JP6385175B2 - Vehicle signal lights - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular signal lamp that efficiently emits light from a light guide lens and a reflector using a single light source.

  For example, in a vehicle signal lamp such as a tail lamp arranged on the left and right of the rear part of a vehicle, conventionally, light emitted from a plurality of light sources arranged in the vehicle width direction is reflected by a reflector toward an irradiation direction. However, the vehicular signal lamp adopting such a configuration has a problem in that it requires a plurality of light sources and increases the number of parts, resulting in an increase in cost.

  Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a vehicular signal lamp shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

  That is, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional plan view of the vehicle signal lamp proposed in Patent Document 1, FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 9, and the vehicle signal lamp 101 shown in FIG. Of the light source 102 incident from the end face in the vehicle width direction to the rear side (right side in FIG. 10). Is adopted. In addition, a reflector 104 extending in the vehicle width direction is disposed on the rear side of the light guide body 103. The reflector 104 includes a first reflecting portion 104A located on the rear side of the light guide body 103, and a lower portion thereof. A second reflecting portion 104B adjacent to the side is provided, and a plurality of first reflecting elements 104As are formed stepwise along the vehicle width direction in the first reflecting portion 104A.

  Thus, the first reflective element 104As formed in the first reflective portion 104A of the reflector 104 reflects the light emitted from the rear surface portion of the light guide body 103 toward the rear side toward the second reflective portion 104B of the reflector 104. The second reflecting portion 104B is configured to reflect the reflected light from the first reflecting elements 104As forward and is therefore disposed at a position that is not behind the light guide 103 in the front view. It is possible to make the second reflecting portion 104B of the reflector 104 shine substantially uniformly. Such an effect can be obtained by a simple configuration in which the single light guide 103 is disposed between the single light source 102 and the reflector 104.

JP 2013-161729 A

  However, in the vehicular signal lamp 101 shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 proposed in Patent Document 1, it is impossible to control the strong light emitted from the light source 102 so as to be directed only to the reflector 104. There was a problem that light could not be emitted efficiently. Incidentally, since the light traveling from the light guide 103 to the reflector 104 has a longer optical path length and a larger loss than the light emitted from the light guide 103 toward the front surface, the surface of the reflector 104 is used as a diffusion surface. In some cases, the reflector 104 becomes dark.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicular signal lamp that can efficiently emit light from a light guide lens and a reflector with a single light source.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention described in claim 1 reflects a single light source, a long light guide lens disposed along the optical axis of the light source, and light emitted from the light guide lens. Or in a vehicle signal light with a diffuser reflector,
The light guide lens is composed of a first lens and a second lens that is connected to a first light source side end of the first lens via a connecting portion having first and second total reflection surfaces,
The light source is disposed to face a light incident surface provided on one end surface of the first lens,
The first lens is formed with a plurality of lens cuts along the longitudinal direction on the back surface for emitting light incident on the first lens from the light incident surface to the front surface side ,
The light source and the first lens are disposed in front of the reflector;
The second lens is located between the first lens and the reflector, and is formed in an elongated shape along the longitudinal direction of the first lens,
The upper surface of the second lens includes a plurality of lens cuts along the longitudinal direction of the second lens,
The reflector is a circularly curved member disposed on the back side of the first lens, and the front surface of the reflector constitutes a reflection surface or a diffusion surface, and forwards so as to cover the light source and the first lens. Extending in a circular arc shape,
The first total reflection surface is located between the front surface and the back surface of the first lens at the opposite end of the first lens on the side opposite to the light source, and passes through the light incident surface and enters the first lens from the light source. Is formed as an inclined surface that reflects the outgoing light through the connecting portion toward the second total reflection surface,
The second total reflection surface includes an upper reflection surface and a lower reflection surface that are inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to a vertical surface and form a horizontal V shape in a side view, and are reflected by the first total reflection surface to be reflected in the connection portion. The reflected light that has passed through is reflected toward the second lens,
The plurality of lens cuts formed on the second lens direct light incident on the second lens through the first and second total reflection surfaces after entering the first lens from the light source toward the reflector. The lens cut is provided with a plurality of inclined surfaces to be emitted .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, light within a predetermined angle range from the optical axis emitted from the light source is incident on the light incident surface of the first lens facing the light source along the optical axis. The light distribution control unit for guiding light in the first lens is formed.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the second total reflection surface is composed of two upper and lower 45 ° surfaces, and both 45 ° surfaces are inclined with respect to a vertical surface. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, the strong light emitted from the light source travels straight through the first lens of the light guide lens without any loss along the optical axis, and is totally reflected by the first and second total reflection surfaces. In the process of entering the lens and proceeding through the second lens, the light is refracted by a plurality of lens cuts formed on the upper surface of the second lens, emitted downward toward the reflector, and reflected or diffused by the reflector. Emit light efficiently.

  In addition, light with low intensity and low loss emitted from the light source is refracted by a plurality of lens cuts formed on the back surface of the first lens in the process of total reflection inside the first lens of the light guide lens. Since the light is emitted to the side, the light guide lens (first lens) emits light efficiently.

  Therefore, the light guide lens and the reflector can efficiently emit light with a single light source without causing an increase in the number of parts and an increase in cost.

It is a perspective view of the vehicle signal lamp principal part which concerns on this invention. It is a front view of the signal lamp for vehicles concerning the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail view of a part A in FIG. 2. It is a top view of the signal lamp for vehicles concerning the present invention. It is a right view of the signal lamp for vehicles concerning the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 2. It is CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a perspective view of the light guide lens edge part of the signal lamp for vehicles concerning the present invention. It is a plane sectional view of the signal lamp for vehicles proposed in patent documents 1. FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line D-D in FIG. 9.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 is a perspective view of a vehicle signal lamp main part according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the vehicle signal lamp, FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail view of a part A in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a vehicle signal lamp according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a right side view of the signal lamp for the vehicle, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. It is a perspective view of the light guide lens edge part of a signal lamp.

  The vehicle signal lamp 1 according to the present invention is used as a tail lamp disposed on the left and right of the rear part of the vehicle, for example, and is defined by a housing (not shown) and a transparent outer lens (not shown) that covers a front opening thereof. In the lamp chamber, a single light source LED 2, a light distribution control light guide lens 3 disposed along the optical axis of the LED 2, and light emitted from the light guide lens 3 are reflected or diffused. The reflector 4 is accommodated.

  The LED 2 is a red LED and is disposed at the left end portion in a front view and emits red light along a horizontal optical axis. In the present embodiment, a surface mount type mounted on the substrate 5 is used as the LED 2, but not limited to this, a bullet type or the like can be used.

  The light guide lens 3 disposed horizontally along the optical axis of the LED 2 is disposed in parallel to the first rod 3A having a round bar shape and the back side (the upper side in FIGS. 4 and 6) of the first lens 3A. The second lens 3B is a right end of the first lens 3A (opposite to the LED 2) via the first total reflection surface 6 and the second total reflection surface 7. Side axial direction end). More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the second lens 3B is connected to the right end portion of the first lens 3A by a connecting portion 3C orthogonal to the optical axis of the LED 2, and is formed at both end corners of the connecting portion 3C. A first total reflection surface 6 and a second total reflection surface 7 forming a 45 ° surface are formed. Here, as shown by hatching in FIG. 8, the second total reflection surface 7 is composed of two upper and lower 45 ° surfaces 7a and 7b, and these 45 ° surfaces 7a and 7b are ridge lines of both. It is arranged so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical plane with the (boundary line) as the center to form a horizontal V shape in side view.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the end surface of the first lens 3 </ b> A facing the LED 2 constitutes a light incident surface 8, and the intensity of light emitted from the LED 2 is formed at the axial center of the light incident surface 8. A convex lens-shaped light distribution control unit 8a that guides strong light L2 along the optical axis is formed.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 4, 6, and 8, a plurality of sawtooth lens cuts 3 a are formed on the back surface of the first lens 3 </ b> A of the light guide lens 3 along the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 8, a plurality of sawtooth-shaped lens cuts 3b are formed on the upper surface of the second lens 3B of the light guide lens 3 along the longitudinal direction.

  The reflector 4 is a circularly curved member disposed on the back side of the light guide lens 3, and the front surface (inner surface) forms a reflection surface or a diffusion surface. Here, the LED 2 and the light guide lens 3 are disposed in front of the upper portion of the reflector 4, and the lower half of the reflector 4 has an arc shape toward the front so as to cover the LED 2 and the light guide lens 3 from below. It extends (see FIGS. 5 and 7).

  Next, the operation of the vehicular signal lamp 1 configured as described above will be described.

  When current is supplied to the LED 2 that is a light source and the LED 2 emits light, light that is emitted from the LED 2 in the lateral direction has relatively low intensity and little loss (angle range of 15 ° to 60 ° from the optical axis). L1) enters the first lens 3A from the periphery of the light distribution control portion 8a of the light incident surface 8 of the first lens 3A. Then, the low-intensity light L1 incident on the first lens 3A proceeds toward the right end side while being totally reflected inside the first lens 3A as shown in FIG. 6, and in the process, the lens cut of the first lens 3A is performed. Since the light is refracted by 3a and emitted forward from the first lens 3A as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the entire light guide lens 3 (first lens 3A) emits light uniformly.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the light distribution control unit formed on the light incident surface 8 of the first lens 3A is a strong light L2 emitted from the LED 2 (light within an angle range within 15 ° from the optical axis). The light distribution is controlled by 8a and travels straight within the first lens 3A along the optical axis without loss. The light L2 that travels straight along the optical axis in the first lens 3A is totally reflected by the first total reflection surface 6 and the second total reflection surface 7 formed in the connecting portion 3C and enters the second lens 3B. In the course of proceeding through the second lens 3B, the light is refracted by the plurality of lens cuts 3b formed on the upper surface of the second lens 3B and emitted downward toward the reflector 4 as shown in FIG. The light L2 emitted downward from the second lens 3B toward the reflector 4 is reflected or diffused by the inner surface of the reflector 4 and emitted forward, so that the reflector 4 emits light efficiently. In addition, since the light L2 aligned in the optical axis direction hits the second total reflection surface 7, if the light L2 is totally reflected on the normal 45 ° surface, the light L2 is incident well toward the second lens 3B. do not do. For this reason, in the present embodiment, as described above, the second total reflection surface 7 is composed of two upper and lower 45 ° surfaces 7a and 7b as shown by oblique lines in FIG. The surfaces 7a and 7b were arranged so as to have a horizontal V shape when viewed from the side by being inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical surface with the ridgeline (boundary line) between them as the center. As a result, the light L2 traveling straight in the first lens 3A can be incident on the second lens 3B with a slight angle from the optical axis.

  As a result, according to the vehicular signal lamp 1 according to the present invention, the light guide lens 3 and the reflector 4 can be efficiently emitted by the single LED 2 without causing an increase in the number of parts and an increase in cost. Is obtained.

  In the above description, the vehicle signal lamp 1 according to the present invention is used as a tail lamp. However, the present invention can be applied to any other vehicle signal lamp such as a turn signal lamp or a position lamp. Of course.

1 Vehicle signal light 2 LED (light source)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Light guide lens 3A 1st lens 3B 2nd lens 3C Connection part 3a, 3b Lens cut 4 Reflector 5 Board | substrate 6 1st total reflection surface 7 2nd total reflection surface 7a, 7b 45 degree surface of 2nd total reflection surface 8 1st Light entrance surface of one lens 8a Light distribution control part of light entrance surface L1 Light with low intensity L2 Light with high intensity

Claims (3)

In a vehicle signal lamp comprising a single light source, a long light guide lens disposed along the optical axis of the light source, and a reflector that reflects or diffuses light emitted from the light guide lens,
The light guide lens is composed of a first lens and a second lens that is connected to a first light source side end of the first lens via a connecting portion having first and second total reflection surfaces,
The light source is disposed to face a light incident surface provided on one end surface of the first lens,
The first lens is formed with a plurality of lens cuts along the longitudinal direction on the back surface for emitting light incident on the first lens from the light incident surface to the front surface side ,
The light source and the first lens are disposed in front of the reflector;
The second lens is located between the first lens and the reflector, and is formed in an elongated shape along the longitudinal direction of the first lens,
The upper surface of the second lens includes a plurality of lens cuts along the longitudinal direction of the second lens,
The reflector is a circularly curved member disposed on the back side of the first lens, and the front surface of the reflector constitutes a reflection surface or a diffusion surface, and forwards so as to cover the light source and the first lens. Extending in a circular arc shape,
The first total reflection surface is located between the front surface and the back surface of the first lens at the opposite end of the first lens on the side opposite to the light source, and passes through the light incident surface and enters the first lens from the light source. Is formed as an inclined surface that reflects the outgoing light through the connecting portion toward the second total reflection surface,
The second total reflection surface includes an upper reflection surface and a lower reflection surface that are inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to a vertical surface and form a horizontal V shape in a side view, and are reflected by the first total reflection surface to be reflected in the connection portion. The reflected light that has passed through is reflected toward the second lens,
The plurality of lens cuts formed on the second lens direct light incident on the second lens through the first and second total reflection surfaces after entering the first lens from the light source toward the reflector. A vehicle signal lamp characterized by being a lens cut provided with a plurality of inclined surfaces to be emitted .
  A light distribution control unit that guides light within a predetermined angle range from the optical axis emitted from the light source along the optical axis to the light incident surface facing the light source of the first lens is formed. The vehicular signal lamp according to claim 1. 3. The vehicular signal lamp according to claim 1, wherein the second total reflection surface is composed of two upper and lower 45 ° surfaces, and both 45 ° surfaces are inclined with respect to a vertical surface.

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