can be made to emit light substantially uniformly, the appearance can be improved. In addition, by using only one light source, the entire light guide with a large optical path, for example a ring-shaped light guide, can be made to emit light almost uniformly, improving economics and improving decorativeness and visibility. Can be made. And when this light guide is used for a vehicular lamp, the decorativeness and the visibility of the lamp can be improved.

It is a top view of the illumination unit using the light guide concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is an AA line schematic expanded sectional view of FIG. It is a BB line schematic expanded sectional view of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect of the light guide which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the modification of the light guide of this invention, (a) is the figure which provided the outer side flange and the light diffusion part in the light guide main body, (b) provided the inner side flange and the light diffusion part in the light guide main body. It is a figure. It is a front view of the vehicle lamp using the light guide which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 3 show an illumination unit using a light guide according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of the illumination unit viewed from the back side, and FIG. 2 is a line AA in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the illumination unit 10 includes a light source unit 11, a light guide member 12, and a light guide 13.

  The light source unit 11 uses a semiconductor light emitting element 11a such as an LED (hereinafter simply referred to as “light emitting element 11a”) as a light source. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the light source unit 11 is disposed to face one end of the light guide path member 12. The light guide path member 12 is formed with a hemispherical concave portion 14 on one end of the light source portion 11 facing the light emitting element 11a, that is, on the light incident portion side. Then, the light source unit 11 places the light emitting element 11a in the recess 14 so that almost all of the light emitted from the light emitting element 11a can enter the recess 14, and the light guide path member 12. It is arranged close to one end of the.

  The light guide 13 is formed in a ring shape as a transparent lens using a light-transmitting material made of glass or a synthetic resin material (for example, polycarbonate resin, methacrylic resin, polymetal methacrylate resin, acrylic resin, etc.). Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the light guide 13 includes a light guide body 21, a light diffuser 22 provided on the back surface of the light guide body 21, and an outer flange provided on the outer peripheral surface of the light guide body 21. 23 and an inner flange 24 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the light guide main body 21 are integrally provided.

  The light guide body 21 is formed in a ring shape by bending a long material having a circular cross section as shown in FIG. 2 so as to be a continuous outer peripheral surface having a constant curvature as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the diffuser 22 protrudes from the back surface of the light guide body 21 outward at a substantially right angle, and is formed in a ring shape along the extending direction of the light guide body 21 as shown in FIG. Has been. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a prism 22 a is repeatedly provided in the extending direction of the light guide body 21 on the projecting surface side of the light diffuser 22 (the rear surface 13 b side of the light guide 13). The prism 22a functions as a light reflecting means having a light diffusing property that travels in the extending direction while diffusing the light 100 incident on the inside of the light guide body 21 to convert it into linear light.

  The prism 22a shown in FIG. 3 shows a prism having a corrugated section, but the shape of the prism 22a is not limited to a corrugated shape, for example, a section having a triangular or diacut shape, etc. Any shape may be used as long as the light 100 can be reflected in the light guide body 21 and can travel in the extending direction. Further, the surface of the prism 22a may be provided with a metal foil or a coating film such as silver or aluminum to enhance the reflection of light.

  The outer flange 23 projects radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the light guide body 21 outward at a substantially right angle, and is formed in a disk shape along the extending direction of the light guide body 21. Further, at the terminal portion of the outer flange 23, that is, at the tip portion, the light 100 that has traveled from the light guide body 21 side to the tip portion of the outer flange 23 is inverted approximately 180 degrees toward the inner side of the outer flange 23 to guide the light guide body 21. Reflective surfaces 25a and 25b directed to the side are provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the reflecting surfaces 25a and 25b provided at the front end portion of the outer flange 23 are inclined at about 45 degrees in the vertical direction from the vertical center position at the front end portion of the outer flange 23, respectively. The reflecting prism 25 is cut so as to reflect.

  The inner flange 24 protrudes radially outward from the inner peripheral surface of the light guide body 21 toward the center O of the ring-shaped light guide 13, and extends along the extending direction of the light guide body 21. It is formed in a disk shape. Further, the light 100 traveling from the light guide main body 21 side to the front end portion of the inner flange 24 is reversed approximately 180 degrees toward the inner flange 24 and directed toward the light guide main body 21 side at the front end portion of the inner flange 24. Reflecting surfaces 26a and 26b are provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the reflecting surfaces 26 a and 26 b provided at the front end portion of the inner flange 24 are arranged in the vertical direction at the front end portion of the inner flange 24 as shown in FIG. The reflecting prism 26 is formed so as to be inclined so as to be totally reflected at an angle of about 45 degrees.

  The reflecting prisms 25 and 26 may be provided with a metal foil or a coating film such as silver or aluminum on the surfaces of the reflecting surfaces 25a, 25b, 26a and 26b to increase the light reflectivity.

  The light guide body 13 formed in this way has a light-emitting surface in the form of a ring for the light guide body 21, the outer flange 23, and the inner flange 24 visible from the front side to be shown in a state where light is emitted. A light guide member attaching portion 27 for attaching the other end of the light guide member 12 and introducing light from the light emitting element 11a through the light guide member 12 is provided on a part of the light guide 13. . Note that a part of the outer flange 23 and the inner flange 24 in the light guide 13 can be used as a part of the attachment portion when the illumination unit 10 is attached to the fixed side.

  Next, the operation of the lighting unit 10 configured as described above will be described. When the light emitting element 11a of the light source unit 11 emits light, the light of the light emitting element 11a that is the point light source enters the light guide path member 12 as linear light from the concave portion 14, and further passes through the light guide path member 12. Into the ring-shaped light guide 13.

  The light 100 introduced into the light guide 13 travels in the extending direction in the light guide 13 while being repeatedly reflected by the inner surface of the light guide body 21 and the prism 22a of the diffuser 22. Further, a part of the light 100 reflected by the light guide main body 21 and the light scattering part 22 travels in the outer flange 23 and the inner flange 24 toward the tip part. The light 100 traveling toward the front end through the outer flange 23 and the inner flange 24 is reflected by the reflection surfaces 25a and 25b of the reflection prism 25 and the reflection surfaces 26a and 26 of the reflection prism 26, respectively. Is reversed approximately 180 degrees, and proceeds in the reverse direction toward the inside of the light guide body 21 through the outer flange 23 and the inner flange 24. Thereby, the inside of the light guide 13 becomes linear light and shines, and the front surface 13a of the light guide 13 appears to emit light.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the light 100 that has traveled toward the distal end side in the outer flange 23 and the inner flange 24 is transmitted to the outer flange 23 and the inner flange 24, respectively, at the distal end portion. In the structure in which the reflecting surface that is reversed approximately 180 degrees toward the inner side of the inner flange 24 and the inner side of the inner flange 24 is not provided, the light 100 that has traveled to the tip portion escapes from the tip portion to the outside and causes light loss. Become. However, when the reflecting surfaces 25a, 25b, 26a, and 26b are provided at the distal end portion of the outer flange 23 and the distal end portion of the inner flange 24, respectively, as in the structure of the present embodiment, the reflecting surfaces 25a and 25b of the reflecting prism 25 are provided. , And the reflecting surfaces 26a and 26 of the reflecting prism 26, respectively, are reversed by approximately 180 degrees and proceed in the opposite direction toward the light guide 13 through the outer flange 23 and the inner flange 24. Loss of light leaking to the outside can be reduced at the tip of the portion and the inner flange 24, and light can be emitted with uniform brightness.

  Thereby, the brightness | luminance in the light guide 13 becomes substantially the same in every position, and since the whole light guide 13 made into a ring shape can be light-emitted substantially uniformly, the improvement of appearance can be aimed at. Further, since the outer flange 23 and the inner flange 24 are provided on the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the light guide main body 21, respectively, the entire light guide 13 having a ring shape with a large optical path width is formed by one light emitting element 11a. Can be emitted substantially uniformly. As a result, the decorativeness and visibility can be improved.

  In the structure of the above embodiment, the ring-shaped light guide body 13 provided with the outer flange 23 and the inner flange 24 on the outer periphery and the inner periphery of the light guide body 21 is disclosed. As shown in FIG. 5B, only the outer flange 23 may be provided, or as shown in FIG. 5B, only the inner flange 24 may be provided.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the light guide body 21 has a structure in which a long body having a circular cross section is formed in a ring shape, but the cross sectional shape is not particularly limited thereto, and for example, the cross section is a quadrangle. It may have been.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the light guide body 21 is bent so as to be a continuous outer peripheral surface having a constant curvature, and has a ring shape, but is not necessarily limited to a ring shape. You may make it the shape extended linearly.

  In addition, as a field of use of the light guide 13 configured as described above, use for a vehicular lamp is more effective.

  FIG. 6 is a front view of the vehicular lamp 30 using the lighting unit 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The vehicular lamp 30 is a vehicular headlamp disposed, for example, at the front of an automobile. The lighting unit 10 has the front surface of the light guide 13 in the front of the lamp chamber 33 including a lamp housing 31 having a front surface opened and a front lens 32 attached to cover the front opening of the lamp housing 31. It is arranged with a main lamp unit (running lamp and passing lamp) 34 toward the lens 32 side, and is used with a function of a signal lamp, that is, a clearance lamp, for example.

  Therefore, in the vehicular lamp 30 using the lighting unit 10, when the light source unit 11 is turned on and the light guide 13 emits light, the light guide 13 emits light in a ring shape with uniform brightness. Good lighting is obtained. Moreover, since it can be comprised by the one light source part 11, it contributes also to cost reduction.

  The vehicular lamp 30 can be used not only as a headlamp but also as a tail lamp or a vehicle width lamp.

  Moreover, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, and the like within a scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Illumination unit 11 Light source part 11a Light-emitting element 12 Light guide path material 13 Light guide 13a Front surface 13b Rear surface 14 Recessed part 21 Light guide main body 22 Light diffuser part 22a as a light reflection means Prism 23 Outer flange 24 Inner flange 25 Reflective prism 25a Reflective surface 25b Reflective surface 26 Reflective prism 26a Reflective surface 26b Reflective surface 30 Vehicle lamp 31 Lamp housing 32 Front lens 33 Lamp chamber 100 Incident light O Center of light guide

Claims (6)

A vehicle lamp comprising a lighting unit including a light source and a light-transmitting light guide that takes in light from the light source and diffuses and reflects the light inside and advances in an extending direction,
The light guide is
A light guide body;
A light reflecting means having light diffusivity formed on the back surface of the light guide body along the extending direction of the light guide body;
A flange that protrudes outward from the side surface of the light guide body and is formed integrally with the light guide body along the extending direction of the light guide body;
A reflective surface that is formed at the front end of the flange and reverses the light that has traveled from the light guide body side to the front end of the flange to the inside of the flange;
Equipped with a,
The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the flange can be used as a part of an attachment portion when the illumination unit is attached to the vehicle lamp . The flange includes a first flange formed on one side surface of the light guide body, and a second flange formed on the other side surface of the light guide body so as to face the first flange.
2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the first flange and the second flange protrude outward along the same straight line in a sectional view. The said light guide main body is formed in a ring shape, The said flange protrudes outward from the surrounding surface of the said light guide main body, and is formed in the ring disk shape, The Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. The vehicle lamp as described. The vehicular lamp according to claim 3 , wherein the flange is formed on an inner peripheral surface and an outer peripheral surface of the light guide body. Said reflecting surface, according that it is formed by two inclined surfaces inclined inwardly about 45 degrees respectively with respect to the projecting direction of the flange claim 1, wherein in any one of claims 4 Vehicle lamp . The vehicular lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the reflecting surface is formed by a reflecting prism.

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