JP6624991B2 - Light guide lens and lighting device having the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a light guide lens whose non-circular outer peripheral edge emits light, and a lighting device including the same.

  For example, some cup holders arranged in the cabin of a vehicle are provided with an illuminating device for clearly indicating the position to an occupant at night. In recent years, LEDs (light emitting diodes) having advantages such as high luminous efficiency, long life, and low power consumption have been used as light sources for such lighting devices.

  By the way, since the light emitted from the LED has strong directivity, this light is made to enter a light guide lens having a shape along the contour of the cup holder, and the light that enters the light guide lens is totally reflected and proceeds. In the process, the light guide lens is caused to emit light along the contour of the cup holder by reflecting the light and emitting the light to the outside (for example, see Patent Document 1). Here, an example of a light guide lens used in a lighting device such as a cup holder will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  That is, FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the conventional light guide lens, FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 9, and FIG. The flat light guide lens 103 has a non-circular shape along the outer shape of a cup holder (not shown), and its outer peripheral edge has a U-shape in plan view. More specifically, the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 103 partially includes an arc portion 103A, and the other portions form linear portions 103B parallel to each other. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, a reflection surface 103 a cut at 45 ° is formed on the circular arc portion 103 A and the linear portion 103 B on the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface of the light guide lens 103.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a columnar convex portion 103C is integrally formed at the center of the circular arc portion 103A on the lower surface of the light guide lens 103 so as to protrude downward, and the convex portion 103C is formed. A circular hole 103b that opens upward and an inverted conical (funnel-shaped) concave portion 103c that opens upward are formed in the bent portion, and the inner peripheral surface of the concave portion 103c forms a reflection surface. .

  The lower surface of the convex portion 103C of the light guide lens 103 forms an incident surface, and an LED 104 as a light source is disposed below the incident surface. Here, the LED 104 is mounted on the substrate 105 such that the light emission direction is vertically upward.

  Thus, in the lighting device including the light guide lens 103 configured as described above, when current is supplied to the LED 104 and the LED 104 emits light, the light emitted upward from the LED 104 as shown in FIG. Are incident from the lower surface (incident surface) of the convex portion 103C of the light guide lens 103, are refracted at right angles to the optical axis on the reflection surface of the concave portion 103c, and travel horizontally in almost all directions. The light is reflected vertically upward by the reflecting surface 103a formed on the circular arc portion 103A and the linear portion 103B of the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 103, and is emitted upward. I do. Therefore, even at night, the occupant can visually recognize the position of the cup holder.

JP 2010-525546 A

  Meanwhile, the conventional light guide lens 103 shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 has a non-circular U-shape in a plan view at a light emitting portion on the outer peripheral edge, and includes a circular arc portion 103A in a part thereof. Constitutes the linear portion 103B, and among the light traveling horizontally in almost all directions inside the light guide lens 103, the light L traveling toward the circular arc portion 103A on the outer peripheral edge is as shown in FIG. At a substantially perpendicular direction to the arc portion 103A in plan view. Therefore, the light L traveling toward the arc portion 103A of the light guide lens 103 is reflected by the reflection surface 103a formed on the arc portion 103A and emitted vertically upward as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the light guide lens 103 is viewed from above, the circular arc portion 103A on the outer peripheral edge thereof appears to be brightly lit.

  On the other hand, the light L ′ traveling toward the linear portion 103B other than the circular arc portion 103A on the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 103 does not enter the linear portion 103A in a direction perpendicular to the planar view as shown in FIG. Incident obliquely. Therefore, the light L 'traveling toward the linear portion 103B of the light guide lens 103 is reflected by the reflecting surface 103a formed on the linear portion 103B and emitted obliquely with respect to the vertical. For this reason, when the light guide lens 103 is viewed from above, the straight portion 103B on the outer peripheral edge is darker than the circular arc portion 103A, and the brightness becomes darker toward the end, and in some cases, the straight portion 103B is completely illuminated. As a result, a problem arises in that the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 103 cannot be uniformly and brightly emitted in a U-shape in plan view.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a light guide lens capable of uniformly and brightly emitting light from a light emitting portion on an outer peripheral edge, and a lighting device including the same. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a flat non-circular light guide lens including an arc portion at a part of an outer peripheral edge, and receives light from a light source disposed at the center of the arc portion. In the light guide lens in which light is emitted in the direction perpendicular to the plate surface by the reflection surface formed on the outer periphery, light is emitted in the outer surface along the reflection surface formed on the outer surface. A refracting means and a reflecting means for controlling an incident angle of the light to the reflecting surface formed on the outer peripheral edge portion other than the surface of the reflecting surface in a vertical direction to about 90 ° are formed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the refracting means and the reflecting means are formed by grooves or holes formed on a surface of the light guide lens facing the light source. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a lighting device is configured to include the light guide lens and the light source.

  According to the present invention, even when the shape of the outer peripheral edge is a non-circular light guide lens, of the reflective surface formed on the outer peripheral edge, light is reflected on the reflective surface formed on the outer peripheral edge portion other than the arc portion. Since the angle of incidence in the vertical direction with respect to the plate surface is controlled to approximately 90 ° by the refraction means and the reflection means, the light guide lens is formed on all outer peripheral portions (arc portions and other portions). The light is incident on the reflecting surface at a substantially right angle in plan view. Therefore, all of the light traveling in all directions toward the outer peripheral edge in the direction of the plate surface in the light guide lens is reflected and emitted in the direction perpendicular to the plate surface by the reflection surface formed on the outer peripheral edge. When the light guide lens is viewed from a direction perpendicular to the plate surface, the entire outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens appears to be uniformly bright. As a result, the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens uniformly and brightly emits light, and the normal function of the illumination device including the light guide lens is exhibited.

It is the perspective view which looked at the cup holder provided with the lighting device concerning the present invention from diagonally above. It is the perspective view which looked at the cup holder provided with the lighting device concerning the present invention from diagonally below. It is a top view of a cup holder provided with the lighting device concerning the present invention. It is a bottom view of the light guide lens concerning this invention. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a partial bottom view showing a light image of the light guide lens. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 3. It is a bottom view of the conventional light guide lens. FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 9. It is a partial bottom view showing a light ray image of the conventional light guide lens.

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

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cup holder provided with a lighting device according to the present invention as viewed obliquely from above, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cup holder viewed from obliquely below, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the cup holder. 4 is a bottom view of the light guide lens according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 4, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a partial bottom view, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

  The cup holder 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is installed at an air conditioner outlet in a vehicle compartment, and includes a lighting device 2 for illuminating the cup holder 1 at night to clearly indicate its position. Is provided at the bottom.

  The cup holder 1 includes a non-cylindrical holder main body 1A. An L-shaped 2 for mounting the cup holder 1 at an air conditioner outlet (not shown) is provided on a flat side surface 1a of the holder main body 1A. The two hooks 2b are integrally protruded.

  The lighting device 2 disposed on the bottom of the cup holder 1 includes a transparent light guide lens 3 constituting a bottom plate capable of receiving a cup, an LED 4 as a light source disposed below the light guide lens 3, A substrate 5 on which the LED 4 is mounted is provided. Here, the light guide lens 3 is horizontally installed so as to cover the lower surface opening of the holder main body 1A of the cup holder 1, and is formed as a non-circular flat plate using a transparent resin such as acrylic or polycarbonate.

  Specifically, the outer periphery of the light guide lens 3 has a U-shape in plan view along the inner periphery of the holder main body 1A, and a semicircular arc portion 3A of the outer periphery includes Two straight portions 3B linearly extending parallel to each other from both ends of the arc portion 3A emit light in a U-shape in plan view. The upper surface (the hatched portion in FIG. 3) of the outer periphery of the light guide lens 3 excluding the light emitting portion is covered with a black light shielding film 6 (see FIG. 8).

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a reflection surface 3 a cut at 45 ° is formed in the arc portion 3 A and the straight portion 3 B on the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface of the light guide lens 3. At the center of the arc portion 3A on the lower surface of the light guide lens 3, a columnar convex portion 3C is integrally formed so as to protrude downward, and the portion where the convex portion 3C is formed is upwardly formed. A circular hole 3b that opens, and an inverted conical (funnel-shaped) concave portion 3c that opens upward, are formed, and the inner peripheral surface of the concave portion 3c forms a reflection surface. Here, the lower surface of the convex portion 3C of the light guide lens 3 forms an incident surface, and the LED 4 is disposed below the incident surface. The LED 4 is mounted on the substrate 5 so that the light emission direction is vertically upward.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, on the lower surface of the light guide lens 3, the light is reflected on the reflecting surface 3a (see FIG. 6) formed on the linear portion 3B of the outer peripheral edge in a plan view. A refracting means and a reflecting means for controlling the incident angle (in a direction perpendicular to the plate surface) to approximately 90 ° are formed. Specifically, the refracting means is formed by two substantially triangular grooves 3d. The reflecting means is constituted by a substantially triangular groove 3e. Here, the groove 3d as the refraction means is for allowing light to be incident on the reflecting surface 3a formed in the region R1 of each linear portion 3B on the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 3 at a substantially right angle. The groove 3e as a means is for allowing light to enter the reflection surface 3a formed in the region R2 of each linear portion 3B of the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 3 at a substantially right angle. In the present embodiment, the refraction means and the reflection means are constituted by the grooves 3d and 3e, respectively, but may be constituted by holes (through holes) instead of the grooves 3d and 3e.

  Thus, in the lighting device 2 including the light guide lens 3 configured as described above (see FIGS. 2 and 8), when a current is supplied to the LED 4 from a power source (not shown) such as a battery, the LED 4 emits light. As shown in FIG. 8, light emitted upward from the LED 4 enters from the lower surface (incident surface) of the convex portion 3C of the light guide lens 3, and is perpendicular to the optical axis at the reflecting surface of the concave portion 3c. Since the light is refracted, travels horizontally in almost all directions, and is reflected vertically upward by the reflecting surface 3a formed on the circular arc portion 3A and the straight portion 3B on the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 3, and emitted upward. When the light guide lens 3 is viewed from above, the circular arc portion 3A and the straight line portion 3B on the outer peripheral edge thereof appear to shine brightly. Therefore, the occupant can accurately visually recognize the position of the cup holder 1 even at night.

  By the way, when the groove 3d as the refraction means and the groove 3e as the reflection means are not provided on the bottom surface of the light guide lens 3, the linear portion 3B of the light emitting outer peripheral edge is formed on the reflection surface The light does not enter the 3a at a right angle in a plan view, but enters obliquely, so that the amount of light emitted upward decreases, or the light does not reach at all. This is as described above.

  However, in the present embodiment, two triangular grooves 3d as the diffusing means and one triangular groove 3e as the reflecting means are formed on the bottom surface of the light guiding lens 3, and as shown in FIG. Of the light traveling in the optical lens 3 toward the outer peripheral edge, the light L1 traveling toward the region R1 of the linear portion 3B on the outer peripheral edge travels straight through one surface 3d1 of the groove 3d as the refraction means and is emitted into the air. Then, the light is refracted when re-entering the light guide lens 3 from the other surface 3d2, and is incident on the reflecting surface 3a formed in the region R1 of the linear portion 3B at substantially a right angle in plan view, and this reflecting surface 3a The light is reflected vertically upward and emitted upward. Therefore, when the region R1 of the straight portion 3B, which was dark or did not emit light in the related art, is viewed from above on the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 3, this portion appears to be brightly shined.

  Also, of the light traveling inside the light guide lens 3 toward the outer peripheral edge, the light traveling toward the region R2 of the linear portion 3B on the outer peripheral edge is reflected by the curved surface (reflection surface) 3e1 of the groove 3e as the reflection means. Then, the light enters the reflection surface 3a formed in the region R2 of the linear portion 3B at a substantially right angle in plan view, is reflected vertically upward by the reflection surface 3a, and exits upward. For this reason, when the regions R1 and R2 of the straight portion 3B, which were conventionally dark or did not emit light, on the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 3, when viewed from above, these portions seem to glow brightly.

  Note that, of the light L3 traveling toward the outer peripheral edge in the light guide lens 3, the light L3 heading toward the circular arc portion 3A on the outer peripheral edge is reflected at any position of the circular arc portion 3A with respect to the reflection surface 3a formed on this portion. As a result, the light L3 is reflected vertically upward by the reflecting surface 3a and emitted upward. Therefore, when viewed from above, the arc portion 3A on the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 3 always looks bright as in the related art.

  As described above, in the light guide lens 3 according to the present embodiment, even if the shape of the outer peripheral edge is non-circular, of the reflecting surface 3a formed on the outer peripheral edge, the straight portion other than the arc portion 3A is formed. Since the angle of incidence of the light on the reflecting surface 3a formed on the surface 3B in plan view is controlled to approximately 90 ° by the groove 3d as the refracting means and the groove 3e as the reflecting means, all of the light guide lens 3 is formed. Light is incident on the reflecting surface 3a formed on the outer peripheral portion (the arc portion 3A and the straight portion 3B) substantially at a right angle in plan view. Therefore, all of the light traveling in the omnidirectional direction inside the light guide lens 3 toward the outer peripheral edge is reflected and emitted vertically upward by the reflecting surface 3a formed on the outer peripheral edge. When viewed from above, the entire outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 3 (the arc portion 3A and the linear portion 3B) appears to be uniformly brightly illuminated in a U-shape. As a result, in the cup holder 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 provided with the illuminating device 2 including the light guide lens 3, even at night, the circular arc portion 3 </ b> A on the outer peripheral edge of the light guide lens 3, which is the bottom plate that receives the cup. The linear portion 3B uniformly emits light in a U-shape, and the position of the cup holder 1 can be reliably visually recognized even in a dark cabin.

  In this embodiment, the light guide lens according to the present invention and the lighting device including the same have been described as being applied to an in-vehicle cup holder. Needless to say, the present invention can be similarly applied to any device other than the holder.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cup holder 2 Lighting device 3 Light guide lens 3A Circular part of outer periphery of light guide lens 3B Linear part of outer periphery of light guide lens 3a Reflection surface of light guide lens 3d Groove of light guide lens (refractive means)
3e Groove of light guide lens (reflection means)
4 LED
Reference Signs List 5 substrate 6 light-shielding film L1 to L3 light R1, R2 region of outer peripheral edge of light guide lens

Claims (3)

A flat non-circular light guide lens including an arc portion in a part of the outer peripheral edge,
Light that is incident from a light source disposed at the center of the arc portion is guided in the direction of the plate surface, and light is emitted in a direction perpendicular to the plate surface by a reflection surface formed on the outer periphery, so that the outer periphery emits light. In optical lenses,
Forming a refracting means and a reflecting means for controlling an incident angle of light to a reflecting surface formed on an outer peripheral edge portion other than the arc portion of the reflecting surface to a plate surface in a vertical direction to approximately 90 °. A light-guiding lens characterized in that:   2. The light guide lens according to claim 1, wherein said refraction means and said reflection means are constituted by grooves or holes formed on a surface facing said light source. An illumination device comprising the light guide lens according to claim 1 and the light source.

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